POLITICS Border Wall / Gub-mint Shutdown

That's the way its always worked in the past. I'm not really a big fan of it. I understand that it wasn't their choice not to work, but at the same time contractors don't get back pay. Its illegal for them to charge the government for work that was never performed, but the government has no problem paying their staff for their own transgressions. If they required their work force to make up the time, I wouldn't have a problem since theoretically it would even out.

 

The big takeaway to me is both parties have deemed $5.7bn sufficient reason to keep the government shut down for 3.5 weeks and counting. Either side could have ended this a long time ago, but they both gone with all or nothing approaches.

 

Don't go to work because our Government is fighting and then get paid for it. Only in America.

 

Agreed. If the government wants to start paying people not to work, they can just apply for welfare and student loans like the rest of'em.

 

I was thinking this today......Republicans have long dreamed of limiting the federal government, reducing wasteful spending, etc. you guys know all of the talking points. One of the reasons that they can't do that is because of the protections that many Federal employees now enjoy, and which essentially prevents their termination. However, those protections are only to prevent their being fired and/or the elimination of those positions....but nothing prevents the employees from quitting and seeking another job.

Perhaps some have forgotten that Trump's freeze on Federal hiring is very much still in effect.

What if he's drawing this line on the wall to put Dems in an untenable situation....either give me the money for the wall, or the shut down will go so long as to essentially force large amounts of Federal workers to seek alternative employment, and which could then not be filled when the government re-opens.

 

By back pay do you mean after the shutdown ends?

They will get paid but not until the government opens - that is true today or under this bill.

The bill would seek to begin paying the essential workers and I assume backpay them now for the gap from today to the beginning of the shutdown.

 

Yes, that’s my understanding. That’s always been the case unless you are a contractor.

 

Well there are some legal issues with deviating from the employment contracts. It has never come up because the government has always paid.

 

This is a paid vacation.

 

Except for the ones working.

 

I’d want it re-scheduled, too.

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/16/pelosi-to-trump-reschedule-state-of-union-or-submit-in-writing.html

For those who think that he / his position on the wall are fool-hearted, you must be furious that Speaker Pelosi dares risk his being exposed in front of the nation.

Oh, what a historic spectacle that this will almost certainly be! I’m going to record it. I might record myself, watching it.

We need to do an 8th SOTU podcast of me, Float, Dooz, KPT, IP, Un doing live commentary.

 

Sounds like a solid way to destabilize our government. For Russia.

 

Who wants to make a friendly wager that the Dems give Trump his border wall money within 72-96 hours of his giving the SOTU?

 

I’d actually read the statement. I can’t listen to that idiot wander in and out every fleeting thought he has, even when he actually does mean the words he says.

I’ll listen to y’all, though.

 

Our nation’s military - the finest the world has ever known - has the watch, shipmate.

We’re good, where it matters most.

 

Well, then you’ll miss one of the greatest below-average orators of our generation, friend.

He’ll get 5-7 of the best / hardest hitting points out, and that’ll be plenty to clear this all up.

 

Recruitment is down killer. We gonna stop loss the military too?

 

I’ve written his speech:

“America is the greatest it has ever been because of me. And it’s the Democrats fault.”

 

You know what’s up.

Could withhold total overall capacity by 1/2 and be fine.

 

That’s bullet points 1 - Bb(a)(763).