Imagine: the federal government
collapses, poof, gone.
Maybe it’s 2034, the date the government admits it can’t pay
it’s $50
trillion Social Security bill.
Or maybe it’s earlier. The national
debt is at almost $22 trillion, plus the massive
everything-bubble created by the federal reserve money printing. Those don’t
bode well for the future of the dollar.
It is inevitable that all this
debt and the debasing of the US dollar will eventually hurt.
The longest government shutdown
in history is a tiny preview, a little case study on what is coming when the
federal government shuts down for good.
When it can’t pay its bills,
when it runs out of cash flow, or when the US dollar has no value, what will
happen?
Will planes fall out of the
sky, and terrorists wield AK-47s in the rapidly crumbling streets? Without
USDA guidance, humans begin subsisting on dirt and tree bark.
Or… perhaps federal workers
will find themselves a private sector job in the emerging gig economy.
Maybe state governments will
step up to fill whatever services their voters think were necessary from the
federal government.
And maybe we will see
government agencies replaced by the private sector.
Sound too good to be true?
Because all three of these things are already happening in response to the
government shutdown.
1. Unpaid, furloughed government workers have started working gig jobs like
temporary labor, security guards, renting rooms on Airbnb, and driving
for Uber.
Federal
workers take on odd jobs to make ends meet
PROVIDENCE, R.I. —
When her paychecks dried up because of the partial government shutdown, Cheryl
Inzunza Blum sought out a side job that has become a popular option in the
current economy: She rented out a room on Airbnb.
Other government
workers are driving for Uber, relying on word-of-mouth and social networks to
find handyman work and looking for traditional temp gigs to help pay the bills
during the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
The hundreds of
thousands of out-of-work government employees have more options than in past
shutdowns given the rise of the so-called “gig economy” that has made an entire
workforce out of people doing home vacation rentals and driving for companies
like Uber, Lyft and Postmates.
Blum decided to
capitalize on the busy winter travel season in Arizona to help make ends meet
after she stopped getting paid for her government contract work as a lawyer in
immigration court in Tucson. She says she has no choice but to continue to work
unpaid because she has clients who are depending on her, some of whom are
detained or have court hearings.
But she also has
bills: her Arizona state bar dues, malpractice insurance and a more than $500
phone bill for the past two months because she uses her phone so heavily for
work. Blum bills the government for her work, but the office that pays her
hasn’t processed any paychecks to her since before the shutdown began. So she’s
been tapping every source she can to keep herself afloat — even her high
school- and college-aged children — and is even thinking about driving for Uber
and Lyft as well.
“So after working in
court all day I’m going to go home and get the room super clean because they’re
arriving this evening,” she said of her Airbnb renters.
“I have a young man
who’s visiting town to do some biking, and he’s going to come tomorrow and stay
a week,” she added. “I’m thrilled because that means immediate money. Once they
check in, the next day there’s some money in my account.”
The shutdown is
occurring against the backdrop of a strong economy that has millions of open
jobs, along with ample opportunities to pick up Uber and Lyft shifts.
The Labor Department
reported that employers posted 6.9 million jobs in November, the latest figures
available. That’s not far from the record high of 7.3 million reached in
August.
Roughly 8,700 Uber
driver positions are advertised nationwide on the SnagAJob website, while Lyft
advertises about 3,000.
But the gig economy
doesn’t pay all that well — something the furloughed government workers are
finding out.
Pay for such workers
has declined over the past two years, and they are earning a growing share of
their income elsewhere, a recent study found. Most Americans who earn income
through online platforms do so for only a few months each year, according to
the study by the JPMorgan Chase Institute.
Chris George, 48, of
Hemet, California, is furloughed from his job as a forestry technician
supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture forest service. He’s been
driving for Lyft but has only been averaging about $10 for every hour he
drives. Paying for gas then eats into whatever money he has made.
But the gig economy doesn’t pay all that well
— something the furloughed government workers are finding out.
He just got word that
he’ll be getting $450 in weekly unemployment benefits, but hadn’t received any
money as of Monday. In the meantime, he’s taking handyman or other odd jobs wherever
he can.
“I’ve just been doing
side jobs when they come along,” he said Monday. “I had two last week, and I
don’t know what this week’s going to bring.”
George Jankowski is
among those hunting around for cash. He’s getting a $100 weekly unemployment check,
but that’s barely enough to pay for food and gas, he said.
On Monday, he made $30
helping a friend move out of a third-floor apartment in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Jankowski is furloughed from a USDA call center and does not expect to get back
pay because his job is part-time and hourly.
Jankowski, an Air
Force veteran, calls the situation “grueling.”
“It’s embarrassing to
ask for money to pay bills or ask to borrow money to, you know, eat,” he said.
Some employers were
looking at the shutdown as a way to recruit, at least temporarily.
Missy Koefod of the
Atlanta-based cocktail-mixer manufacturer 18.21 Bitters said the company needs
temporary help in the kitchen, retail store and getting ready for a trade show,
and decided to put out the word to furloughed federal workers on social media
that they were hiring.
“I can’t imagine not
getting paid for a couple of weeks,” Koefod said.
American Labor
Services, a staffing agency that employs 500 people a week in Rhode Island and
Massachusetts, sent out an appeal to furloughed federal workers on Monday,
asking them to get in touch for clerical or light-industrial work.
“Some might not
realize that they could get something temporary, it could last for a short
period,” said Ben Kaplan, the company’s president and CEO.
Israel Diaz sought out
an Uber job and applied to be a security guard after he was furloughed from his
Treasury Department job in Kansas City. He said federal work has become
increasingly demoralizing and that he and many of his co-workers are
considering quitting.
“In the old days, you
work for the federal government, you get benefits, great,” said Diaz, a
Republican and Marine Corps veteran. “Now, it’s not even worth it.”
2. Calfornia is paying
unemployment benefits to federal workers.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the Trump administration has
told states they can't offer unemployment benefits to federal employees who are
required to report to work without pay during the government shutdown.
Newsom called a letter sent to states by the U.S. Department of
Labor "jaw-dropping and extraordinary" as he met with TSA workers at
the Sacramento International Airport Thursday afternoon. "So, the good
news is, we're going to do it, and shame on them."
The governor explained that California will offer the workers
unemployment coverage, despite the federal government telling the state it
can't do so for workers still on the job. Newsom says he believes California is
on strong legal footing.
Transportation Security Administration employee Miguel
Pagarigan, who commutes about 40 miles from Vacaville, Calif. each day, said
he's not sure how long he can afford to go without pay as the shutdown
continues.
"Because of the shutdown and being furloughed — or
basically, not being paid — I had to put a 'for sale' sign on my house on
Sunday," Pagarigan said, beginning to cry as he spoke.
The Trump administration does not appear to be opposing
unemployment benefits for federal workers who are staying home during the
shutdown.
Newsom's appearance follows a protest by two dozen federal
workers at the airport Wednesday.
Phil Miedema, a 68-year-old federal employee, said he was
supposed to retire in December but the shutdown held up his paperwork.
"I'm not spending money," Miedema said. "In fact
I was I was concerned just driving out here wasting the gas and have to pay for
parking so I could have my voice heard. My lifestyle is just on total
hold."
Miedema said he has one month's savings and after that he'll
have to take out a loan to pay next month's bills.
Defying Trump
Administration, Calif. Offers Federal Workers Unemployment Benefits
3. More airports are considering opting out of the
TSA (Transportation Security Administration) in favor of hiring private
security. You’ve probably heard that Transportation Security
Administration agents are calling in sick — the “blue flu” — as they are
required to work but aren’t being paid during the partial government shutdown.
But at some airports, this isn’t happening. Take San Francisco International,
which uses private screeners who are still getting paid. It’s operating
as normal.
Indeed, 22 U.S.
airports have opted out of the TSA model and use private screeners.
Canada and most airports in Europe also use private screeners — and for good
reason. Yes, after 9/11, America and the world clearly needed to do something
to secure airplanes and airports, but the idea of having government responsible
for all parts of aviation security should be rethought.
From a
purely good-government perspective, the TSA has an inherent conflict of
interest. It is the regulator and the regulated entity. The TSA sets the
security screening rules, and the TSA also employs thousands of agents to carry
out the screening. The natural tendency of any organization is to protect
itself. But Americans want the government to protect them, not the TSA’s budget
and personnel levels.
As proven
by other nations and the opt-out airports here at home, privatizing screening
services can mean screening that is cheaper, more accountable and as secure as
a government-run model.
This
isn’t a return to pre-9/11 security, either. The TSA should remain as the
setter of security rules and conduct strict oversight. But instead of
government employees doing the screening, private companies would provide the
manpower to do so.
Let’s
face it. The government isn’t good at handling personnel issues, but the
private sector is. In other countries and at opt-out airports, these
contractors better manage their personnel, make a profit and still do so for
less than the TSA model. And if a private contractor screws up, the TSA can
hold it accountable and replace it with another contractor.
It’s time
to move to a private model for aviation security.
David
Inserra is a policy analyst for homeland security and cybersecurity at The
Heritage Foundation.
0 comments:
Post a Comment