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Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Get Prepared Now in Feb 2019🔴 Government Shutdown Continues-- Forecasts Federal Collapse


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.

 



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