Thrust into unemployment, axed federal workers face relatives who celebrate their firing

[dalton99a]

https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-doge-federal-layoffs-c41ae32800a7f170484de79572543da2

Thrust into unemployment, axed federal workers face relatives who celebrate their firing
By MATT SEDENSKY
Updated 7:04 AM CST, March 7, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: Relatives cheering their firing.

The country’s bitterly tribal politics are spilling into text chains, social media posts and heated conversations as Americans absorb the reality of the government’s cost-cutting measures. Expecting sympathy, some axed workers are finding family and friends who instead are steadfast in their support of what they see as a bloated government’s waste.

“I’ve been treated as a public enemy by the government and now it’s bleeding into my own family,” says 24-year-old Luke Tobin, who was fired last month from his job as a technician with the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho’s Nez Perce National Forest.

Tobin’s job loss sent him scurrying to fill prescriptions before he lost his health insurance and filling out dozens of applications to find whatever work he can, even if it’s at a fast-food restaurant. But some relatives reacting to his firing as “what has to happen to make the government great again” has been one of the worst parts of the entire ordeal.

“They can’t separate their ideology and their politics from supporting their own family and their own loved ones,” says Tobin.

....


https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/business/economy/federal-workers-layoffs-job-market.html

As Layoffs Continue, Federal Workers Face Sluggish Job Market
Unemployment is low, but there isn’t much room to move around — especially for those with highly government-specific skills.
By Lydia DePillis and Colby Smith
March 7, 2025 Updated 9:44 a.m. ET

For about a year now, the labor market has existed in a state of eerie calm: Not many people were losing their jobs or quitting, but not many of those seeking work were getting job offers.

The mass layoffs now underway across the federal government, along with its employees who are voluntarily heading for the exits, could disrupt that uneasy equilibrium.

While unemployment is relatively low at 4 percent, those losing their positions could face a difficult time finding work, depending on how well their skills translate to a private sector that does not seem eager to hire.

“Federal workers all across the country are starting to look, and it’s impacting people everywhere,” said Cory Stahle, an economist at the job search platform Indeed. “It’s hard to think this isn’t going to stress test the labor market in the coming months.”

Finding an open job with the right skill requirements could make things more challenging. In the Washington metropolitan area in mid-February, there were 11,600 postings for business operations specialists, but for just 106 tax examiners and one agricultural inspector.

...

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The Trump cult is the most toxic force in modern U.S. history

[SheltieLover]

1. There aren't many tech jobs avail, despite repukes' desire for immigrants on visas to slave away

[Ferrets are Cool]

2. Magats don't care until it happens to them.

[birdographer]

3. And meanwhile

They believe, though there is no proof on paper, that the Muskrat, and therefore their idol donny as well, are saving all kinds of money for the country and that soon they will be getting checks in the mail.

How many years will it take them to see what is actually happening with this administration?

[4catsmom]

33. America will be a wasteland

if this goes on for years

[Cha]

45. That's Putin's Plan... our Mission

is to STOP IT

[True Blue American]

10. Musks workers are making 6 figures

And Trump is back to his 3 million dollar golf trips again.

[Bettie]

36. And he's selling meetings with him to

rich people for 5 mil a pop. I think it's discounted if it's a group meeting.

But, imagine if Bidden had taken so much as a bagel from anyone!

[NotHardly]

26. Now we know why the Civil War was 'brother against brother'

...see the similarities now?

[CousinIT]

4. Yep. I have relatives JUST like that. I'm not surprised. nt

[Paladin]

5. Relatives who take pleasure in their kins' job losses should never be spoken to, again. (nt)

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

6. Family ties aside, they'll find out who REALLY cares about them.

Last edited Sat Mar 8, 2025, 01:42 PM - Edit history (1)

And hopefully they’ll remember in the future if the ones cheering their misfortune should need something.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Deleting

Last edited Fri Mar 7, 2025, 03:42 PM - Edit history (1)

I misread the allegiances.

[Paladin]

13. I stand by my comments, with good reason. (nt)

[Prairie Gates]

25. You're defending the Trumpy relatives and calling the fired federal worker a liar?

Weird choice.

[Beck23]

28. Actually, it's the fired person who is the scapegoat

These workers are being scapegoated by Trump because he ran up the deficit by trillions and now says the government has no money.

[DENVERPOPS]

7. There are a humongous amount of

Unintended Consequences about to land squarely on the heads of Trumphumpers and they are so ignorant, stupid, or brainwashed to see it coming.......Thus, the old adage: The light at the end of the tunnel will be an oncoming train.....

[True Blue American]

9. Good saying.👍🥰

[True Blue American]

8. That is pathetic

Relatives could cheer another losing their job. The enjoy is plain, ut with the job market going in the hopper they may just find themselves unemployed..

Karma is a funny thing. It can bite back.

[Beck23]

29. Or losing their Medicaid

[Hotler]

11. The orange convict is a reflection of his voters. They are mean, hateful and cruel people.

Be aware of your surroundings and keep an eye on your six.

[alarimer]

14. I hate these people so much

Whenever Trump goes, however it happens, we are still stuck in this country with these assholes. Worse if it's in our families.

[Bettie]

35. And now we know who they are

and what they are.

It hurts to know it, but it is useful to know as well.

It is good to know who doesn't care if you live or die. Or worse, that they would prefer you to die. Relative or not, it's best to know who you can trust. MAGATs are generally not trustworthy.

[BobTheSubgenius]

16. How could one ever again view those relatives as "loved ones?"

Were I him, I would have cordially invited those relatives to spend the rest of their lives covered in painful, suppurating lesions. With maybe a nice dusting of garden lime for their birthdays and other special occasions.

[MLWR]

17. Krasnov just told us

that Skum doesn't have the power to fire federal workers. All these fired employees need file a class actions suit for wrongful termination.

[NoSheep]

18. This quote could have come from me since Raygun's time

“I’ve been treated as a public enemy by the government and now it’s bleeding into my own family,”
I have long lived with this reality.

[Demobrat]

19. Well now you know.

Your relatives do not give a flying fuck about you. Good info to have.

[MaineBlueBear]

20. The cult isn't big on empathy

Behold my similar field fresh out of f&$+s

[SunSeeker]

21. Disgusting! MAGAts are evil.The Luke Tobin deserves support.

[iscooterliberally]

22. MAGA "Happiness" is contingent upon the suffering of others. n/t

[dchill]

38. MAGA happiness IS the suffering of others.

I hope they're ready for a "period of discomfort."

[Prairie Gates]

23. "Cutting off your family over politics is wrong," they cry

These people would never cross my doorway again, period. And don't expect a Christmas card.

Shit heels.

[Demobrat]

44. And yet they would cut off your health care,

make your marriage illegal, or force you to have a rapist’s baby with no problem.

And never make the connection.

[Mountainguy]

24. Cut them off

Good luck if you ever need a kidney.

[Jspur]

55. Sometimes you have to accept imminent death

as part of the game of life. There is no point of just living a full life of being someone's bitch because that's not really living either. In this case it's better to cut off rotten family members despite the risks.

[Mountainguy]

59. I meant good luck to the family if they ever need one.

[Jspur]

60. I get what you are saying

now. Thanks for clearing that up.

[NoMoreRepugs]

27. There are hundreds of millions of guns and billions of rounds of ammunition in the the US - Civil War is coming.

You can only push people so far.

[mainer]

30. OMG. When those awful relatives are in need, just ignore them.

And if they demand to know why, remind them of their own behavior.
This is turning into a good way to sort the good people from the bad.

[LuckyLib]

31. Well, now you certainly know who your people are.

Be sure you’re building a chosen family.

[Bettie]

32. Some relatives are not worth

keeping contact with.

If they celebrate you losing your livelihood, then they don't love you, they don't even care about you, they wish you harm.

They are not worth your time or energy.

It is a hard thing to realize that people you thought loved you....don't.

[iluvtennis]

34. Just ridiculous to celebrate your family member or friend being laid off. Is there some bloat in Federal gov't, of

course, just there is bloat in any company.

I'd like to see trump/admin provide the "receipts for bloat" for the organizations where they have laid off workers. We'll never see any receipts, because they trump/his minions haven't done the due diligence to identify where there is "bloat".

[dchill]

39. Elon Musk and Donald Trump are perfect examples of...

...bloat in the Federal government.

[iluvtennis]

48. Indeed. n/t

[tanyev]

40. I'd start with the lady who follows Donny everywhere with a portable printer

to print complimentary articles off the internet for him when the Tyrannical Toddler gets a case of the sads.

[Hekate]

37. That is just sick

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

41. Sounds like kinfolk who are best avoided

There's been disagreements in my family but none of us have ever celebrated another's misfortune.

[senseandsensibility]

42. That's maga-ism in a nutshell

Doesn't surprise me at all.

[misanthrope]

43. Nothing in this surprises me

My family, in-laws, bosses, and most of those in my town would all have the same reaction were it me. I've long since come to accept that all these ostentatiously Christian folks I speak of are anything but what they claim. Not in their hearts or practices.

[Skittles]

46. more proof they are a CULT

they put their adoration for Donald Fucking Trump over the well-being of their own FAMILY

[Hassler]

47. More evidence of how sick our society

Has become. Goes back to at least Nixon when a segment said he was a victim. My own sister for example.

[Blue Owl]

49. Sickening

Absolutely sickening.

I hope karma comes around and delivers some face-eating leopards on these fucking degenerates.

[Joinfortmill]

50. Unbelievable. Maybe some States, Counties will hire

[kevinbgoode1]

54. That is a good point, though I worry about those prospects as well

It seems as some federal programs are reduced, many states or municipalities may pick up some of the slack. Of course, one problem is that many of these government entities have their own fiscal problems, and if they raise taxes to cover additional responsibilities, this just shifts the tax burden. Despite conservative claims that these reductions are going to "save" taxpayers money, it doesn't save anything if the cost just gets moved to the states and counties - it's becomes some kind of shell game.

What disturbs me is how this perception of public service workers as unproductive and a "waste" has spread throughout our culture. I have a friend who worked for the federal government and has been laid off in this turmoil, and he hasn't told his extended family - mostly because they've always ridiculed how "easy" his work must be and resented the benefits. I've heard people say the same about local and state employees. . .it's as if some people resent that, during the 1980's, they didn't resist their own private employers who dropped pensions in favor of 401k, so it isn't fair that public service employees still had designated pensions and shouldn't deserve them.

I do hope all of these affected employees manage to land on their feet.

[Jspur]

57. You make some great points I think

a lot of these people who hate government workers also really despise their private employers but have no recourse in fighting against their employer. This in return makes them very jealous of government workers who have more rights and protections at their jobs than these private sector workers. Ultimately it comes down to misery wanting company and these private sector employees want badly for these federal employees to experience the misery of the private sector that they have been experiencing their whole entire adult life.

[Native]

51. They will literally starve to death before they admit that Trump fucked them over

[Bluethroughu]

52. MAGA is jealous ugly human failures.

They are lazy cheats or nepo idiots, unhappy the world does not bow down to them.

I do not talk nor care about my MAGA family or friends that have not got the message yet.

They will die on their sword because their ego comes first.

[Squaredeal]

53. My siblings are half pro-MAGA and half not.

When we get together, we get along and don’t talk about the elephant in the room, but when we’re separated there’s that nagging feeling of not wanting to call my MAGA brothers and sister because I can’t help feeling that they are traitors to how we were raised by our parents, who were appalled by their ignorant political views before they passed.
Often, I hear my wife say, “We’ll, she’s snoozed for thirty days “, whenever an acquaintance reveals herself as a Trumper by some comment that she made on Facebook.

[Scrivener7]

56. I am a union member. I took the union job instead of one that paid about 25% more.

I took it because I was changing careers at 40 and it offered a very small pension after 25 years, and a good benefits package.

You would not believe the resentment I get when people hear about my pension. I paid for it by taking a smaller salary and by paying union dues for 25 years, but even Democrats often act as if I am taking food from their mouths.

It's similar to the attitude that SS is a handout, despite the fact that we pay for it every day of our working lives.

[Jspur]

58. I have great empathy for these federal employees who

are now realizing and learning that their families are pieces of shits. I had that experience at a young age with my mom's family when I graduated college at 23. I couldn't find any jobs for nearly a year and for that whole entire time they shitted all over me and insulted and taunted me. I was down in the gutter but my younger brother who was 19 got fed up with the bullying and started cursing them out and threatening to fight them which inspired me to stand up to them. After those horrible incidents we cut them off and refuse to have relationships with them nearly 20 years later. The funny thing about it is there is now regret from them the way they treated me, and that they would have done things differently if they knew I would actually cut them off. A lot of these family members and friends actually don't believe these federal employees will ever cut them off hence the bullying but I hope these federal employees will cut them off. That's the only way these fucktards will feel any pain.