How has the shutdown affected you so far?

[Flying Squirrel]

18 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	I've been furloughed / lost wages / working unpaid etc.
	2 (11%)
	Services I depend upon have been suspended
	0 (0%)
	Things have slowed down at my related job
	0 (0%)
	I've been affected in some other way (please list below)
	4 (22%)
	More than one of the above options
	0 (0%)
	I have not yet been directly affected
	12 (67%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[factsarenotfair]

1. A family member needs to sell her house and I think it's going to be hard to get mortgages.

She only has a few months financial cushion to wait for it to sell.

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. My is a civilian worker at a military hospital, and is now working without pay....

She was furloughed this summer, so we have already lost a considerable chunk of our income.

[factsarenotfair]

3. Working without pay....

that sounds like slavery, which neo-confederates would like.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Or is it "working for deferred pay"

... which is a pain, but somewhat different than slavery.

Hopefully, the shutdown will end soon, and all who have been working will be "made whole" on their next paycheck.

[Aerows]

23. Uh, working for deferred pay is as bad on the daily necessities

as working for no pay. You get it eventually, but you have no money in the meantime.

[Agnosticsherbet]

43. We assume pay is defered.

Old joke: (To Assume is to man an Ass out of U and Me)

But what is the difference when it comes time to pay bills if we have had no paycheck. The only advantage is that we assume (that word again) that we will be given back pay when the budget is passed between now and January of 2015 when the next Congress takes its seat.

Furloughed is worse, and we already went through that, taking a 20% pay cut, from which we have not yet recovered.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. So is my sister

[Aerows]

16. That totally sucks

Sorry to hear that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Yup, hubby is a vet

So only half depends on the government. They fully depend on it

[Aerows]

22. It's an atrocious

ego-driven mound of bullshit, and I think most Americans know it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. We have gotten an earful from neighbors who know we are press

You can hear, and taste mind you, the anger

[Aerows]

28. Not surprised in the slightest

Look at the person I responded to down thread that thinks it's tin foil hattery that people are affected by the shutdown. Un fucking believable.

[Ranchemp.]

4. Federal employee here,

hasn't affected my job.

[narnian60]

5. Husband works for a contractor at NASA.

Sent home on Tuesday morning. Can take vacation pay the rest of this week. After that ???

[Aerows]

18. Awful

Hope this gets squared away soon so that your family doesn't suffer.

[DFW]

6. Only very slightly

I live in Europe but am paid in dollars. The dollar has lost nearly two per cent against the euro since the shutdown started, so I have had a de facto two per cent salary decrease.

Otherwise, not at all, though this may change, depending on how long the line is at CBP when I fly to the USA later on today.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

8. Very slightly here, too, if at all. Let me adjust my tinfoil hat ...

... I got two robocalls from advertisers on my work phone yesterday and another two on my cell. I've never gotten that kind of call at work, and only rarely on my cell.

I wonder if the shutdown of FCC and FTC has caused advertisers to ignore the "do not call" lists (even more than they usually ignore the lists)

Or maybe it's just a coincidence.

[Aerows]

25. Um, you think that people are suffering from the shutdown is "tinfoil hat" material?

You have to be out of your fucking mind. It does impact "real people" that work for the government and government contractors.

Have you actually READ what the shutdown encompasses, because I honestly think you should, judging from this post.

[sammytko]

34. He was linking the weird phone calls he never gets to maybe the FCC not doing thier job

due to the shutdown.

He called that situation "tinfoily".

[Aerows]

36. Oh well, gee

I'm sorry he has been inconvenienced.

[sammytko]

38. All our income comes from military retirement and VA disability compensation - his statement

didn't seem weird to me.

[Aerows]

39. Well, I'm glad that things are going well for you? n/t

[sammytko]

41. nope, but what can you do?

Just wait it out.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

58. I read today that USAA, if your military pay is direct depost to USAA, ...

... or your military retirement pay, then USAA might extend an interest-free bridge loan through the shutdown.

A few family members are in that situation, but their last deposits were at the end of September. Hopefully the shutdown will be resolved before the end of October.

I haven't heard any news about VA deposits.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Tin foil, 800,000 people are directly affected

That is tinfoil, not real people. M'kay

[loli phabay]

24. i want the market to go the opposite way you do

Then my euros are worth more, never even thought about it going the other way. Your loss is my gain and vice versa

[DFW]

31. I don't have huge expenses beyond my tax bill

The Germans will be looking for a six figure sum in Euros from me for my 2012 income tax, but I paid off the house and cars when we bought them, so as not to be beholden to currency fluctuations. It emptied my piggy bank every time, but personal debt terrifies me, and I refuse to saddle my family with it in case I get run over by a truck (or if Mother Nature decides to finish the job she almost completed 9 years ago). They STILL haven't told me what I owe them for 2011. Can you imagine? I keep the Euros for that sitting in the German account for when they ask for it, but the dollars I'll need to free up for 2012 will be a frightening six figure amount.

But no matter what, the "Beamten" system they have in place is the same basic structure that allowed the Nazis to efficiently relieve Jews of their belongings and their lives, so while I give a recurrence of that whole scenario less than a 1% chance, the kind of people and the kind of system that allowed it in the first place are still there, so I keep just about ALL my savings and investments back home in the USA.

[loli phabay]

37. i prefer to diversify just in case of fluctuations or worse, also try to have as small a tax print

As i can, luckily i have some tax free income streams so that helps.

[dionysus]

61. egads, don't admit to selling weed and bootleggin on DU!

[loli phabay]

63. lol, it could read that way could it not.

[wickerwoman]

47. I'm getting a great exchange rate

for my yearly student loan transfer but it sucks for all my family back in the States so wouldn't go as far as *wanting* the dollar to crash.

[walkerbait41]

9. We have lost haft our income

[DFW]

12. There are probably more people like you than people like me

I just hope the ballot box reflects it in every election from now to 2017.

[mucifer]

10. Two of my friends are furloughed.

[pinboy3niner]

11. My Army disability retirement is okay...

But many friends are furloughed, and the economic effects will hit my community hard if this continues.

[Aerows]

21. Sorry to hear that, my friend

I hope we get this cleared up before your friends suffer further. It's a stupid game the Republicans are playing - they can't seem to stop their egos from running the train, even if it will kill everyone on it, including themselves. I've never seen such a desperate grab to save face just because some people might get health care.

[sammytko]

40. VA disability compensation? That will be cut if the debt ceiling limit is not

raised by the 17th.

[RebelOne]

56. The VA disability is the sole income of my sister and her husband.

And my sole income is my SS. If those checks stop coming, we are going to be in deep doo-doo.

[pinboy3niner]

57. Not VA, DoD

Unlike VA, it would not be affected by an extended shutdown--but disability pay under both systems would be affected by a debt ceiling crisis. Since the OP's question was about current shutdown effects, I responded to that.

Military disability retirement is paid by DoD's Defense Finance and Accounting Service. There is an option to convert it to VA disability, but I declined to do that so I'm still in DoD's system, not VA's, for disability compensation.

A military affairs website looked at effects on both military disability and VA disability:

(Military) Retirement Pay and SBP Payments

Military retirement pay and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity payments are considered an entitlement and is not funded by annual appropriations and authorizations. Therefore, they would not be affected by the lack of budget or continuing resolution. Should the country hit the debt ceiling, however, there is the possibility that retirement and SBP payments could be delayed or reduced.

In short, the October payments expected on 1 October 2013 will not be affected. It is possible that the 1 November 2013 payments could be affected if the government hits the debt ceiling and does not come to an agreement about how to proceed.

...


Veterans Affairs Payments

...


Well, well… the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has changed its tune just a little bit. The VA is now saying that if a government shutdown lasts more than a few weeks, it will run out of money to continue its payments for disability, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, GI Bill and Dependent Educational Assistance payments. And this is before we even get to potential debt ceiling issues.

While it is unlikely that the government shutdown will last long enough to actually impact these payments, please don’t become complacent. This is a potentially huge issue for a portion of our population that may have limited ability to cut costs or generate other income.

...


http://paycheck-chronicles.military.com/2013/09/26/retirement-and-disability-pay-i-shutdown/

[justiceischeap]

14. Not nearly as much traffic (human) on the Metro these days

It almost looks like a Saturday.

[Le Taz Hot]

15. Furloughed since Tues.

No income. Needless to say I'm fuming.

[RavensChick]

46. I'm with you on that!

I haven't heard about unemployment yet since yesterday when I filed, so I'm beyond pissed at this point.

[Daniel537]

17. Don't know yet.

I applied for LIHEAP last month and was told to go to a local agency when the Final Notice for my electric bill arrives, which should be some time next week. I can only hope for the best at this point.

[uppityperson]

20. Friends have been furloughed and NOAA buoys repair/maintainance and repair has been stopped

Which means weather and tsunami information will not be as complete or accurate. Also NWS is barebones, same end result.

Friends on WIC or using Head Start have been affected.

[bigwillq]

27. No (nt)

[hootinholler]

30. If you're in DC I'll #SeeYouOnTheHill tomorrow n/t

[joeybee12]

32. Wanted to drive to Bryce Canyon this weekend, now I can't...

Although tehnically i can drive there, but can't get in there.

[cristianmarie533]

33. I've yet to be affected as of this writing

However, this may change soon, depending on what kind of bats**t policies the GOP tries to get through during this time of great turmoil. My hope is that they'll eventually see sense, and put an end to this insanity. But I'm asking for too much, aren't I?

[Mz Pip]

35. Really minor thing...

We were doing a road trip and the last big leg was to visit Yellowstone on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. We couldn't do it so we just drove home. Maybe next year.

The weather wasn't that good anyway so even if the park had been open we might not have have seen as much as we would have liked.

Fortunately we got to see Dinosaur National Monument and the Badlands.

[lumberjack_jeff]

44. My work (a nonprofit) is attempting to get a loan through the USDA.

Kind of sucks, but it's nothing compared to the suffering some others experience.

[RavensChick]

45. It sucks!

Thanks for nothing, repukes!!

Assholes, the whole fucking lot of them!!

[cbayer]

48. NOAA has very limited services. We have a gale warning, but

I can't get the usual details that I rely on to know what to expect.

I suspect they are using everything I have for the storm in the gulf, but this is a big deal for mariners out on the west coast.

[uppityperson]

51. Did you see that buoy repair and maintenance has been suspended also?

Those buoys that are out in the ocean, measuring wave heights? No maintenance or repair right now.

[cbayer]

54. We and others are so dependent on those things.

Looks like this gale was something of a false alarm, BTW.

[sendero]

49. I have not been affected yet..

... but my job depends on the timely receipt of annual regulatory changes that I write software to deal with. My boss says that these regulations (the "final rule&quot will be delayed most likely as a result of the shutdown.

The "final rule" is already in normal times released too late to implement it in time for its own cutover date, so this just makes that problem a bit (or a lot, who knows how long this crap will last) worse.

[Flying Squirrel]

50. .

[lonestarnot]

52. I am one pissed off mfr. Friends out of work, worried about a poor old mother and a kid struggling

through college wash'n dishes. Yeah I absolutely disdain these motherfucking ignorant fucks.

[Glitterati]

53. Touristy town closed down basically due to the shutdown

I live in a community on a large Corp of Engineers lake.....and most of this town is built on business from that lake. Since it's chained off and closed, lots of lake activity is simply not happening.

No fishing, no boating, no swimming.

Lots of folks around here are discovering just how important government really is to them. And, if you believe the voting machines, they all vote Republican, so it's Obama's fault it closed down.

[RebelOne]

55. Right now I am not affected,

but if Social Security checks are delayed, I will be directly affected. I am at the point now where I don't care how the mess is resolved. Just get it done before the debt ceiling deadline.

[Flying Squirrel]

59. .

[B Calm]

60. If you buy food at the grocery store, you been affected!

[mnhtnbb]

62. We have a trip to Europe planned end of October

for 3 weeks.

Decided to buy euros on Wednesday and take cash with us to Europe rather than risk a huge
decline in the $ if the Repubs dig in their heels and take the country
to the edge of--or over the edge of--default. Of course, if they cave, the dollar could
strengthen and then we'd lose money on buying so many euros up front.

When we first started booking this trip (flights, hotels, etc.) the exchange rate last June was
1 euro = $1.28 It now stands at 1 euro = $1.36 and as DFW said upthread, the euro
jumped 2 cents in just a couple of days after this started.

So far, we're actually ahead a few bucks.


If the Repubs take it past default, hubby and I will see both our SS deposits delayed, as well as
his federal pension benefit. We are fortunate to not be dependent upon that income--although we live off it--
since we have some savings. But a big chunk of savings is going to be used to pay our property taxes
which are due by Jan. 1 and I usually pay them in December (setting aside money every month) which means
the savings balance takes a big hit in December.

[Flying Squirrel]

64. .