The government shut down, and life went on. Nothing seemed to change. Mail still came, public transportation wasn’t affected, school was still in session, so what had this “shutdown” really done? I’m sure for the bulk of Americans, this shutdown has little or no impact on their everyday lives. Mostly what they see is a bunch of immature jerks whining because they couldn’t get their way…but they see this from a distance.
The company my significant other works for lost an important account because of this shutdown. That loss cost the company dearly. The loss was so great that the company had to lay off 30% of their work force. Over 100 people, many of whom are friends of mine, are now without a job in a recession this Congress helped to create.
Fortunately my significant other was not laid off, but who knows how long that will last? The longer this temper tantrum Congress is throwing lasts, the more likely it is that another big account will be lost. I’m sure this company is not the only one suffering. Any company that deals in government contracts has to put that work on hold, if possible. Some smaller companies simply cannot do that. Without fulfilling the contracts as they get them, AND being paid for the jobs, those companies will simply go under. More people will be out on the streets without a job.
What I find so ironic is that we had been talking about how the shutdown seemed like such hot air. It wasn’t touching people’s everyday lives at all, then we got they news about the lay offs. Now we have to reassess our lives. We had some big life adjustments planned for the near future. Now we have to reconsider our options. Are those adjustments even feasible at this point? Should we speed up our timeline and take risks we otherwise would not take? Should we push back the timeline and take other unforeseen risks?
The worst part is knowing and understanding that there is absolutely nothing you can do to stave off the inevitable. It has been made clear that these lay offs are because off monetary need. Performance has nothing to do with it. That means it doesn’t matter if my significant other is better than everyone else in the world at what he does, if the company does not have the money to keep him employed, he will still be laid off. That is a scary thought.
This government shutdown has been instigated because the people in Congress are acting immaturely. They are throwing a temper tantrum and holding their breath in order to get their way. Unfortunately for us, unlike a child holding his breath, we’re the ones suffocating.
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