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Government Workers Told Not To Work On "Any Projects, Tasks, Activities Or Respond To Emails Or Voicemails"
Dear government workers: welcome to the private sector. This is what it feels like to have job insecurity. For the past 7 hours, some 800,000 suddenly idle Federal workers received furlough notices but were told they will still have to report to work for about four hours Tuesday even though the government is shutting down. Or, rather "work." As AP reports, various federal agencies said employees would be limited to doing work related to the shutdown, including changing voicemail messages, posting an out-of-office message on email, securing work stations and documents and completing time cards. At the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, employees were told they cannot work on "any projects, tasks, activities or respond to emails." The more cynical ones out there may ask: just how is that any change?
More on today's shutdown chronology from AP:
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it will close its offices at 1:30 p.m. Other agencies, such as the Labor Department, expect most employees to be gone by mid-day, but haven't set a specific time.
Once they head home, furloughed employees are under strict orders not to do any work. That means no sneaking glances at Blackberries or smart phones to check emails, no turning on laptop computers, no checking office voicemail, and no use of any other government-issued equipment.
Office managers are encouraging workers to leave government-issued cell phones and computers in a secure place at the office. Those employees who work from home may find it more difficult to break the habit of checking emails or looking at documents.
Employees will receive an official e-mail on Tuesday explaining whether or not they are essential or slated to be furloughed. The email will include appeal rights and a form to use for seeking unemployment insurance. Some workers may be eligible for unemployment depending where they live. Some states require a one-week waiting period before applying, while others allow workers to apply right away.
Federal workers would not see their pay affected right away. If a shutdown continues, all employees can expect to be paid on schedule on Oct. 15, 2013 for hours worked from Sept. 22 through Sept. 30.
Certainly, when one sees efficiency like that at not working what can one say but: government work. Hopefully the shutdown does not endure, or else "broken email checking habits" may persist, and suddenly government workers may become even more inefficient once they return to "work."
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Even the market likes the shutdown, dow up 51 pts pre-market
Word has been sent to the government.....do not hold the markets back.
Feels like Christmas morning.
The beast has been wounded......this is good for us. You've got to feel a little stoked about our future here.
Just went to healthcare.gov to see how it was working.
In a word... clusterfuck
From a programmer's point of view, the website is a joke.
I've seen much worse from Accenture's H1Bs.
Please stay shut, please stay shut, please stay shut... Ah he'll. it's useless. But I am a wee bit happy it is shut today!!
Will the debt Clock run backwards today?
The Debt Clock is broke...
shelter in place
they cannot work on "any projects, tasks, activities or respond to emails."
But, Watching porn is encouraged
They cannot work on "any projects, tasks, activities or respond to emails."
So, business as usual ...
The IRS actually owes me around $10k but I'd give that up in a heartbeat if they never opened their doors again.
Just a little note to any .gov employee not working today because of the shutdown...
YOU.ARE.FUCKING.NON.ESSENTIAL.
No, it will just slow down a little. The government will flush money down the toilet to get into more debt, but it will never stop the debt bubble.
Dear gubmint "workers": F You!
Who do you think programmed that site? Government employees?
Oh no!! NOT THE EPA!!
The Earth will burn! The polar bears will starve! All the endangered species will vanish! And we'll all die of mercury poisoning and sunburns from ozone depletion!
Noooooo!!
Look! Futures are crashing on this news!
We're doooomed....
Oh, woe is me! Now the EPA won't be able to fine us $75,000 a day for building on arbitrarily labelled wetlands that we own! Whatever shall we do?
Maybe this will keep their SWAT team from getting armored vehicles.
Hybrid no doubt.
Reid is name calling and won't consider any proposal except total victory... the MSM is working overtime on demonizing the conservatives.... The republicans will cave in about a week once the endless procession of horror stories about things like PTSD patients not getting care roll in.
Obungo care rolls out on wobbily legs like the creature from the black lagoon to devour our healthcare system bit by bit as we watch in horror... now our government truly has the ability to tell us whether we live or die. While our POTUS decides who is more equal and chooses which provisions he will enforce and other he will not... who gets another year exemption and who does not, the public seethes with anger.
Meanwhile, in another court somewhere in D.C.... a Judge rules that it will hear the case over papers ( the ones he claimed he never saw and nobody in his administration ever saw ) they somehow claimed executive priv. over in the fast and furious case.
The lawlessness truly is so out of control, it's hard to believe.
When something does come out as information, how do we even believe one word they say at this point???
I hope the U.S. can live with itself.... All the blood of all the patriots shed for our freedom is being squandered... We fought so hard for our freedom and liberty and we give it away to corrupt, out of control tyranical government.
Anyone got the bid/ask for the online porn stocks?
Snow Day!
"Government Workers Told Not To Work On "Any Projects, Tasks, Activities Or Respond To Emails Or Voicemails"
So this is just like every other day.
It's a fucking joke. That little clause is designed to instill absolute maximum pain to the public that might use those government services. People can't get answers, panic, and suddenly the press has more stories on how terrible the government shutdown is. God forbid a pensioner or veteran get an answer to something while this political farse goes on.
No this is different to usual, now they're not getting paid for not working, a much better arrangement from the taxpayers perspective.
robots out full force to ramp market. Today Dow up +300 points.
What about SEC watching porn? So, is the CFTC shut too? Not that it matters, since they didnt do shit before yesterday anyways..
http://www.cftc.gov/ucm/groups/public/@newsroom/documents/pressrelease/cftcshutdown.pdf
96% of CFTC staff are at home today.
At least I hope that these bastards and mother fuckers won't get paid. Fuck'em all.
I bet that Jon Corzine is breathing a sigh of relief!
After the herculean efforts the boys at the CFTC exerted investigating silver manipulation, don't you think they deserve a rest?
But, but, who will regulate us? Who will tell us NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! if they aren't there at work today? Dear GOD! It's going to be hell! Dogs and cats, living together, total anarchy!
I declare Shenanigans!
Read it again - "Any Projects, Tasks, Activities Or Respond To Emails Or Voicemails", that all sounds like normal boring work...looks to me like porn is unaffected. Besides, apart from corruption and porn they do very little every day when the government is operating, so telling them not to do something they don't do anyway seems redundant...that crap is for sheeple consumption!
Can they still play solitare?
Make mine an extra large!
What? No butter??
The FDA is shutdown.....use as much as you'd like.
You'll have to supply it yourself......we're not going to give it to you for free.
Nope. Mooooooooochele is still working.
Perhaps some chili?
Banana Republic
I know this is a dream, but imagin if they keep this Repub vs Demo theatre up for a few more weeks, it drifts into the debt ceiling farce, more blame and shit and indecision. Then, those actually working in the private sector actually start to realise they don't need those fuckers and everyone starts to just get on with it
... back to the bottle.
mmmmmm... dreams
"Then, those actually working in the private sector actually start to realise they don't need those fuckers and everyone starts to just get on with it
... back to the bottle."
All five million people still employed in the private sector?
Next time I'm on holiday (I get one every couple of years being self employed), and arguing with my wife for answering work emails every day... I'll play a tiny violin for the .gov "workers".
Breaking : US Governement shuts down, markets elated at the (however fleeting) thought of global peace and prosperity!
Meanwhile, POTUS tries to whip up a populist frenzy on the horrors of a government shutdown, for all of those government workers who are all so essential to your existence (interesting ontological questions, even in the midst of the absurd).
Mr. Bernanke is still printing bad, but he is not the government, is he.
I wonder if this is cover for something much more sinister. Just thinking out loud...
Who will watch porn and spam comment sections on websites now?
Oh the HUMANITY!
Citizen> We at the NSA are still working and watching YOU.
Robo Cyber Analyst Algo 66667879-98A
I'd like to think there's a little Eric Snowden in all of us.
True that Goldfinger dude.
Fuck 'em all... we know THEY are watching and we no longer fucking care... got that NSA?
just go home and STAY the fuck home you useless cunts. oh, and eat some rat poison for breakfast.
Noted: IP address/coordinate fix/ dispatch Drone 546C/ copy when on target/ ENDS
Robo Cyber Analyst Algo 66667879-98A
Telling me the govt is closing down is akin to telling me the local left-handed smoke shifter plant is closing down. Ho-Hum.
I talked to a coworker whose wife is a government worker. She was told that, due to the govt pay rules, once they are furloughed, even if for only a day, they can't work for the rest of the pay period until Congress authorizes the scheme for partially payment of their wages. It sounded so silly, I couldn't believe it. Oh well. The press is making it look like the sun will stop shining and air will cause cancer when the govt shuts down. But I think most of us aren't going to notice. Oh noes! Museums will be closed! Oh noes! National parks will be closed! Good thing we alll just got back to work and school from vacation. Good thing we still have city, county, and state parks.
The one thing no one seems to be saying out of this is not, "OH GOD, THE HUMANITY! HOW WILL WE LIVE WITHOUT THE GOVERNMENT," but why is the government necessary to do so many things? Let's shrink this damn thing so sunlight and air and the children can exist without them.
How did mountain ranges survive before they were declared national parks?
"Sherman, warm up the Wayback Machine."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eAxCVTMJ-I
National parks will be closed!....
I was just thinking this would be a great time to hike into Yellowstone; a chance to have the park/trails all to yourself; no cars/busses/crowds.
and your dog could be off lead...
Smartest post of the day. I wonder if they will actually close and lock the gates?
Yogi and Booboo have the park to themseves.Though two people at Ol Faithfull.
http://yellowstone.net/webcams/
Now maybe the overweight pigs, ahem, "workers" may get a chance to enjoy the fall weather. Take a walk, throw a frisbee, clean the gutters? Unlikely. The more probable scenario is the .gov pigs wake up, eat their Hungry Man 2,000 calorie breakfast, see what was DVR'd from the night before and stay inside just as if they were in their stinky little cubicles.
You forgot protesting in DC, if it has not happened already, it will.
If non essential workers can stay home on a snowy storm day kind of like our grade schoolers in the midwest when we get 3 inches of snow now and everyone panics, why can't non essential government workers just be out on the street looking for a real job like 18 percent of the rest of America. Non essential means you wont be missed when you take one of your 12 personal days of paid leave a year. Non essential means no one even notices you are gone when you don't show up and don't call in. Non essential means just one more person making 60k plus a year doing half the work on any given day of the private sector worker. Let it all come crashing down. National parks closed? Tough. No janitors at the White House, give Moochelle a mop and bucket. No executive chef for state dinners? Break out the barbeque and throw some ribs on the grill with some roasted sweet corn. Want a taste of true Americana, no taxation without representation. It is theater and I think there are a lot of people on a simmering burn. Let em all stay home.
If they're non-essential, why are we paying them to begin with?
Yes, welcome to the private sector!!!
I have always wondered this. Even in the private sector. I would read Blah Blah company is laying off 50,000 employees(not during the recession) and I would sit there and think, WTF were all those people doing before, that now they could be laid off and the company still functions?
Will the post office still open?
Who cares? Are you expecting a special sort of junk mail you don't get the other five days of the week? Use UPS/DHL/FedEx/etc.
Will the post office still open?
Yes...for the most part you should not feel any real difference what so ever.
The post office is self funded (well, sort of...) and will continue to operate.
The GOP seems to suffer a collective schizophrenic attack.
1st they agree on all sorts of laws which inevitably require to spend money
Then they refuse to agree on a law which provides the funds for said expenses.
1st they agree on all sorts of laws…Then they refuse to agree on a law which provides the funds for said expenses…
I’m as concerned with the massive expenditures needed to fund the executive’s czars, agencies and off balance expenses as I am with his desire to inflict his self-same construct of an out of control pattern of community organizational insanity into the legislative branch by way of Obamacare to be thankful for whatever respite can be derived at this point in time.
It's times like these when it pays to be the janitor.
I wonder if we will see a huge drop in government trolls posting to internet message boards and social media.
We prefer the term "independent Government contractor."
Looks like there's still at least one on the job
no, they're 'essential'...
In other words: "It's another normal work day folks!"
I know they don't have the BALLS to do it, but they should permanently limit the debt ceiling to 20 trillion period. That gives them 3 trillion of buffer and whatever they can figure out between now and then about how to allow the govt. to function is all they have. After 20 trillion, the whole govt. shuts down. This would require all the politicians in Washington to start scrambling for hardcore cuts, real cuts, not cuts in the rate of increase, but real cuts. This would somewhat stanch the hemorrhaging of what little fiat currency we have left.
thumbs up great idea, but when it hit 20 trillion they'd be ready with their reasons for increasing it to 25! Its for the children...
Yup, I would prefer them to just be honest about what they need... say 200 trillion.
The children will certainly be paying for it so I guess it's truly for them :/
In addition, if the govt. hits the 20 trillion limit, it would require 2/3rd's of the states to vote on it in order to increase the limit. Its too easy for the congress and senate to increase the limit. It needs to be a like a credit card whereby the only way you can get an increase is if you sufficiently pay it down, ie cut spending sufficiently.
While they are off, maybe the House of Representatives could dust off the last budget that was passed and signed by a president (Bush?) and resubmit it instead of the CR crap that now passes as a financing mechanism for our government.
In the private sector, knowing there there is no legal authorization to pay employees for work after midnight and not having every employee secure documents/computers and prep out of office messages THE DAY BEFORE would be legal grounds for TERMINATION WITH CAUSE of every supervisor/manager/under-secretary etc. in the organization.
And if the quota monkeys aren't supposed to check their government email today, how are they supposed to get the memos that weren't emailed BEFOREHAND.
(and to my relatives and friends who get their paycheck from Uncle Sam- you made your bed, NOW LIE IN IT)
people seem to be missing something here... this is ONLY theater
this is THE NEW FLASE FLAG....
"Dear government workers: welcome to the private sector. This is what it feels like to have job insecurity."
Horse sh*t....all the pay is just put on hold. It's not like they're not going to receive their pay. It will just be delayed. Their jobs are going nowhere. There is no fear. No worry of losing a job.
BTW...dollars to donuts 'they' use this to start reporting the real jobs numbers then they can blame the republicans for destroying the 'recovery'. That's my guess.
I work in DC & commute via train from Southern Frederick county. The train is at about 50% capacity. The bitchfest by these useless fucks on the train platform was epic. Blaming the tea party and all but masturbting with one another over Obama.
I usually don't say a word to any of these spineless creatures, but couldn't resist when a lawyer for some agency said "you know, I really feel bad for the lower wage secretaries and mailroom people. They're going to suffer and maybe not pay bills because of all of this". I blurted out, "you mean like 50% of all the other people in this country today, except those people can't retire after 20 years with a full pension, medical benefits and not having aged a day in their life at their no pressure, paper pushing job?". He said, "you must be a tea party guy". I said 'sorta, I guess. I'm just not a collectivist leech like most of you". I don't think we'll be exchanging pleasantries anytime soon on the train ride in.
Throw in a hearty GFY from me! ;)
Post of the week! I wish I could give your more green arrows.
... wonderful stuff :)
Ha! Lower wage secretaries! Probably at 50K+ for doing 20 hours per week of real work.
1 down, Fed to go.
Shutdowns since 1976
Year President House Senate
1976 Gerald Ford D D
1977 Jimmy Carter D D
1977 Jimmy Carter D D
1977 Jimmy Carter D D
1978 Jimmy Carter D D
1979 Jimmy Carter D D
1981 Ronald Reagan D R
1982 Ronald Reagan D R
1982 Ronald Reagan D R
1983 Ronald Reagan D R
1984 Ronald Reagan D R
1984 Ronald Reagan D R
1986 Ronald Reagan D R
1987 Ronald Reagan D D
1990 George H.W. Bush D D
1995 Bill Clinton R R
1995 Bill Clinton R R
2013 Obama R D
2013 Obama R D
Finally got the combination right.....we've never been here before.
And the record is what? A measley three weeks? Come on, man?! We can do at least four!
Huh, what? Oh yeah, the Weeping Carrot is Speaker...
We'll be lucky to have three days...
; (
How much time we have left is irrelevant.......just enjoy the newly founded freedom!
Yup and during Clinton's time they created a surplus...
No way getting out of this, they have to spent less.
You say Yup I say Yep and here we are.
Note Clinton's time was PC's (Intel) N Software (Microsoft's/Apple) explosion.
This time there's no white horse to come save the day.
DEMS- 24, GOP- 12! Whoo hooo!
The world is bereft of 800K emails. How shall we be saved? All those sacred words and unmissable insights. Rent the clothes, wail and whine. Tomorrow is another day. Perhaps silence and sanity will prevail.
Essential should be defined as those with a ligitimate Constitutional authorization, and it should not be something that we ocasionally and temporarily get down to, it should be the limit.
Sitting 3,000 miles away from the hell that is now the US, I'm very concerned as to whether soup kitchens have sprung up across the entire nation overnight? Or are people already starving on the streets? Or has anyone stood in front of the White House, doused themselves in petrol and set light to themselves? Or is there already a gas station up and running to service the queues?
The working classes and producers will continue on as normal making stuff while the government won't even check emails. I've been on night shift for weeks and my back aches and these pussies are told to not check emails? Hehehe its absolutely absurd what a joke.
The interesting question here is that will anyone notice anything now that the government offices have been shut down...
.gov should use this opportunity to outsource 600,000 jobs to India for 1/10 the cost. Now that would be a productivity boost the country could enjoy.
I used to work for a govt tech college back in New Zealand. Talk about laziness and total inefficiency everywhere. Coffee breaks were enforced and hard work frowned upon. The sense of entitlement was nauseating.
Please remain calm, this is a test, this is only a test.
Hey, what do you know, it actually worked.
"Government workers told not to work on 'any projects, tasks, activities or respond to any emails or voicemails'."
In other words, just keep doing what you were doing...
Wounded beasts are to be feared.
But I like the mood. Fear is an excellent motivator.
Does this mean I will not be able to send things via US Postal service?
I am liquidating assets as part of my bug out plan.
What are all you Frigging Libertarians trying to do? Put off the crash? Are you really that dumb? Look in the mirror Muppets. Watch for the complaints from the Free stuff group to get louder.....
Nothing will change until you get serious about the MIC. Right now you are just screwing up my bug out plans....
SARC
So I jumped over to healthcare.gov to see what options I've got since my Blue Cross plan is set to double my deductible if I keep the same monthly rate. Thanks Obummer. So I try to fill out the signin sheet, but the pulldown menu choices for security phrases don't exist! So fitting. These clowns have been working on this stuff for how long and they can't even get a simple piece of software to work! Fecked, it's all fecked.
Wait until they discover that the people signing up are mostly those who will end up getting free healthcare or people like you caught in the middle. People will go to ER and tell the hospital they signed up for Obamma platnum plan. The hospital will say they can't verify. Who the hell are they going to call on Sat evening?.....government workers punch out at 3:45pm Friday afternoon. I'm telling you right now this thing will cost triple what they project. John Roberts is going to have to move out of the country for fear of his own safety.
All of those young people who are going to paying through the nose will opt to pay the penalty. This thing is already insolvent and it hasn't even started yet. STill waiting for my Obammy promised $200 mthly reduction in premiums.
You should send a screen shot to your state reps/senators
The GOVT EXCELS AT PRODUCING N O T H I N G already...
so what is the difference with or without a "shutdown" engineered by the obumbler... cant wait for thedebt ceiling shutdown... yeah
850,000 "unnecessary workers furloughed.... why are there ANY UNNECESSARY WORKERS in the first place...???????
I was a NYS worker after 9/11. I learned real fast what it meant to be non-essential. I quit 4 months later, ramped up my own business and never looked back.
You know damn well these voters employees will seek back pay, and will get it in exchange for their votes services.
hey DC .... angry truckers on their way....
get your gorceries NOW....
It would be great if this affected the Stasi like police state apparatus but sadly it won't. They'll stop paying the regular armed forces before letting go of that control grid.
But a shutdown does shut the US Courts. So, Habeas is effectively suspended.
My guess is that in the end, the costs for this will go up.
Probably using consultants and expensive overrides to keep functioning.
hmmm
Sorry, has anyone noticed yet?
But the big joke is, all of the federal employees "not working" due to the shutdown will eventually be paid in full for those missed hours of work. At least, this is what has transpired in the past.... It's all just one big farce.
Government Workers Told Not To Work On "Any Projects, Tasks, Activities Or Respond To Emails Or Voicemails"
Or in other words, no change.........
Joke. When a company I worked for went bankrupt, we still went to work for weeks afterwards knowing we probably wouldn't get paid to make sure the clients got what they needed as it wound down. It was the right thing to do, yet also paid off as clients remembered that for years to come.
I'd like to volunteer myself as attorney general (since holder is obviously non-essential). Though I lack credentials for the office, based on holders performance, this should not be an impediment.