No one could order me back to work if I were not being paid

[malaise]

Non-Federal workers need to stay home to show support for this ongoing servitude being pushed by the Russian agent and his enablers.

The only crisis going on is in the homes of thousands of federal employees.
Shut it down.
ITTMF!

[Hortensis]

1. Sounds good, but a post here of a supposed leak gives me pause.

It's not verified and may be completely untrue, but the gist is that the intention is to NOT bring a lot of people back to work but rather to use this emergency to gut many of the agencies the anti-government right is working on destroying anyway.

When I see couples whose combined incomes have to exceed $100,000 a year, almost certainly with some investments and savings accounts, equity in their nice homes, clearly frightened and even weeping on discussing the shutdown, I wonder if it's not the lost wages themselves they might be worried about. When my husband and I had to empty our savings and borrow half the equity in our paid-off home to pay off massive medical bills (the part not paid by insurance and after we negotiated them down), we weren't as worried as some of them appear to be. But we both did have jobs and continuing incomes to pay our new mortgage and enable us stay in our home.

Just speculation, but I'm afraid killing many of these jobs would serve the Koch-types' long-term agenda all too well -- if they could get away with it. The agencies being unable to function adequately would also.

[Igel]

3. That was an anonymous op-ed piece published a few days ago.

"Daily Caller", I think, published it. Claimed to be from a "senior official" in the Trump administration.

Might be real; might be what that "senior official's" fevered brain came up with; might be less anonymous and more Anonymous and false flag.

No basis in fact for evaluating the claim.

[Sherman A1]

2. You first

While the situation with the shutdown is terrible, people staying home in the private sector will likely have little affect beyond screwing up their own paychecks and far too many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck now.

Contacting your elected representatives in the House, the Senate and doing what you can, where you can are I believe better answers.

[Igel]

4. Illegal, by common opinion.

There's a US law prohibiting federal workers from striking.

The usual view is that a strike is not working because of a grievance. Like, perhaps, not being paid. But they will be paid, so it's really "not being paid in the usual time frame."

Federal workers don't have to go to work. They also don't have to keep their jobs. That's the problem.

I have worked when my employer couldn't pay. The result was added loyalty. Also the employer realized that perhaps I was dedicated as much to the job as to the mammon.

[duforsure]

5. trump and McConnell are in deep , deep trouble

For allowing this to continue, and the American people are having none of it, and they will reject trumps demands everyone has to return to work. Who will pay there gasoline bill with no money, or food to eat , or get medical care if sick? This will easily fail for trump and McConnell, and the American people will show them who has the power. I stopped buying anything I can until trump is out of office, and they think people aren't going to start walking out , and protesting them? Fools setting themselves up for failure .

[oasis]

6. Involuntary servitude is unconstitutional. Get ready for lawsuits. nt

[Dennis Donovan]

7. If only the TSA stayed home, the air traffic system in the country would grind to a halt

It would be like 9/12/01 all over again. And people would be in the streets and the shutdown would be over that very day.

[procon]

8. I worked for a DOD contractor during a previous shutdown.

If you didn't show up to work without a medical document, they fired you. As bad as it is, people try to hang on to their jobs because the pay is usually good and they depend on all the benefits that come with it. Not many folks can walk away from a paycheck, insurance and pension, even if they are temporarily forced to work without pay.

[HAB911]

9. Sad but true

[panader0]

10. Jeannie does it to me every day.