Prays and thoughts please..

[Little Miss]

I don't think I have ever done this.. however, I would truly appreciate prayers and good thoughts to all the Military members of the USA.

 

For those of you who don't know, the government is proposing a "Shutdown". That would mean that the men and woman of the military will receive only HALF their pay on April 15th, and NOTHING on May1st should things continue the way they are.

 

And for some families, and couples who depend on that income, like me and David (Al Jenn), that means we only get half or none of our only source of income...

 

It's a little daunting and really scary to think about... so please pray :(

 

Thank you..

 

Limi,

 

Crystal Crawford.

[Little Miss]

This also means, I may not have internet, or cell phone capabilities for a little while, but I will try to post an LOA if it comes to that.

[Elgee]

Why on earth do they want to do that, Limi?

[Little Miss]

Because our Country is retarded, and the idiots in Power are trying to do 61$ Billion in budgets cuts, and the Military is taking the brunt of it.

 

A government shutdown occurs when a government discontinues providing services that are not considered "essential." Typically, essential services include police, fire fighting, armed forces, utilities and corrections. Interestingly, Congress and the President are exempt from the furlough and continue to receive compensation despite the fact that other services are suspended.

[Adella]

I always thought we would work better without career politicians... So they would get paid some, but more average rates, not more than anyone else in the country aside from actors. I also believe that actors/actresses shouldn't get paid as much as they do, so we would only have people who were passionate about their jobs (and so it would be cheaper to go to the movies!).

 

I'm praying for you Limi dear! It will all work out in the end. I'm glad you have an understanding landlord.

[Ithillian Turambar]

Being very new, I wouldn't normally join in a thread like this but I feel very strongly about this. I hope you don't mind but I shared your information with my family and we are all shocked and appalled that your government would even consider doing anything like this, especially with all the difficult work your armed forces are doing at the moment. It seems inconceivable that your government would think this is an appropriate response to the deficit.

 

I have been directly affected by budget cuts here at home and was completely devastated by the effect of this, but my worries pale into insignificance when compared to what you must be going through right now.

 

I'm not a religious person but I will definitely send some positive and thoughts out there. I really hope your goverment comes to its senses and does not do this terrible thing.

[Little Miss]

It has happened once in the history of our nation in 1995/1996.

 

This occurs when the idiots in power can't decide on a budget for the new fiscal year.. which happens to fall on today..

[poetstorm]

OMG Limi, this is a very scary thing! I truly hope that it does not happen and if it does you will definitely be in my prayers as well as many others who will be so affected by this nonsense. I think it’s just terrible for a government to do this to its people and I’ve seen things like it going on in the UK and other countries. It’s very scary new ground and I really don’t like the way things are going.

 

I’m going to let my dad know about this too because he works in a county civil service job and I don’t know if that could be affected too. Please keep us updated and I hope all works out in the end. *big hug* to both you and Al Jenn!

[Little Miss]

I know on Monday any employed civilians at David's base will be loosing their jobs :(

[theicewitch]

I have no idea why they cannot get their crap together on this....they know it is coming...my god won't both parties just compromise already ... take a clue from the flipping independents.

[Kivam]

Why on earth do they want to do that, Limi?

 

Bottom line? Because the US budget has been a disaster for years - neither party wanted to address it, because fixing the deficit will require restructuring some very important programs in painful ways, and that comes with political cost. This year, a newly elected batch of very fiscally conservative republicans has pushed the party to address it anyway, and the Republicans are now betting that they'll win more votes for their "courage" and "honesty" about the budget than they'll lose for cutting programs people like. The problem (or good thing, depending on your opinion) is that these freshman representatives haven't been around enough to have developed a sense of how and when to compromise . . . so there's a gap between the cuts the democrats are willing to agree to and the ones the republicans are pushing for, and neither side is moving to the middle . . . so no budget, which means the government shuts down.

 

FWIW (you know that abbreviation ) I think the republicans have a lot of valid points, though not all of their demands are reasonable, and the democrats have gone too far in the opposite direction. In other words, I blame everyone, but probably the democrats a bit more than the republicans (which is unusual, since I'm an independent who usually leans towards the dems).

[Daruya]

To use an analogy, the Democrats want to buy a Lamborghini and the Republicans think we can get by with a VW Beetle. How about we compromise with a minivan, people, or at least a reasonably priced SUV?! It's no secret that budget needs serious trimming and uncontrolled spending needs to stop but let's not shaft our military folks while each side postures and flexes their proverbial muscles! *headdesk*

[The_Fnorrll_Reborn]

You have my sympathies cuts are always hard to deal with :( especially when unjust.

 

Can i just clarify tho, did you mean half pay for those two weeks and nothing going forward? For how long? Or just on those two days? Iv not heard of something like this before and your post was a little unclear...

[Little Miss]

Fnorrll - Military people are paid on the 1st and the 15th.. So far it looks like a half pay check on the 15th of this month, and no pay check on the 1st of May... and who knows what after that.. It depends on how long the government decides to "shutdown"

 

And it is only "two" paychecks, but that is NO money at all.. and bills don't understand that... nor does the cost of food.. :\

[Nargbert]

In theory it is until they pass a new budget or continuing resolution. Could be today... could be in a week. Who knows. I believe they will receive backpay, however, they may not get their paychecks until some kind of budget has passed.

 

This only affects federal employees.. so state and county employees will still be getting paid. I know some departments have some money, so some basic essentials will be kept up (like firefighters... some security for national forests/National Parks... and of course congress).

 

But yes... best of luck and I hope things end up being worked out so you guys don't have to suffer due to stupidness.

[Little Miss]

On a side note, I would like to ask that this doesn't turn into a political debate or discussion... (just a precaution)

 

Thank you!

 

 

And a huge thank you to every one sending positive thoughts our way!

[Sakaea]

*snuggles Limi extra hard* I hope everything works out for the best, for everyone in the military. Boo to big government

[The_Fnorrll_Reborn]

I understamd now Limi and sympathise even more. Of course that is a huge deal. I didnt mean to downplay the import of it or anything i just didnt quite understand.

 

I hope you cope, somehow :(

[alannalynn]

That's just terrible, they would do better just stealing a few paychecks from some high government officials and deficit solved!

 

My prayers are going out to you and David, Limi. You're both strong people with good hearts, things will work out. *is an optimist*

 

*snuggles*

[Phelix]

*sends good thoughts down to Cali*

 

I'm sorry Mentor Mia... I hope it's resolved quickly for you and yours, and everyone else stuck in the middle like this.

[Charis alAslan]

My brother is in the Air Force and I have 2 cousins in the military - one in the Army and one in the Marines. So yea - this is really crappy for us all around.

[Christine]

I don't know if anyone else has heard, but Navy Fed and Marine Fed are covering the distance. We are getting full pay if they are Active Duty. I don't know about any other branches of the military, but for Jonathan and I, it is a lifesaver.

[Daruya]

Kudos to Navy Federal and Marine Federal and a couple other banks/credit unions that are stepping up! A friend of mine posted a link that I want to share that gives info on help available to military families in the event of a shutdown. Major caution is to avoid "payroll loan" places like the plague! Here's the site:

 

Government Shutdown – What Military Families Need to Know

 

BTW, my friend who posted this has a full plate already. Her husband is deployed, she has 2 children (3 years old and 1 year old) and she's pregnant with #3, plus she's trying to sell their house because as soon as Chris returns in July, they are moving to South Dakota. Oh, and she's due in August.

 

Anyway, as to the severity of the impact, there are some installations that will remain open based on how their funding is handled but even those only have so much to operate on (a couple to few weeks at best).

 

It does look like there's a final big push that would result in a spending bill to keep the gov't running past midnight but I haven't read the article yet to find out how long that would keep us going.

[Charis alAslan]

Breaking News - No shutdown... for now! *whew!*

[Elgee]

Not to be political, but I just think all politicians should be strung up by their toes.