Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, introduced on April 25 a road map for the state’s reopening. While the numbers of new cases and deaths remain high, total hospitalizations have remained flat for the past week. Hogan plans to begin a phased, data-driven reopening in early May.
— Epoch Times, 4/26/20

A contrast in the sense of urgency perspective is in order.

We’re not seeing too many media stories of the hardships locked-down Americans are enduring at the hands of governors who are arbitrarily keeping them from putting that all-important food on their tables.

It could rightfully be argued had federal and state elected and employees had their paychecks cut off, the calls for reopening the nation and getting back to work would be entirely different.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who enacted some of the most aggressive stay-at-home measures in the country, defended her decision and echoed Hogan’s call for a measured approach to reopening. Whitmer, a Democrat, extended Michigan’s stay-at-home order until May 15 while easing restrictions on some activities such as boating and golfing.

In New Jersey, the situation on the ground suggested that the state may be weeks away from a phased reopening, according to Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat.
— Epoch Times, 4/26/20

China needed our economy to be as damaged as theirs, COVID-19 predictions and dubious “data” models were efficiently used to foment public panic, and Democrats saw this as a crisis too good to waste.

Based on their previously documented priorities, certain new developments may worry the well-fed privileged….

In recent weeks, Tyson Foods has been forced to temporarily pause operations at a number of plants following outbreaks of COVID-19, or because of staffing shortages caused by the pandemic.

“In addition to meat shortages, this is a serious food waste issue,” John H. Tyson claimed. “Farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed, when they could have fed the nation. Millions of animals – chickens, pigs and cattle – will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities. The food supply chain is breaking.”
— Fox Business, 4/27/20

As along as government employees, governors, mayors and high-paid journalists continue to receive their paychecks uninterrupted, there will be no sense of urgency and the American people will continue to be pawns of a political system that can’t allow the economy to rebound prior to the November presidential election.

That’s what this is really all about.

In this particular case, simple numbers explain why things don’t get done in an efficient manner in our nation’s capital.

Americans’ incomes have risen in recent years, but the wealth hasn’t been evenly distributed, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. There were 21 counties with median household incomes above $100,000, the new estimates show, and half of the top 10 fell in northern Virginia, just outside the nation’s capital, which itself boasted a median income of $77,649.
— US News & World Report, 12/6/19

The Washington D.C. region including The District, Southern Maryland and Northern Virginia is unsympathetically referred to as “recession proof” because when cyclical economic downturns befall the rest of the nation, certain people are almost always spared the pain.

The Great Recession is one of the most severe economic downturns in American history. Washington D.C. appeared almost unscathed as the rest of the country suffered. The capital city was also one of the first places to start seeing growth when the recovery started. Washington’s success stirred resentment as the region thrived amidst the downturn. New buildings and a wealthy economy were fueled by the federal government and taxpayers.
— Inside Sources, 8/7/17

One would think those fortunate enough to be gainfully employed with generous compensation and benefits would be grateful to those who pay to maintain those comfortable lifestyles.

Alas, that is not always the case….

…
Unlike most industries that actually create and manufacture products that people are willing to purchase, D.C. creates virtually nothing aside from constant reasons why they should keep their jobs, if not create more for those with mediocre creativity and incentive to improve their skills.

One possible reason there is so much resistance to the Trump presidency is that the president’s business acumen has exposed a culture where the actual completion of a project puts fat-and-happy incomes in peril. After a building is erected, those who built it move on and look for another construction project. In D.C., simple tasks are oh-so slowly performed as to not put their jobs in peril and that philosophy trickles down to the lackluster approach of foreign policy, health care, or mostly anything that could improve the lives of citizens by making a solvable problem go away.

The cost of living is also much higher in this area because higher-paid federal employees have more disposable income and those who service them took note many, many years ago.

One thing that drives the capital and its environs is those very large federal paychecks, which now amount to about $90,000 a year in money wages and just under $125,000 a year in total compensation. Washington pay has long been above the national average, but it is pulling away. In 2000, the median compensation for an American worker at large was about 74 percent of the median compensation for a federal employee; today, the average working taxpayer makes only 55 percent of what the average federal tax-eater makes. Our would-be class warriors talk about “transfers of wealth” and “transfers of income” when they mean mere changes in those metrics, but in this case, there is a literal transfer, with the most fearsome agency of the federal government — our corrupt and politicized IRS — raiding our households and businesses to support $1,000-a-night La Tur habits in Washington.
— National Review, 11/6/16

This has also had the negative effect of gentrification which, despite the faux laments, makes these areas whiter, more “progressive” thus less tolerant of those not well paid, liberal and white.

The mediocrity, when it comes to the calibre of the typical federal employee, is also a self-maintaining mechanism because they are in the majority. Federal employee unions have made it almost impossible to shed dead weight and generous pensions are one of the sole motivators of those who’ll do just enough to do their “25” so taxpayers can enjoy the privilege of supporting them for the rest of their lives.

And that is why you see Hill staffers who put in ten years at modestly-paid jobs and then go to work at lobby shops that pay them enough to drive a Bentley and live in one of those horrifying weird $3 million suburban piles in Arlington.

The nonprofit sector (representing many ideologies and causes) also thrives where principles are sanctimoniously packaged; principals are lavishly compensated while they suck up to those in the immediate area who enjoy annual tax write offs. Their overheads are many times more than those in private sector, and they really don’t have to achieve their promoted missions. The media is hardly any better as so many employees never leave their office spaces to collect news, but simply search online for interesting stories they can repackage (aggregate) and make their own.

Whenever the gloom-and-doom of a government shutdown reaches public awareness, it’s been shown many Americans are fairly indifferent because they’re rarely inconvenienced. But it the D.C. area, it’s time to panic. The media throws government employee sob stories in our faces. We’re to feel sorry for those who’ll suddenly find themselves out of work while most everyone knows as soon as the shutdown ends, these employees will be back to work and receive compensation for the forced time off.

But the most ironic is how the media mismanages optics by presenting federal employees, most of whom one would think is primarily worried about how to pay rent or a mortgage, daycare costs, make car payments, etc.

One in five new vehicles sold in those states is from a luxury marque (about a third higher than the national average) with BMW leading the way, because D.C. is exactly that douchey, and Mercedes-Benz in second place. Aston-Martin is unusually popular in Virginia; Bentley sells unusually well in Maryland.

It turns out most important to these employees is food, which bad optics is manifest when you see the obese whining on broadcast news, alerts are issued by local supermarkets and restaurants that a federal government identification card entitles them to free meals, goodie bags and breaks on bills because we should all sympathize with them; a concept not bestowed on Americans when politically-bollixed bad times hit the rest of the nation.

Restaurants are offering free food for workers who present their government IDs, historic sites are offering passes to federal workers, major banks are rolling out special assistance programs, and some centers are even offering free knitting classes for government employees.
— The Hill, 1/3/19

So, pay attention whenever census numbers again reveal the have-and-have-nots are not just a rich vs. the poor political narrative. It’s also a reminder that there are hundreds of thousands of people in one relatively small region of the United States that are living a comfortable life and despite what they’re not doing or doing TO us, expect us to maintain them.

Had the American people seen just how fast-and-loose government employees were playing with taxpayer dollars, the media-driven sob fest concerning the dire plight of some of those employees may have been entirely different and many Americans just may have demanded these workers to stay home for good.

A new analysis released by OpenTheBooks.com found 66 agencies spent $97 billion last September, the final month of fiscal year 2018. The end of the year taxpayer-funded spending spree included contracts with Coors, millions on iPhones, furniture, and CrossFit equipment.

“In the final month of the fiscal year, federal agencies scramble to spend what’s left in their annual budget,” OpenTheBooks.com said. “Agencies worry spending less than their budget allows might prompt Congress to appropriate less money in the next fiscal year. To avoid this, federal agencies choose to embark on an annual shopping spree rather than admit they can operate on less.”
— Washington Free Beacon, 3/7/19

Just a hint of why so many of the #Shutdown workers paraded in front of our televisions looked like they could afford to miss a meal or two and why so many supposedly had little to no food: the American taxpayer was feeding too many on the job!

Resulting government expenditures included $4.6 million on lobster tail and crab; $673,471 on golf carts; $1.7 million on pianos, tubas, and trombones; $9.8 million on workout and recreation equipment; and $7.7 million iPhones and iPads.

A Wexford Leather club chair cost taxpayers $9,241. The government spent $293,245 on rib eye, top sirloin, and flank steak.

The federal government spent $2.1 million on games, toys, and wheeled goods, $490.6 million on furniture, and $62.1 million on household furnishings. Bureaucrats spent $1.1 million on standing desks, as well as $2.7 million on ergonomic chairs, $643,833 on sofas, and $40,379 on clocks.

Again, emphasis on prime “food”… and booze.

Agencies spent $402 million on food, including the Pentagon, which spent $2.3 million on snow crab, Alaskan king crab, and crab legs, and $2.3 million on lobster tail. The Pentagon and Department of State spent $308,994 on alcohol, including a $76,173 contract with Coors Brewing Company.

The total $97 billion spent in September 2018 amounts to a 16 percent increase from the previous year. Similarly, last year’s end of the budget spending binge included millions spent on cars, scooters, fidget spinners, and shuffleboards.

It appears government employee performance can be inspired when they personally benefit.

“In the final seven days of the fiscal year, agencies ramped up their spending to a total $53 billion—that’s more than they spent in the entire month of August,” OpenTheBooks.com said.

So, the next time you’re told how much we should empathize with federal government employees, remember their blatant disrespect for your hard-earned, confiscated tax dollar, especially when they indifferently overindulge at our expense.

Furloughed federal government workers can watch so much free basketball
Government shutdown: Freebies, deals and help for furloughed workers
Government shutdown: Resources for federal workers who can’t make mortgage or rent
Peach State Federal latest Georgia credit union offering help to furloughed workers
Oklahoma bank covering customers who go unpaid during government shutdown
If You’ve Got A Federal Employee ID, Here’s Where To Score Free And Discounted Food And Drinks
20,000 Pizzas, Knitting Classes and Movies. Just Some of the Freebies Small Businesses Are Offering Furloughed Federal Workers
Free Museum Entry For Furloughed Federal Workers
Free pop-up markets for federal workers affected by shutdown open in D.C. area
Creative Escapes for Furloughed Workers! FREE
Food Pantry, Churches Helping Furloughed Federal Workers
Banks soften due dates, offer help to furloughed federal workers

With the laudable, altruistic rush to help a fellow American in need, one can only ask why now and what makes these people so damn special?

Democrats move to prevent foreclosures, evictions on unpaid federal workers

Sorry, but it takes more than ONE delinquent payment to be foreclosed-on or evicted, so either this is an overly sensational #ShutdownStories headline or those government workers have issues.

Many Americans are still reeling from the after effects of the many Obamacare falsehoods delivered.

If you like the plan you have, you can keep it. If you like the doctor you have, you can keep your doctor, too. The only change you’ll see are falling costs as our reforms take hold.
— President Barack Obama, 6/6/09

For “people who already have insurance, and the employers who are providing it,” Obama said at one campaign event, “we will work to lower your premiums by up to $2,500 per family.” So was he talking about lowering the rate of increase? It sure didn’t seem that way. On CNN he said, “We’re going to reduce costs an average of $2,500.“
— Investors Business Daily, 9/23/15

As was predicted and as we all now know, the results of the politics was devastating to the lives of millions of Americans.

We found that since the ACA became law, among small businesses, the rise in premiums has been associated with $19 billion in lost wages, small businesses (20-99 workers) lost 295,030 jobs, 10,130 business establishments, and $4.7 billion in total wage earnings. Florida lost 17,950 jobs; Ohio lost 19,000; Pennsylvania lost 15,680; and Texas lost 28,010 jobs due to higher sensitivity to rising health care premiums and the ACA.
— American Action Forum analysis

Let’s look at some simple numbers: around 800,000 federal workers who are furloughed versus almost 300,000 Americans who actually lost their jobs. One would think those who didn’t have the luxury of knowing they would eventually receive back pay would’ve loved a public outpouring of freebies to help them get by.

“I feel so alone”: How federal workers are suffering after 3 weeks without pay

However, Americans received nothing. No sympathy from the media who are actively looking for personal stories of angst and misery today. No slack from banks. Certainly no free (promotional) meals in pricey downtown D.C. restaurants or from supermarket chains. No free movies or museum passes; zip, zero, nada.

A new nightmare for furloughed workers — preventing damage to their credit scores

No one gave a damn about the careers of Americans destroyed, homes and cars lost, marriages disrupted if not destroyed, and all of the other collateral damage done when you lose hours or your job altogether during a lousy economy.

So, yes, while many of us understand the hardships many of these federal workers are going through, we’re also rather disgusted by the media overreach to make us all feel their pain today while they could care less about the pain of millions of Americans a few short years ago.

And guess which America the media and punditry sympathizes with?

For example, a Boston restaurant which has been open since the late 1820s (no, that isn’t a typo) will soon be closing because of mandatory minimum wage hikes that will make it harder for them to compete. There is scant media, social or otherwise, outcry for the looming financial harm to their employees.

Michael Weinstein, CEO of Ark Restaurant Group, which owns and operates Durgin-Park, this week said the restaurant will close on Jan. 12 because fewer customers are coming through the doors and costs have risen. Manager Kenneth Thimothee said the state’s new minimum hourly wage, which rose from $3.75 to $4.35 for tipped workers and from $11 to $12 for other employees, is partially to blame. And Durgin-Park will not be the only high-profile restaurant that will close this year, said Bob Luz, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.
— Boston Herald, 1/5/19

The minimum wage law was passed by the Massachusetts Democrat supermajority and signed by the RINO governor, which is why so little of its destructive and predicted ramifications are being talked about. The federal government #shutdown is now being given headline status because a Republican president can blamed and all we’re hearing is how adversely it’s affected federal employees.

“As we discussed, I am a federal employee who has recently been furloughed due to a lack of funding of my agency. Because of this, my income has been severely cut and I am unable to pay the entire cost of my mortgage, along with my other expenses.”
— Office of Personnel Management “sample letter” for employee creditors

Remember that when you have hard times and you’re pleading for compassion from some of these very same people.

Federal Workers, Some in ‘Panic Mode,’ Share Shutdown Fears on Social Media

Many Americans who’ve interacted with federal employees are less than sympathetic.

Voters are overwhelmingly aware that there’s a partial shutdown of the federal government, but so far at least it isn’t bothering them.
— Rasmussen, 1/4/19

Maybe because more of us have had to endure the negative ramifications of the illegal alien presence in our country than any interaction (good or bad) with a faceless federal employee.

While we know some federal employees who fall into that “essential” column, too many others are publicly whining about their paychecks (which they will recoup in full once the shutdown ends), and despite what they say, it’s all about them; NOT the general public who they claim to care so much about.

Federal workers already collect bigger salaries, on average, than workers in the private economy doing comparable jobs. Their benefits packages are also on average 47 percent fatter, according to the Congressional Budget Office. They get up to 49 paid days off a year. And firing them is often impossible. Then, at age 55, if they’ve put in 30 years, they get a gold-plated ­retirement package almost ­unheard of in private enterprise, including defined benefits that protect them from inflation.

In short, federal employees are riding the gravy train, and the rest of us working stiffs who pay the taxes to support the federal government are taken for a ride.
— New York Post, 1/2/19

We’re being inundated with news story after news story about the hardships these employees are now facing because of the Democrat/Trump impasse over the relatively meager funding of the border wall.

Our personal experience with federal employees has been mixed, but I will say some of the conduct we have been exposed to would NEVER be tolerated in the private sector, but then again we all know how some private sector coworkers would conduct themselves if they knew they couldn’t easily be fired.

There is also a very visual consistency when it comes to federal employees and media stories tend to back this up: they are literally well fed and comfortable.

When we lose our jobs, how many restaurants and schools offer us a free meal?

Jose Andres, who owns restaurants in Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and other places across the U.S., has reached out on Twitter saying that his D.C. locations will be providing a free sandwich for lunch to federal workers impacted by the partial shutdown.
— Fox 5, 1/4/19

A Maryland school board member is seeking immediate action to make school lunches free for all students in his county during the federal government shutdown. Prince George’s County is home to several federal offices, including the Food and Drug Administration, National Archives, Goddard Space Flight Center, the Census Bureau and National Archives.
— Fox 5, 1/5/19

We were always on our own or left to the dubious mercy of some of the very public sector employees who saw no sense of urgency in our situation, in fact, some of them considered us a nuisance.

Again, look at the local news reports with footage of federal employee as well as interviews, and you’ll see one thing in common: gluttony.

How many of these government workers, when we go to them for help, really give a shit but we’re supposed to care once the shoe is on the other foot. We’ve personally experienced horrible customer service at the VA hospital in Washington, D.C. and the employees involved will remain because things rarely get fixed within the government club.

Public employee unions are trying to stop reform of the Veterans Administration, where in 2014 it was uncovered that employees doctored patient waiting lists to make themselves look good. Vets on the phony waitlists died waiting for care.

We’re now talking about federal employees who’ve lived off the taxpayer dime for literally decades so they can retire in manners few of us can relate to. Unlike the private sector where performance is essential to the survival of the employer, public sector employees don’t have to do a good job because the government will never go out of business, per se. Unlike the private sector where bad service means fewer people coming into a restaurant, federal employees will have a job even if their customer service skills suck and they know it.

Federal employees even showing up for work has become a topic of discussion….

Now, multiply this by the 438 agencies and sub-agencies and you understand why (despite media insistence Americans care) most Americans are somewhat unsympathetic regarding a government shutdown.

Seeing how inflated wages aren’t enough, the American people are given an entire week annually to show government employees just how much we couldn’t survive without them.

Honor public servants in your community with a note of thanks by organizing a letter writing or e-mail campaign. You can also distribute an electronic thank you card which can be forwarded to other public servants.
— Public Service Recognition Week “Celebration Toolkit”

The Southern Maryland/Northern Virginia region is one of the wealthiest in the nation. When I first moved here in 2009, the first thing I noticed was the head-turning number of very expensive cars driving north on Route 1 heading into D.C. every morning.

Remember, there was ZERO sympathy for those in the American public who suffered the ramifications of those in the White House and Capitol Hill who were assured they could keep their doctors and health insurance and families would “save” $2500 annually in premiums. The result of those blatant lies were lost jobs, broken families and no one in the federal government issued suggestions to the impacted on how to stave off creditors. No one offered free meals to those who lost hours at their places of employment and subsequently had trouble meeting their financial obligations.

As the government shutdown will be blamed solely on President Trump, we’ll be bombarded with as many federal employee #ShutdownStories sob stories as can be rounded up.

CNN: “Federal worker: I worry every day about food”

Crimes by illegal aliens can be managed and muted. But when the American people are negatively impacted by misguided liberal Democrat policies; policies the political class and their staffs exempt themselves from, there is no sympathy, let alone comparative media coverage.

Despite what you’re consuming from the media elite who are relatively shielded from the long-standing inaction of the federal government regarding the effects of illegal immigration, some federal employees are onboard with the president.

More than half of federal workers approve of Trump’s changes, ­according to a June poll. After all, they have to pick up the slack from these bad apples and resent seeing them promoted regardless of their inferior performance.

Federal employees and contractors are living pretty well off forcibly confiscated tax dollars of the American people. Even though they mostly will be reimbursed for their #shutdown inconvenience, one number we’ll never be told is how much money it would’ve cost to fund the government every day to pay these employees; some of whom are productive but many more who are dead weight.