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Empathy

In yet another demonstration of administrative empathy, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said today that "he does not understand why federal workers are visiting food banks during the partial government shutdown." He urged them to seek loans from banks and credit unions to supplement their lost wages.

“I know they are, and I don’t really quite understand why,” Ross said when asked about federal workers going to food banks. Ross is a billionaire and a longtime friend of President Trump’s. “Perhaps he should have said it differently,” Trump said when asked about Ross’s comments. “He’s done a great job.”

The Commerce Department’s federal credit union is charging furloughed employees almost 9 percent interest on emergency loans to cover their missing paychecks.

Here's a link to the Washington Post reporting on this.

Comments

  • edited January 2019
    Bag of pus. Supremely disconnected from reality. Living in his insulated country-club style world. .. At least a couple of big credit unions with gov't and/or military connections are offering no-interest loans: Navy Federal and PenFed. So I read today. But of course, you'd have to be a member.
  • Yeah, screw it. Who needs a paycheck anyway.

    Just clueless.
  • edited January 2019
    “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different. ”
    - F. Scott Fitzgerald

    Suspect there’s more than a grain of truth to Fitzgerald’s observation. Have linked the Wikipedia article on Ross for any who would like to know more about him. It references some “questionable” business dealings in his past, but it does not appear he was born into great wealth.

    Fitzgerald: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10367-let-me-tell-you-about-the-very-rich-they-are

    Wikipedia on Wilbur Ross: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Ross
  • edited January 2019
    Feds worker may gets best pensionss and most corrupt and gets most benefits and holiday leaves most sick leaves from govt pensions.. Also may have goid benefits (ext to vet only in America.. Studies find each feds worker average 120 per yr after all pensions... Feds workers work easy get paid hard and knows all the ins outs of how not to work hard

    My uncle works social security and tell me all about it... Retired at 56 yo from back issues and obesity... Has 5 bed room house in sandiego and gets pension 3.4k per month from retirements and ssi... Has been Retired 5 yrs now

    Think many others suffer laid offs extensively for 6 or more months long term but many not complaints much
  • "Studies find"

    Care to provide specifics and references for these "studies" John? Or is this just more of your usual line of unsupported and unsupportable crap?
  • edited January 2019
    Could not find source but read it before was average?! 120s or 150s yr after all the contributions

    https://www.fedsmith.com/2016/09/21/average-total-federal-employee-compensation-123160/

  • Don't get me started on 'empathy' with this regime's so-called 'leadership' comprised of "the best people, believe me." ..... Wilbur is long past his prime. He comes across on TV as a doddering senile old fool.

  • edited January 2019
    We need to put uncle Joe as POTUS in there
  • "Chris Edwards is the director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute and he is the editor of Downsizingovernment.org. His latest analysis of total federal employee compensation has just been published."

    @johnN: Really impressive source, John. The Cato Institute is certainly well-known for it's balanced "research". Your confidence that the author of "Downsizingovernment.org" is going to be fair and balanced is really touching.

    Well, at least you're not alone, John. Trump, Ross and JoJo26 are all in your corner.
  • @johnN: You know John, since you profess to believe that the "average" government worker makes 120 - 150k a year why don't you get a job at your local airport screening luggage? Not much intelligence required, not too hard. Sounds like you'd be happy there.
  • I tried they did not hire me
  • I understand- those high-paying government jobs are really hard to get.
  • Meanwhile back at the food shelves sources stated that an agreement to temporarily end the shutdown have been reached WITHOUT any wall building funds. President Coulter ain't going to be happy. Too bad.
  • @Old_Joe: You need to take a long walk on a short pier !
    Regards,
    Ted:(:(:(
  • @Ted: How original.
  • edited January 2019
    Old_Joe said:

    @Ted: How original.

    Not original. I told Ted that a couple years ago. But I meant in the summertime when Lake Michigan ain’t covered in ice. Wouldn’t want him to jump now. Might get hurt. (Just want to get him wet - not hurt.:()


    I don’t believe that the TSA employee poking through return travelers’ smelly socks and underwear is earning anything near 100K. But if he / she is, good for them. Actually, what a lot of workers don’t think of is that if the guy down the street is getting paid well, it will help lift wages for all workers. Employers have to compete for labor. So, maybe John didn’t qualify for the 100K job. But chances are he’s making a higher salery than he might otherwise because his employer has to compete in the marketplace for workers. Instead of being envious or jealous, be happy someone else is making a living wage, What goes round comes round.
  • edited January 2019
    Big paidback ck coming... Feds worker very happy.. Time to go buy some some ___

  • I caught that hank, She's totally been losing her s*** over this. I'm betting she'll have her hair pulled out by midnight if not sooner.
  • edited January 2019
    Sic semper tyrannis! The "tyranny of talk-radio shows hosts" (just-retired TN Republican Sen Bob Corker's phrase) goes down in flames ... for the moment.
  • Who was it that sang “people in this world got hell to pay”. No doubt a blues man.

    While the government workers will get their missed pay, a lot of contractors will not - but also the ripple effect of this shutdown has been huge for the types that depend on the government and g-men to buy their services - From restaurants and bars up to dentists and the like.
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