Local bakery offers free bread to those affected by shutdown

Kylabelle · Jan 16, 2019

http://www.wect.com/2019/01/15/wilm...-shelf-those-affected-by-government-shutdown/

Great Harvests is actually a franchise, but they really do make excellent bread and baked goods. I clicked on this because their store is next to the food coop my sister works in and where we do a lot of grocery shopping.

I also clicked on it because this is exactly the kind of thing that gives me not just hope but confidence in the future of humanity. While the opposite also flourishes (I am thinking specifically of price-gouging in small stores in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria) as long as enough of us have this kind of response to difficult events, we're far from goners.

Maryn · Jan 16, 2019

It's easy for us to think, That's nice, and move our attention to the next story. But let's remember that every company donating its product for free to people impacted by the shutdown is taking a financial loss, sometimes a big one.

So it's good for those of us not directly impacted to reward those generous companies with our business. We have Great Harvest here. Think I'll stop in.

Maryn, who likes bread

Kylabelle · Jan 16, 2019

I'm not sure they're taking a financial loss in this instance; I believe there is enough "waste" in the day's fresh baking they can do this and not hurt much if at all. However, excellent point because many who contribute this way are making sacrifices to do so. Who was the furniture store guy in Texas who opened his place after Harvey to refugees from the storm? Surely he took a loss. There are also grocery stores in hurricane territory who do this kind of thing.

And -- even if there is no financial loss I personally want to support this kind of generosity as a response to community troubles of whatever kind. It's needed, seems to me.

Kylabelle · Jan 17, 2019

Might as Well Bar & Grill offers free lunch to government workers

Once a day until government shutdown ends.

Jerome Price · Jan 21, 2019

What pray tell are these business's offering free stuff to people pulling down $60 to $70.000 a year and will get all their "hard earned" back pay when the shut-down ends. Come to think of it, why aren't they being laid off? Over my working life I was laid off any number of times, no one gave me anything free. In some of the stuff I've been reading, there seems to be a lot of misplaced sympathy for a bunch of people who are the last ones that need anyone's sympathy. If they can't budget their income, maybe they are in the wrong job?

Kylabelle · Jan 21, 2019

I suspect the reason people are not laid off is because at some level of decision it is hoped, first, that they will continue to work without paychecks, and, second, that the shutdown will not last "very long" -- but that is all my hunch. Laying people off also burdens the agencies that deal with layoffs -- unemployment insurance has a huge administrative bureaucracy behind it which is, no doubt, affected by the shutdown.

As for sympathy, personally I don't feel any problem knowing I have been poor and desperate many times and not had businesses offer me free stuff. I am in favor of communities supporting their members fallen on hard times however they can. I am also not going to judge people for "not budgeting" their incomes. Maybe that's true of some but it doesn't make any difference to me.

Matter of values and priorities maybe. When someone else gets more, I don't feel I automatically get less of some finite pie of generosity in the world.

Coddiwomple · Jan 21, 2019

Kylabelle said:
As for sympathy, personally I don't feel any problem knowing I have been poor and desperate many times and not had businesses offer me free stuff. I am in favor of communities supporting their members fallen on hard times however they can. I am also not going to judge people for "not budgeting" their incomes. Maybe that's true of some but it doesn't make any difference to me.

Matter of values and priorities maybe. When someone else gets more, I don't feel I automatically get less of some finite pie of generosity in the world.

^this

AW Admin · Jan 21, 2019

Jerome Price said:
What pray tell are these business's offering free stuff to people pulling down $60 to $70.000 a year and will get all their "hard earned" back pay when the shut-down ends. Come to think of it, why aren't they being laid off? Over my working life I was laid off any number of times, no one gave me anything free. In some of the stuff I've been reading, there seems to be a lot of misplaced sympathy for a bunch of people who are the last ones that need anyone's sympathy. If they can't budget their income, maybe they are in the wrong job?

You're wrong about most of the jobs and salaries. The average FBI salary is 37,000.00/year. A lot of the people who are on furlough are parks workers, including people who work on sanitation, janitors, cooks, plumbers, etc. Some 800,000 or so employees, most of whom are not paid the going rate for their job, and most of whom are blue collar workers.

And a fair number of them are required to report to work as usual—just without pay.

Tazlima · Jan 21, 2019

Kylabelle said:
Laying people off also burdens the agencies that deal with layoffs -- unemployment insurance has a huge administrative bureaucracy behind it which is, no doubt, affected by the shutdown.

Also, from the employee's side. If you get laid off, you at least get unemployment money while you look for new work. Furloughed workers don't get that. They're stuck with zero income, and have the choice of waiting it out and hoping the work comes back soon, or finding another job - a process that, on average, takes far longer than just waiting out the furlough, and also strips the employee of any of the benefits they've accrued by being in a job for X amount of time. They'd have to start over at zero.

Being broke sucks. Having to choose between food and electricity sucks. Late fees on unpaid bills and/or interest rates on credit cards can cost a fortune, and they suck too.

A lot of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, not out of choice or lack of planning ability, but simply because they don't have enough income for saving to be an option... or they do save and then suddenly have car problems or medical problems and their savings are wiped out and it's back to square one. Government employees aren't exempt from these situations, and the fact that they may or may not have had a good income before the furlough doesn't make being stuck in an incomeless limbo suck any less.

Introversion · Jan 21, 2019

Jerome Price said:
What pray tell are these business's offering free stuff to people pulling down $60 to $70.000 a year and will get all their "hard earned" back pay when the shut-down ends. Come to think of it, why aren't they being laid off? Over my working life I was laid off any number of times, no one gave me anything free. In some of the stuff I've been reading, there seems to be a lot of misplaced sympathy for a bunch of people who are the last ones that need anyone's sympathy. If they can't budget their income, maybe they are in the wrong job?

What an odd thing to say.

Back-pay doesn't pay the bills today.

"Misplaced sympathy"? Why misplaced?

"Hard earned" meant sarcastically, implying they don't actually earn their pay? Is this because they work for the government?

If you're unmoved to sympathy for unpaid workers, consider the effects on others as this drags on. Businesses these people frequented, and now cannot, whose own incomes thus fall. "Trickle down" is a real thing, in this case at least.

Kylabelle · Jan 21, 2019

Been reflecting on this, though, and I do think there is a dynamic here worth paying attention to: Many groups in the US are way worse off than furloughed-without-pay federal employees and have been for a long time. Native Americans, for example. Impoverished communities of all kinds, in fact. But I suspect a factor at work here is that this group of people in need is new, and not only new, but a part of and existing because of a current very hot news story (the shutdown and the standoff between Democratic Congress and Trump.) So people notice and pay attention because of that whereas the other groups who are arguably and in some cases demonstrably worse off in an objective sense have become invisible.

Still doesn't mean it's wrong to help the ones we notice.

Alessandra Kelley · Jan 21, 2019

I’m sorry for the people who have suffered from loss of income in the past.

Not being helped through it is certainly terrible.

When I was a child my family was sometimes in that situation.

That’s why I try to help people when I can.

”Because no one helped me” is sad, but no reason to withhold help, if I can give it, from others who need it now.

Kylabelle · Jan 21, 2019

Anonymous Federal Employees Call For Strike

"This farce has continued long enough. The indignities to both the federal workforce and the American public should never have been allowed to go this far. It is time for federal workers to organize and strike the government.
This shutdown has directly impacted the Department of Agriculture, the EPA, the FDA, the FAA, HUD, the Department of Homeland Security (including FEMA and the TSA), the Department of the Interior, the State Department, the Treasury, the Commerce Department, and the General Services Administration. Due to the broad range of furloughed employees, the nation is not prepared for a catastrophe to occur, be it manmade or natural. We are but a major storm, earthquake, disease outbreak, and/or terrorist attack away from calamity."

We may need more of that community generosity -- and community engagement -- going forward. Whether they strike or not.

Introversion · Jan 21, 2019

Legally, federal workers can’t strike. When air-traffic controllers went on strike in 1981, they were all fired.

Kylabelle · Jan 21, 2019

Yes, which is why they are actually calling for a "sick-out" I believe.

Introversion · Jan 21, 2019

They would still be at risk of being fired, I suspect, which probably means losing back pay and pensions?

Kylabelle · Jan 21, 2019

You're probably correct. Strikes are risky whether they are legal or not, and it might be that the riskier they are, the more needed they are. I am not necessarily in favor of this move, by the way, but I thought it was an important view into the situation and worth sharing. Problem with strikes is, if you don't really have a majority of the workforce committed to the strike you can't put the requisite pressure on management. And even then you may lose.

Roxxsmom · Jan 22, 2019

Jerome Price said:
What pray tell are these business's offering free stuff to people pulling down $60 to $70.000 a year and will get all their "hard earned" back pay when the shut-down ends. Come to think of it, why aren't they being laid off? Over my working life I was laid off any number of times, no one gave me anything free. In some of the stuff I've been reading, there seems to be a lot of misplaced sympathy for a bunch of people who are the last ones that need anyone's sympathy. If they can't budget their income, maybe they are in the wrong job?

Why is it that whenever someone decides to do something nice for someone who is having a difficulty, people come out of the woodwork to gripe that it's unfair because others have had difficulties too without receiving the same help? Instead of trying to lift everyone up by suggesting we could also show more compassion towards private-sector workers in crisis, you are suggesting we drag everyone down to the level of indifference that you faced.

Yes, they will get their back pay when things are back to normal, but that doesn't mean they aren't having trouble making ends meet now (and they are essentially giving all of us an interest-free loan of their work time). Some of these workers who receive random acts of kindness or "charity" may well pay it forward when someone else needs a hand and they are in a position to be helpful.

I think we all could benefit from living in a world with more random acts of kindness.

Government workers do get laid off. It's actually quite common when budgets are slashed and programs are cut or discontinued. The reason these folks haven't been laid off so far is that the shutdown is HUGE and it involves people who fill roles that are still needed and have not been cut. There's an assumption that this thing is temporary, and once it is over, re-hiring everyone would be a much bigger hassle (and expense) than furloughing them Or asking them to work without pay. The workers whose jobs are considered too essential to be furloughed could be fired if they refuse to come to work during this time.

Come to think of it, has it ever been allowed for private-sector employers to require their employees to work without pay, even temporarily?

Introversion · Jan 22, 2019

Roxxsmom said:
Come to think of it, has it ever been allowed for private-sector employers to require their employees to work without pay, even temporarily?

The Onion: Jeff Bezos Tables Latest Cost-Cutting Idea After Realizing It’s Just Slaves.

Local bakery offers free bread to those affected by shutdown

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Maryn

At Sea

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Jerome Price

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Coddiwomple

shipwrecked in antiquity

AW Admin

Tazlima

Introversion

Pie aren't squared, pie are round!

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Alessandra Kelley

Sophipygian

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Introversion

Pie aren't squared, pie are round!

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Introversion

Pie aren't squared, pie are round!

Kylabelle

unaccounted for

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

Introversion

Pie aren't squared, pie are round!