Government shutdown helped us see America’s shrinking middle class

(from PBS Newshour)

BY: Nina Joung

The 35-day-long government shutdown is finally over, but it shed light on an issue that persists: the financial instability of federal workers and the America middle class.

Many government employees, their families and the government programs that they rely on were shaken by the shutdown. People found themselves picking up food from the very food banks they’ve donated to while some of the children of furloughed employees are taking on some financial responsibility. For families who have typically managed to stay afloat, the government shutdown revealed that many have been treading water.

This is your Chasing the Dream News Update on the government shutdown’s far-reaching effects on families’ financial stability

1) Shutdown’s lost pay, dwindling business send more people to D.C. food banks | PBS

In D.C., both the government workers and businesses in the area felt the effects of the shutdown. Small businesses are one of the many industries feeling the ripple effects of the government shutdown as foot traffic slows down in the city. Federal contractors, one of the hardest-hit groups by the government shutdown, will not get back their lost wages for the duration of the shutdown. And yet, some federal workers felt guilty utilizing the D.C.’s food banks that they desperately needed.

2) The government shutdown spotlights a bigger issue: 78% of US workers live paycheck to paycheck | CNBC

Furloughed federal workers revealed that many of us are just one paycheck away from a financial crisis. Workers who shared their #ShutdownStories on social media described having to use food banks for the first time and even losing their home.

In some cases, the furloughs have forced government employees to tap into their savings, rely on credit cards or crowdsource funds to make ends meet.

3) What an ongoing government shutdown could mean for school lunches | CNN

While the US Department of Agriculture’s reduced and free lunch programs had funding through the end of March, many school districts had to prepare for the worst case scenario of the shutdown continuing and funds running out. Some schools had to consider whether to “stop serving meals to hungry kids or make the meals worse or smaller or less nutritious”, though these lunch programs may be the only time students get a nutritious meal in their day.

The National School Lunch Program provides lunches to more than 29 million children nationwide every school day.

4) From Federal Worker to Uber Driver: Odd Jobs to Make Ends Meet in the Shutdown | New York Times

Having missed a paycheck, some furloughed workers had to trade their office jobs for a side hustle. One federal-worker-now-uber-driver who had always been able to provide for her two daughters as a single mother found herself setting up a GoFundMe page alongside more than 2,000 other federal workers, according to The New York Times. The transition from having a stable income to relying on the gig economy doesn’t come without financial, physical and emotional costs.

“It gets me out of the house. It gives me a routine,” Angela Kelley said about her being an Uber driver. “I need to function. I can’t just sit and wallow in my bed all day. I’ve got to get up.”

 

TRANSCRIPT

JUDY WOODRUFF: But first: As the partial government shutdown nears the one-month mark, many of

the hundreds of thousands of federal workers in and around the nation's capital are feeling

the impact.

In Washington, D.C., alone, more than 7,500 workers and contractors have applied for unemployment

benefits.

But, as Lisa Desjardins reports, the shutdown is also putting a strain on local charities

and businesses.

LISA DESJARDINS: For 3-year-old Dejah (ph) Russell, this is fantastic.

Her dad, De'von Russell, has been home to play with her day after day.

That's the only bright spot for De'von, who otherwise wishes he was somewhere else.

DE'VON RUSSELL, Smithsonian Security Guard: I love my job.

I love the people I work with.

It's like my breath of fresh air being able to get out of the house and work and make

money every day.

LISA DESJARDINS: He makes that money as a security guard here, the now-silent Smithsonian

Museum of Natural History in downtown Washington.

It closed two weeks ago as part of the government shutdown, leaving workers without jobs, and

tourists like Susan Blake from Indiana without a destination.

SUSAN BLAKE, Tourist: My family loves museums.

We would spend days in the Smithsonian.

So we will just have to make a trip back.

LISA DESJARDINS: It is more serious for De'von, of course.

He lives paycheck to paycheck and hasn't had one for a week.

He's filed for unemployment.

DE'VON RUSSELL: I have credit cards.

I have loans.

I have my phone bill, rents, car note, car insurance.

LISA DESJARDINS: De'von is in one of the hardest-hit groups, federal contractors.

There are as many as a few million of them who work for private companies paid by the

government by the job.

Permanent federal workers have been guaranteed back pay by a new law, but contractors likely

will never get back their lost wages.

For them, it's essentially a temporary layoff.

Do you have money for next month's rent?

DE'VON RUSSELL: Right now, no.

Everybody wants their money when it's due.

LISA DESJARDINS: About 15 miles away, across the street from the closed, snowy gates of

the Smithsonian National Zoo, a local bakery is much quieter than usual.

Owner Yael Krigman calls herself a recovering attorney.

She left a big salary to start this business.

And while she and her staff are at work making dozens of cake pops and bagels, empty streets

from the shutdown mean an almost empty store.

YAEL KRIGMAN, Owner, Baked By Yael: When the gates are closed, people don't just come in

like they should.

So we have definitely noticed it.

LISA DESJARDINS: Yael's nut-free bakery went from thousands of customers a day during the

December holiday rush to almost no one in the weeks since the zoo closed.

YAEL KRIGMAN: The effect goes far beyond the federal government.

Small businesses all around this city, and even the country, are probably feeling the

effects to a certain degree.

LISA DESJARDINS: Yael says she's getting by.

She feels others have it worse, and gives free sandwiches to zoo staff working without

pay, and free cake pop classes to any furloughed worker.

But at some point, if this continues, it's a problem.

YAEL KRIGMAN: Baked by Yael is my passion, but it's also my only source of income.

And the same goes -- is true for many of my employees.

We have three dozen people on staff at Baked by Yael.

And I want them all to stay, and I want them all to be able to pay their bills.

LISA DESJARDINS: One of the greatest pressure points of the shutdown is here, D.C.-area

food banks, like the Capital Area Food Bank.

CEO Radha Muthiah:

RADHA MUTHIAH, CEO, Capital Area Food Bank: The magnitude of the need is something that

we haven't seen before.

LISA DESJARDINS: During this shutdown, the food bank has seen demand jump 20 percent

over last January.

That's more than 600,000 extra meals.

They're sorting donations for new, temporary sites they have opened for federal workers

at local grocery stores, and those sites need a lot of donations.

The food bank expected 1,200 people their first weekend, but saw twice that show up.

So, this Saturday, they're planning on 4,000 federal workers needing food help.

RADHA MUTHIAH: It's been interesting, and in some ways disheartening, actually, to hear

some of the conversations that we have heard as people wait in line.

I overheard someone say that they felt so guilty taking this food, even though they

needed it desperately.

LISA DESJARDINS: Both sides in the shutdown are holding firm.

President Trump is demanding $5.7 billion for a border wall or barrier.

Democrats are saying, no way.

The two sides have not even talked seriously for a week.

New polls could put more pressure on lawmakers to make a deal.

So, who do Americans hold responsible?

In a "PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released this week, 54 percent of Americans blame the president.

But 31 percent blame congressional Democrats.

Back at the bakery, Yael Krigman issues an invitation, saying, if Congress and the White

House want a negotiating table, she's got one for them.

YAEL KRIGMAN: I think they should sit down.

I think they should see how this is affecting their constituents, and work out a deal, and

understand that there are real people being affected by this.

LISA DESJARDINS: Waiting at home, De'von Russell says he's just frustrated, especially with

the president.

DE'VON RUSSELL: I believe he's being selfish at this point.

He's He's like my daughter right now at this point.

LISA DESJARDINS: Who's 3.

DE'VON RUSSELL: Who's 3.

He wants something.

He can't get it.

He's throwing temper tantrums.

He can't get his way, so he's making everybody else suffer.

LISA DESJARDINS: He hasn't missed any bills yet, but his creditors aren't backing off

money that is due soon.

DE'VON RUSSELL: I just think that everybody needs to come together and come up with something

that will be good for everyone, so everybody can just return to their everyday lives.

LISA DESJARDINS: You just want to get back to work?

DE'VON RUSSELL: I just want to get back to work.

As good as it is being here with my daughter, I just want to go back to work.

LISA DESJARDINS: For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Lisa Desjardins in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

You May Also Like