The Necessary Pain and Adjustment during Government Downsizing

My husband lost his software job twice during Biden's term, so I have sympathy for those losing their government jobs. It is rough. You may have to move. You may have to beg for money from your relatives. You may have to take out more credit card debt and hope you find a job before the next payment is due. You may have to wait for more than a month for unemployment because the government bureaucracy is slow. (Or because you applied too early. Or you forgot to include a signature or a document.)

It is life altering to lose a job that you counted on. Luckily, many in the federal government have the option for an eight-month severance pay. Now understand that many are upset that when they lost their jobs due to the government's draconian pandemic rules and Bidenflation, they received no severance pay. For example, my husband and I received no severance pay the second time he lost his job. Thus, there is some resentment toward government employees.

Some government contractors won't receive severance--but they can apply for unemployment. I hope it isn't delayed for weeks because of the inane bureaucracy my husband and I dealt with last year. And that unemployment is enough to buy groceries for one month, pay utilities, and pay the mortgage; instead of just covering groceries.

I know you are in a lot of pain and discomfort. Your stomach probably feels like the deepest pit. You either want to binge eat or cannot stomach a thing. You may cry because of such an uncertain future. Your hands may tremble while updating your resume. Know that many in the private sector have felt this too.

You are not alone.

Unfortunately, for every government job created--your former job--cost more jobs in the private sector. So it's a balance where we need fewer government employees so the private sector can hire you and several others.

This economic mess has been building for decades because of government waste, fraud, overregulation, and a bloated bureaucracy. It's the American people who voted in representatives who weren't willing to curb government spending. It was the American people who went into unnecessary debt. It was the American people who wanted everything for free when everything comes at a cost.

Right now we are all paying the price for the debt and inflation monster we've created. Luckily, the majority of the American people voted for the President and his cabinet to tackle this monster. Trump and Co. are ripping off the bandage quickly so we can recover faster.

It is painful right now for everyone. Many of the government freebies are disappearing because they caused the inflation. But the inflation would have gotten worse if we continued down the path of unnecessary spending. At some point, we wouldn't have been able to buy food to eat because of it. Think post-WW2 Europe. It's better to go through sadness now than an economic depression later, though I wish it weren't so painful.

We can work to make this pain end faster if we live within our means and hold the government accountable. This means losing many financial privileges we misconstrued as rights. This means that many of us will have to retrain in something practical that the economy needs. We will have to reshape how we achieve our success.

I believe we will all need to humble ourselves to not feel resentment toward each other. Let us have understanding and support for one another. Let us also approach this with humor. Humor is a mechanism to cope with difficulty while also pointing out our flaws in a lighthearted way. So be willing to laugh at yourself.

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