There are nearly 800,000 federal workers who aren’t being paid during the government shutdown. For at least one family, an extended shutdown could mean filing for bankruptcy. The shutdown came after a difficult summer of federal furloughs and an emergency surgery. Not unlike many New Jersey families, his family has been living off loans and credit cards. He hasn’t been furloughed yet, but could be soon.
There are many other federal employees that may be in the same situation as this man. To make matters worse, there are some federal employees who will have to work even though they won’t be paid during the shutdown. There are rumors that those employees will be paid, but maybe not until the government is back to work. In the past, Congress has passed legislation to pay furloughed employees. Hopefully, the same will happen this time.
Adding insult to injury, federal employees haven’t seen a cost-of-living increase since 2010. Raises have only been given to employees who were given promotions. Recently, employees were told that their health insurance premiums were going up 3.7 percent for 2014.
Some might say that federal employees are having a rough time, but considering that unemployment is still as high as it is in our country, at least they have a job to go back to when the shutdown is over. That doesn’t mean, however, that there won’t be many federal employees considering bankruptcy if the government is shut down for any appreciable length of time. Filing for bankruptcy could help federal employees, and anyone else in New Jersey, obtain a fresh start financially.
Source: CNN Money, Federal worker fearing bankruptcy is spared furlough, for now, Jennifer Liberto, Oct. 1, 2013
