Work, without pay

 

With the current governmental shutdown, essential workers must still work without pay. Others are on furlough, a mandatory unpaid leave of absence yet still employed. A third group lay-offs or fired as a reduction-in-force are no longer on the payroll. There is talk of shuffling around other appropriations to pay the military.

The guys and gals who caused all this mess are still getting paid 6-figure salaries.

As I recall, work was to extend labor or product or service with the expectation of monetary compensation. Taking out the trash and cleaning your room maybe work for an allowance. Cutting the neighbor’s grass with a manual push mower may get you some sawbucks. Some find bartering equal rewards but doesn’t pay the rent.

When asked if I could produce some art for free because it is just drawing a picture, I’d say, “Then let your cousin do it.” When a club owner asked a band to play the weekend without taking any dollars out of the till, the exposure doesn’t pay the gas to travel, place to stay and food to eat.

Whether you feel your salary is equal to the amount of talent or effort you put in, how long can you go without? If you are an essential worker, how hard will you work without pay? How long will it take for a paycheck to show up after the shutdown is over? Will the grocer understand that you will gladly pay them next Tuesday for a hamburger today? Will your landlord be so empathetic to not have the funds to pay the property tax or water or electricity? The federal contractors who do everything from cleaning the bathrooms to providing ammunition to the armed services do when their department is shutdown? The coffee shop loses customers, the dry cleaner closes and no one is hiring.

What do tell the kids when there are no toys under the tree? Don’t need to string the lights when the power is cut off. There will be no traveling to grandma because you can’t afford the gas. Don’t expect a turkey on the table.

Back in the day, there were apprentices or interns who learned the trade without pay, before being qualified to be hired. Volunteers work for free for a variety of reasons, but somewhere, someone is the bread winner who pays the bills.

Sooner or later, the government will open up and turn on the lights and go back to doing bureaucratic stuff with whoever is left and the congress will appropriate more raises and the public will pay their taxes and all will be right with the world.

Until next time.