The majority of these employees (the vast majority) have nothing to do with the NSA or related activities. Even tangentially. Those being furloughed seem to be in the industrial/manufacturing sectors. These are people making the aircraft, ground vehicles or components for them. Future furloughs will hit those whose contracts were to get funding this fiscal year (appropriations can span multiple years, so it's possible a contract is funded despite this, but many may not be funded until after this current budget is passed). And companies will likely use this as an excuse to save some money by furloughing more employees than just the ones on affected projects. And in turn I wouldn't be surprised if they try to change the terms of their existing contracts to stretch out deadlines, even contracts that shouldn't have been effected. Hooray! More money down the drain.
Ah, so they don't facilitate the spying of U.S. citizens, they're just facilitating the rain of death from U.S. drones overseas.
Carry on then.
Ah, yes, hyperbole, the key to useful discourse.
What part of what I said is hyperbole? If you work for a defense contractor that is what you do for a living. Make shit to kill people over seas.
Yes, I'm sure that's what every single employee does, including the software engineers, HR people, managers, receptionists, and janitors.
Yes.
The software engineers rather directly.
The others are there to support the software and other engineers.
I'm tempted to resort to hyperbole of my own, but suffice to say that if you work for a defense contractor, the fact that your job doesn't directly contribute to people being exploded does not absolve you.
Absolve you of what? Supporting your countries armed forces? What a terrible sin.
Supporting the armed forces when we face a realistic and imminent threat, from an enemy we can actually name, is a fine thing. We are not in that situation by any stretch.
Anyone that has ever used US currency is responsible for that then, right? What with supporting the economy that supports the US military?
Yes. That's among many reasons why bitcoin is nice.
What I get confused about and fail to understand, is why people get excited about hearing that others are being furloughed. What's so good about people not being able to support their family, or possibly default on debt and even worse allow city and state budgets to shrink? We all lose together.
Because Jo(e) Average Worker gets squeezed by these guys more every year to pay their generous salaries and retirement packages. Well turnabout is fair play.
Isnt that whole shutdown about spending ? well this is where money could be saved, by aborting all these expensive and useless weapon deals, instead of cutting food stamps for the poor. US society dont need new tanks, drones or missiles. Let's cut defense spending.
No. The shutdown is about a minority faction of the GOP trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act which is already funded. It has nothing to do with spending.
The shutdown is a political maneuver by a small faction that would otherwise lack power.