Washington – Ben, a Jewish federal employee based in the greater Washington, D.C., area, is worried about how he will pay for his day-to-day expenses.
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A financial specialist at the Transportation Security Administration, he hasn’t been working since Dec. 22, when the government shut down.
Ben worries about “even the most basic things,” he told JTA on Thursday.
Where you’re gonna get money to pay for food, to pay for your bills, things that most people would never think of how to even pay for, medicine you need?” he wondered.
He is among some 800,000 federal employees affected by the government closure that started after President Donald Trump said he would not sign a budget deal unless it included his request for $5.7 billion to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The shutdown is in its 20th day.
Ben, who asked not to have his last name used in this article, has been furloughed since the closure began. Some other federal staffers are working without pay.
“I’ve just been taking it day by day,” said Ben, who is single. “I think it’s just a matter of being able to plan because the way things are going, I don’t anticipate that we’re going to be back open anytime soon. It’s kind of like one of your greater fears coming true in a sense.”
He hopes that some of his fears will be allayed soon. Ben has been approved for a loan by the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Greater Washington and is waiting for the money to be disbursed.
“It’s a good feeling. Certainly it helps ease the stress,” he said.
Last week, the association approved an emergency program to provide loans of up to $2,000 per household to affected Jews living in the Greater Washington area. It has allocated some $30,000 to the program and is reaching out to local synagogues and Jewish organizations to help in case the demand extends beyond that threshold.
Ben said hearing about the program made him “feel really proud to be a Jew.”
“I thought it’s a good reflection of our community as a whole, and the fact that Jews have been always willing to stand out at the forefront at any places and have been willing to help each other out,” he said.
David Farber, the president of the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Greater Washington, told JTA on Wednesday that his organization “was happy to step up and respond to what we see as an emerging need and hopefully one that will end soon to fill the gap.”
Founded in 1909, the agency provides interest-free loans to members of the Jewish community to help with needs such as medical and emergency bills, credit card debts and student loans.
Hebrew Free Loan organizations in San Francisco and Austin, Texas, also are providing loans to those affected by the shutdown, the Forward and J. weekly reported.
Why are Jews anymore special than goyim?
People need to call Cryin Chuck and tell uim to end the Schumer Shutdown.
The Hebrew Free Loan Association of Greater Washington approved an emergency program last week to provide loans of up to $2,000 per household to affected Jews living in the Washington, D.C., area.
Ben, also call your credit card companies/ mortgage companies and ask them for an extension due to the shut down . They have offered me graces for much more silly reasons, It would be terrible pr for them if they didn’t have pity and offer you that grace. I have no doubt that they’d offer it to you.
Look it at it this way,Yes it’s a head
ache but you’ll get every penny in back pay. Meanwhile try to relax and enjoy the free time that so many of us crave for.
Ben needs to leave Government work and become a teacher in a Yeshiva.
We should change the law that when the government shuts down the congress and senators don’t get paid – not the common worker. Then they’ll work out something for a change instead of the idiocy we see. We elect the stupidest people we can find and the smart ones with integrity wouldn’t even bother to run. The common person isn’t making money and nothing is done while the rich get more arrogant by the day. So frustrating.