61/365

Stupid government!  My day has been consumed with contingency plans so we can live and pay our bills if the Congress doesn't pull their heads out of their asses and propose a descent budget.   Really it is all I have been able to think about today.  I am not worried for us.  We will be fine.  We have been very fortunate.  I have saved.  Not necessarily for this situation, but for situations like this.  Quite honestly I often assume that we are not going to get paid because of the incompetence of our finance people.  But now we are not going to get paid because of the incompetence of our elected officials.  We are already not being paid correctly.  Since we have moved we have not received proper BAH (housing) or COLA (cost of living allowance to make up the difference in the cost of living up here).  As it stands right now we are being underpaid at least $1200 a month.  We should get back pay.  But I have a feeling with everyone going to be owed back pay, our extra back pay will get lost or forgotten about. But we have a savings that we can live off for a while and we will be OK.
Today I had to make a very difficult decision.  Our renters in Arizona are also military.  She is the service member and he stays at home.  She is an E4 and just welcomed a baby boy into their family last week.  I know they do not have much (if any) savings and have some debt.  Nothing too outstanding, but some.  If they do not get paid, they will not be able to make ends meet.  It takes a while to adjust to the expenses of adding a new family member.  She has to be a huge ball of emotions, with just having a baby and all.  And now she has to think about the fact that she will not be paid.  So I decided to go ahead and call the property manager and have them draft up some paperwork that stated they don't have to pay rent until back pay is received and they will not be charged any late fees, just in case.  I really hope it doesn't go that far, but I need to be prepared. We can afford to pay our mortgage and other house related bills for a while out of savings.  I don't want to do it.  It makes me really mad that we may have to.   However, I don't want them to have to choose between a house and food.  Or a home or diapers.  It is not fair.  It is not fair to us either.  I am sure Bank of America will not be so kind for us to skip a mortgage payment.  And if they do, I am sure we will have to pay extra interest and some dumb fee.  I know the HOA won't and the contact the PM drafted stated that we must still pay them their management fees. But I figure we can handle it and hopefully it will take some stress off of their shoulders for a bit.
I know there is a bill, Ensuring pay for our  military, but I am not sure where I stand on that.  Don't get me wrong.  Our service men and women should be paid.  They should not risk their lives while worrying if their families back home are being fed. It is an utter disgrace that our country has come to this.  I am ashamed of our elected officials for acting like a bunch of stubborn four year olds.  But this bill only talks about the troops and funding the DOD.  What about those 800,000 other federal employees that are being furloughed?  How are they going to pay their bills?  Feed their families?  What about an actual budget for our country?  This act, while the least the government can do for us, does not solve the big problem.  WE NEED A REAL WORKABLE BUDGET!  This bill only helps us.  More than the military needs to be funded.  We need to get a plan together to start getting our country out of debt.  If we don't more than our military will suffer.  Our children will suffer.  Their future is on the line.  And if that is, what are our service members really fighting for if our children will have no future.  I am afraid that if this bill passes they will never come to compromise on any sort of budget.  In all reality Congress should be working on next year's budget.  The whole deal is asinine. 

We look like fools.  We are weak and vulnerable right now.  And all of this is playing out for the entire world to see. 

 Today's picture was one of the small moments I had today that I wasn't worried.  Spencer wanted to play a game.  So I told him to go pick one and bring it down.  He brought down chess.  He was so excited to play.  He had no idea ho to play , obviously, but he had fun all the same.