The Ripple Effect
The federal worker layoffs will affect you sooner or later
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Remember how in last week's post I talked about how I'm no political expert? Well, this week, I’m pretending to be an economics expert!
I think a lot of us are starting to experience something called "trickle-down economics," and not in a good way:
According to Investopedia, trickle-down economics is defined as follows: The concept "employs the theory that tax breaks and benefits for corporations and the wealthy will trickle down and eventually benefit everyone."
Yeah, I don't know about you, but I'm not feeling those benefits as our government guts federal agencies so it can line billionaires' pockets.
Every day, more and more federal employees are losing their jobs as part of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts. And if you're sitting back and thinking, "Well, that's not my problem; I'm not a federal worker," just wait.
There is a serious ripple effect resulting from these massive layoffs, and this past week, one of those ripples hit my family directly. No, my husband and I aren't federal workers, but when federal workers lose their jobs, and those still employed are too fearful of getting laid off that they stop spending money, we're the ones affected.
My husband works as a production tech for several tribute bands. One of those bands had a gig scheduled for this weekend in the D.C. area. That gig has now been canceled due to low ticket sales. (Officially, the gig was postponed to May, but what good is that when we have bills to pay now?)
These low-ticket sales are due to the tons of federal workers in D.C. either losing their jobs or being petrified of losing their jobs (and not wanting to spend money on fun extras at the moment).
However, on Thursday afternoon, there was some good news on that front: A federal judge ordered the rehiring of thousands of federal employees who had been unlawfully dismissed.
But I totally get where these people are coming from. When you’re unemployed — or in fear of unemployment — you tighten your belt. The first thing people usually stop spending their money on are recreational activities like going to restaurants and concerts. It’s not only the federal workers' finances that are affected, though. It’s everyone in the hospitality and entertainment industries.
When tribute-band gigs are canceled because of belt-tightening (which makes perfect financial sense, btw), that affects my family's bottom line: our ability to pay for groceries and other bills, etc. This is how the nonsensical DOGE cuts hurt EVERYBODY. It's a domino effect: Laid-off workers don’t want to spend their money on a fun night out at an Eighties tribute band show. This results in lower ticket sales. The show is then canceled, and my husband doesn't get paid. That means we struggle to pay for our own basic needs.
So I posted about what happened to us on Threads, and, not surprisingly, I received a deluge of comments confirming the low-ticket sales theory. And no, it wasn't because "the band sucks," which was the main comment from all of the MAGA trolls: The band sold out the same venue a few months ago.
Here are just a smattering of responses:
"This is everywhere. Anyone who provides leisure services it has dropped. My SO has seen a huge drop-off in business as money is being held by consumers."
"Yep. Wife of a federal employee and we are definitely in save mode right now. And he’s salary capped - so the highest income earner among the vast majority of federal employees. If we are saving, imagine the GS-7s who have a much more difficult time affording living in the area at all. It’s going to hurt *everyone* - & that’s before we even get to the oversaturated job market."
“Yep. I work in the fitness industry here. Our client list is rapidly shrinking as people have to cut back.”
“Yep. Fed here. We're not spending on extras.”
“My housemate pet-sits and most of our clients are in DC. Lots of cancellations.”
“I am a federal employee and I'm not purchasing anything that is not essential right now because, you are correct, none of us know if we will be laid off come May/June so we have dig in until the hammer falls. It's sad that what they're doing to us has a ripple effect but a lot people don't understand it and are still cheering the firings on.😔”
“It hurts restaurants terribly too. Servers and bartenders who are just trying to make a living and have no connection to the government except for the accident of living here. And even if someone doesn't work for the government, their friends do, and folks do concerts and dinners in groups. If your friends can't go, you probably aren't going either. It's so destructive.”
“All the idiots celebrating people being fired from the federal government don’t understand how many businesses are going to be adversely impacted. They won’t be selling lunches. They won’t be selling dinner. These people won’t be buying tickets to concerts like the one put on by your husband’s production company. It’s going to spread through the economy.”
I wanted to use this week’s Substack post to share these responses for a couple of reasons. One is because I truly do feel that storytelling is a powerful tool. I’ve told my story, and now I can share the stories of others who are experiencing the same difficulties. Yes, data helps, as do charts and graphs, but a personal story holds the most power. If you want people to understand the gravity of any situation, then you need to tell your story. The second reason is to drive home the ripple effect idea. This is not just me whining about my husband losing a gig. I’m sharing an example of a much larger problem that will only worsen if DOGE continues reducing the workforce.
And there’s no reason to believe DOGE will dial back its slash-and-burn approach. In case you haven’t noticed, the only people the government cares about now are the billionaires. Among the latest federal employees to lose their jobs are those in the Department of Education, which DOGE started dismantling this week. (As infuriating as this is, this development shouldn’t be a surprise; it was in Project 2025!) Do you know why those in charge don’t want the American people to be educated? Because educated people fight back.
While I saw the DoE destruction coming from miles away, it's still horrifying. For those of you getting to know me, I’m the parent of a neurodivergent child who depends on an individual education program (IEP) in her public school. I'm trying to remain level-headed about this because, thankfully, New York takes very little federal funding.
The red states, however, are in for a very rude awakening when parents realize their beloved school programs have suddenly vanished. And while I have no sympathy for those who voted for Donald Trump, all of those blue dots in red states don’t deserve to have their children’s education demolished. We need the Department of Education. Period.
I’m not alone in my anger and frustration over the DoE being dismantled (or the pathetic new Education Secretary Linda McMahon not knowing what IDEA is).
This Threads post I made on Wednesday — along with the thousands of likes and hundreds of responses and reshares — felt like one big collective scream.
Speaking of 1980s music, I wanted to leave you with one thing that has brought me joy over the past couple of days. Does anybody else here remember Power Station? This two-hit wonder supergroup, comprised of Robert Palmer, Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor and John Taylor, and Chic’s Tony Thompson, formed 40 years ago and brought us “Some Like It Hot” and a killer cover of T.Rex’s “Get It On (Bang a Gong).”
I had totally forgotten about Power Station — and those two bangers — until the SNLReelz Instagram account posted their February 1985 Saturday Night Live performances yesterday.
I haven’t stopped dancing since.
Substack won’t let me post the SNL performances, so check out “Some Like It Hot” here and “Get It On (Bang a Gong)” here.
Have you experienced the economic ripple effect of the DOGE cuts? Tell me more in the comments.
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