DOGE (allegedly) hits my West Virginia hometown
A stable job that provided a livelihood in Parkersburg is now the latest victim of a billionaire's madness run amok
Before I get into this week’s post, here are way’s to help flooding victims in Appalachia
EKY Mutual Aid is probably the best grassroots rapid response resource in Eastern Kentucky, and they can always use an extra few bucks.
This spreadsheet provided by Appalachians for Appalachian is an evolving list of ways you can help
Richy Rich strikes the Mid-Ohio Valley
The richest man in the world is continuing his power grab on our country, and his latest target is my hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Anywhere from 80 to 250 employees at the Bureau of Fiscal Service have been laid off, according to recent reporting — though the number has yet to be confirmed.
A GOP State delegate said 200-250:
“It’s my understanding that they let between 200 and 250 people go with more to come. Anytime a community loses that many jobs, it’s devastating,” said Wood County Delegate Scot Heckert (R). “I have sent out a request for information but they haven’t gotten back to me yet from Washington. There’s other people working on it. We’re trying to do as much as we can as fast as we can. It’s unfortunate for the people who have been there for a long time and were contracted in, switched jobs to get a permanent position, then went back under probation, and then they let them go.” (WOWKTV)
A union rep for the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 190 is saying 80, though it’s unclear if all that were mentioned above were union members
A union official said 80 probationary employees were let go from the federal Bureau of the Fiscal Service in Parkersburg last week.
“There were 80 employees here and 167 total throughout the bureau’s nationwide locations,” said Eric Engle, chief steward of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 190, which represents workers at the bureau. (Wheeling News-Register)
Although technically unconfirmed that DOGE was involved in the firings, the team reportedly visited Parkersburg, and it would be all too coincidental for it not to be the case.
My heart breaks for all the people who lost their jobs from this round of firings — and every round of them by this ego-maniac.
Parkersburg’s stable place to work and earn a decent living
Getting a job at fiscal service was a good, stable job that typically paid well — something not easy to come by in Parkersburg.
Fiscal Service was previously called “Public Debt.” My mom used to work there before she got married and had my sister. It was an entry level job for her, but a stable one at a time when she really needed it after high school.
In 2012, the Bureau of the Public Debt merged with the Financial Management Service to create the Bureau of Fiscal Services — what it’s now known as today. It manages the government’s accounting payment system and public debt.
The Fiscal Service is a very solid paycheck for most people who work there. Granted, a lot of the salaries are accountants — which skews the average for sure — but the average salary according to generalschedule.org (a website that tracks civilian federal employee pay) is $89,971
If you consider that at the lower rung of GS pay scales distribution in Parkersburg is GS-7 and GS-91, those salaries at Step 1 are $49,960 and $61,111 respectively — both of which are higher than the median household income of Parkersburg, which is $44,675.
This will hurt the city’s economy
Especially if the numbers are close to what the higher ends of estimates look like — 250 — this will severely harm Parkersburg’s economy. Parkersburg is not known as an economic paradise by any stretch of the imagination, good jobs are very hard to come by there. The people who lost their jobs, god forbid, could be out of work for a long time.
More so than that, the indirect and induced impact of this will be felt throughout the city. Downtown businesses who depend on foot traffic from workers at the bureau will suffer, since their offices are right downtown. The general tightening of budgets for now potentially 250 families will cause more strain on the overall economy of a city already struggling to survive and retain population.
I hope and pray that everyone who unfairly lost their job at Fiscal Service is able to find stable employment soon because I know how hard it is to lose a job suddenly and unexpectedly. It’s one of the scariest things in the entire world.
We’re witnessing the potential for political upheaval because of DOGE firings
The Fiscal Service firings2 are just the latest in federal government layoffs all throughout the country, but they’re striking to me because this is a place that employs people from all political backgrounds.
Fiscal Service isn’t an agency populated by left-wing moonbeam socialists, y’all. I genuinely wonder how people in the city will react to seeing many peoples lives be upended by these latest firings. I know that this has shaken the city quite a bit.
A majority of Americans disapprove of Elon Musk and his pretend government agency causing real world nightmares. People are not liking this bullshit.
My hope is that people start to see that the rich and powerful like Musk and Trump don’t represent their interests at all.
Not just that, they actually don’t give a shit about them. They only care about themselves. Always have, always will.
This week, I’m listening to Addie Levy — an extremely talented Appalachian bluegrass singer-songwriter who can shred the hell out of a mandolin
It’s actually a perfect time to come across Addie’s music, because her star is on the rise. She dropped her first album at the beginning of 2024 and by the end of the year, was announced as the newest member of Bay Area Bluegrass powerhouse, The Brothers Comatose.
I recently wrapped an interview with her for the podcast (which will be out in early March), and her Appalachian roots are evident in so much of her music. She is a Southwest Virginia-native who played music for many years at Dollywood before releasing her debut album in 2024.
I really liked her album for many reasons, but one stuck out: it’s a perfect blend of traditional Appalachian Bluegrass elements with a modern, contemporary sound that will 100% remind you of home.
Not all of those listed in the distribution chart are necessarily for the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, though it is likely that most are.
I’m resisting the urge to refer to it as Public Debt, since that’s the only thing it was ever called growing up
ANTI WORK BITCH!!! ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR IN THE HOMELESS SHELTER!!!