Commentary

You probably know that today is a federal holiday although during a time of multiple shutdowns it is sometimes hard to know what’s happening and to whom, and for how long.

The Coalition for Government Procurement highlights provisions in the Multiple Award Schedules program for federal customers that provide a readily available, streamlined process mirroring the commercial market through its thousands of contracts that provide tens-of-millions of items.

Politicians with a vested interest in an extended shutdown might want to call home from time to time to see how well things are not going, especially in places where the government payroll is king.

The current partial government shutdown, and the full shutdowns that preceded it are, in some respects, simulated shutdowns. They are very real for the people whose pay relies on appropriated funds, but in many other respects they are not shutdowns at all. And that is the problem.

Last Friday was the first blank check many workers have ever received from Uncle Sam. But for some long-time feds the payless payday was not the first.

The longer the shutdown goes, the more nerves fray. It’s downright crabby out there.

Many feds, young, old or retired, invested heavily in the stock-indexed C, S and I funds are nervous about their Thrift Savings Plans. We asked financial planner Arthur Stein what’s going on.

Chris Niedermayer, the senior knowledge officer at BRMi, detailed the steps agencies should take to implement robotic process automation.

The politicians, who are still getting paid, assured civil servants — those forced to stay home and those required to work — they will get back pay someday.

Mike Hettinger, the president and managing principal of the Hettinger Strategy Group, makes the case for why Congress should consider a 20-year-old bill from former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.).

Smartphones and other “cool” gadgets may have killed off what came before them, but now they are starting to show their age.

Abraham Grungold, a Florida-based U.S. Postal Service employee and financial coach shares his guide for getting through a prolonged government shutdown.

There are many benefits associated with ensuring competition, but recent reform proposals for commercial e-Commerce raise concerns about whether competition will continue to be leveraged for agency purchasers.

For some feds it’s another day under political house arrest. Their job is figuring out how to accomplish certain necessary chores such as paying the rent, mortgage or putting food on the table.