That period may last surprisingly long. People can lose confidence in currency, but their faith in precious metal seems to last longer. I can imagine that once people have lost hope that any semblance of a normal economy would return, gold and silver would lose their value fast. But has that ever happened in history? What I'm saying is that thus far humanity has been resilient enough that we've always recovered. Or, perhaps those locations that never recovered just... vanished. You can't create an economy because the situation is so bad, and everyone is just a meal away from starvation. Eventually everyone dies.

"Eventually everyone dies."
That's almost always the case.

Isn't that what we're trying to avoid? Or, at least not be caught in?

I know that was true back when my dad worked for city gov't, but not any longer, especially when paid benefits are factored in...

As of seven year ago when I left federal employment for the private sector, it was true. My federal salary was lower, and benefits (insurance, etc) cost me more then the private sector. But then again, I was a GS-12 engineer and IIRC, overtime was either not given or strongly discouraged. OTOH, I knew some of the shop technicians who were pushing six figures because of all the overtime they racked up.

Either way, getting back to my original question; Stockpile money in either fiat form or in precious materials as a precausion against hyperinflation.

EDIT: Researching my family history, I found that the 1917-1924 Russian hyperinflation cost my great-grandparents their considerable family fortune and turned them into refugees. Jewelry was used to pay for passage out.

The Financial Times is reporting that some of the biggest banks are sending 20-30% more cash than normal to branches in anticipation of a debt limit showdown and crisis. Even one report from some bank customer saying that they tried to withdraw some of their money but the "bank is out of money" could spark more withdrawals, so these banks are trying to avoid that sort of panic.

The last time I was a federal employee I was in the Army. I worked all kinds of overtime with no extra pay, the benefits were ok, and they did pay me for falling out of the sky.

Otoh, my dad was career civil service. Left the Army after WW2, went to the post office, then to the Navy as a civilian. His retirement pay was always in the bank on time. He used his 3+ YEARS of sick leave (annual leave could only be banked to 60 days) as a buffer once he retired. He didn't get rich, but he enjoyed what he did.

I guess you take the good with the bad regarding government employment.

Oh, as to the banks. I keep an amount of cash on hand. Banks are for money you don't need right now. My part-time jobs feed the kitty. It's all not in one spot, and it's hidden fairly well. Of course, should the house burn down, I be screwed. Oh well.

As a private sector employee, I make about 25% more than my state and federal employed counterparts. Because of the level I am at, my benefits packages are generally better as well. I may not have had the level of job security (as longevity of assignment) as my civil service partners, but I've used that to my benefit.

Now that their jobs are on the block, I think I've made smart choices. I have been able to go where I want, when I want. While I've had to deal with bureaucracy at every turn, it has not been nearly as bad as those sitting across the table from me.

were I to ever do work directly for the government, it would only be as a contract employee, and there would be certain terms and conditions that would have to be included in any agreement I would sign. Amazing when the government's choices are limited what they are willing to sign up for, despite their own regulations.

I think the federal government does far too much contracting business. They collect all this money, then waste most of it trying to administer projects all over the country. They should leave it to the states, and the states should leave it to the counties and cities. Instead, they levy all their taxes and assessments, then use the money to pay off their buddies and families. No one complains because they see all these roads and bridges and schools and think it's great, not realizing there would be twice as much if you cut the state and federal government out of the equation.

big deal. all past government shutdowns have resulted in the fedgov employees who were furloughed getting paid anyway. just a short delay.

as I understand it the so called essential employees are not being paid until after the shutdown is resolved, but they still have to show up for work.

the real issue is political. why does any government have any "nonessential" employees at all?

I already explained "nonessential personell" on page 5, and I asked to keep this apolitical.