Posted on 03/06/2013 4:46:52 PM PST by SkyPilot
KENNEBUNK, Maine –— Politicians may say the looming federal budget cuts won't hurt very much, but Becky Burritt isn't buying it.
The Kennebunk mother whose husband, Justin, is a civilian employee at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, knows the mandatory furlough days will mean cutting back on everything from eating out to kids' activities.
“We're cutting back, not going out — there will be more home-cooked meals,” the mother of two said as her family faces a loss of nearly $400 and all overtime per biweekly pay period.
Federal civilian workers at the shipyard and throughout the United States will be forced to take 22 days off without pay between April and the end of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30. The furloughs are part of automatic budget cuts mandated the Budget Control Act of 2011 and known as sequestration. For Burritt, that's just a long name meaning her family will have less. She said the cuts will reduce her family's income by 20 percent and have forced them to think about what's important to them.
“We'll definitely have to dip into savings,” she said. “We're changing our auto insurance to save money and dropping cable. I've asked myself, 'Do I really need cable?'”
The Burritts are just one of hundreds of York County families that depend on income from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard — all of whom are facing six months of cutbacks in salary and loss of overtime due to government inaction.
York County is home to the largest percentage of shipyard workers, with Sanford having the highest number of workers, at more than 400, according to the nonprofit Seacoast Shipyard Association. But with workers throughout the county — including nearly 200 in the Kennebunks, Wells, Ogunquit and Arundel — the pain is likely to be felt throughout.
(Excerpt) Read more at seacoastonline.com ...
Maybe the entire country should just give up, get ObamaPhones, and go on Food Stamps.
Count down to someone cheering on the misery of these blue collar workers whose labor supports the Dept of Defense ......5....4....3...2....
Must be nice to be able to eat out...
I bet they have heat too. She shouldn’t have that.
The bottom line is that there were methods....much better methods of handling the budget cutting process. The “Professor” simply doesn’t grasp those or want a simplified process.
So a bunch of folks are going to survive with a eighty-percent paycheck for five months. Figure no summer vacations, no travel, no new purchases, no substantial date money for junior, no eat-outs, no contributions to their 401k, and just a very long summer. Areas like DC will be very hard hit because there is no alternate industry.
The problem that will face the administration....is that the end of September is not really that far off. You can’t go and repeat your scripted lines after 1 Oct rolls around. Brand new script, now drama, new disaster, new season. It’s kinda like the shows Lost, Gunsmoke, Who Shot JR, and Adam-12 rolled into one big drama.
I’ve already had to make the same cuts to my personal finances. It’s not that I don’t care about these blue collar workers, but we all need to stand firm.
We are either a bit uncomfortable now, or a lot uncomfortable later. Complaining about it to the media emboldens our oppressors.
I’d not give This administration the the satisfaction of hearing my woes. No, iI do not cheer blue collar misery, but I dislike the fact they must complain so loudly.
Average salary at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is $60,000 and most are union jobs. No tears shed here!
Not cheering in their misery, but...things are tough all over. If these workers have to give up some things, so be it. I’m on disability — a lot less money coming in. I made the sacrifices and will continue to do so. I’m sure these workers can too.
Instead of crying, maybe these workers should go back to Obama and demand that he give up his lavish expenditures and stop sending billions to nations that hate us. Maybe enough money can be found to avoid the furloughs.
“While the father says he understands that mistakes can happen and will still shop at Walmart, he has contacted a lawyer and is considering legal action.”
I’m for even bigger cuts.
The point is that this is going to piss off what used to be low information voters only a month or two ago.
Wow. Obama is finally pissing off the right people!
That’s good.
Walmart? You lost me there.
Dude, your sniveling is unbecoming. Government must be cut back. You can cherry-pick victims all day long.
lol 2 threads at once
Welcome to what those of us in the private sector have had to endure for the last four years.
2/3rds of mandatory spending is not even touched with the Sequester, and that is the primary cause of our debt.
No Sequestration for Chinese Military Spending
I guarantee you that when the next world hotspot explodes (and believe me, it will) the American people will be screaming: "Come on! Somebody do something!"
Sorry Mr. and Mrs. Medicare, we spent it all on you.
By the way, love your screen name.
And yet........ constant whining about spending zillions to keep those essentially dead alive for 30 more days
Attempting to give a damn.....
Nope. Ain’t happening.
I know! She is getting her’s, right! I hope she loses her home too.
I am on my third job in five years. But the difference between you and me is that I see that punishing hard working people who build ships for our military is not a good thing.
Thank you also for understanding my response. In my estimation, no pain no gain. If you're fat and refuse to stop eating or start exercising , don't complain about being fat.
To be honest, my first thought was Shipyard = Union. I've known union workers in my time. Braggarts about their high pay, how they could not get fired, etc. not a great work ethic, IMO.
But, when forced to join a union, when expecting the job to be there because it has always been there, it can be a shock. There are good people who are union members.
Perhaps the cuts they must make sound trivial to me, but who the hell am I? So, thanks for putting that out front before I replied. You made me think about the human element.
And isn't it the human element that this administration seeks to destroy? Creating division even among those who would otherwise be agreeable to one another?
I hope you can glean from this rambling on, what I'm really trying to say..
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