Posted on 02/27/2013 7:26:14 PM PST by ducttape45
Elections have consequences.
I won't say what military base I work at,but today my office was briefed about the impending sequestration. There were a few interesting points to come out of the meeting.
1. You have to take at least 8 hours a week LWOP (leave without pay). You cannot use sick or annual leave on those days off. You cannot take more then 30 hours a week because then you'd be able to apply for unemployment and the federal government is ensuring we can't utilize that avenue to supplement our income. So they take us but prevent us from taking from them. Smart.....
2. No more credit time, comp time, or overtime. If, in the performance of your job you're responsible for monitoring contractors, those contractors have to leave or you leave them unsupervised. Just imagine the legal entanglements that are soon to arise.
3. We have to take 176 hours, or 22 days, off with no pay (which we will NOT get back for all you who have been saying otherwise) between April 25 and September 22. If the sequester lasts longer and we end up taking more than 30 days of sequester then mandatory RIFs will take place and people will start losing their jobs.
That's the news as I have it now. I'll post more as it comes available. I'm going to bed, I can hardly keep my eyes open but I had to post this for all to see.
Well that sucks. But furloughs are better than layoffs. In 95-96 I also got furloughed for 28 days (all during two stretches), which royally stunk. And being a temp worker because there were no FTE’s available meant I had no healthcare and no chance to even buy into the group pool.
Glad I moved out of that world, but it also taught me to have a big kitty of liquid funds, because that first furlough hammer hit me pretty hard.
The report is from Fox News and it is based on a Congressional Budget Office study which Republicans in the House requested.
Yup, there are plenty of hard working Fed workers. Not all are doing things that are necessary for the Fed govt to do, but I would NOT include anyone supporting our military or law enforcement in that group.
What I find interesting in the private sector, is that several departments exist only to feed Fed regulations. Tax law, SarBox, various alphabet regulations. They are *also* a serious drain on productivity—finance depts used to actually help businesses plan their business. Now they mostly do Federal busywork.
My own job owes its existence to this kind of busywork (tax software programming), but I have a skill set that would allow me to move to just about anything else. During the election, my brother joked with me that my job would go away if we had a flat Fed tax. I laughed, because 95% of my work deals with state and local taxes. The Fed part is simple.
A good point, and I'll build on it by remarking that there exist entire companies that exist only because of government spending. And frankly that's not something that just happened here in the United States - it's something that's gone on since the very first civil governments were established here. It's the nature of the beast.
Yes things are tough all over, and if the sequester lasts, many more will lose their jobs, in and out of government. This effects far more people than just those working directly for the government. Many companies depend on government contracts for all or part of their business. Somebody provides all those paperclips and ink...
It would be common sense for them to cut waste, but this administration wants to hurt people that get in their way more than they want to “fix” anything. Cuts will be made in ways that hurt the most- hurt those in and out of government the most. That is how it is planned and that is how it will work if it does happen.
That is true, but to help the private sector it needs to be done in a sensible way to really cut in areas of waste, that is not the plan. The plan is to do it in a way that hurts people in and out of government as much as possible. If done as planned I don’t see a benefit to the private sector.
Government employees pay SS taxes. fact.
This is nothing more than a result of a temper tantrum by Obama when he cannot get his own way 100% of the time. In my opinion the Republicans must hold tight on this and force him to work with the system the way all other presidents have had to do. Republicans should have held his feet to the fire over the non-budgets, etc. before now.
The problem is Obama wants to make this as hard as possible on everyone in and out of government as part of his temper tantrum, so it will not be done in an honest manner to cut costs, it will be done in a way to inflict the most pain.
People in this thread are talking about non-essential personnel but I know medical professionals- Doctors, nurses, etc. at the Army hospital where my husband goes for medical care are being told they will be furloughed as part of this. This effects active duty soldiers, their families, retirees; their medical care is non-essential?
This is not being done in any common sense way, it is a scorched earth plan that will hurt many more people than anyone can imagine.
Republicans will likely cave as they have before, but if not this is not a solution in the way it is being implemented. I see no choice but to hold tight, hunker down and force Obama to cut spending. It won’t be pretty for anyone though so everyone needs to realize what it really means- far more than government employees getting an extra day off...
So all the ‘folks’ who provide the reach back support will be furloughed on the same day? And no servicemembers or contractors can cover for those furloughed workers?
If such were the case your command would likely have already let a contract to provide the support. Sequestration has been on the table for months.
“Government employees pay SS taxes. fact.”
No gov’t employee ever pays taxes - the taxpayers do.
First, they are playing the cut what you want game go force people to vote for higher taxes.
Second, a 2.5% budget reduction does not need to mean a 20% payroll deduction.
Third, they ALWAYS give you guys
Backpay.
Months? Please. Do you know what contracting timelines are like?
Even then, you suggest saving money by furloughing GS employees, then contract out to cover the support? In a highly technical area?
What state do you represent, Senator?
Not sure what your military experience is but today, the military is wired to hilt and tightly integrated. No unit goes out alone.
I am a baby from the cusp of the boomers and the X’ers. I agree with your assessment of the boomers 100%.
In general, I am sympathetic to those being hurt by the sequester. On the other hand, as a manager who has dealt with process review and change management I cringe every time I deal with the Feds. It’s not that the person in front of me is incompetent; but the system is so horrible that nothing gets done.
Not arguing with you, but do understand what the "essential" designation means with respect to government workers. If a job is not listed as "essential", it doesn't mean the job is pointless/useless, it just means that if the job isn't done today, that there's no health, safety, or national security risk associated with that delay or cancellation. Whereas an "essential" job means that the position must be staffed in order to prevent losses in the areas listed above.
To wit, someone in charge of monitoring radio communications in the intelligence field is likely "essential" (either he or an alternate must be there), but the person in the budget office working on next year's numbers is "nonessential" in that next year's budget is not an immediate necessity, although it still needs to be done eventually.
Govt employees on CRCS do not pay social security taxes. BTW, that includes all members of Congress
#2 - I will be taking a 20% reduction in my pay. Working 4 days out of 5 means a 20% reduction. Do the math.
#3 - WE WILL NOT BE GETTING BACKPAY FOR THIS FURLOUGH!!! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU PEOPLE THAT!
"The public does not perceive my job or my contributions as valuable. Congress views us as expendable."
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