Tillerson Cuts 2,300 Jobs From Bloated State Department

a reply to: ketsuko

I don't follow.

How do constant poverty figures benefit both major parties like falsely low unemployment figures do? It would seem that if either party could actually eliminate poverty it would lead to a more robust economy, and that party would certainly have a status boost in the eyes of Americans.

Your analogy doesn't seem to fit.

originally posted by: redmage

originally posted by: DAVID64
Obviously they feel like the work can still get done without them.

Do they? I'm not sure it's as obvious as you claim.

One trend I've noticed is manufactured failure.

A common tactic in politics is to spend years and years chipping away at an agency through reductions, and/or removing any enforcement powers (like with the EPA), only to later point and say "Look how ineffective 'agency X' is!". Well of course 'agency X' is ineffective after it's been stripped of workers and/or enforcement powers through years and years of chipping away at it, but that's not the fault of the agency itself. It's the fault of politicians meddling at the behest of lobbyists.

Like the military?

originally posted by: redmage
a reply to: ketsuko

I don't follow.

How do constant poverty figures benefit both major parties like falsely low unemployment figures do? It would seem that if either party could actually eliminate poverty it would lead to a more robust economy, and that party would certainly have a status boost in the eyes of Americans.

Your analogy doesn't seem to fit.

Need jobs first then poverty and the economy will improve.

And to create jobs, ya need a good climate of taxes and regulations.

Ya make job creation affordable.

2300 job cuts in the SD is a good start. Lots of savings, eventually, still have pensions to pay and medical and who knows what else

Many State jobs are overseas. I'd guess any given hundred of 'em are worth $8M/yr.

X23=$184M ... still not enough.

a reply to: CB328yes the jobs pay very well with lots of perks butif they can trim the fat i say go for it Shakespeare said it wrong with kill all the lawyers he forgot to get rid of the bureaucrats too . don't beleive me look at all the problems in uk right now to many non elected bureaucrats with nobody to answer to.

originally posted by: MOMof3
Job losses, wars.

Worst President Ever.

Completely unnecessary leeching jobs were lost.....

Dang it

Mad war too.....

I agree he's the worst

a reply to: xuenchen

If these were average paid employees, that's a savings of almost $160 million per year. If we account like the government that's $1.6 Billion dollars!

a reply to: burgerbuddy

I wouldn't say the military's issues are about manufactured failure by lobbyists/politicians. The money is there. We have the best funded military in the world by a LARGE margin, and that has never changed. No country even comes close. How the military chooses to budget that funding is really their own internal issue.

a reply to: burgerbuddy

You didn't answer the question. The question was, "How do constant poverty figures benefit both major parties like falsely low unemployment figures do?".

Your notion of "needing jobs first", so "2300 job cuts is a good start" is interesting, but has nothing to do with how constant poverty figures would benefit both major political parties.

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: DAVID64

The department accounts for about 1% of GDP , the cuts will add little if anything to countering the deficit but will harm the US if it cuts its diplomatic and aid missions.
It seems a short sighted decision to me designed to appeal to supporters rather than take into account the importance of international engagement.

We have to make cuts somewhere.

A little here ... a little there ... instead of looking at every proposed cut and saying, "This is nowhere near enough, so let's leave it alone." But the time all the little cuts are added together, they may be a significant chunk of the problem.

More like they'll offset a small amount of the unnecessary increase in military spending.

this makes me quite happy. i have a good family friend who had to get a triple bypass surgery and she was out of work for 10 months from her govt job. when she went back she was pissed that knowone had done any of her work while she was on medical leave. it took her a whole 2 weeks to catch back up. friggin 10 months of work done in 2 weeks. keep on chopping away i say.

originally posted by: CB328

Yes lets get rid of what few good jobs still exist in this country because working people don't need money, or benefits.

This is insanity. Cut jobs, raise interest rates, deregulate, start wars, America is screwed.

it's cutting GOVERNMENT JOBS!! Good Lord, you folks will hate Trump for handing you a dollar.
This place used to be full of smart people. What the hell happened?

Perhaps getting rid of all the unnecessary Russian intelligence gathering?

a reply to: redmage

creat eproblems that only government can solve. that translated to dmeocrat majority. Thats why they use deflated numbers and claim poor percentage.

originally posted by: ColdWisdom
a reply to: xuenchen

There's probably thousands of "jobs" in the government that are basically unnecessary and could be eliminated by simple efficiency.

I have no doubt in my mind that you are correct.

Many of those thousands of jobs are in the intelligence agencies.

No they aren't.

Tillerson's proposal reduces the number of new diplomats being hired and includes the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development's possible consolidation, according to officials briefed on the proposal. The staff cuts would amount to about 3 percent of the department's roughly 75,000-strong workforce.

original AP source

a reply to: xuenchen
Anybody see the movie, Our man in Havana? I wonder how much waste there is?

originally posted by: ketsuko

Besides, there is no real reason why the three wealthiest counties in the country are all right around DC now. That means public service is the wealthiest job you can have. That seems wrong.

Maybe if you are a scientist. Trust me K Street lawyers make money had over fist, and would take massive pay cuts to enter public service as an attorney, where the top pay for a GS employee at max out is 162,000 a year, on average, depending on locality.

With any luck, this is a purge of Democrats.

originally posted by: crazyewok

originally posted by: MOMof3
Job losses, wars.

Worst President Ever.

Why should the goverment employ people in unneeded jobs? Thats just another form of welfare.

And by the same token why should the US Government be allowed to wage trillion dollar proxies wars?

The logic by which we have been running for many years is functional insanity at best, but then again insanity is subjective.

a bubble to be burst...sad for those affected...
Wonder when will USA be bankrupt when its national debt bubble burst?
Imagine 'zombie' nation when that happen...many countries will be affected too...

I guess we should be happy? I'd be much happier if he would instead figure out how the Pentagon loses track of trillions of dollars, so he doesn't have to throw over 50 billion at the military that is already somehow behind the times yet spends 3 times more than the 2nd most spendiest nation.. and not lob 83 million worth of missiles that accomplished pretty much nothing.

I guess we are supposed to be impressed he is cutting government jobs though *golfclap*