I have a question about this sequestration.

Do they really have a disagreement? I mean wont they come together with some compromise in the last few minutes like they did with budget agreements in the past? Is it all just staged?
Id really like this show to get on the road! Let the cards fall where they may, i say. Arent we going down anyways?

the only thing you need to know is that we will still spend billions more this year, than we did last year.

and that obama is a liar.

reply to post by earthart


The spending has to be brought under control,but this doesn't even scratch the surface.

This "cut" is not a cut...it is a reduction in projected increases. They are using this as a weapon of fear...trying to make the other party look like the devil himself. The truth is, the amount of these reductions are pennies...trifling.

The two parties are bickering because these "reductions" impact their favorite "pet" pork projects...

It is all a stage show for the herds of sheep out there.

The Republicans caved in on more than they should have already. The tactic of lies and fear mongering are getting old. Spending 1 trillion dollars more each year than what they take in while the deficit is already insurmountable is suicidal economics. It is unsustainable.

I have a buddy who works at a base here in Eastern NC and he is so worried about not getting overtime, a shift differential paycut, and not being able to stack vacation and sick days up and over each year. I own a landscape company that has lost 23,000 in income for my household through this and to be honest it makes me mad. I say take one for the team bro, i had to. What a crybaby i thought, a PAMPERED SHEEP.

Originally posted by earthart
Do they really have a disagreement? I mean wont they come together with some compromise in the last few minutes like they did with budget agreements in the past? Is it all just staged?
Id really like this show to get on the road! Let the cards fall where they may, i say. Arent we going down anyways?

This sequester deal is a stinker. I don't know what it's meant to achieve other than maybe a slight of hand distraction from something much bigger. The money they're talking about is less than the interest we pay on loans. Actually it's about 20% of what the US pays in interest on debt. This whole thing is absurd.

BO supported this very same sequestration not too long ago, Google it.

It's fear mongering, a dog and pony show, break free from it.

Originally posted by earthart
I have a buddy who works at a base here in Eastern NC and he is so worried about not getting overtime, a shift differential paycut, and not being able to stack vacation and sick days up and over each year. I own a landscape company that has lost 23,000 in income for my household through this and to be honest it makes me mad. I say take one for the team bro, i had to. What a crybaby i thought, a PAMPERED SHEEP.

Yup. Labor unions have finally done us in. Stacking sick and vacation days until retirement? Heck, when I worked for someone else, it was "use them or lose them" and if you took off for no good reason, it wasn't well received.

I know a NYC school teacher making $175k a year. How's that for union pay? And when he retires? LOL - we'll be paying that plus bennies until he's dead.

Originally posted by Signals
BO supported this very same sequestration not too long ago, Google it.

It's fear mongering, a dog and pony show, break free from it.

It was his idea. Well he sold it as that when they voted on it and he signed it into law.

reply to post by earthart


Yes we are going down regardless... these "spending cuts" represent 3% of the total budget, which is why all of the fearmongering and demagoguery is so hilarious and pathetic. The spending cuts aren't even real... they still going to spend more, but if this takes effect the spending will increase by 4% instead of 8%.

reply to post by earthart


A lot of people have completely incorrect information, fr one thing there have been absolutely no increase in federal spending since 2011. Our congress and senate failed to do their job and did not develop a federal budget for that year. Instead they passed a continuing resolution so that spending would be able to continue as before.

We have been in a continuing resolution since (which means federal spending frozen at 2011 levels) because no one can agree and no one can get anything done. This is their job and is totally unaceptable.

Several people have absolutely no facts about federal employment either. Absolutely no one can carry Annual leave (vacation time) over until retirement. They cannot even carry it year to year, it is capped at about 3 pay periods that anyone can carry over into the next year. Once you pass that cap if you don;t use any excess leave at years end it is gone, you will nevver see it again.

Sick leave is different, that can build up until retirement if you do not use it, however only half of whatever saved could ever be figured into retirement. Sick leave is earned at lower rates than annual leave and for the most part it does not ammount to much benefit for people retiring.

I'm not sure where get get the idea sequestration is a cut on increases. It is an across the board spending cut on all levels with no say on what programs lose money. There is definitely a LOT of areas that need to be cut and this could easily be done with minimal negative affect for most if done intelligently. All together over 10 years the total would be something like 1.32 trillion in spending cuts. For this year something like 89 billion across the board with DoD taking about a 13% across the board cut with most other agencies taking about an 8% cut.

What federal employees actually face is a 20% reduction in actual pay (very significant), along with various other negative impacts due to how the cut would be done by placing people on Leave Without Pay once a week. The sequestration was meant to be so horrible and devastating that it would force people to come to a decision to prevent it from happening.

Nothing is likely to happen now as the deadline of sequestration is so close, but the majority of the negative affects would start around April where services would have to be reduced or cut and salaries reduced. They will probably be under so much pressure that something is done within the next month.

We may get out of this situation temporarily with minimal immediate affect only to push the issue down the road further if something intelligent isn't done. It doesn;t seem like any of our politicians or leaders are able to accomplish anything intelligent so who knows.

I think all for show. They'll figure everything out at the very last second. Until then, CNN will just keep analyzing the "crisis", like it's all about tv ratings
Trying to worry the people as much as possible.

I have to wonder if the US government realizes how incompetent they look to the rest of the world.

Originally posted by earthart
I have a buddy who works at a base here in Eastern NC and he is so worried about not getting overtime, a shift differential paycut, and not being able to stack vacation and sick days up and over each year. I own a landscape company that has lost 23,000 in income for my household through this and to be honest it makes me mad. I say take one for the team bro, i had to. What a crybaby i thought, a PAMPERED SHEEP.

The 1% rake in billions in profit while jobs for the working poor and dwindling middle class go to hell. Production is up, pay vs inflation is ridiculously low and, of course, the fat cats get richer and richer while not paying their fair share. This is all happening and you think your "friend" needs to stfu and take it?! Some friend you are.

reply to post by Snoopy1978
Whoa chief... Thats not what i said. I simply said i have taken a large large loss in my family budget and that his was small compared to mine and he should take it like everyone else. Someone here always wanting to start something. I will spell it out better next time in case you elect to read it.

reply to post by earthart


It is politics as usual in congress. Republicans want cuts into social programs, democrats disagree with where those cuts should go, some want cuts into defense, most Republicans object. Republicans also wants cuts, but they want to cut taxes as well.

In my personal opinion there will need to be cuts into social programs, it is necessary, but at the same time defense needs to take the same amount of cuts as well. It is absolutely beyond me why our defense budget needs to be so large. As well as this, at some point taxes will need to be raised or atleast any corporate cuts will need to be out of the agenda, and that revenue from that should go into paying off the debt. Because we've had what? Another 4 years of Bush tax cuts, leaving taxes as is, making little cuts here and there to social programs, and increasing defense, and it's gotten us no where.

Personally I think if we allow the automatic cuts to go through it'll be a painful but necessary process, because frankly nobody in congress is coming up with any real solutions:

Congress put off the sequester until March 1 as part of the last-minute fiscal cliff deal on New Year's Day. Without that agreement, economists warned that the one-two punch of sequestration and the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts could have thrown a still-struggling U.S. economy into reverse.

It's a series of automatic, across-the-board cuts to government agencies, totaling $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The cuts would be split 50-50 between defense and domestic discretionary spending.

edition.cnn.com...

Let the automatic cuts happen, get rid of the Bush tax cuts, make the necessary cuts across the board, social services, defense, make those necessary cuts, because all those programs will need to take significant cuts before any changes are made. I realize some people, families, may find it difficult, but I see no other option. My own family is struggling, but I realize that there will need to be alot of pain before the healing comes around.

reply to post by Southern Guardian


The short answer to why our defense budget is so high in comparison to the rest of the world is somewhat four fold.

1) Developing new technologies is very expensive.

2) We defend and police the rest of the world and we foot the bill for it.

3) A lot of the world hates us because of our interloping and now we must be constantly vigilant for revenge attacks.

4)The main one in my opinion. Corruption. Too many people in high places have their hand in the profits from the military industrial complex. Either through family, friends, or indirect investments (secondary companies providing to the military contractors).

I'm all for closing down bases where there is not a "clear and present danger" and bringing the troops home to do something to better our country...Infrastructure, roads, bridges...etc. We are already paying for them, lets use them to our benefit, not the rest of the world.

Just my opinion though...

Originally posted by bjax9er
the only thing you need to know is that we will still spend billions more this year, than we did last year.

and that obama is a liar.

President Panic is keeping busy this week.
Hannity has him on tape.

Originally posted by OptimusSubprime
reply to post by earthart

 

Yes we are going down regardless... these "spending cuts" represent 3% of the total budget, which is why all of the fearmongering and demagoguery is so hilarious and pathetic. The spending cuts aren't even real... they still going to spend more, but if this takes effect the spending will increase by 4% instead of 8%.

CBS News says that the Congressional Budget Office revealed the U.S. Government will
spend $15 Billion more in 2013 than it did in 2012.

The Armageddon Narrative will fail.

Bob Woodward is on our side!

reply to post by TauCetixeta


Sorry but again people only know half of the story, the only increases are due to entitlements ballooning out of control. Not one federal agency has had an increase in budget in years. No one in congress were capable of doing their jobs and finalizing a budget so they have been under a continuing resolution to allow for previous years spending levels to continue.

Overall federall spending may not be cut because of the massive entitlement spending. However the part of the government that is actually usefull and provides services will face serious cuts. It will ammount to 20% less work hours across the board which will cause a reduction in services. Federal employees will face 20% cuts in pay affecting the entire economy with less money able to be spent on anything. Available federal jobs will decrease as well which will likely cause unemployment to increase.

This will affect a LOT but it is likely not to go through in the most devastating way anyways. The major negative affects wouldn;t occur until around April, they will be under so much pressure that a deal will likely be reached.

Unfortunately they will probably kick the can down the road further without solving anything.

Originally posted by seeker1977
reply to post by earthart

 

A lot of people have completely incorrect information, fr one thing there have been absolutely no increase in federal spending since 2011. Our congress and senate failed to do their job and did not develop a federal budget for that year. Instead they passed a continuing resolution so that spending would be able to continue as before.

We have been in a continuing resolution since (which means federal spending frozen at 2011 levels) because no one can agree and no one can get anything done. This is their job and is totally unaceptable.

Several people have absolutely no facts about federal employment either. Absolutely no one can carry Annual leave (vacation time) over until retirement. They cannot even carry it year to year, it is capped at about 3 pay periods that anyone can carry over into the next year. Once you pass that cap if you don;t use any excess leave at years end it is gone, you will nevver see it again.

Sick leave is different, that can build up until retirement if you do not use it, however only half of whatever saved could ever be figured into retirement. Sick leave is earned at lower rates than annual leave and for the most part it does not ammount to much benefit for people retiring.

I'm not sure where get get the idea sequestration is a cut on increases. It is an across the board spending cut on all levels with no say on what programs lose money. There is definitely a LOT of areas that need to be cut and this could easily be done with minimal negative affect for most if done intelligently. All together over 10 years the total would be something like 1.32 trillion in spending cuts. For this year something like 89 billion across the board with DoD taking about a 13% across the board cut with most other agencies taking about an 8% cut.

What federal employees actually face is a 20% reduction in actual pay (very significant), along with various other negative impacts due to how the cut would be done by placing people on Leave Without Pay once a week. The sequestration was meant to be so horrible and devastating that it would force people to come to a decision to prevent it from happening.

Nothing is likely to happen now as the deadline of sequestration is so close, but the majority of the negative affects would start around April where services would have to be reduced or cut and salaries reduced. They will probably be under so much pressure that something is done within the next month.

We may get out of this situation temporarily with minimal immediate affect only to push the issue down the road further if something intelligent isn't done. It doesn;t seem like any of our politicians or leaders are able to accomplish anything intelligent so who knows.

You're wrong about leave policies regarding federal employees. I'm a federal employee and I can keep up to 240 hours of annual leave until the end of time, but if I go over 240 hours I enter a "use it or lose it" scenario. For example, if I had 250 hours at the end of the year, I would have to take 10 or lose those 10 forever.