Furlough Thread

[James48843]

Re: *Re: Furlough Thread

Here's an idea: cut foreign aid sufficient to meet the goal. Done, and it's not even 5pm yet. Next problem. But our President would rather the country go through this turmoil so he can win the argument. Ridiculous.

Ok- great. That's an idea. We're trying to find the $85 billion that has to be cut as a result of the sequester. So....you want to cut foreign aid. Fine. Foreign aid, INCLUDING the budget for the entire State Department, including every Embassy, totals about $53 billion this year. ForeignAssistance.gov You would stop our money that is going to rebuild Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. You would stop the money to Egypt and Israel that was part of the peace process deal signed two decades ago. Got it. You would eliminate the money we're spending to put Russian nukes into safe bunkers where nobody can walk off with them. Sure.

So..you would close the State Department and every Embassy around the world, and make us a country with no presence anywhere. Fine. Now where do you want to cut the remaining 40 billion or so?

 

[nnuut]

Re: *Re: Furlough Thread

Ok- great. That's an idea. We're trying to find the $85 billion that has to be cut as a result of the sequester. So....you want to cut foreign aid. Fine. Foreign aid, INCLUDING the budget for the entire State Department, including every Embassy, totals about $53 billion this year. ForeignAssistance.gov You would stop our money that is going to rebuild Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. You would stop the money to Egypt and Israel that was part of the peace process deal signed two decades ago. Got it. You would eliminate the money we're spending to put Russian nukes into safe bunkers where nobody can walk off with them. Sure.

So..you would close the State Department and every Embassy around the world, and make us a country with no presence anywhere. Fine. Now where do you want to cut the remaining 40 billion or so?

And you wouldn't have anything to do!

 

[Buster]

Most of the Congress went home early today for a long weekend..Man I hope these jerk-offs get elected again...:notrust:

 

[Warrenlm]

Most of the Congress went home early today for a long weekend..Man I hope these jerk-offs get elected again...:notrust:

The electorate generally does that. Congress is bad but my guy is doing the best he can to help me. Just like the Big O.

 

[James48843]

IRS Furloughs to Begin After Tax Season

Source: Wall Street Journal

The Internal Revenue Service plans to require five to seven days of unpaid leave for many of it employees through September, but it won’t begin the furloughs until the summer in an effort to avoid disruptions in the April tax filing deadline.

“The IRS is projecting between five and seven furlough days beginning sometime this summer,” National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley said. “We have had informal discussions with the agency about this matter and we will engage in bargaining when the formal notice of furlough is provided.”

The IRS is a division of the Treasury Department, and Treasury officials have said the furloughs would be necessary to adjust for the budget cuts, known as the sequester, which begin Friday and run through Sept. 30.

It’s possible that some of the IRS’s spending adjustments could begin before the summer, even if the agency delays the furloughs, but no schedule has been released.

How nice of them to wait.
Read more: IRS Furloughs to Begin After Tax Season - Washington Wire - WSJ

 

[burrocrat]

Re: *Re: Furlough Thread

What? We need to save $85 BILLION dollars, or else everyone loses their federal job?


Heck- that's an EASY one.

I know EXACLTY where we can save $85 BILLION dollars!

U.S. to Take Over AIG in $85 Billion Bailout; Central Banks Inject Cash as Credit Dries Up - WSJ.com

maybe we can save $85 billion by scaling back the f-35 fighter jet program. 2,443 planes is scheduled to cost $396 billion (not including future cost overuns). maybe we cut the order by 20% and only buy 1,950 jets for about $316 billion? the boys still get their toys, the skies have less planes which should help lower the faa folk's stress levels (they can get pretty stressed out you know), and the rest of us rats can go back to our usual hours in the cage.

 

[PLANO]

Re: *Re: Furlough Thread

Ok- great. That's an idea. We're trying to find the $85 billion that has to be cut as a result of the sequester. So....you want to cut foreign aid. Fine. Foreign aid, INCLUDING the budget for the entire State Department, including every Embassy, totals about $53 billion this year. ForeignAssistance.gov You would stop our money that is going to rebuild Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. You would stop the money to Egypt and Israel that was part of the peace process deal signed two decades ago. Got it. You would eliminate the money we're spending to put Russian nukes into safe bunkers where nobody can walk off with them. Sure.

So..you would close the State Department and every Embassy around the world, and make us a country with no presence anywhere. Fine. Now where do you want to cut the remaining 40 billion or so?

It's "only" 42 billion, not 85, according to the CBO $85 Billion Versus $42 Billion: The New Sequester Argument : It's All Politics : NPR

And while I would not look at closing embassies, I would look long and hard at sending millions and billions of dollars in foreign aid to many/most of the countries we send money to every year. Including Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where I think we should come home and stop wasting lives and money. If we don't have enough money to pay our own bills, we certainly shouldn't be printing money to give to other countries, many of which hate us and will continue killing us.

 

[alevin]

Re: *Re: Furlough Thread

Even smarter would be going with the Boeing competitor. Way cheaper on maintenance costs for the long haul. The Canadians are leaning towards Boeing model for that reason, based on topnotch Canadian former fighter-pilot performance testing of the same.

 

[FAB1]

How nice of them to wait.
Read more: IRS Furloughs to Begin After Tax Season - Washington Wire - WSJ

But but I read the that the sequester was going to delay our tax refunds!

Where oh where do I turn for the truth?

 

[burrocrat]

But but I read the that the sequester was going to delay our tax refunds!

Where oh where do I turn for the truth?

hold on a minute there, you mean to tell me you get a refund? dam loopholers or something, grumble grumble, it just ain't right, eat the rich.

 

[wavecoder]

But but I read the that the sequester was going to delay our tax refunds!

Where oh where do I turn for the truth?

already got mine, pays to do it early i guess? lol

 

[James48843]

.., grumble grumble, it just ain't right, eat the rich.

 

[FAB1]

already got mine, pays to do it early i guess? lol

Ha I know Im NOT getting any refund, the State takes that.

The point is, it was hogwash about the IRS the WH has been trying to feed us.

So its done now anyway - furlough on, and I stand to be discomfited more than most on this board.

I can take it but the truth is the sequester was designed to inflict the most "pain" to federal employees
because Uncle really doesn't want to stop spending, period. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure
out where the most money is being flushed down the toilet and that the recipients are voters and
those votes cannot be jeopardized.

well this isnt the politics thread I better shush.

 

[WorkFE]

To be fair the sequester does not tell agencies how to cut money just that it must be cut. In my case the DoD is directing these cuts to be of a pay variety. But even if they chose to eliminate a project or purchase in some way or another it would still affect someones employment.
My only problem is we already gave at the office. Pay freeze, hiring freeze, new hire FERS contribution increase, reduction through attrition etc. Here we are in another year and they come right back to the well without addressing the bigger issue.
See how I kept that non-partisan:laugh:

 

[James48843]

First "Official" furlough notice delievered this afternoon to an employee - a Deputy U.S. Attorney over at Department of Justice:

http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/images/stories/US_Attorney_Furlough_Notice.pdf

This is what your "pink slip" looks like, folks.

 

[Birchtree]

Honestly, it's enough pain inflicted on the middle class to make me want to turn in my excess food stamps and return my fully paid for Obama phone...

 

[PLANO]

 

[Asylum]

Hey, at least we know how much value we have - heh:

Senator: Obama's Golf Weekend With Tiger Cost As Much As 341 Federal Workers Furloughed | The Weekly Standard

 

[FAB1]

Honestly, it's enough pain inflicted on the middle class to make me want to turn in my excess food stamps and return my fully paid for Obama phone...

Youre talkin my language.

Here we are in another year and they come right back to the well without addressing the bigger issue.

A 2.3 trillion dollar elephant in the room, eh.

 

[FAB1]

I gave you a like but that pic made me almost lose my dinner.

Start out with a potential HURL alert in future please