Furlough Thread

[James48843]

[h=1]Breaking: Obama Signs Sequestration Order to Begin $85 Billion in Spending Cuts[/h] Fri Mar 1, 2013, 09:05 PM USA/ET -

Source: CBS News

President Obama has now signed the sequestration order putting in place $85 bil in automatic spending cuts.
by Steve Holland via twitter 8:41 PM

Obama signs order to begin spending cuts
March 01, 2013

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama has signed an order authorizing the government to begin cutting $85 billion from federal accounts, officially enacting across-the-board reductions that he opposed but failed to avert.

Obama acted Friday, the deadline for the president and Congress to avoid the steep, one-year cuts.

Obama has insisted on replacing the cuts, known as a "sequester" in government budget language, with tax increases and cuts spread out over time. Republicans have rejected any plan that included tax revenue.

The government says the reductions will soon result in furlough notices to government employees and will trim government spending on defense


Read more: Obama signs order to begin spending cuts - CBS News

 

[burrocrat]

Obama signs order to begin spending cuts

well, that's a good start. i have to admit, i didn't think he could actually do it, but obama just cut spending. what's next? flying pigs? a cold day in hell? it's a brave new world.

 

[James48843]

from USAA- for those of us who are USAA members:

Solutions From USAA

USAA has a number of solutions to help members who receive a government paycheck and find themselves in financial distress because of sequestration.

These temporary solutions are available for affected members' existing products and include:

• Special payment arrangements, which could include payment deferral, on some bank products[SUP]1[/SUP].
• Refunds of certain fees for credit cards and other USAA Bank products.
• Early withdrawal of funds from certificates of deposit without penalties.
• Billing arrangements for insurance products.

For those who are adversely impacted by sequestration, we encourage them to contact us so that we can identify solutions that help meet their particular need. Members should contact us for free financial advice at 800-531-USAA (8722).

Potential Payroll Advance Loan
Separately, USAA is monitoring broader federal budget issues for potential impacts on USAA members, including the possibility of a government shutdown in late March. In such an event, USAA is prepared to offer a zero-interest payroll advance loan to members of the military, including the National Guard and Reserves[SUP]2[/SUP]. The loan would be equivalent to the net amount that is normally deposited for accounts with pre-existing direct-deposit arrangements with USAA. This payroll advance would be offered to eligible members in the event of a government shutdown.

more:



USAA: What to Expect From the Federal Fiscal Fallout

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_blogs....0&blogkey=newsroom&postkey=debt_ceiling_2013

 

[PLANO]

I've loved USAA for over 20 years, I'll never leave them.

 

[OBGibby]

I've loved USAA for over 20 years, I'll never leave them.

USAA can't be beat. NEVER had a problem in 20+ years. Customer service is top notch and the rates on all facets of their business are great.

 

[Boghie]

Found a fairly nice furlough calculator, but cannot upload .xlsx files... It is the 'First Army Furlough Calculator'. Googlin' it points to the spreadsheet...

Anyway...

It seems pretty close, but you can screw Uncle Sam and your State by more than they present. Gotta know what you are doing, but I can lop off another $35 or $40 from the Feds and probably $10 from the State in addition to that presented by the calculator. We live in a Progressive Tax World and you are now Poorer.

If I reduce my TSP to 5%, reduce my car allotment to the minimum, cut my savings allotment, and dump the taxes as noted above I will get my take home cut by about $140.

Maybe the Navy can take out another aircraft carrier!!!

Folks, we are pawns and we are getting gamed...

 

[Boghie]

Sorry Tom for the kinda cuss word in line 3. I'll take my probation, but can I get some advice from BirchTree first?

Overspending for half a decade now Sequesters my family into the 15% bracket. That opens a lot of doors to me - especially since I have largely paid down my debt.
I think I can pretty much f'em. They will get close to NOTHING from me. Not now, and not in the future.
And, I think I can pretty much zero out the Sequester as far as my take home.
And, I will be a VERY rich retiree. Gotta love it.
With assets at ZERO tax

Enjoy

 

[Stoplight]

Re: Furlough Thread (HURL ALERT !)

HURL ALERT !!!

Here's another one that struck me yesterday, while watching the President speak...he kept going back and talking about jobs that will be lost on road and infrastructure construction contracts due to sequestration. BUT, the Highway Trust Fund is EXEMPT from sequestration !!! Yeah, there probably will be impacts, but more from the fact that the States are having trouble coming up with the "match" required to use the funds (without raising gas taxes !)

Update: Sequestration and Chicken Little: The Sky is Falling? - Forbes

I was also annoyed how he kept saying the GOP was unreasonable, and we, the American People, elected him to pursue his course. Well, "we, the American People" ALSO elected those same unreasonable GOP members !!!

I'm sure getting tired of all the "spin", and fear-mongering going on...and the fact that the "Great Unwashed Public" just doesn't seem to care... I wish the politicians would just put on their "Big Boy" pants and do what needs to be done !!! Yeah, we'll ALL scream and holler, but we'll survive, I suspect...


Stoplight...

 

[James48843]

Re: Furlough Thread (HURL ALERT !)

So.....it looks like I'll be making just about $842 less a month for the next six months.

That should cure things.

That's on top of my third year of pay freezes, no awards given, and upping the amount I have to pay into FERS retirement, despite the fact that FERS retirement account is fully funded and not facing any shortfall.

Thanks, members of Congress.

So....are you done screwing your employees yet?

 

[konakathy]

FYI - an article I came across "How A Furlough May Affect Your TSP."

I sure hope for those who are getting the shaft with the stupid, careless and inept decisions of our government, that this furlough will be short lived.

Good Luck and God Bless.

How A Furlough May Affect Your TSP

 

[Kaufmanrider]

Here is a little something a rancher in East Texas has on his property. How appropriate.

 

[law87]

Re: Furlough Thread (HURL ALERT !)

not to be negative but sometime I think dictatorship work better than the people at Washington...at least we know who to blame if things doesnt work out.

 

[OBGibby]

Re: Furlough Thread (HURL ALERT !)

not to be negative but sometime I think dictatorship work better than the people at Washington...at least we know who to blame if things doesnt work out.

DING! DING! DING! We have a winner - worst post of the day!

 

[Sensei]

Being that I live on an overseas post and earn post allowance (civilian form of COLA), I could have another kid to offset the money I'll lose in furloughs.

Seriously though, I'm thinking of reducing my TSP contribution to 5%, all into Roth while maintaining the max match. I might also stop DCAing into my Sharebuilder account and my kids' college savings. That's what happens when you lose 20% of your income I guess.

 

[James48843]

 

[burrocrat]

i used to think boghie was a little loopy, always going on about 'structural' spending, but now i think i understand what he's been saying all along. the temporary 'stimulus' spending to the tune of an extra $1 trillion a year is now the new normal, it's built into the system. folks are used to us spending it, they count on it, feel entitled to it, you simply can't unplug a patient after you've provided life support for so long. unless you're broke.

so i think we are in for some bad news my fellow furlough friends. some of us complain 'this is not what i bargained for' i won't be buying a new car, i won't be able to build my future cash cushion so thick, i'll have to dip into savings but i can get through until october 1st. inconvenienced, but not destitute. we all know none of us will starve in the next 7 months. or visit the foodbank except maybe to volunteer on our day off. and the world will still turn, maybe not the way we want it to, but it will still turn.

the fallacy i think is expecting the spending to return to 'normal'. the cuts are now structural, just like that. maybe if we get a timely budget before the new fiscal year starts agencies could make a reasonable plan to do what they can with what they got and minimize some of the pain through prudent scaling back. but i wouldn't bet on it.

don't expect any sympathy from the inconvenienced public though, they pay our way, and they're worse off than we are. so this is what austerity looks like? not even, the pot is just starting to get hot. we just achieved, through revenue increases in january and now spending cuts in march, the 10 year budget savings everyone was so clamoring for. and not a single politican was responsible for it. it's all the other guy's fault. slick. david copperfield has nuthin' on these guys. we all just got baited and switched.

and still it is not enough. we've only managed to keep treading water, not make any headway. the elephant in the room that nobody talks about is the unsustainability of social security, medicare, and the whole raft of entitlements. either we double revenue or we halve benefits. there is no other long-term solution.

the thing i'm most worried about right now is if they cut my hours per week to less than 32 then they can apply for a waiver and eliminate my health care subsidy like mcdonalds did. wouldn't that be ironic if the gov can't even afford to buy its own healthcare plan.

 

[WorkFE]

Re: Furlough Thread (HURL ALERT !)

not to be negative but sometime I think dictatorship work better than the people at Washington...at least we know who to blame if things doesnt work out.

L87,
In a Dictatorship the military and LE are all pro supporters of the Dictator. Blaming is illegal and dealt with severely.

 

[burrocrat]

View attachment 22703

nothing personal jim, but if we end up in a life raft together someday you are shark bait. it's hard enough rowing towards shore without someone perched on the edge of the pontoon complaining all the time how poorly the rest of us work the oars. you remind me of why i got divorced.

 

[nnuut]

Continued inaction on the part of the POTUS will cause the Sequester to be worse than necessary.
[h=1]The Sequester Revelation[/h][h=2]Obama has the legal power to avoid spending-cut damage.[/h]Review & Outlook: The Sequester Revelation - WSJ.com

 

[Khotso]

Continued inaction on the part of the POTUS will cause the Sequester to be worse than necessary.
The Sequester Revelation

Obama has the legal power to avoid spending-cut damage.

Review & Outlook: The Sequester Revelation - WSJ.com

And continued hostage taking by the Tea/Republican Party House. Actually, I don't know what the POTUS can do in this circumstance -- oh, I guess he could surrender, capitulate, acquiesce to the fiscal terrorists -- or whatever you want to call it.