Federal Emplyee's forced to pay/time cuts

well ive just learned last night that my aunts and uncles and cousins (who are fed. employee's for Customs & NCIS) have been forced to work 1 day per week for free. Evidently if down the road congress comes to a resolution AND money's are made available again they will get retroactive pay for those "free days". I would think cutting the hours per week is a better solution instead of making them work 1 free day per week but maybe because they are deemed "essential" they cant do that? I am sorry this fiscal cliff thing is effecting some of my family but i still think something has to be done about spending moneys that are not their. Ive been struggling for 6 years in ways that ive never known before but have grown to learn how to do without. The fact that some others have not had to endure this over the last 6-8 years is really a blessing and they should consider themselves lucky its only starting to hit them now (at a time when things are just starting to improve).

what are your thoughts about how this fiscal cliff may effect people we know and love?

I have a tough time with it.

I am not a Federal Employee, but I do work at a shipyard for a National Defense Contractor. For the short term we are okay, we have lots of ships to build that are not part of this fiscal crisis, so my job is secure for the short term, in fact the company is hiring hundreds of new employees due to the workload.

However, working where I do, I know this country is in trouble. Since ships only last 35 years, we are losing 10 ships per year due to decomissioning of older vessels built during the Cold War. Yet with all the shipyards combined are only producing 2 ships per year, meaning the US Navy is going behind by 8 ships. This is at a time when other countries like China are increasing the size of their navy! So while I recognize that 1-4 billion dollar ships are expensive, the cost of NOT having them for this country might be worse.

Now I say all this because across the street where I pick up my car pooling van ride to work, is a Methadone Clinic. It is amazing that they cannot work, yet can get up at 5 AM and drive through a blizzard to get their free drugs from the state. Some apparently need more then that because a guy in a brand new white Tahoe arrives, stands in line, and I watch as people give him money and he gives them baggies of something, yet also goes inside and gets his free drugs as well. Now keep in mind, that not only are the drugs paid by tax payers, so are the cab rides, or if they drive themselves, the gas to get their via gas cards. Some lucky junkies are even provided Volkswagen Beatles via the state as "it is cheaper to buy people their own cars then to pay for expensive taxis". That ideology has also spilled over to home heating fuel, as the state is now buying single and double wide homes for those on welfare because it costs less to buy these homes and spend less on home heating oil fuel, then it takes to provide them free heat in old leaky houses!! So if you are keeping track, that is free drugs, free gas to get there, free cars, free homes and free heating oil, not to mention other perks I am sure like free food, free day care and free health insurance for junkies. No wonder 80% of the tax money in Maine goes to DHHS!!

So now would be a great time to remind me of why I go to work and provide for my family by using a skill that I am well versed in (welding) to build a great ship, for a great country because I am losing motivation here! But back to the topic at hand...

I also think that the American Taxpayer gets their monies worth out of a ship. Yes it costs a Billion Dollars, but it also puts 7000 people to work for 4 years at a decent pay rate that really stimulates the local economy, and gives a tactical advantage to the nation militarily. That is pretty good. So it seems to me, the Republican's have it right, cut spending in regards to the abuses listed in that paragraph about junkies, and yet maintain military spending as we are already declining in that area farther then what the American People realize. Making the Military take 1/3 of the spending hit is just not the right thing to do. It is too deep and in the wrong place.

NoSmoke wrote: fiscal crisis,

$85 billion out of a $3.72 TRILLION budget isn't a "crisis".

The government CHOSE to take it's irresponsibility out on the workers so they would scream to their representatives to restore the money.

It's utter BS. Back in the good old days, they'd have been tarred, feathered and ridden out of town on a rail.

The government CHOSE to take it's irresponsibility out on the workers so they would scream to their representatives to restore the money.

It's utter BS. Back in the good old days, they'd have been tarred, feathered and ridden out of town on a rail.

It is an old formula used right down to the local school boards. The sad thing is that it works time and time again, over and over, year after year.

Kevin

NS, you may be right about the cars & everything since every state does their own thing but I must have been drifting off whenever the republicans talk about lessening welfare. The only entitlements I hear them cutting are the so called programs that life long working people have paid into like SS & medicare & such. Have you ever called & reported the dealer, perhaps they could have someone shadow you in your car pool area to witness, that is assuming that they even care. I could never figure out how a so called illness that is self induced entitles a junkie to anything. It's a strange world we live in & it seems that for decades both sides rather than addressing an issue just throw money at it, now that the money is gone they just don't do anything they may lay a working person off but they won't cut welfare simply because they are all cowards, JMHO.

jpete wrote:

NoSmoke wrote: fiscal crisis,

$85 billion out of a $3.72 TRILLION budget isn't a "crisis".

I agree. The best analogy I had heard is "Its like someone pissing in the Mississippi river and yelling flood all the way down stream."

Watched on the evening news last week them all leaving Washingon Thursday evening ( or should i say afternoon ) to head home for a long weekend with the smiles on their faces,,,,,,, dont that just make your blood boil ????? They have a job to do,, and we put them there to do it,,,, to me that is just a slap in my face buy doing what they are doing. Both sides are to blame in my book !! Sorry to be venting like this but i for one am really getting sick and tired of all this BS and grandstanding,,,,, it should not be this way !

theo wrote:Watched on the evening news last week them all leaving Washingon Thursday evening ( or should i say afternoon ) to head home for a long weekend with the smiles on their faces,,,,,,, dont that just make your blood boil ????? They have a job to do,, and we put them there to do it,,,, to me that is just a slap in my face buy doing what they are doing. Both sides are to blame in my book !! Sorry to be venting like this but i for one am really getting sick and tired of all this BS and grandstanding,,,,, it should not be this way !

I agree totally its their job to come to an agreement period! this is what congress and the senate were made for... as the other poster sayed we should tar and feather them all and hire a whole new bunch (im just not sure how we go about doing that ) ... so until then, here we sit with trillions in debt and the inevitably of these bone heads simply printing/borrowing MO MO MO Money

What really should make you sick to your stomachs is the fact that congress is NOT effected whatsoever by the fiscal cliff or anything else (they provided themselves protection against taking pay cuts or working a day each week for free)... thats ridiculous! I think their pay should be the first to go (especially since they are the ones who failed to reach compromises). This country should be marching in the streets right now yet were not

I am not sure where you get your numbers, but 85 billion out of 140 billion equates to a slash of the budget by 60%. You have to compare apples to apples here after all. When you dissect the military budget, and separate it from the overall national budget, and further separate procurement from the operation portion of the military budget that will not be cut, you see that one aspect of the military budget takes the brunt of the spending cuts. As I posted before, I am not sure we can afford NOT to build ships and other military equipment in the current world wide military stage; not if you don't want to be squashed that is.

To put it in terms people can understand, it would be like a small fabrication company building coal stoves. They are building a stove that people need, and want and helps them survive in challenging times, and so they go from making $140,000 dollar per year, to making $55,000 due to government regulation lets say that makes building these stoves difficult. If this happened, there would not be a person on here that would not say that coal stove fabrication company did not experience a financial crisis. In even more realistic terms, I know when I got laid off, and my income dropped by over 60%, it was a financial crisis for my family.

No matter what articles you read regarding this, shipbuilding is almost always brought up, and the reason for that is, as an industry, we are taking the brunt of the budget cuts. The sad part is, shipbuilding is the our military might. With todays technological weapons like super smart missiles that can take out anything from aircraft to satellites in space, and a world that is 2/3 water, these are the fast, versatile weapon platforms that can go anywhere. We used to joke and say, if one of our ships shows up on the coast of the bad guys, they are going to have a bad day. Today we cannot say that, because as long as one of our ships are within a few thousand miles of the bad guys coast, they are going to have a bad day. Today, more then ever, you want a strong Navy, and that is why China is developing their Navy and is now the second largest in the world.

I say again, shipbuilding is not where the nation should make the majority of its military budget cuts. Not now. I do not say that because I am a shipbuilder...I say that because I am a shipbuilder and know the unique position this country is in.

It doesn't bother me in the least. It is what it is. My area here, 99% agriculture, has been living within our means since time began. It's our reality & we percervere the best we can--good school district where taxes are outragous due to state mandates & out of control benefits, same with union shops, state & fed workers in the same note--my only disappointment is that our piece of crap politicians have not stepped up & taken any CUTS--I feel for people that are living way above their means, but maybe all this will get them to look at a little bit of reality--we've got to stop SPENDING what we don't have. Just remember, over the me, me, me years, WE have let this goverment get to the point it is at, no one else--sooooo, suck it up. Jeff, back in the good old days, this crap would never of gotten as out of control as it has:(

If the govt was in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years we would have a shortage of sand. Time to reverse this trend as we have no choice--- broke is broke.

there are those important folks that are the 1% of the force that do indeed make and take care of our forces around the world. those that are directly responsible for the quality of the protective gear and ordanance used to protect our fighting men and women.

they are usually so very dedicated that often put thier job before family and friends due to its importance.

believe me, they should not be forced to work for free when the a$^#holes give our precious money away to places that cant even grow thier own food......

these few are indeed not living above thier means..... they are the bees that keep the nest safe and are getting a major screwing by the people who DO waste our money..... just sucks

Fact is the money to "fix" the debt has to come from somewhere. It is NOT coming from people that do not have any. It is not coming from people that have insider information(Gov. officials) or people that have high liquidity and ability to move it around the world. The mega rich are unassailable because they are the ones that created the debt. It is found in the capitol called labor, and the middle class and poor will provide it as slaves for generations. Most will think they are free unless they collapse this illusion also for some reason.

Kevin