The Week in Comments: Cordray, buyouts and a military pay raise
The best in reader reaction to recent articles.
A roundup of some of the comments received this week in the GovExec.com Mailbag. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.
On Are federal buyout incentives worth taking?
Yup, the $25,000 won't go as far as years ago, and most of all, the unemployment rate is high, so can't be sure I'd get another job; or that my potential small business will make some money.
Step 1 - Eliminate OPM and replace it with a 5 person board. Step 2 - Take all money previously funneled to OPM and use it to pay for the budgetary reductions.
Problem solved.
a 25k bonus to sign retirement papers is a very big plus, if you are ready to retire and are just waiting for the buyout....duh....
I took the buy out about 4 years ago and it was the best decision I've ever made. With no pay raise, freeze on promotions, and deduction in other benefits...I left the government just in time. Even though by buy out equal to about $17,000 it was well worth it, I wouldn't have made that over the past 4 years working. I was a FERS employee with a CSRS offset. I am enjoying every moment of my retirement, it's all in planning well.
On Military pay raise takes effect
We were promised FREE healthcare. I can remember seeing the handouts when I enlisted in 1975. Now we pay and now they want even more money. Congress lied to us. Obama lied to us. Fire them all come November.
I see the military returning to a slower promotion system like existed in the 1980s-1990s, to contain payroll costs. Instead of a 40-50% promotion rate for eligible personnel E-5, E-6, E-7 every year, it'll return to between 9-15% which was the norm for almost 20 years. For instance, instead of making E-5 with average 4-5 years in service, it'll be more like average 8-10 years in service. A lot of money could be saved by paying most enlisted at the E-4 rate for 8 or more years.
During my military years in the 80s, military raises lagged those of civilians. Now it's the opposite. Clearly I'm bad at timing careers.
you want to cut the military but will not cut congress or senate they get all for free for life the military fights for them and they get nothing
Translation: Trim around the edges, but don't do any serious reductions. No doubt his version of "cutting" the deficit means merely slowing the growth of it.
A.B.O......Anybody But Obama!
Anybody but a republican! God bless America!
The only folks serious abotu reducing the deficit are the Tea Party. We have all seen how the left has made us to be the Boogie Man. Well, soon enough we shall all see the results of that mission. We will be the next Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland and so many more socialist style countries go. Better reduce it now on our accord than to have it forced down outr throats.
tea is better for you than koolaid
On Obama makes three more recess appointments, all NLRB
The repubs plan to block everything is nothing but negative for the national interest. It's about time the president fought back against these obstructionist republicans. He should have just appointed everyone who needed it at the same time. The republicans have no interest in letting any appointment thru, that is obvious. The nations business needs to continue and if it has to then it should be without republican input if they chose to not give any.
The appointments are unconstitutional because Congress is still in session, a little research for this article would have been nice. Also, the article is very biased in favor of the President - "The appointments to the NLRB, a lightening rod for conservatives opposed to any expansion of labor rights,"
Just one more case of "Emperor Obama" moving America towards socialism. With 48% of America, including all federal workers, paying taxes to support the other 52%, how much longer will we take it? Wake up America!
Obstruction? Schumer and the Dems did the same thing to Bush, especially when it came to the federal judiciary. They also obstructed political appointees, leading to recess appointments by Bush. The difference was that Bush at least waited until Congress was actually in recess before making his appointments.
Hey republicans, if the nominess made by the president are qualified they should be confirmed. If every presidential appointee has to meet a litmus test by the right or the left, no one will ever be placed in an appointed position! Stop causing our government to be disfunctional. We voted you in...we can sure as heck vote you out!!!!
On Obama's consumer bureau appointment raises political, legal stakes
The number of recess appointments by revered GOP presidents: Ronald Reagan = 243 and George W Bush = 171. Anguish or not?
Our Founding Fathers did not create a Senate that was envisioned to filibuster every bill brought before it. An individual Senator being able to block an appointment without going on the record is a power grab.
Once again, Obama shows total disdain for the Constitution, the rule of law, ethics, and the will of the American people. To make the "recess" appointments when there is no recess is a flagrant display of his arrogance and shows again that this man is dangerous for America, disdains the protections afforded us under the Constitution, and thirsts for absolute power. America will oneday mourne the day that he was elected as our President.