The Week in Comments: Guam, TRICARE and hamburgers
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 Watchdog asked to study contractor salaries, benefits
Doesn't anyone else see this as insane? If the government wants to set a new SCA or DB Act standard that is not just above minimum wages and benefits and not just above locally based prevailing wages and benefits (the "Decent" wage) to the point of displacment of the private sector, then do so openly at higher cost to the taxpayer, but what is this about investigating contractors that have complied with Labor Dept set standards? The opportunity for political favoritism in this proposal - selecting high road contractors - should really scare us all.
Is this a joke? Declaring contractors unscrupulous for not paying the same wages and benefits as unions? Why not call this the "protect the unions even if it drives up the deficit initiative". And then estimating the hidden cost based upon non-government salary data? Why not go after those companies (without government contracts) for which Congress apparently knows that the taxpayer is picking up the tab? Let's make the US even less competitive in the world market; who cares about the balance of trade. Why not simply federalize everything, pay everyone the same wage and benefits regardless of what they do or don't do? Re-live the year 1917 but in the US, not Russia.
I am glad to see that the contractors are finally being looked into. I see contractors getting special projects, better treatment, and so many extras that I have to wonder if the taxpayers are aware of the abuse. There are GS5&6's that are doing the same work as contractors that are being paid over 80,000.00 per year,their room and board furnished, flights home every two weeks, ask any government employee if they would not like to have their room and board furnished and flights home every two weeks and make over 80,000.00 per year, you can darn bet they would. We have contractors hired to train employees and they are actually having so much input as to destroy a person career. Now I cannot wait until someone gets the nerve to check on the cost and savings of having these centralized offices of the Forest Service. And they are wanting to hire even more GS14's, come on we need producers.
On Report says military and private sector pay are not apples to apples
The cost of the military needs to be reduced, we can't continue to be the world cop. It costs our society too much...close overseas bases and bring them home...its time to have a military that meets our nations needs...not our military's ego or big business.
Those that complain about the salaries and benefits of the people serving in the military need to volunteer for 4 years. Ask the people that have lost loved ones if whatever the salary and benefits are work the loss of life. Ask the families if the mental condition of the returning soldier is worth the salary and benefits. Yes people do volunteer but thanks to those people that have a sense of country (not greed for the $). They are the true heroes and deserve every penny they receive and every benefit provided.
The questions is "Would you give up what you have or what you make to see other killed?
You can't even compare police officers to military members. Ask all the policemen/women in the country if they would like to go to work in Iraq or Afghanistan for the amount of money our service members get. Ask them if they would like to serve 10 month, or longer, tours without seeing their families in a place where the next civilian you see could blow your butt up. Ask them if they would like to live in barracks with 3 other people in the same room or worse in a tent with no facilities such as a bathroom or shower for days on end. Walking patrols in a countryside where they would be a target, not only once-in-a-while but constantly. Police don't put up with the same living and dying conditions our service members do. They don't get hazard pay for simply doing their jobs. For example an 18 year old working on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier gets hazard pay because it's dangerous as heck up there! Even a common deckhand on one of our warships gets 'Sea Pay', which is a hazard pay. Far, far fewer police officers get killed in 'training exercises' than do our soldiers and sailors. Not only that but not too many police officers are 20 years old and solely responsible for the lives of their platoon mates as well as the civilians around them. So, no, there are NO oranges you can compare to serving in our military.
Not taking sides here, but to the individual looking at the DFAS chart for BAH, that chart does not include a lot of extras. You need to go to the Defense Travel/DOD link to see what the total BAH is. You search by Zip Code and Pay Grade. For instance, an E-1 in San Antonio without dependents receives $885/month. This is a very low cost of living metro area and $885 for an 18 year old kid will get him/her a nice 800-1000 sq ft apt and pay most, if not all, of his/her utilities. An O-3 without dependents in the same area receives $1323/month, which is good enough for a small house or a 2 bedroom luxury apartment. My father, for instance, is in Southern Cal as an O-6 and he receives somewhere in the $3800/month range with dependents. Again, not taking sides, but I want everyone to have their facts straight. Take a look at the site and fiddle with the pay grades and zip codes. Give you an idea of who gets what where.
On Burning Question: Will the Marines cause Guam to tip over?
How entertaining was that? It's so enjoyable to watch someone that foolish try to appear intelligent. Thank you Georgia, Jimmy Carter, Newt Gingrich and now this guy, you sure can keep the country laughing.
I just saw the video. I've seen blabbering drunks and junkies high on heroin speak more intelligently and legibly than Rep. Johnson. What idiots elected this clown?
Rep Johnson clarifed this statement several times that his concern is about the stress on a island that has limited resources and already a signifianct population. Adding more troops could cause break an already overtaxed eco system leading to devistation for the native population. This has been seen in several islands were a military had lots of people both active duty and support. Reporting like in this article without contacting the person directly is irresponsible.
The only morons here are the ones who actually think the Congressman was referring to a literal tipping over of the island of Guam. For goodness' sake, he even explained that he didn't mean a literal tipping over after the Admiral or General or whoever it was giggled at the comment.
It's not about being politically correct or moronic. It's about being smart enough to know when someone isn't being literal. Gee whiz!!!!!!
Those who think the Congressman did not LITERALLY mean that the Guam may tip over either failed to watch the video or are lying to themselves. Nice try for those who are sticking up for him, but no one can honestly defend his level of stupidity.
On Veterans push for fixes to health care overhaul
Socialism is the government ownership of a industry or service. I find it a bit more than humorous that many of the supporters of TriCare and Veterans benefits are opposed to Obama's health care because Faux News and the GOP label it is socialism. Well guys, if the shoe fits. The largest beneficiaries of "socialized medicine" in the U.S. should not be casting stones.
When it comes to our health care, I wouldn't trust any politician to do the right thing. Most of them have never gone in harms way, and if not for Veterans' groups we would definitely wind up getting the short end of the stick.
LTC James Moorhouse (US Army Ret.).
Angry Vet, you did notice you used the word "benefits" did you not? And those are EARNED benefits. Furthermore, TRICARE contracts with private insurance companies. But more importantly TRICRAE is NOT socialized medicine because it does NOT cover all. Do the research. I am surprised you don't get it.
I am with Angry Vet on this one. There is no larger socialist organization in the country than the US military. However, I don't say that as a negative. They get subsidized on their uniforms, food, housing, and their medical is completely paid for. They get 30 days of leave a year, and if they are declared sick by a doctor, they stay off work as long as the doctor says and there is no "hit" to a sick leave balance. If you are disabled while serving, you get a disability pension. And when you consider the financial impact of all that, the compensation is pretty damn good.
That said, I am all for it. The military puts it on the line for those of us at home. Lincoln said it best in his second inaugural address. We have the responsibility to "care for him who has borne the burden and for his widow and orphan." as a vet who still cares for vets as an employee of the VA, I consider it an honor. But it's still a type of socialism. The Republicans like the military because it gets them votes.
It is a crapshoot knowing what kind of doctor and treatment you will get in military. But, the VA will surely try to kill you. TRICARE really means, TRY to get CARE. They are underfunded and too many patients. For whatever reasons, they allowed too many vets into VA system who may have served a couple years and now think they are owed free health care for life. It should have remained for those with clear service connected damage. Having said that, there are some great professionals at the VA and military hospitals. Unfortunately, the VA became another Equal Opportunity program like other Federal Employment and far too many are unemployable but for federal job.
On Burning Question: Do troops deserve burgers and fries?
I think this is ridiculous that these men and women are fighting this war and one of the things that they look for when they are back at the base are the little extra comforts of living. Whether it is fast food,shower and/or sleep.I bet the Commander is not living on rations, is he!!!
Food is always a one of the most vital creature comforts. Being a war zone, a burger and some fries might be the only bright spot of the day. "Booo !" to those commanders to made this silly decision.
Sure it's a "War Zone." Now what does that mean? We're not fighting wars the way we did during the Revolution, logistics have come a long way. Blaming a poor choice on resources is just a cop out. Maybe Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Hall should have a few weeks of steamship round before he plays obedient puppy to the Stars who have it consistently better than the troops.A Tisket A Tasket
The question is not about burgers & fries, it's why are we in any wars at all? Bring them all home from all around the world. That will save some the US some serious money! Want to balance that budget - bring them home! This imperialism is lunacy - needless death, destruction, and it is bankrupting the country.
These men and women are putting their lives on the line for us and we can't even provide them a hamburger if they want one? We have the capability, we should "take care of the soldier".
This reminds me of the old sayings: "There will be no more leave until morale improves," or "The beatings will continue until morale improves."
No burgers and fries. Not when the luxury restaurant supplies take up space causing reduction of basic supplies to the forward fighters. These luxury supplies don't just go to soldiers, but to contractors, civilians and foreigners. I have no objection if the fast food companies manage their own logistics using non-governmental methods and funding. It is not about denying those in the green zone; it's about fully supplying our fighters in the outlying areas.
Having gotten out of the military and currently working in healthcare I would side with the decision to remove fast food on two levels. First it puts an unneeded drain on supply chains, security and the liability of our government. The second reason is unlike the current ad campaign for High Fructose Corn Syrup and other fast food preservatives this stuff will kill you. HFCS with a simple physical chemical process will keep you eating even after you are stuffed because glucose not fructose signals to the brain that you have had enough sugar. The whole industry has read the reports but we still see chemicals being used that harm us by all the fast food companies because they want to centralize operations within poor rural areas in the U.S. and other countries to maximize profits. We can actually stop most of our current oil wars by eating local and reducing supply chains to within 250 miles of your home. Use farmers markets ect. For those who haven't seen it go see "zero impact man" for other advice.
Any bets this CSM is sitting in some "green zone" somewhere safe and away from the fighting. No doubt eating hamburgers and fries and drinking 30 year old Bourbon with his buds.
It's already miserable enough let's make it a little bit more miserable and keep morale REALLY low. That way recruiting will fall and retention will be low too. Way to go MR. Wizard!
An "amusement park?" Really? How tall do you have to be to ride the rides? Is it really too much to allocate some resources toward creature comforts? In this day and age, I think not. In fact, they already are allocated; the leadership is merely being tasked to do more with less. That's the same song and dance that every level of leadership has been asked to do for centuries. What's new about that? Nothing. Redistribution of funds happens every single day. So redistribute it to a better, less expensive food source that satisfies the creature comfort level being enjoyed now. Or reach out to those fast food companies and ask them to step up and provide it for free. In the long run, the goodwill that gets conveyed will surely pay off for them. There's always a better mouse trap. Hey, watch out for the "jack in the box!"
On Report calls compromise cornerstone to hiring reform
Why is it that our so-called "best and brightest" at the highest level of government service always "get it" so late? We've had a number of great people choose to work somewhere else because they couldn't wait for the hiring process to bring them on board. The lack of "technology" is just an excuse for the amount of red tape people have to go through before being hired. The private sector has always had the same limited technology and has been able to hire people in a very short period of time. Streamline the process; that's what's needed.
Sorry, but all this high-level posturing is going to solve nothing. "Automation" won't be the answer. The issues, at least in my little corner of Department of the Army, include: unwillingness of the personnel structure to accept a job description written by a hiring official to include what he/she needs done ("we have to use one of the announcements in the approved library"); time it takes for for a vacancy announcement to be published (four different staff sections have to "approve it," meaning it will sit on four different desks for up to 10 days each); time it takes for the collected resumes to be sent to the hiring official (four to six weeks after the closing date). This all adds up to an average timer of almost three months to fill a vacancy. Now, what is Mr. Berry's "summitting" going to do to alleviate that?
On Watchdog recommends more enhancements to passenger rail security
Hopefully, TSA or another federal agency has (1) deployed sensors to detect persons carrying explosive into our various subway systems and (2) has an effective strategy in place to prevent persons with explosives from entering a subway. This is critical given what recently terrorist attacks in the Moscow subway system.
The Washington Metro and NYC subway systems are enticing targets to terrorists.
What's next barriers on the highways so that TSA can inspect cars and vans on the interstate?? We don't want to profile, we don't plan on carrying out strengthening the borders, we don't allow police to arrest illegals. This much to do about nothing
On IG: State and local immigration enforcement activities lack oversight
Why do the states and localities feel it's necessary to do immigration enforcement at all? Why aren't federal authorities able to do their jobs in the first place? Those are the key questions that no one's interested in asking at the federal level. Genuinely tackling illegal immigration is unpopular with certain special interest groups and therefore unpopular with the government.
Not sharing prosperity by keeping someone out is no different that not sharing prosperity by keeping someone down. "Keep the in their place" has the same moral quality in geographic sense as it has in the social sense.
Jeff, I don't want to share my wealth, what little there is of it, with anyone just because you and our politicians think it's a good idea. If you want to share yours, feel free. This is a free country after all, but that doesn't mean it's free to live here. It doesn't mean you are free to insert yourself into our system just because you can get across a border. If you want to support others, more power to you. If it's all the same to you, I'd like to keep that for which I work.
On Performance czar asks agencies to spruce up spending data
Wow! This memorandum has magical powers!? I would have never guessed a memo could do all of that. My faith is suddenly renewed.
Who is tracking the cost for all the administrative time spent by czars, councils, and contracting officers to collect this useless data? All I see in this effort is my tax money being thrown out the window. Where is the sanity here?
On Energy chief: Don't 'linger' over Yucca decision
By all means, let's eliminate a non-polluting power source, no point in having cheap nuclear power, let's focus on sunshine and wind, they've proven efficient and in-expensive to operate, let's keep those short sighted glasses on Mr. Secretary.
Yeah--let's move into the future--a dark, uncertain future that limits our ability to build nuclear reactors for power because of the political expediency and hidden anti-nuke agenda of this Administration. Into that murky future we go, led by the shortsighted. Full speed ahead!
Oh no, we certainly would not want to consider the will of the people in this.
Ron/Mark, perhaps you should be taking into consideration how the waste was to be arriving at Yucca.
It would have been by either trucking or train and they would be going thru many towns/cities in the process.
What if the train/truck turned over and the radio active waste spilled out? Depending on where this would happen (no way to garuntee that it wouldn't) how may people, farm fields, and water systems would have been exposed to it?
Also, how much damage/health problems would it cause? Everyone in Congress needs to keep this in mind when they are making such plans. It shoudl be the safety of the people/towns/cities first then the convience of the selected area not the other way around.
On GSA invests $4 billion in greener federal buildings
What's the payback period on this $4 billion green "investment?" Does anyone have any idea? Will it be paid back before the useful life of the improvements expires? Is this really an "investment" or is it just a way to (slowly) get money in the economy? How long until that $4B actually gets into the hands of workers??? It seems like this was a terribly inefficient way to stimulate the economy - which is not to say these may (or may not) be valuable and useful projects in their own right.
I work in a brand new green building in the Houston area. The glare is killing my eyes,I can't see my computer screen, I hear comments from my supervisor's glass office through the walls. I can't talk to my supervisor without everybody listening in or seeing me. Is it the green building or the fact that the designers didn't care about workers? I don't know.
"Green" means less dependence on foreign oil and transferring US wealth to people who would rather see us dead. THAT alone makes it worth it. Think of that every time you fill the gas tank of your SUV.
If we could just get the employees to turn off all the lights when they leave every night,and especially on weekends, we could be 'greener' with little effort, and it sure wouldn't cost a billion bucks or more to do this.