The Week in Comments: Budget cuts, hiring and paid parental leave
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 Business owners complain regulations are killing jobs
We now worship at the alter of business and must bow to the gods of the economy. Give the lords their due, whatever they want, we must offer. It will be ok to breathe bad air, leave the next generation a more fouled homeland, and above all poorer working conditions. Who will go into the mines now?
The federal government is the one that needs regulated.
On House lawmakers reintroduce paid parental leave bill
Oh by all means, continue to reward those who keep having children, consuming resources that we can't even figure out how to pay for, and leaving increased carbon footprints on the earth. Heaven forbid that anyone would have the sense to limit the number of children they have, and the number of free paid vacation days they would have for having more and more kids.
I would rather they have passed a pay raise. This only benefits a minority of the workforce.
My question is why?! In this time of budget cuts, hiring and pay freezes, why would you introduce a bill that would cost thousands of dollars? What about people who do not want children? Can they get up to four weeks off paid leave to take care of a sick spouse, sick parent? Or folks like me whose children are grown now. Can I get it to care for a grandchild? I say reintroduce this legislation after federal employees start receiving raises again!
As a woman in my child-bearing age, I think this is a great idea. Unfortunately, the timing is terrible. The federal government is in serious debt, & we're trying to do everything possible to cut budgets & get it out of debt, including freezing pay, discussing furloughs, etc. While I would love to use this paid leave in addition to annual/sick leave should I have a child, this is not the time.
I work for the fed gov and I am young women just starting out. Most women who are just start in the government are at that age for having children and do not have the leave saved up. I am considering leaving my job because there are better benfits for families in private companies. I also am not over paid...I actually make below average for the area I live in.
On Obama's budget hits nonsecurity agencies hard
I don't care what kind of cuts are coming with this budget, the deficit of $1.1T (or 46% over expected income) is absolutely ridiculous and the cuts are definitely not enough.
I am tired of hearing about expected savings 10 years out. Most of those savings never come true. Let's stick with savings within the budgeted year.
Let's see Congress cut their own pay, retirements, expense accounts and staff. They need to make new laws aimed inwardly: specifically, service time required for retirement pay. Geez, we have to stop paying people retirement for 2 years of service.
On Budget proposes federal workforce boost
More socialized union workers to get votes. All the great BO cares about. More red in the budget. oh great one
Afre you kidding me? Add more federal workers? Enough already! We need to make cuts now to begin balancing the budget. So, if anything, we need to reduce head count.
We have been told in DOD to do a decremnent drill of 20% for all our civilian positions and the impact. If DOD is getting additional money AND the civilian positions would go away through atrition, then why are we having this drill?ometime smells fishy here - union: are you listening?
On Budget includes 1.6 percent pay raise for military personnel
The military is the de facto fourth branch of government, and may be the most politically powerful of the four.
With the increase of support for the military family, can such support be expanded to include support for the families of the civilian also deployed?
On Obama budget calls for targeted cuts
Not enough. The deficit alone is 1.5 trillion this year. Thats 10% a yr. This is madness, raise retirement age and stop Obama Care in its track. Time to pay the piper. Mandatory cuts across the board of 10% per year for ten years for EVERY agency.
Let's stop the pretense and declare this budget "DOA"--as Congress did with Ronald Reagan's budgets--but for the opposite reasons. Where Reagan's budgets contained real cuts, this one is loaded with pork. We need to get going on some real spending cuts, not the president's little sidestep dance.
On White House threatens to veto 2011 funding measure
Isn't this playing "chicken" on a grand scale? So, who will be the first to blink?
If Obama wants to shut down the government, I say go ahead. The public is starting to understand the budget games he is playing and the straightforward approach of the House Budget Committee. I predict that this time, the president will rightly get the "credit" for closing the executive branch.
A shutdown....then what? How long do you think it would last? Do you think would salaries be retroactively granted?
On Senator: Senior execs must identify poor-performing programs
We've been doing more with less since the Regan years. How about somebody with authority (like Congress) finding the intestinal fortitude to simply cut an entire program--not fund it half way and scream when performance is poor--just shut a program down, all the way.
Don't you bet on it! I saw this in the Air Force and when leadership wants a program, they will keep hanging on to it no matter what! The SES's were the worst offenders!
On GOP lawmakers seek to freeze bonuses, step increases
I really wish congress would focus on creating jobs instead of punishing those who have jobs.
Two years of a pay freeze isn't enough for these self entitled idiots! Wonder if their pay is froze... Any one want to bet?
Any Feds still thinking of voting Republican ever again? Thx!
I will take pay freeze or furlough or whatever as long as I have a job, which is something almost 10% people do not have right now.
Why aren't they freezing the lawmaker's salaries and their staffs as well? Why only the federal workers? In the private sector, I never paid as high of health insurance premiums for blue cross/blue shield coverage that I do now working for the federal government!
Very demoralizing to federal employees. The federal employee is not the reason for the large deficit. We should blame our uncontrollable members of Congress who got us in this mess. This is not the way to fix it.
First a pay freeze for two years, now a proposal to freeze step increases.
When will groceries, gas, clothing, utilities, etc., freeze the prices we have to pay?
This is just barnstorming to get votes. You can't stop Step Increases as everyone knows that would require a change to personnel rules at OPM. Or maybe Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. doesn't do his homework?
Come on...seriously...leave us federal employees alone already. Our base pay is frozen for 2 yr at least let us earn our step increases.
I have accepted the fact of pay freezes for the next two, three, five years, but lawmakers need to understand that promotions, awards or step increases are "EARNED" and is not given to just anyone. Government/people need some comfort in being able to move forward/upward during hard times that keep pushing us back!
one more reason to not vote republican anymore. i wouldnt vote for a republican now if God was on the ticket.
And of course, if Obama signs this he will receive no blame? Just the r's? Way too funny.
Balancing the budget on the backs of Feds buys political points, but until Congress truly recognizes and addresses the elephant in the room, entitlements and defense, there really is no hope for America's economic future.
NEXT STORY: Lawmakers Seek Freeze on Promotions, Awards, Too