The Week in Comments: The budget and the debt ceiling
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 Government fears too much disclosure in bin Laden raid will jeopardize future missions
Unfortunately members of congress get security clearances without a lot of vetting and are terrible sieves of information that puts our good guys in danger. They are either too stupid to realize they are being played or too eager for political points.
This administration has said too much already. First they said he was unarmed - front page news - then said of yeah, there were guns in the room where he was captured (page 137 under dog food sales). We disclose too much - don't think they will ever learn.
Put the blame where it belongs, on the media. The administration is hounded for details, if none are given, then the reporters make it sound like there is something to hide. News reporting has gotten really biased. I rarely read the garbage put out by newspapers, it is too much like reading one of those rags at the checkout counter. There are still people in this country who feel that news should not be presented like those "reality" shows on TV. I don't need to be entertained.
On Locality pay will remain unchanged in 2012
I am also from Albany and its hard to understand why no locality pay increase was granted to those of us here. New York State is among some of the highest taxed states in the country and yet an employee in Dallas, TEXAS makes more for the same grade and step? Example - A Grad 9 Step 1 makes 50,154 in Dallas, Texas, while the same in Albany, NY makes 47,448. The difference - NY taxes the hell out of its residences while TEXAS has no state income tax. And the cost of living in NY is much higher, just ask those of us who pay property tax on top of NY's income tax. So where's the fairness!!!
The Norfolk, VA area should not be in the "Rest of US" either. It is very expensive to live here, and the commute is horrible. I've ran the numbers and there are SEVERAL communities that have locality pay that are incredibly less expensive to live.
I agree with most of the comments here. These politicians (all of them) have driven the fight out of me. I now dread reading these articles - they are so depressing. As if everything that is wrong and evil with this economy lies on the backs of federal workers. I must have been busy working and missed the day we became scum.
On Treasury taps federal pensions as Uncle Sam hits debt ceiling
Look closely... funds will apparently be made whole again only if the debt limit is increased. I don't trust these people to do the right thing anymore... do you??
But what if the debt ceiling is NOT increased? Why steal what is not yours?
I have almost 32 years of service. I am getting ready to retire with what I thought would be a good pension. However, with all of these changes, I cannot afford to quit.
I truly wonder why the first thing the government considers cutting is the benefits for federal employees. I see so much waste with billions spent on things like contracting for unsuccessful IT projects, special interest projects, and mismanagement of funds. Why can't the higher ups take a real look at where money is being wasted instead of stepping all over the federal worker.
Let's see: no pay raise; an increase in health insurance, gas, and food; can't claim OTC in FSAFEDS anymore , yet many prescription items are now being sold OTC. Now you get to tap into my my CSRDF to pay the government's rising debt; but I have to muddle through the best way I can. Big Oil and the Donald Trumps of america get richer while the working middle class dwindles away. What is wrong with this picture?
Once again, the debt/deficit/budget is being balanced on the backs of government workers. Surely we can't be the only ones causing this.
On OMB employees seek union representation
OMB has always been a sweat shop. Why would anyone want to work there for any length of time? In fact, the accounting side of the fed govt has been going down hill since that ridiculous CFO Act in the early 90s - useless audits (corporate welfare for private sector audit firms). The same basic mechanics of reporting have existed for the 34+ years I have been around (e.g., SF224), just a little more (questionable) automation now.
I love it! Words like sweat shop and all. 3/4 of the federal workers would not complain as much (if they could even last) in the private world.
Government employees should not be allowed to unionize, ever. Pay and benefits should be set by the legislative body at the level of government the employees work. If the employees don't like it, leave and get a job in the private sector. I am sick of hearing how bad government employees are treated and how hard they work. I am currently a GS-13 and over the last 35 years, I have been a government employee at the city, county, state, and federal levels. I heard the same whining at all of those levels as I hear now as a federal employee. You choose to be a government employee and know the pay and benefits when you get hired. If you don't like it, leave. Government employees in unions make it worse for all of us.
On Lawmaker proposes fixes to ease USPS fiscal crisis
I have an idea. Why don't you run it more like Fedex or UPS and less like a bureaucracy!? That would be an amazing feat to begin with, I'm sure.
Sorry, but I couldn't finish the article. Time to pay some bills by EFT.
On Plan to cap bonuses detailed in Obama administration memo
Pay for performance, with effectively no way to reward top performers. What a joke.
Fine--from now on I won't work more than 40 hours per week unless I'm paid overtime. I recently worked 21 straight days with no overtime, with the assumption my supervisor would take care of me during bonus time. If it were up to him, he would, but now it appears he won't have the opportunity.
Let's continue to elevate SES to the realm of a minor kingdom. They already can leapfrog annual leave benefits, coming into government and instantly making 8 hours of annual leave a payperiod, something it took the rest of us 15 years to reach. Why don't we just give the SES leaders a crown? We all know that they can do no wrong. They seem to have the Midas touch. Just ask them and they will be glad to tell you how wonderful they are. Leadership rewards leadership, regardless of merit.
Please explain why SES bonsuses are capped at 5% and non-SES at 1%? The non-SES employees are the ones who deserve the 5% as they do all the work. Again, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer!
On Geithner, defending Obama plan, says GOP owns potential U.S. default
Here we go again with the blame game instead of addressing the issues. So tell me again why the dems didn't pass a budget and address this situation when they had full control of the government? Instead they spent their time promoting rediculous things like welfare for clunkers, porkulus packages and Obamacare.
Has Geithner paid his taxes yet?
Seriously Tim Geithner who is a tax evader and doesn't pay til he is caught is lecturing us on the debt. Every politician and political appointee needs their salaries cut extensively including the President and Vice President and oh by the way just because Carter, Bush, Clinton and Bush were President for either 4 or 8 years does not mean they should get a salary for life let them go out and get a real job instead of us continually paying them with tax dollars
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