The Week in Comments: Cuts, buyouts and benefits
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 Panetta plays last card, warns Defense cuts could lead to attack on the U.S.
I think Mr. Panetta needs to run for President.
Aside from the all-purpose Al Qaida threat, who does he think will launch an attack? Russia? China? Nauru?
Defense is simply too complicated. Too many generals, too many layers of management. One service only. Thats real savings. We like to claim that making every fighter capable of landing on a carrier is too expensive, but its a minor cost compared to three bureacracies supporting three different fighter aircraft.
On IRS offering buyouts to employees
WOOHOO! Let's reduce revenue, we should be able to dig ourselves even deeper into this hole! The cheaters are going to love this news.
A decision was made to cut the IRS 2012 budget so the Commish had no choice but to reduce staff. The buyouts have nothing to do with the Obama health care plan. None of the major occupations were offered the buyout.
On USPS proposal to leave federal health benefits program questioned
Let me get this straight. The Postal Service has gotten itself in debt by mismanagement, and now they think that they can run a healthcare program.
Congress is the problem. No one else has to prefund the retirement plan the way Congress mandated USPS. Stupid legislation proposed by misinformed Congressmen.
On Survey: Military families report concern over potential TRICARE fee hike
I will accept any cuts to Tricare if Congress gives up the same percentage for thier medical insurance.
Free medical care for life made sense at a time when there was a man in a uniform serving his country; it has become a bill that cannot be paid when every man in a uniform comes with a wife, family and life expectancies have increased. Military salaries have increased and it's time they paid their fair share; this business of putting one's life on the line for their country only goes so far in a military where so many sit behind a desk with a computer like any other white collar propfessional.
The military health care program has been in effect and used as a recruiting tool for many years. Many stay in the military for this benefit. Retirements are planned for and based on the low cost of the health care. Along with this is the fact the these men and women fight for our country and deserve it. Everyone has the option of choosing a military career, don't penalize the ones that fight for the freedoms that you and I enjoy.
Warning to all current members of the armed forces: the promises made to you are not worth the paper on which they are written. Don't believe anything they tell you about retirement, as they will arbitrarily take away anything at any time, and you are not part of a union that pays campaign contributions, so they do not care about you. They call you hero today, but you will become a drain on the federal budget when you take off your uniform. Does anyone think for a moment that Congress is considering cutting their own benefits in order to save taxpayer dollars?
On Perry proposes sweeping government reform
He really doesn't want the job, does he. Such radical oratory doesn't translate into the practical, prudent approach that needs to be taken with the budget. The line of hands wanting something put in them, needs to be shortened, starting in DC.
Asenine policy....no federal employees will come to work for half the pay. The country will not get any services. Perry would never be able to get this to pass...so why even propose it at this time?
On Lawmakers lambast OPM for jobs site glitches, slow retirement processing
Congress-critters complaining about OPM being slow? Maybe they should look in the mirror first.
Moving USAJOBS "in-house" was a logical step to regain control over sensitive government records and privacy data. However, lets be clear, the "in-housing" in not complete, but most likely managed by Feds - with a mostly contractor and consultant design, implementation and operations teams. If Berry and OPM really want to restore control over their system, they will have to take it further. Hire most technical staff as career Feds at grade levels taht can attract and sustain the best talent. USAJOBS performs a function that will be required for the longterm - why not develop the best long term staff to ensure its success?
If they're backlogged now, think what it will be like next year when all we Feds finally get fed up with the way we're being treated!
On Survey: Federal employee satisfaction declines
After the Obama pay freeze, rising health care costs, talk of additional cuts in salaries and benefits, and decades of "doing more with less", it's no wonder that federal employee satisfaction has declined.
I wonder how many of these Fed employees voted for a Republican in 2010 ? If a republican gets in the WH in 2012 they can kiss their retiremnet goodbye.
Seriously, they had to do a proper survey? Wow, what a total waste of time and money. Anyone in the federal workplace knows that.
It seems sensationalizing to headline a 1 percentage point drop as "federal employee satisfaction declines." This is barely a drop. The effect of this type of headline in my view is it casts feds in a negative light, i.e., ungrateful for the jobs they've got. Why further fuel the distored negative view of feds these days?
On Postal Service will resume FERS retirement contributions next month
The USPS is an antique system that continually waste money every second of every day. The Postmaster General himself states that he has thousands of workers he doesn't need, yet due to the Government Service and Union rules, he can't just send them home. We continue paying for them all to just stand around.
The Postal Service needs to act more like a private entity - why should all the Congressional offices and non-profits get free mail delivery? If all of the folks who get the free services would pay their fair share they could at least begin to compete with private services.
On House report slams 10-year-old TSA
Incorporate biometrics? Really? That's the problem with giving nitwits (Congress) a buzzword...they whip it out without understanding it. Maybe they should define the false reject and false accept rates they'll accept while requiring compliance with HSPD-12?
TSA could be forgiven its myopia given it has the DHS for a parent. DHS, supposedly protecting America from terrorists and other external threats, has recently focused on coordinating raids against OWS protesters in the country. I am familiar with places like China and Iran viewing people holding signs as threats to state security but I was unaware we had a cabinet level agency that had adopted the same viewpoint. Meanwhile, contrary to the TSA's claims, this former airline pilot will attest that nothing has changed in airport security expect the level of spending on screening.
It is hard to argue about this report. TSA searches everyone without knowing anyone. Women and children who pose the least threat are treated worst of all. If a person is in a specific category (Law Enforcement, Security Clreaded etc) then the TSA should create express lines for these trusted folks.
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