Sequester? NO DEAL!

[Ronin13]

Now it looks like there isn't going to be a deal, and the cuts are going to take effect...
From Guardian.co.uk (underlined points done by me, for emphasis, not in original article):

The chances of a last-minute deal in the latest US tax and spending crisis appeared to be receding after Republican leaders said no new compromise would be tabled in talks at the White House scheduled for Friday.Draconian cuts to the US budget are scheduled to kick in at midnight Friday, with the White House warning it will lead to teachers being laid off, defence orders scrapped, air travel delays, vaccine projects shelved and border security reduced.


The cuts stem from the latest clash between Barack Obama (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/barack-obama) andRepublicans (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/republicans) in Congress over tax and spending. The difference this time is that neither Obama nor the Republicans are actively seeking the usual last-minute deal and Washington is braced for a prolonged stand-off in the so-called "sequester" crisis.


Obama is to meet the top two Republican congressional leaders, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and House speaker John Boehner (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/john-boehner), and their Democratic counterparts at the White House on Friday neither side anticipates a deal even being tabled, let alone reached.


There was not even the remotest hint of a compromise Thursday. McConnell, speaking in the Senate on Thursday, blamed Obama for failing to put forward a serious plan or engage in serious discussion.
"This week, he finally invited Speaker Boehner and me to discuss the sequester – tomorrow, the day it takes effect," McConnell said.
McConnell added: "Now, after thwarting every bipartisan attempt to avert his sequester, the president is ready to make it bite as hard as possible – all to send a simple message to the public: 'You want to control Washington spending, America? Fine, let me show you much I can make it hurt.'


"Instead of directing his cabinet secretaries to trim waste in their departments, he's going to go after first responders. And teachers. And almost any other sympathetic constituency you can think of. And he'll arbitrarily close parks and monuments too – all to force Americans to accept higher taxes. He'll claim his hands are tied.
"He'll say he has no choice but to release criminals into the streets and withhold vaccines from poor children. And somehow, it will be everyone's fault but his. Nonsense."
Read more here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/28/sequester-deadline-republicans-white-house)
Just goes to show, Obama is the biggest child in our government. He wants things to be his way or no way at all. I really do think that his failure to provide something people can agree on is not just a failure in leadership and failing this nation, it's a failure in being human. He is such a [REDACTED]! [Mad] I'd say more but I'm already probably on enough lists, plus I don't want to get banned.

[Singlestack]

Good, I hope so. I'm not crazy about cuts to the mil, but at least if this happens it will show what a complete liar and fabricator Beeho and the dems are. Cats and Dogs are NOT going to live together!

[TFOGGER]

Yet another case of the politicians creating a crisis, then congratulating themselves for avoiding it. They postponed the debt ceiling until after the elections, which allowed the Dems to get reelected, by making the "Fiscal Cliff" deal in which tax cuts would be allowed to expire in exchange for certain spending cuts. Now the Dems don't want to abide by the deal. Classic incrimentalism. They made the deal knowing full well the consequences, but want to renegotiate before they suffer those consequences, like a 5 year old that's about to be grounded...

[BPTactical]

Good, this mess was originally BO's idea and he has twisted it to where he is trying to blame the R's.
Let it backfire on him.

[jhirsh5280]

Rep Gomert was on the radio today saying Tax paying Americans took a 2% hit Jan 1st with the increase in payroll taxes and people had to tighten their belts but no one was going bankrupt because of it. Sequester cuts less than 2% of the federal budget so if Americans can survive with less than so can the federal govt. was also brought up that CBO estimates cuts more to the tune of 43 billion, that's less than the Feds pumped into GM to save them. If GM is "roaring back" then subsidize the loss of 43 billion by selling our stake in GM and there would still be 7 billion left over.

BHO proposed the cuts and now wants to vilify republicans for it, so much for ending name calling, compromise, and bipartisanship.

[muddywings]

yup, just got the brief from my O-6 today at lunch about the rules and such....will be a bumpy ride! Glad I could help save 2-3% of the budget with my 20% pay cut.

[Great-Kazoo]

Didn't the release of X amount of illegals cover the issues?

Supposedly, the crisis is about monies not yet in play that were going to be used for this years budget. How can you say there is a crisis when the monies in question have not been allocated yet?

[Ronin13]

yup, just got the brief from my O-6 today at lunch about the rules and such....will be a bumpy ride! Glad I could help save 2-3% of the budget with my 20% pay cut.
Is that across the board- base pay reductions by 20%? Are you f*cking kidding me!? How has this administration not been thrown out (by any means)?

[jslo]

43 million of a 3.6 trillion budget........"draconian" [Bang]

[hatidua]

Now it looks like there isn't going to be a deal, and the cuts are going to take effect...

Good, glad to hear it.

[bellavite1]

I am all for it.
Let's start trimming the fat.
Cut entitlement programs - good
Cut money to teachers brainwashing our kids - even better
Meals on Wheels fundings being cut? I'll send them a monthly check.

[Bailey Guns]

43 million of a 3.6 trillion budget........"draconian" [Bang]

Exactly. That's the equivalent of what the wife and I spend out of our yearly take home pay on a date night. In the grand budget scheme it means dick.

[muddywings]

Is that across the board- base pay reductions by 20%? Are you f*cking kidding me!? How has this administration not been thrown out (by any means)?

yup 1 day a week furlough from 28 Apr to end of fiscal year.

I wish they would trim the fat ala:


I am all for it.
Let's start trimming the fat.
Cut entitlement programs - good
Cut money to teachers brainwashing our kids - even better
Meals on Wheels fundings being cut? I'll send them a monthly check.

Please tell me what entitlement programs are being cut and when I see teachers getting laid off, then I'll believe it. I never believed that entitlement programs did anything other than make people lazy and saw it day in and day out when I was LEO.
As for the DOD, I could name a 1/2 dozen programs that the DOD doesn't want but they are still up and running because some congressman needs to employee his/her district.
And seeing how we are going to send millions to Syria to help them with their revolution (which is taking longer than needed because they didn't have 2A), I feel rather cheated that there is enough money to send to some other country instead of keeping .gov employees at their desks, doing their jobs.
I'll take my rant and go home now as I know where this will go. [gohome]

[Great-Kazoo]

yup 1 day a week furlough from 28 Apr to end of fiscal year.

I wish they would trim the fat ala:



Please tell me what entitlement programs are being cut and when I see teachers getting laid off, then I'll believe it. I never believed that entitlement programs did anything other than make people lazy and saw it day in and day out when I was LEO.
As for the DOD, I could name a 1/2 dozen programs that the DOD doesn't want but they are still up and running because some congressman needs to employee his/her district.
And seeing how we are going to send millions to Syria to help them with their revolution (which is taking longer than needed because they didn't have 2A), I feel rather cheated that there is enough money to send to some other country instead of keeping .gov employees at their desks, doing their jobs.
I'll take my rant and go home now as I know where this will go. [gohome]

You and others have my full support. 2014 it 2 years 2 many 2 wait.........................mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
222

[Ronin13]

Okay can someone explain... they're cutting, but how is it 20% pay cut for DOD employees? And is it just DOD civilians, or is it actual troops getting cut as well? I don't understand- I read that 800,000 employees (Civilian) were seeing a 20% pay cut...

[sniper7]

Okay can someone explain... they're cutting, but how is it 20% pay cut for DOD employees? And is it just DOD civilians, or is it actual troops getting cut as well? I don't understand- I read that 800,000 employees (Civilian) were seeing a 20% pay cut...

I believe that to be BS rumors. I have heard non essential jos might see 2 days off a month without pay.

Prat least in the airline world they are talking cuts to small airport towers. Big deal, most of us learned how to fly without a control tower and the smaller cities that have a tower...I would say 9/10 of them have no need for it. There are a ton of ATC controllers that are on break while others are working. I don't know the exact but I think it is something like a half hour or an hour on and then a half hour or so off. Some places getting stressful and require man eyes watching the operation. These are essential ad won't be cut. They will figure it out and the airlines will continue to fly. Most delays you see are caused by the amount of traffic or weather. Doesn't matter how man controllers are on, there are only so many slots available into a certain airport.

The TSA I believe could see a 50% reduction or damn close to it and still function just fine.

I don't know much about the DOD guys or the military guys do I don't have much of an opinion on it. Other than I see a ton of practice flying, practice approaches, practice maneuvers, etc etc. I think that could probably be cut down a percentage (not sure the amount), and things would still be fine. Some essential flying such as what Hoser does shouldn't see a cut. They use that every year, it is essential.

Now the fighter guys practicing air to air combat I think, as badass as it is, could see a cut. I don't see too many air to air combat situations anymore...

Airport grants and federal money need to be scrutinized with a microscope. There is a masssssssssssiiivvveeee fucking waste of tax dollars. Little airports that don't need brand new terminals, giving contracts to the lowest bidder only to have the job done shitty and be done by a good contractor shortly after. This is a problem with both republicans ad democrats trying to eek out money from deals for their local governments or airports to say they are going to draw in business with a multi-million dollar terminal and an extra runway etc etc.

This is just a small piece of the puzzle, but it accounts for a ton of money.

[Teufelhund]

A genius D-Rep. from. . . drumroll please. . . . California (I know, shocker) has this to say about this catastrophic event:


“If sequestration takes place, that’s going to be a great setback. We don’t need to be having something like sequestration that’s going to cause these job losses — over 170 million jobs that could be lost,” Waters said.

From the article at the Blaze (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/28/maxine-waters-warns-170-million-jobs-could-be-lost-due-to-sequestration-cuts-but-theres-a-huge-problem-with-her-estimate/):


There’s just one problem with her estimation — and it’s a big one. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0000000001), there are only 134 million people working in the United States. So by Waters’ estimation, the sequester cuts would be so apocalyptic that nearly 40 million people who don’t have jobs would become even more unemployed.