In a test of conservative grass root clout, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker won 53% to 46% in the recent recall election.
Posted on 08/11/2012 9:11:03 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The spending plan proposed by Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, Mitt Romney’s pick as the Republican vice presidential candidate, has drawn strong opposition from federal employees.
Under the proposed House Republican budget, which Ryan sponsored as chairman of the Budget Committee, savings from the federal workforce would total $368 billion over 10 years. The two-year freeze on basic federal pay rates, scheduled to expire at the end of this year, would be extended through 2015 for a total of five years.
“The Path to Prosperity,” as the budget plan is named, also calls on federal workers to make an unspecified “more equitable contribution to their retirement plans,” which means higher costs to employees. Additionally, the federal workforce would be cut, through attrition over three years, by 10 percent, which equals more than 200,000 positions.
Because the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Justice and Homeland Security have so many employees, the majority of the eliminated positions would come from these agencies, all of which are related to national security.
The budget document says its plans “reflect the growing frustration of workers across the country at the privileged rules enjoyed by government employees.”
Ryan’s budget justifies the employee-related cuts, saying “it is no coincidence that private sector employment continues to grow only sluggishly while the government expands: To pay for the public sector’s growth, Washington must immediately tax the private sector or else borrow and impose taxes later to pay down the debt.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
In a test of conservative grass root clout, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker won 53% to 46% in the recent recall election.
>>The spending plan proposed by Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, Mitt Romney’s pick as the Republican vice presidential candidate, has drawn strong opposition from federal employees.<<
That alone is reason to approve of him.
Ryan/Walker, now THAT would be a dream team!
Yup!
Those poor, poor federal workers. Poor dears.
Seems to me simply abolishing those agencies would give you all the personnel cuts you needed.
Oh, and selling off the public lands would do quite a bit to dispose of Department of Interior and all the problems they create.
They do invaluable work for you.
March 20, 2012 — “..... National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley took issue with both the substance and rhetoric in the Republican proposal in her statement Tuesday.
The Republican-proposed reforms could make federal jobs less attractive and a smaller workforce could lead to “a substantial increase in the use of unaccountable private contractors and a much higher cost of providing services,” Kelley said.
“It is almost as though the authors of this budget don’t know, don’t understand or don’t care about the key role federal employees play in helping keep our nation safe, ensuring that our food and medicines are safe and effective, that our air and water are safe, and performing so many other services that people not only expect and want, but need as well,” she said.”......
BOO HOO....they’ve slept on silk cushions in the lead car of the government gravy train long enough. It’s about time our public “servants” live like the taxpayers who are forced to keep them in their fat paychecks, Cadillac health care and undeserved benefits.
His willingness to rein in this outrageously bloated federal spending on paper-shufflers is a feather in Ryan’s cap.
“Oh, and selling off the public lands would do quite a bit to dispose of Department of Interior and all the problems they create. “
If they did this they’d spend the money rather quickly and it would be gone. No source of revenue will help without cutting spending - thus your point about cutting government agencies it the best approach.
Paul Ryan’s budget plan hits federal workers
Federal workers = oxymoron in most cases.
Okay, but what’s the downside?
works for me.
When did Government employees become accountable????????
Why stop there. Sell the public lands. Lock, stock and barrel. Sell the national parks as well.
The Federal workers still get their step and promotion increases..so their pay will still remain high with the Ryan proposal. Plus..those who live in expensive areas still get higher pay to cover houseing and living costs..like DC.
March 20, 2012 — .......[Gene] “Sperling [director of the White House National Economic Council] said he was also “disappointed” that Ryan’s plan proposes relieving the Defense Department from the Budget Control Act’s threat of sequestration just months after negotiations produced what both parties had agreed was an “offensive” threat of “mutually assured destruction.” Such a move, he said, would reverse for ideological reasons the one area of bipartisan consensus that is in the legislation and thus “actually create an incentive not to compromise.”......
Every citizen who calls himself/herself a "conservative" must begin to use every means available to connect the dots and direct relationship between what is called the "size of government" and the above fact!
Once ordinary working citizens understand the connection between the money "taken" from them, as shown on their pay stubs and the increase in size and pay/benefits of federal employees over recent years, they will understand why Ryan's plan makes sense for them.
So-called Democrat "progressives" promote an idea of moral equivalency between "jobs" in wealth-creating private companies and wealth-depeting jobs in all levels of government. Then, Democrats rely on what they believe to be economic ignorance of working people to make that connection.
Ryan may just be the person who can make the connection crystal clear.
What is "big government" but massive government employment, combined with politicians and bureaucrats? To reduce the size requires taking away the government "bottle" from the mouths of those who feed on the hard work of their private sector neighbors.
I would be much harder on them. First day fire half nonmilitary personnel. Close at least five cabinet level departments. Eliminate the BATF. Second day fire the another third of the Federal Workforce. Close three more cabinet level departments. Close the EPA.
That would get us to around twice the number of Federal workers we actually need.
If anyone complains explain that the door is right there, don't let it hit you on the way out.
You might work backwards a bit and see where the financial rupture is happening first.
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