Posted on 02/15/2013 3:51:45 AM PST by SkyPilot
If the federal government is forced to furlough civilian employees in the event of sequestration, the burden will fall heavily on a population that Congress and the White House have vowed to support: veterans.
More than two out of five of the approximately 800,000 Department of Defense employees facing furloughs are veterans, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday. “Forty-four percent of them are veterans,” Carter told the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on the potential effect of sequestration on the military. ”Very soon we’re going to have to furlough the great majority of them.”
The Pentagon expects to furlough its civilian employees for the maximum statutory length of 22 days between the beginning of April and the end of the year, Carter said. That will amount to 20 percent of their pay, he noted.
“So there’s a real human impact here,” Carter said. ” … We’re asking all those people who are furloughed to give back a fifth of their salary.”
Across the federal workforce of approximately 2 million employees, about 27.3 percent are veterans, according to new figures for fiscal 2011 from the Office of Personnel Management. More than a quarter of the veteran employees are disabled, according to the OPM.
The furloughs, together with a federal hiring freeze, no pay raises for three years, contractor layoffs...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Vets will have a security clearance. This is the biggest drawback for a straight civilian. Your security clearance stays with you for life.
If you apply for a military contractor job, say Afghanistan, the first question they will ask is if you have a current security clearance.
The other reason is that vets know the system and can be up and running with minimal training.
“Incredibly sad that the entire federal work force has been so demonized and dehumanized. Let them eat cake?”
The simple fact is that the people that are required to pay for this (the “makers”) are being driven to financial ruin. If my town has 50 cops that are all Medal of Honor winners, and we can only afford 30 cops, then the laying off of 20 of them is no reflection of our gratitude for their service. We simply can’t afford this anymore.
Sounds like you're just jealous.
Not only that, many on this forum think keeping ships steaming, planes flying, and Armies fielded happens by magic. Just fire all Government DOD employees...that's the answer!
I am sure the Veteran’s will thank you for your heartless statement. Sometimes I wonder about some of you and your anti-veteran attitude. Sad!
Not a vet, but I got a clearance about 30 years ago. Realistically it is a week of work at most for whoever is doing the background investigation. Ought to take another week to review and approve (add a few dollars for private database access). The value of clearances is inflated mainly because the system is vastly less efficient than that. Takes many months and dollars to get cleared nowadays.
BS! Where are your statistics? That is not what I see. Most people I run into are E-5 with limbs missing. I can just see your glee in wanting them on the streets.
Mom worked for Navy at Philly ship yard. NO ONE was fired no matter how little work was done.
Wow! And to think that Philly Ship Yard is closed so your statement is wildly false.
The Republicans need to get together and develop a consistent message on this and other issues. Every Republican politician should start referring to this in interviews, op-ed pieces, etc., not simply as “furloughs”, but as the “Obama Furloughs.” The public needs to hear that term again and again and again. As Rush Limbaugh has always said, “words mean things.”
Thank you for that explanation. I am so sick of these idiots who know NOTHING about government service mouthing off LIES! I have never witnessed a bunch of liars in one place. I think some of them are DU’ers. Such nasty people.
You are clueless. How would you feel being told to take a 20 percent pay cut.
Maybe more than 10%. Only problem, the non-productive brown-nosers will be the last to leave. Gubmit SOP and DOD in particular.
Timber Rattler probably is a guy making six figures on the outside and just bashes the military folks. I did 24 years in the Navy. Retired as a Chief (E-7) and I make 2,100 dollars a month (after medical and taxes). I also work at the Naval Academy and am a hated government worker as many here say. I make 1,096 dollars every two weeks. I didn’t get a bonus this year. However, I MIGHT get a bonus of 400 dollars (but maybe not if the budget is bad). So overall I make around 4,000 a month. I guess I am a drain on FREEPERS.
I wouldn't have phrased that precisely that way (I am a gentleman) but that statement is nonetheless true: I do know a lot more than you do about artillery, combat, unit leadership (having been a commander), defense requirements and acquisition, research, development, and experimentation, small arms, optics, and a whole lot of other subjects you aren't cleared to know about. Simple fact.
Too bad you didn't get involved and help your country. You and many others are lucky that I did get involved and learn what I learned and successfully apply that knowledge. Keeps you from have to attend compulsary Chinese language classes.
A simple "thank you" is sufficient.
Depends. How many people do you support? How many people do they support? How many students (you are at the Naval Academy which has a purpose of teaching)? How much support per student? Is it cost effective?
Obviously with your small salary you are not a problem. But multiplied by millions it can be a problem. My own job and company is problematic because t's hard to measure productivity when far removed from the front line. The thing to keep in mind is how productive we can be personally while making sure whatever we are doing is truly useful.
Thank you. I would also point out that I have worked with many vets (although none were disabled) in the private sector. They can make great employees when considering work ethic and practical abilities, and there’s no reason to assume they must be placed into the defense industry as a general rule.
I'll ask my federal employee wife. Or maybe one of my federal employee siblings. Or maybe my federal employee friend with whom my kids carpool to school.
Yes, it will be tough for a while for those who didn't put money away for a rainy day (luckily we did) but lets not kid ourselves... they are all being told in their meetings (by their department heads) to enjoy their time off (if it happens) and that the back pay will come eventually when things quiet down (just like last time). They are actually discussing whether the back pay will be hidden in the form of an even higher bonus at the end of the year or if it will in the form of extra vacation days that can then be "sold" back to the government.
IMHO, the government should hire a mix of people. The "amateurs" can be trained by "professionals" like yourself, and the results are usually good for everybody.
None of us were "professionals" when we started our careers.
From a fellow vet: get over yourself.
Since the election, they have been eager to deal with tax rates, the debt ceiling, amnesty for illegals, and National Applejuice Day....everything but the sequester that punishes our nation's military the most.
McConnell gave a pathetic "Read My Lips" tough guy speech to reporters yesterday, saying he doesn't care if the sequester cuts into our military and he can't be bothered anymore.
Rep Hunter (R-CA) and another Republican Congressman decided to beat the victim during the House Armed Services Committee hearings, telling the Joint Chiefs the deep cuts to the Defense Dept are partially "your fault!"
I kid you not.
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