The Sequester

[Albany Rifles]

Ben,

Serves who right?

You have had 2 WABbers on this board already tell you we are being directly impacted.

That is a 20% cut in my salary, in my retirement savings and in my leave and sick leave accrual. That is the same for Astralis.

And at this time of my life the retirement savings is a big part.

My wife retires in 4 years, I am in my mid-50s and I have tuition payments to make (on top of mortgage) at about week 16 of the furloughs.

So it is very real and I don't see how it serves anyone right.

[bigross86]

The Congressional Super Committee in particular, and politicians in general. They gamble with people's lives, and will suffer the consequences. Politicians tend to forget that the things they discuss in the abstract affect real people in the real world. Therefore, it serves them right when their ignorance and arrogance leads to their names being remembered as the people that by their inactivity and inattentiveness led to millions of Americans across the board being arbitrarily hurt. One can only hope that in 2 years, in 4 years and in 6 years this will be remembered, and you will have the opportunity to exact your legal vengeance on those that have caused you harm and remove them from office. That's what I mean by serves them right. Entirely the politicians, not you, Astralis, or any of the other people here or across the USA that are being hurt by the politicians.

I don't wish hardship or trouble upon anyone, especially not people that I consider to be friends here on WAB. Furthermore, I apologize over my unclear comments before which led you to believe that I was wishing harm upon you or others here on WAB

[Minskaya]

So it is very real and I don't see how it serves anyone right.

Indeed. Many good people will be hurt :(

Spending cuts were necessary, but I think the modality implemented here - across-the-board/no discretion - is ill advised, counterproductive, and draconian.

But why should a dysfunctional Congress care? Congressional salaries are exempt from sequester cuts.

[Parihaka]

I'm a bit lost on the numbers here. Is the Defence Department suffering a 20% drop in budget from the previous year?

[Doktor]

More proper question is how much it's decreased from the this year budget.

Seems to me someone who is in charge wants to represent this way worse then it really is.

Ships are not going on planned rotations. Programs are being postponed and will cost more later. Salaries, together with benefits and social transfers are being cut...

On top of a very bad decision there is even a worse management.

And Ben you got it wrong. Maybe these politicians will get punished and get out of the office, but those that will come later wont be any better.

[bigross86]

Who knows about the ones that will come later? I know that if things keep going down the shitter this way, the current ones will very likely be canned.

[dalem]

I'm a bit lost on the numbers here. Is the Defence Department suffering a 20% drop in budget from the previous year?

Of course not. It's something along the lines of a few percentage points of decrease in the rate of increase. Boo hoo.

-dale

[astralis]

dale,

Of course not. It's something along the lines of a few percentage points of decrease in the rate of increase. Boo hoo.

how about you actually learn a little bit more about what's going to happen.

http://www.stimson.org/images/upload...heet_Final.pdf

in the short-term, it's an absolute and relative decrease. it is a 10% fall in budget from the previous year, and it needs to be done with a significant portion of the FY budget already accounted for.

over the next 10 years, it then becomes growth in nominal terms, ie lower than the rate of inflation.

[dalem]

dale,



how about you actually learn a little bit more about what's going to happen.

http://www.stimson.org/images/upload...heet_Final.pdf

in the short-term, it's an absolute and relative decrease. it is a 10% fall in budget from the previous year, and it needs to be done with a significant portion of the FY budget already accounted for.

over the next 10 years, it then becomes growth in nominal terms, ie lower than the rate of inflation.

Cute. Got anything newer than November 2011 to learn me with? You would never accept such a graph as "evidence" of anything from me.

-dale

[Shek]

I'm a bit lost on the numbers here. Is the Defence Department suffering a 20% drop in budget from the previous year?

Pari,
This is a $46 billion cut on top of the already ~$50 billion cut from the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 for this fiscal year. This decrease is actually bigger than this due to how the military used its contingency funding to pay for some activities that should have been in the base budget. However, the decrease in spending is not necessarily the issue - it's how the decreases were mandated by the 2011 BCA that concentrates the impact of the decrease and how due to contracting and civilian hiring processes, you can't simply flip a switch and turn things back to normal if Congress ends sequestration on March 2nd - this is what AR laid out. In other words, it's a blunt instrument rather than a scalpel that's being used to remove the tumor, and so the question is whether the cure will be worse than the disease.

[antimony]

The Congressional Super Committee in particular, and politicians in general. They gamble with people's lives, and will suffer the consequences. Politicians tend to forget that the things they discuss in the abstract affect real people in the real world. Therefore, it serves them right when their ignorance and arrogance leads to their names being remembered as the people that by their inactivity and inattentiveness led to millions of Americans across the board being arbitrarily hurt. One can only hope that in 2 years, in 4 years and in 6 years this will be remembered, and you will have the opportunity to exact your legal vengeance on those that have caused you harm and remove them from office. That's what I mean by serves them right. Entirely the politicians, not you, Astralis, or any of the other people here or across the USA that are being hurt by the politicians.

I don't wish hardship or trouble upon anyone, especially not people that I consider to be friends here on WAB. Furthermore, I apologize over my unclear comments before which led you to believe that I was wishing harm upon you or others here on WAB

Ben,

My feeling is that the sequester should have been designed to cut Congressional budgets directly, including budgets for Congressmen salaries, perks, emoluments. Thaat would have affected them directly, where millions suffering due to their inaction apparently does not.

[Parihaka]

Albany, Astralis, my sympathies. Me and my kids have recently lost 18% of our gross income because my ex has decided working for a living is too hard, it's a very tough hit.

[USSWisconsin]

Ben,

My feeling is that the sequester should have been designed to cut Congressional budgets directly, including budgets for Congressmen salaries, perks, emoluments. Thaat would have affected them directly, where millions suffering due to their inaction apparently does not.

We should eliminate Congressional salaries, seize their pensions and offer them public housing and food stamps if they can demonstrate a a need - if they are millionaires - like at least half are - then no dice, they can support themselves - though if they are taking bribes - those should be seized too and the congress person should be fined and jailed. Calling a bribe a speakers fee doesn''t impress me - that practice needs to be stopped and criminalized - a speakers fee of several hundred for a real contribution might be acceptable - but when its just a beard for bribe - cut it off. Their loot/assets can go to supporting the debts they've incured - and the ones bribing them - they can contribute too, from a cell right next to the member of congress.

[Stitch]

. . .a speakers fee of several hundred for a real contribution might be acceptable . . .

You mean several hundred THOUSAND, right?

[dalem]

We should eliminate Congressional salaries, seize their pensions and offer them public housing and food stamps if they can demonstrate a a need - if they are millionaires - like at least half are - then no dice, they can support themselves - though if they are taking bribes - those should be seized too and the congress person should be fined and jailed. Calling a bribe a speakers fee doesn''t impress me - that practice needs to be stopped and criminalized - a speakers fee of several hundred for a real contribution might be acceptable - but when its just a beard for bribe - cut it off. Their loot/assets can go to supporting the debts they've incured - and the ones bribing them - they can contribute too, from a cell right next to the member of congress.

I like it. Or we could just put them on an ice floe and give it a push. No one would miss them.

-dale