Potential gov't shutdown - blaming the Dems

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure OP was just as outraged when the GOP marched in lockstep against everything Obama did.
'Not a Trump voter' my a$$.

+1

"As a liberal..."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep defense and Medicare at current levels and cut the rest of the federal government by 20%.

The waste in the federal government is nothing short of stunning.

The waste in defense is nothing short of stunning. Let's begin there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shut down the government! It’s full of disgusting perverts and incompetent aholes. The country will be just fine

Except for the 2.8 million civilians working for the government because I don't see them getting paid after the fact under this administration. I don't really care if the Trump appointees are hurt, but I'm fairly sure my mailman in NJ did nothing to deserve going without pay for weeks if this goes on that long.

I’m pretty sure the usps, which is separately funded, will continue to operate, dunce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last shutdown was a non event

Do it again It will take chaos to pull the pigs from the trough

who are you talking about?

That air traffic controller who brought you safely home on your last flight, the CDC scientist who tracks infectious disease outbreaks, the NOAA scientists who warn you of impending storms, the FDA employee who ensures the drugs you take are safe, the EPA official who has reduced the amount of mercury you breathe in over the last couple of decades, the park ranger who welcomes you to our national monuments and parks, the USDA scientist who is trying to help farmers deal with crop disease, the economists at BLS, the Fed and Commerce who produce data and analyses that helps businesses and financial firms make informed decisions, prosper and by extension your 401k grow. All the watchdog agencies that keep you safe at work, on the road and warn you about dangerous or fraudulent products.

I haven’t even mentioned the workers who work in national defense and justice which constitutes 2/3 of the federal budget

Sorry I am the PP and noticed a mistake in my last sentence. National defense and justice account for over half of the discretionary part of the budget. 2/3 of our total budget is spent on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. However 68% of federal civil service workers work in national defense and justice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep defense and Medicare at current levels and cut the rest of the federal government by 20%.

The waste in the federal government is nothing short of stunning.

Defense and security are the biggest hogs of all. You won't make a dent by excluding them from the chopping block. It's just a matter of numbers.

Interesting enough this is the same mistake made by the USSR - they spent so much on the military and defense, that they starved productive growth and investment in the wider economy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep defense and Medicare at current levels and cut the rest of the federal government by 20%.

The waste in the federal government is nothing short of stunning.

The waste in defense is nothing short of stunning. Let's begin there.

I think we should begin with the contractors. The amount of money they take in (they were nicknamed "bandits" for a reason) is obscene, and all because the govt employees can't do the work - and they can't be fired. Maybe if the govt could can the deadwood and bring in competent people, we wouldn't have to outsource so much work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep defense and Medicare at current levels and cut the rest of the federal government by 20%.

The waste in the federal government is nothing short of stunning.

The waste in defense is nothing short of stunning. Let's begin there.

I think we should begin with the contractors. The amount of money they take in (they were nicknamed "bandits" for a reason) is obscene, and all because the govt employees can't do the work - and they can't be fired. Maybe if the govt could can the deadwood and bring in competent people, we wouldn't have to outsource so much work.

Many people would support increasing the size of the federal workforce and moving away from contractors. There would be a cost savings but would necessitate a significant increase in federal employees. Would you agree to that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep defense and Medicare at current levels and cut the rest of the federal government by 20%.

The waste in the federal government is nothing short of stunning.

The waste in defense is nothing short of stunning. Let's begin there.

I think we should begin with the contractors. The amount of money they take in (they were nicknamed "bandits" for a reason) is obscene, and all because the govt employees can't do the work - and they can't be fired. Maybe if the govt could can the deadwood and bring in competent people, we wouldn't have to outsource so much work.

Many people would support increasing the size of the federal workforce and moving away from contractors. There would be a cost savings but would necessitate a significant increase in federal employees. Would you agree to that?

Absolutely. These contractors are getting paid 2x and 3x a staff salary. What's particularly wasteful is when a GS15 retires, collects his pension, and then contracts back for the identical role at twice the salary. So instead of paying the employee $140,000, he is collecting from taxpayers a pension of as much as $80,000, plus an income of $200,000. Or....he retires, collects his pension, and then contracts back part-time for 3 days a week, but at a contractor's salary of $120,000. He is now collecting $200,000 from taxpayers for part-time work instead of $140,000 for full-time work. I see this ALL THE TIME!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep defense and Medicare at current levels and cut the rest of the federal government by 20%.

The waste in the federal government is nothing short of stunning.

The waste in defense is nothing short of stunning. Let's begin there.

I think we should begin with the contractors. The amount of money they take in (they were nicknamed "bandits" for a reason) is obscene, and all because the govt employees can't do the work - and they can't be fired. Maybe if the govt could can the deadwood and bring in competent people, we wouldn't have to outsource so much work.

Many people would support increasing the size of the federal workforce and moving away from contractors. There would be a cost savings but would necessitate a significant increase in federal employees. Would you agree to that?

But...we would also have to agree that we could can the deadwood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep defense and Medicare at current levels and cut the rest of the federal government by 20%.

The waste in the federal government is nothing short of stunning.

Defense is where the waste is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last shutdown was a non event

Do it again It will take chaos to pull the pigs from the trough

That "non-event" cost us $24 billion.
http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/17/heres-what-the-government-shutdown-cost-the-economy/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep defense and Medicare at current levels and cut the rest of the federal government by 20%.

The waste in the federal government is nothing short of stunning.

That's like saying you will save calories by putting four fewer green beans on your plate that is heaping full of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep defense and Medicare at current levels and cut the rest of the federal government by 20%.

The waste in the federal government is nothing short of stunning.

That's like saying you will save calories by putting four fewer green beans on your plate that is heaping full of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy.

Turkey is really lean. You should fill up on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Shut down the government! It’s full of disgusting perverts and incompetent aholes. The country will be just fine

If you haven't noticed, we are not fine.

I am quite fine. 401k up 30% since Trump was elected. Tax cuts soon. My company is hiring. Yes, quite fine thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Schumer and Pelosi did a dumb thing not turning up today ........ yes, the meeting with Trump was no more than a photo op but he and the Republicans will play it up as them being unwilling to even meet on urgent business.

Agreed. They painted themselves into a corner by saying -- we won't go, we'll meet with Ryan/McC instead. And then Ryan/McC say, there's a meeting at the White House, we're going, if you want to participate, see you there. At that time they should've put their tail between their legs and gone. The administration (and perhaps all of them) are all about optics and republicans don't want a shutdown bc it'll hurt 2018 elections. Well it's less likely to hurt when you can say -- Dems wouldn't even come to the meeting, what else could we do -- complete with the photo opp of empty chairs. They can count on the fact that Joe Schmoe in their home district isn't thinking so hard about this and saying -- well you had the majority, you could have come together and voted around the Dems, he's just watching the commercial with the empty chairs.

I know the average American is an idiot and unable to count, but the Republicans do not need the Dems. If they cannot get it done, it is their fault. The mouth breathing Republicans are morons.

Let me guess: you're an above average American, right?