he good news (for some) is that the much-leaked budget will be presented in full today to Congress and the media. The other sure thing is that it is DOA, as i...
Suppose part of your federal job description required you to come up with a year-long travel plan. Many of the people involved don’t want to go anywhere — especially with you. Everybody knows they can’t really afford the trip and that financing it means borrowing lots and lots of money, some of it from people who hate your (our) guts.
Oh, and did I mention that many of the 535 people who must clear your plan don’t want to go anywhere, want to go in a totally different direction and dislike-to-loath the tour guide and the horse he rode in on?
By now you’ve guessed that were talking about the budget of the U.S. for the upcoming fiscal year. It’s bigger than a dozen big city telephone books. It is so complicated no one person (outside of a padded cell) knows everything that’s in it. It is full of vital (to somebody) programs. It (as always) will provide funds for special interests and do things that some of us, many of us, would be horrified to know. That’s the bad news.
The good news (for some) is that the much-leaked document will be presented in full today to Congress and the media. The other sure thing is that it is DOA. As in Dead On Arrival.
Presidential budgets, whether from Eisenhower or Obama, are shopping lists. Congress never approves all (in many cases any) of the proposals. But it’s a starting point.
With that in mind, we asked several dozen readers the same question:
What they hope to see in the President’s budget, what they expect to see and what they hope not to see.” We got some good answers from people who are impacted two ways: As federal workers or retirees and also as taxpayers.
Interestingly, only two people, one, a union leader, even mentioned a pay raise. The others were looking at other things, things that non-feds might miss. Here are some of their comments:
All selfishness aside, I’d love to see some incentives for small business owners. The so called “Affordable Care Act” really isn’t helping them. It’s not affordable for small business owners, and creates additional strain on their ability to thrive and prosper. The “care” part is a little off base too since no one seems to care that some of the insurance companies participating are not providing adequate coverage. The fine print in the policies isn’t fine at all … it reeks of scam.” — T.R.
Last, but not least, is E.P., a fed from Washington state. Although a long way from D.C., she seems to have it figured out. Her thought: :
“I do not really have any comments (amazing). I have not studied or heard enough about it to have an intelligent comment. It is unlikely to pass through Congress the way he presented it, no matter what it says.”
Not bad at all for somebody who thinks they don’t know what they are talking about!
NEARLY USELESS FACTOID
Rock lobsters live along the coasts of New Zealand, which is thousands of miles from Athens, Georgia, which is the birthplace of the band The B-52’s, whose first single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 was called “Rock Lobster.”
Source: Wikipedia
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Mike Causey is senior correspondent for Federal News Network and writes his daily Federal Report column on federal employees’ pay, benefits and retirement.
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