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Just under a week...
Apr. 2nd, 2011 02:42 am...and depending on which news article you read, like this one, the U.S. Congress is either one step closer to an agreement for federal funding through the rest of FY 2011, or one step closer to an impasse and a partial government shutdown after next Friday. Complicating matters is the Tea Party pressuring Republicans to not compromise, even if the government has to shut down.
And according to this article, the majority of voters prefer a government shutdown over additional spending, even if they believe a shutdown would hurt the economy.
I suspect that if you were to poll people, they would say that government workers are significantly overpaid, so they can certainly more than afford to take pay cuts to balance the budget. And maybe some 20 years ago I might have agreed.
Guess what... it's a different story when you're on the other side.
When I left active duty back in 2007, I took a GS-11 position that opened up at my last active duty station because first and foremost, it would keep me in Hawaii, and second, I'd have job security in an uncertain work environment, especially with the economy tanking, companies laying off people, etc. I even kicked around working for Hawaii state government, but after state workers were getting furloughed, I figured I'd made a better decision to stay with the feds.
Fast forward to 2011 and the threat of my employer running out of money to pay me.
Not a good feeling, especially when your employer is Uncle Sam.
The biggest thing I hate about this ongoing budget issue is the uncertainty about what will happen after next week. I've already had to cut back wherever I can, but my cuts are amounting to what Congress is doing in terms of trimming our national debt... just nibbling at the edges, but unable -- or in Congress' case, unwilling -- to go after the bigger-ticket items. (If I did the same with my own budget, I'd end up paying a lot more in the short term than I can currently afford, so that's a non-starter.)
Let's hope this whole thing gets resolved soon. I REALLY hate being in limbo.
And according to this article, the majority of voters prefer a government shutdown over additional spending, even if they believe a shutdown would hurt the economy.
I suspect that if you were to poll people, they would say that government workers are significantly overpaid, so they can certainly more than afford to take pay cuts to balance the budget. And maybe some 20 years ago I might have agreed.
Guess what... it's a different story when you're on the other side.
When I left active duty back in 2007, I took a GS-11 position that opened up at my last active duty station because first and foremost, it would keep me in Hawaii, and second, I'd have job security in an uncertain work environment, especially with the economy tanking, companies laying off people, etc. I even kicked around working for Hawaii state government, but after state workers were getting furloughed, I figured I'd made a better decision to stay with the feds.
Fast forward to 2011 and the threat of my employer running out of money to pay me.
Not a good feeling, especially when your employer is Uncle Sam.
The biggest thing I hate about this ongoing budget issue is the uncertainty about what will happen after next week. I've already had to cut back wherever I can, but my cuts are amounting to what Congress is doing in terms of trimming our national debt... just nibbling at the edges, but unable -- or in Congress' case, unwilling -- to go after the bigger-ticket items. (If I did the same with my own budget, I'd end up paying a lot more in the short term than I can currently afford, so that's a non-starter.)
Let's hope this whole thing gets resolved soon. I REALLY hate being in limbo.
