SCOAMF and his cabal understand the difference between citizens and serfs.
Citizens are armed.
Because SCOAMF knows that Congress won't give him what he wants in the 'gun' area, he intends to re-write the regulations through BATFE.
It will be very interesting indeed to see how BATFE intends to enforce their new reg, no?
Sunday, December 09, 2012
Saturday, December 08, 2012
Well, Yah!! Go Over the "Cliff"
As Barry 'splains, it's really not a big deal, except to the MFM and a number of bloodsucking politicians (principally SCOAMF and his cabal.)
...The term refers to the deal that Congress made in late 2011 to temporarily resolve the debt ceiling debate. The “sequestration,” as it is known, calls for three elements: tax increases, spending cuts and an increase to the payroll tax (FICA). The Washington Post’s Wonkblog has run the numbers and finds “$180 billion from income tax hikes, $120 billion in revenue from the payroll tax, $110 billion from the sequester’s automatic spending cuts and $160 billion from expiring tax breaks and other programs.”
That is a not-insignificant amount of money, but it is hardly the end of the world. To put this into context, it is a little less than the TARP bailout for Wall Street in 2009 and somewhat less than the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Obama’s stimulus package. An educated guess puts this at about $600 billion to $700 billion out of a $15 trillion U.S. economy. I’d ballpark that at about 4 percent of the GDP, or 0.50 percent of the forecasted GDP growth of 2 percent for calendar year 2013.
The term “fiscal cliff,” popularized by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, is really a misnomer. As several analysts have correctly observed, the effects of sequestration are not a Jan. 1, 2013, event. The impact of the spending cuts and tax hikes would be phased in over time. A fiscal slope is more accurate. Additionally, as students of history have learned, single-variable analysis for complex financial issues is invariably wrong. Because of the inherent complexity of economies and markets, we cannot adequately explain or predict their behavior by merely looking at just one variable.
Meh. Taxes go up. Shock!!
Gummint expenditures go down? Nope. It's all smoke-and-mirrors; the "down" is from the ever-increasing 'baseline.' So Gummint expenditures will NOT go down.
Shock!!
...The term refers to the deal that Congress made in late 2011 to temporarily resolve the debt ceiling debate. The “sequestration,” as it is known, calls for three elements: tax increases, spending cuts and an increase to the payroll tax (FICA). The Washington Post’s Wonkblog has run the numbers and finds “$180 billion from income tax hikes, $120 billion in revenue from the payroll tax, $110 billion from the sequester’s automatic spending cuts and $160 billion from expiring tax breaks and other programs.”
That is a not-insignificant amount of money, but it is hardly the end of the world. To put this into context, it is a little less than the TARP bailout for Wall Street in 2009 and somewhat less than the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Obama’s stimulus package. An educated guess puts this at about $600 billion to $700 billion out of a $15 trillion U.S. economy. I’d ballpark that at about 4 percent of the GDP, or 0.50 percent of the forecasted GDP growth of 2 percent for calendar year 2013.
The term “fiscal cliff,” popularized by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, is really a misnomer. As several analysts have correctly observed, the effects of sequestration are not a Jan. 1, 2013, event. The impact of the spending cuts and tax hikes would be phased in over time. A fiscal slope is more accurate. Additionally, as students of history have learned, single-variable analysis for complex financial issues is invariably wrong. Because of the inherent complexity of economies and markets, we cannot adequately explain or predict their behavior by merely looking at just one variable.
Meh. Taxes go up. Shock!!
Gummint expenditures go down? Nope. It's all smoke-and-mirrors; the "down" is from the ever-increasing 'baseline.' So Gummint expenditures will NOT go down.
Shock!!
It's Called "Tax Avoidance"
The headline here:
Evil Corporation Manipulates System to Steal Money From Benevolent Government to Further Enrich Its Bloodsucking Shareholders
...is correct, if you ascribe to the ObozoCommie point of view.
Too bad it's his BFFs at the WaPo, eh?
Evil Corporation Manipulates System to Steal Money From Benevolent Government to Further Enrich Its Bloodsucking Shareholders
...is correct, if you ascribe to the ObozoCommie point of view.
Too bad it's his BFFs at the WaPo, eh?
Your Friendly Local Banker/Scammer
Huh. Here's a little-known part of TARP which (again) leaves the taxpayer on the hook.
...a part of TARP was the so called TAG program. What it did was remove the cap on insured deposits without limit as long as there was no interest being paid on the account. Now tell me who is paying interest bearing checking anymore? So in other words, TAG now makes the federal taxpayers liable for another 1.4 trillion dollars in deposits. Like TARP, it was supposed to be a temporary measure to calm bank depositors, but it was extended in Dodd Frank and now the bankers (who love it of course) are racing to get it extended....--FreedomLine quoting a source
Even if your bank DOES pay interest on your account (look closely, it's hard to find), it is common for banks to require commercial borrowers to maintain X% of their line-of-credit in a non-interest-bearing account.
You're insuring all those against a bank failure--which lowers the cost of doing business for banks. And they most certainly need less "costs", right?
...a part of TARP was the so called TAG program. What it did was remove the cap on insured deposits without limit as long as there was no interest being paid on the account. Now tell me who is paying interest bearing checking anymore? So in other words, TAG now makes the federal taxpayers liable for another 1.4 trillion dollars in deposits. Like TARP, it was supposed to be a temporary measure to calm bank depositors, but it was extended in Dodd Frank and now the bankers (who love it of course) are racing to get it extended....--FreedomLine quoting a source
Even if your bank DOES pay interest on your account (look closely, it's hard to find), it is common for banks to require commercial borrowers to maintain X% of their line-of-credit in a non-interest-bearing account.
You're insuring all those against a bank failure--which lowers the cost of doing business for banks. And they most certainly need less "costs", right?
LEO's Gone Very Bad
Two lengthy items, both at McDaniel.
First, the DA's malfeasance in the Zimmerman case.
Second, the Las Vegas cop-shop coverup of the murder of Erik Scott.
There's no reason to think that other LEO's aren't capable of this; think the Feds at Ruby Ridge.
First, the DA's malfeasance in the Zimmerman case.
Second, the Las Vegas cop-shop coverup of the murder of Erik Scott.
There's no reason to think that other LEO's aren't capable of this; think the Feds at Ruby Ridge.
Terrorist? No Problem!! You Can Live Here!
Someone could talk about "output" of Gummint employees. Here's a sample:
An Arizona congressman is asking federal officials why the man suspected of detonating a bomb outside the Arizona Social Security Administration office in Casa Grande was allowed to live in Arizona despite being classified a person who had engaged in “terrorism-related activity.”
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-AZ, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Wednesday with specific questions about the status of 47-year-old Abdullatif Ali Aldosary.
Aldosary on Tuesday was ordered held in jail pending a preliminary hearing. Investigators said instructions on how to construct an explosive device, bomb-making materials and chemicals were found in his Coolidge home after a small explosion outside the building in downtown Casa Grande on Friday morning.
DHS' "output" includes the "work product" of TSA, known for Granny-grabbing and harassing tourists who bring Disney memorabilia home for grandchildren.
Evidently it does NOT include tossing mad bombers with Muslim monikers out on their ass.
An Arizona congressman is asking federal officials why the man suspected of detonating a bomb outside the Arizona Social Security Administration office in Casa Grande was allowed to live in Arizona despite being classified a person who had engaged in “terrorism-related activity.”
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-AZ, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Wednesday with specific questions about the status of 47-year-old Abdullatif Ali Aldosary.
Aldosary on Tuesday was ordered held in jail pending a preliminary hearing. Investigators said instructions on how to construct an explosive device, bomb-making materials and chemicals were found in his Coolidge home after a small explosion outside the building in downtown Casa Grande on Friday morning.
DHS' "output" includes the "work product" of TSA, known for Granny-grabbing and harassing tourists who bring Disney memorabilia home for grandchildren.
Evidently it does NOT include tossing mad bombers with Muslim monikers out on their ass.
On the Other Hand....
Unemployment in the private sector is somewhere around 7.7% and the number of working-age Americans who are working continues to shrink.
But there's a bright spot!!!
The unemployment rate for civilian government workers plunged from 4.2 percent in October to 3.8 percent in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as government added 35,000 to its taxpayer-funded payrolls during the month.
So. There are 143 million people who have jobs. 20 million are Gummint workers (assuming that they actually do something and that whatever they do is useful to the Republic.) Sustainable? You'll find out.
But there's a bright spot!!!
The unemployment rate for civilian government workers plunged from 4.2 percent in October to 3.8 percent in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as government added 35,000 to its taxpayer-funded payrolls during the month.
So. There are 143 million people who have jobs. 20 million are Gummint workers (assuming that they actually do something and that whatever they do is useful to the Republic.) Sustainable? You'll find out.
Friday, December 07, 2012
The Unemployment Report: It's Worse Than That
As usual, Ticker finds a problem.
The working-age population went from 243,983 to 244,174 (thousands), an increase of 191,000 working-age people. But the total number of employed people fell from 144,039 (thousands) to 143,549, a loss of 490,000 actual employed people!
The spread is even worse, of course -- closer to 3/4 of a million workers, because you must account for the population increase as well.
Not to mention the 'disappeareds' from the workforce--the ones who just gave up.
The working-age population went from 243,983 to 244,174 (thousands), an increase of 191,000 working-age people. But the total number of employed people fell from 144,039 (thousands) to 143,549, a loss of 490,000 actual employed people!
The spread is even worse, of course -- closer to 3/4 of a million workers, because you must account for the population increase as well.
Not to mention the 'disappeareds' from the workforce--the ones who just gave up.
"No Cost" ObozoPlan. Unicorns, Too!!
We've mentioned that the stench is beginning to emerge from the ObozoCare sewer. Here's a bit more.
President Obama’s health care overhaul contains a tax that will drive up premiums for individuals, families, and even Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, according to a new study released by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
Obamacare “imposes a new sales tax on health insurance that starts at $8 billion in 2014, increase to $14.3 billion in 2018, and will continue to increase each year,”...
...individuals buying insurance outside a company policy will pay an extra $2,171 over 10 years, or $5,140 over ten years if they buy a family plan. Employees at small businesses that do not self-insure will see their premiums rise $2,794 for individual plans and $6,883 for family policies....
And of course, Obozo smacks the elderly around, too!!
...AHIP expects Medicare Advantage premiums to rise by $3,604 over ten years. Why? “[F]or each dollar paid in taxes, an additional $1.54 in premiums must be collected,” the study suggests.
Remember when the SockPuppet brigade told you that 'because everyone is forced to participate, the prices will go down'?
They were idiots then. Now they're idiots with a lot less money, too.
President Obama’s health care overhaul contains a tax that will drive up premiums for individuals, families, and even Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, according to a new study released by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
Obamacare “imposes a new sales tax on health insurance that starts at $8 billion in 2014, increase to $14.3 billion in 2018, and will continue to increase each year,”...
...individuals buying insurance outside a company policy will pay an extra $2,171 over 10 years, or $5,140 over ten years if they buy a family plan. Employees at small businesses that do not self-insure will see their premiums rise $2,794 for individual plans and $6,883 for family policies....
And of course, Obozo smacks the elderly around, too!!
...AHIP expects Medicare Advantage premiums to rise by $3,604 over ten years. Why? “[F]or each dollar paid in taxes, an additional $1.54 in premiums must be collected,” the study suggests.
Remember when the SockPuppet brigade told you that 'because everyone is forced to participate, the prices will go down'?
They were idiots then. Now they're idiots with a lot less money, too.
NY Fed District Judge: "No 'Trust Gummint' in Constitution"
The suit shall proceed.
...After announcing the mandate in February, the Obama administration had announced a “safe harbor” that would prevent the mandate from applying to certain religious employers until August 2013.
However, Judge Brian Cogan slapped down the “safe harbor” argument, saying, “the First Amendment does not require citizens to accept assurances from the government that, if the government later determines it has made a misstep, it will take ameliorative action.”
“There is no, ‘Trust us, changes are coming’ clause in the Constitution,” said the judge. “To the contrary, the Bill of Rights itself, and the First Amendment in particular, reflect a degree of skepticism towards governmental self-restraint and self-correction.”
Umnnhhhh, yah. For a leading example of double-dealing/untrustworthiness, see Boehner, John.
...After announcing the mandate in February, the Obama administration had announced a “safe harbor” that would prevent the mandate from applying to certain religious employers until August 2013.
However, Judge Brian Cogan slapped down the “safe harbor” argument, saying, “the First Amendment does not require citizens to accept assurances from the government that, if the government later determines it has made a misstep, it will take ameliorative action.”
“There is no, ‘Trust us, changes are coming’ clause in the Constitution,” said the judge. “To the contrary, the Bill of Rights itself, and the First Amendment in particular, reflect a degree of skepticism towards governmental self-restraint and self-correction.”
Umnnhhhh, yah. For a leading example of double-dealing/untrustworthiness, see Boehner, John.
Unemployment Down, Dropouts Up
The headline rate is 7.7%.
The dropouts? 540,000, making a total of 88 million++ who have given up looking for work.
Ergo, the participation rate is now back down to 63.6%.
Welcome to the No Future Obozo Economy!!
The dropouts? 540,000, making a total of 88 million++ who have given up looking for work.
Ergo, the participation rate is now back down to 63.6%.
Welcome to the No Future Obozo Economy!!
Wow. Michigan Goes Right-to-Work
Both houses of the Michigan (!!!!!) legislature passed right-to-work bills yesterday; the Governor of the State has indicated he'd sign them.
There was violence in the state capitol; the cops arrested 8 of the Usual Suspects.
One of the two bills is specific to public employees; the other covers 'anyone else.'
(Obozo "remains opposed" to the right to work, of course, but the Pantywaist pResident couldn't take time from his golf schedule to help the UAW, SEIU, and AFSCME defeat the legislation. Tells ya something, no?)
Can Wisconsin be far behind?
There was violence in the state capitol; the cops arrested 8 of the Usual Suspects.
One of the two bills is specific to public employees; the other covers 'anyone else.'
(Obozo "remains opposed" to the right to work, of course, but the Pantywaist pResident couldn't take time from his golf schedule to help the UAW, SEIU, and AFSCME defeat the legislation. Tells ya something, no?)
Can Wisconsin be far behind?
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
St. John Cardinal Newman on Liturgy
The whole sermon is necessary reading, but this excerpt is a gem:
...In these times especially, we should be on our guard against those who hope, by inducing us to lay aside our forms, at length to make us lay aside our Christian hope altogether. This is why the Church itself is attacked, because it is the living form, the visible body of religion; and shrewd men know that when it goes, religion will go too. This is why they rail at so many usages as superstitious; or propose alterations and changes, a measure especially calculated to shake the faith of the multitude. Recollect, then, that things indifferent in themselves become important to us when we are used to them. The services and ordinances of the Church are the outward form in which religion has been for ages represented to the world, and has ever been known to us. Places consecrated to God's honour, clergy carefully set apart for His service, the Lord's-day piously observed, the public forms of prayer, the decencies of worship, these things, viewed as a whole, are sacred relatively to us, even if they were not, as they are, divinely sanctioned. Rites which the Church has {78} appointed, and with reason,—for the Church's authority is from Christ,—being long used, cannot be disused without harm to our souls. Confirmation, for instance, may be argued against, and undervalued; but surely no one who in the common run of men wilfully resists the Ordinance, but will thereby be visibly a worse Christian than he otherwise would have been. He will find (or rather others will find for him, for he will scarcely know it himself), that he has declined in faith, humility, devotional feeling, reverence, and sobriety. And so in the case of all other forms, even the least binding in themselves, it continually happens that a speculative improvement is a practical folly, and the wise are taken in their own craftiness.
Therefore, when profane persons scoff at our forms, let us argue with ourselves thus—and it is an argument which all men, learned or unlearned, can enter into: "These forms, even were they of mere human origin (which learned men say is not the case, but even if they were), are at least of as spiritual and edifying a character as the rites of Judaism. Yet Christ and His Apostles did not even suffer these latter to be irreverently treated or suddenly discarded. Much less may we suffer it in the case of our own; lest, stripping off from us the badges of our profession, we forget there is a faith for us to maintain, and a world of sinners to be eschewed."
Tell us again how rock'n'roll fits into his vision.
...In these times especially, we should be on our guard against those who hope, by inducing us to lay aside our forms, at length to make us lay aside our Christian hope altogether. This is why the Church itself is attacked, because it is the living form, the visible body of religion; and shrewd men know that when it goes, religion will go too. This is why they rail at so many usages as superstitious; or propose alterations and changes, a measure especially calculated to shake the faith of the multitude. Recollect, then, that things indifferent in themselves become important to us when we are used to them. The services and ordinances of the Church are the outward form in which religion has been for ages represented to the world, and has ever been known to us. Places consecrated to God's honour, clergy carefully set apart for His service, the Lord's-day piously observed, the public forms of prayer, the decencies of worship, these things, viewed as a whole, are sacred relatively to us, even if they were not, as they are, divinely sanctioned. Rites which the Church has {78} appointed, and with reason,—for the Church's authority is from Christ,—being long used, cannot be disused without harm to our souls. Confirmation, for instance, may be argued against, and undervalued; but surely no one who in the common run of men wilfully resists the Ordinance, but will thereby be visibly a worse Christian than he otherwise would have been. He will find (or rather others will find for him, for he will scarcely know it himself), that he has declined in faith, humility, devotional feeling, reverence, and sobriety. And so in the case of all other forms, even the least binding in themselves, it continually happens that a speculative improvement is a practical folly, and the wise are taken in their own craftiness.
Therefore, when profane persons scoff at our forms, let us argue with ourselves thus—and it is an argument which all men, learned or unlearned, can enter into: "These forms, even were they of mere human origin (which learned men say is not the case, but even if they were), are at least of as spiritual and edifying a character as the rites of Judaism. Yet Christ and His Apostles did not even suffer these latter to be irreverently treated or suddenly discarded. Much less may we suffer it in the case of our own; lest, stripping off from us the badges of our profession, we forget there is a faith for us to maintain, and a world of sinners to be eschewed."
Tell us again how rock'n'roll fits into his vision.
This Is NOT a Problem in Madison
St. John Cardinal Newman:
“. . . I fear we lack . . . firmness, manliness, godly severity. I fear it must be confessed, that our kindness, instead of being directed and braced by principle, too often becomes languid and unmeaning; that it is exerted on improper objects, and out of season, and thereby is uncharitable in two ways, indulging those who should be chastised, and preferring their comfort to those who are really deserving. We are over-tender in dealing with sin and sinners. We are deficient in jealous custody of revealed Truths which Christ has left us. We allow men to speak against the Church, its ordinances, or its teaching, without remonstrating with them. We do not separate from heretics, nay, we object to the word as if uncharitable; and when such texts are brought against us as St. John’s command, not to show hospitality toward them, we are not slow to answer that they do not apply to us.”
The Bishop of Madison, WI (preceded in kind by the Bishop of Lincoln, NE), does not have the problems that Newman describes.
Were there another 430 US Bishops who were like them!
“. . . I fear we lack . . . firmness, manliness, godly severity. I fear it must be confessed, that our kindness, instead of being directed and braced by principle, too often becomes languid and unmeaning; that it is exerted on improper objects, and out of season, and thereby is uncharitable in two ways, indulging those who should be chastised, and preferring their comfort to those who are really deserving. We are over-tender in dealing with sin and sinners. We are deficient in jealous custody of revealed Truths which Christ has left us. We allow men to speak against the Church, its ordinances, or its teaching, without remonstrating with them. We do not separate from heretics, nay, we object to the word as if uncharitable; and when such texts are brought against us as St. John’s command, not to show hospitality toward them, we are not slow to answer that they do not apply to us.”
The Bishop of Madison, WI (preceded in kind by the Bishop of Lincoln, NE), does not have the problems that Newman describes.
Were there another 430 US Bishops who were like them!
How About Straight-Up Cash Welfare?
An interesting idea.
...Some have ruefully remarked that it would be far more efficient to hand out the entirety of the government dole as cash money, reducing (but of course not eliminating) the vast government welfare bureaucracy in favor of simple, direct wealth transfer via monthly check. There are all sorts of reasons that’s not going to happen. The government welfare bureaucracy does not want to be reduced; the public would react with outrage at the size of those monthly checks, since Food Stamp Nation’s benefits are often worth more than a middle-class salary; the power of government to control its dependents would be dissipated; and the architects of Food Stamp Nation do not trust their dependents to spend cash money wisely. --ColdFury quoting Hayward
There are other reasons. The phone companies who are the REAL beneficiaries of ObozoPhones, and the debit-card processors who are the REAL beneficiaries of the 'non-cash' benefit payment systems have hired very expensive lobbyists and the finest legislators money can buy (yes, I know that pond-scum is not usually expensive, but...)
Carney oughta spend a day with Hayward. It could be dynamite.
...Some have ruefully remarked that it would be far more efficient to hand out the entirety of the government dole as cash money, reducing (but of course not eliminating) the vast government welfare bureaucracy in favor of simple, direct wealth transfer via monthly check. There are all sorts of reasons that’s not going to happen. The government welfare bureaucracy does not want to be reduced; the public would react with outrage at the size of those monthly checks, since Food Stamp Nation’s benefits are often worth more than a middle-class salary; the power of government to control its dependents would be dissipated; and the architects of Food Stamp Nation do not trust their dependents to spend cash money wisely. --ColdFury quoting Hayward
There are other reasons. The phone companies who are the REAL beneficiaries of ObozoPhones, and the debit-card processors who are the REAL beneficiaries of the 'non-cash' benefit payment systems have hired very expensive lobbyists and the finest legislators money can buy (yes, I know that pond-scum is not usually expensive, but...)
Carney oughta spend a day with Hayward. It could be dynamite.
The Suntan Defined
Other McCain:
...let me posit that John Boehner is NOT a sellout, a tool, a double agent, a doddering buffoon, a sad little throne-sniffer, a spineless sycophant, a Ruling Class meat puppet, and an obsequious piece of work.
It's what he said, but definitely NOT what he meant.
...let me posit that John Boehner is NOT a sellout, a tool, a double agent, a doddering buffoon, a sad little throne-sniffer, a spineless sycophant, a Ruling Class meat puppet, and an obsequious piece of work.
It's what he said, but definitely NOT what he meant.
You WILL Pay that Student Loan!
The sophisticated racketeering system between colleges and the Feds, which has given a Gold AmEx card to the colleges, is now entering Phase 3.
...In an attempt to streamline the whole process, a soon-to-be-introduced bill would replace the current system of debt collection with automatic payroll deductions tied to the borrower’s income....
Well, it'll certainly increase the number of 1099 employees, until such status is outlawed.
HT: Vox
...In an attempt to streamline the whole process, a soon-to-be-introduced bill would replace the current system of debt collection with automatic payroll deductions tied to the borrower’s income....
Well, it'll certainly increase the number of 1099 employees, until such status is outlawed.
HT: Vox
Esenberg's Right
The Perfessor puts it correctly. To Obozo, this is NOT about "the 1%". It's about everybody else paying a helluvalot more.
...the President has an aggressively ambitious view of what the state can do. It can reorder industries and engage in more substantial redistribution of income that it does today.
But you can't have that kind of state without substantial tax increases on the middle class. No European state does it. We can't either...
...Thus comes the beauty part of the "fiscal cliff." The Democrats can help themselves to a substantial tax increase by doing nothing. To be sure, they'll have to live with sequestration for a while...
The Plan is to make everyone dependent on the Gummint. And it's working!!
...the President has an aggressively ambitious view of what the state can do. It can reorder industries and engage in more substantial redistribution of income that it does today.
But you can't have that kind of state without substantial tax increases on the middle class. No European state does it. We can't either...
...Thus comes the beauty part of the "fiscal cliff." The Democrats can help themselves to a substantial tax increase by doing nothing. To be sure, they'll have to live with sequestration for a while...
The Plan is to make everyone dependent on the Gummint. And it's working!!
Yup. Gummint Workers Don't Really Work Too Much
In line with the post below (see especially the link to the RoJo proposals), we have documented and verifiable evidence that taxpayers are being hosed for about $100 Bn/year++ in Gummint payrolls.
ONE HUNDRED BILLION++ per YEAR.
...What we found was that during a typical workweek, private-sector employees work about 41.4 hours. Federal workers, by contrast, put in 38.7 hours, and state and local government employees work 38.1 hours. In a calendar year, private-sector employees work the equivalent of 3.8 more 40-hour workweeks than federal employees and 4.7 more weeks than state and local government workers. Put another way, private employees spend around an extra month working each year compared with public employees. If the public sector worked that additional month, governments could theoretically save around $130 billion in annual labor costs without reducing services.
Of course, that would require actual "management" and "oversight." Given what we know about Congress and the State Legislature, no Gummint employee is at risk.
ONE HUNDRED BILLION++ per YEAR.
...What we found was that during a typical workweek, private-sector employees work about 41.4 hours. Federal workers, by contrast, put in 38.7 hours, and state and local government employees work 38.1 hours. In a calendar year, private-sector employees work the equivalent of 3.8 more 40-hour workweeks than federal employees and 4.7 more weeks than state and local government workers. Put another way, private employees spend around an extra month working each year compared with public employees. If the public sector worked that additional month, governments could theoretically save around $130 billion in annual labor costs without reducing services.
Of course, that would require actual "management" and "oversight." Given what we know about Congress and the State Legislature, no Gummint employee is at risk.
How to Win the Spending War
The Tanned One and his sockpuppet New Jersey hack-pal will not read, (nor likely understand) this essay. Too bad. Quin Hillyer and Senator RoJo have already done the homework.
...Fiscal conservatives should cherry-pick all the least defensible spending items and package them with a great big (figurative) ribbon, with a full-court public relations press [...]. For the first set of savings, it ought to be relatively easy to find items whose elimination (or serious reduction) would not only cause no public backlash, but would actually be celebrated by clear majorities. Tens of billions of dollars of domestic discretionary spending probably meets this criterion.
Examples include: ...Rain forest laboratories in the Farm Belt. Experiments involving shooting cats in the head to re-prove medical findings first announced in the 19th Century. All sorts of narrow-interest museums in decidedly odd places.
By the way, have you noticed that the Stupid Party keeps referring to "entitlement cuts"? Please underline Stupid.
Why not start with "Indefensible Spending", or "Stupid Government Tricks"? We all know that entitlement reforms are necessary, but not enjoyable.
However, the entire US population would RELISH a 100% cut in "Bridge to Nowhere" spending, and--for that matter--over-compensation of over-hired, unnecessary, redundant, Gummint employees.
...Fiscal conservatives should cherry-pick all the least defensible spending items and package them with a great big (figurative) ribbon, with a full-court public relations press [...]. For the first set of savings, it ought to be relatively easy to find items whose elimination (or serious reduction) would not only cause no public backlash, but would actually be celebrated by clear majorities. Tens of billions of dollars of domestic discretionary spending probably meets this criterion.
Examples include: ...Rain forest laboratories in the Farm Belt. Experiments involving shooting cats in the head to re-prove medical findings first announced in the 19th Century. All sorts of narrow-interest museums in decidedly odd places.
By the way, have you noticed that the Stupid Party keeps referring to "entitlement cuts"? Please underline Stupid.
Why not start with "Indefensible Spending", or "Stupid Government Tricks"? We all know that entitlement reforms are necessary, but not enjoyable.
However, the entire US population would RELISH a 100% cut in "Bridge to Nowhere" spending, and--for that matter--over-compensation of over-hired, unnecessary, redundant, Gummint employees.
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