Sequestration Opinion

[tessaesque]

Below is a quote, made specifically about the Administration's actions in response to mandatory sequester cuts. If we broaden the scope from just "Adminisrtation" to include all involved in the decision making process, do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Link to entire article is below, but I'm more interested in the segment quoted here.

he selective austerity shown by the Department of Education and other federal agencies shows the Obama administration is trying to emphasize the budget cuts' effect on the public, said Kyle Olson, founder of the Michigan-based education watchdog Education Action Group.

"It seems like there's no rhyme or reason for the cuts that they're making," Olson said. "They are trying to maximize the public effect -- the pain -- in order to make their point. But the fact of the matter is, the sequester is not a cut, it is a reduction in the rate of growth. The choices they're making are absurd."

Department of Ed creates new six-figure job, while wielding sequester ax | Fox News

 

[ttwtt78640]

Of course the administration is going to choose "unwisely" to inflict maximum "pain". This is politics after all, and thus all is "fair". What is ignored is that "baseline budgeting" does essentially the same thing (as sequestration in reverse), adding a fixed percentage to all existing gov't programs, regardless of any real need to do so. The budgeting process is broken, and has been so for quite some time. Budgteing is about establishing priorities not simply playing goofy math games and adding subtracting "equally" from all existing gov't programs. We are now in a situation where our annual federal tax revenue does not even cover the "non-discretionary" annual federal spending, so all discretionary federal spending is funded entirely by borrowing. The debt "ceiling" is really just the debt "floor" since it is simply increased to cover whatever number is required to make the "budget" work.

 

[sawyerloggingon]

Every gov agency is still getting more this year than they got last year, the tiny cut in additional spending this year should be of absolutely no consequence and obama has to look hard for ways to make it hurt.

 

[Fisher]

It is pretty simple--the WH wants to create a public outcry so he can try to force the GOP to raise taxes so he has more new spending to do.......

 

[tessaesque]

It is pretty simple--the WH wants to create a public outcry so he can try to force the GOP to raise taxes so he has more new spending to do.......

I think it's more broad reaching.

We've all seen school districts respond to statewide budget constrictions by firing teachers before all else.
We've all seen cities threaten fire fighters and police officers before any other cuts.

In fact, it seems that most of the time when budgets are restricted, the first response is job cuts, service cuts, or benefit cuts. You rarely hear a story about the city that cut 5% from their operational budget by rebidding expensive service contracts. You rarely hear about the school district that cuts 5% from their operational budget by changing to motion-sensor lighting, cutting charter bus service for regional travel, or switching to NG buses (or even utilizing outside sponsorship on buses to increase revenue and avoid cuts).

I find it a ridiculous, malicious tactic. Don't care who started it or who perpetuates it, it's still highly offensive to play with social and economic stability by making cuts first and foremost to supplements, personnel, or services.

 

[humbolt]

This is just a blatant attempt to blame republicans for yet another financial problem. Early polling indicates it's working to some extent. I do think that if an Easter egg roll cancellation riles some people, then those are the people that get equally riled when their favorite sit-com is cancelled or pre-empted.

 

[Fisher]

I think it's more broad reaching.

We've all seen school districts respond to statewide budget constrictions by firing teachers before all else.
We've all seen cities threaten fire fighters and police officers before any other cuts.

In fact, it seems that most of the time when budgets are restricted, the first response is job cuts, service cuts, or benefit cuts. You rarely hear a story about the city that cut 5% from their operational budget by rebidding expensive service contracts. You rarely hear about the school district that cuts 5% from their operational budget by changing to motion-sensor lighting, cutting charter bus service for regional travel, or switching to NG buses (or even utilizing outside sponsorship on buses to increase revenue and avoid cuts).

I find it a ridiculous, malicious tactic. Don't care who started it or who perpetuates it, it's still highly offensive to play with social and economic stability by making cuts first and foremost to supplements, personnel, or services.

My city has been on austerity since 2009. In late 2012 it finally had "revenues" reach the 2008 levels without having raised any tax rates so it has been cutting like crazy well before sequestration.

If you mean broad reaching in its intent, how so?

 

[tessaesque]

My city has been on austerity since 2009. In late 2012 it finally had "revenues" reach the 2008 levels without having raised any tax rates so it has been cutting like crazy well before sequestration.

If you mean broad reaching in its intent, how so?

I mean broad reaching as in it isn't just the administration making cuts in the most painful areas.

 

[Fisher]

I mean broad reaching as in it isn't just the administration making cuts in the most painful areas.

Supposedly it was done on purpose with the intent of the administration to be able to strong arm the House into giving them what they wanted to avoid the popular pain but the House held its line and now the WH is just going to have to eat it. It is a failed political extortion plan that is going to blow back on the WH.

 

[Jack Fabulous]

In the case of what is happening with the sequester, yes, they are deliberately making the cuts as painful as possible. It's shameless, and in my opinion, a direct violation of the oath of office. They should be prosecuted for this but they never will be. Oh well...

As far as cuts at the state or local level go, I think this can be attributed to outright laziness more than anything else. The people in charge of the budgets simply look at expenses and make arbitrary cuts. They *could* examine ways to reduce costs through efficiency gains or eliminating waste but these measures, apparently, require far more effort than the average government employee is willing to put in.

 

[justabubba]

I think it's more broad reaching.

and i think it is more reich wing sophistry lead by faux news

we've all seen school districts respond to statewide budget constrictions by firing teachers before all else.

not here. they cut back on construction first

We've all seen cities threaten fire fighters and police officers before any other cuts.

not here; they lengthened the time to expand the mass transit system, instead

In fact, it seems that most of the time when budgets are restricted, the first response is job cuts, service cuts, or benefit cuts. You rarely hear a story about the city that cut 5% from their operational budget by rebidding expensive service contracts.

it is probably because those kinds of cuts are very impractical to make
let's use your example of re-bidding service contracts
if the contract is still binding on the government, then why is the present contractor going to do other than sue for performance against the existing contract. the contract was bid and awarded against a set of rules that are followed by BOTH the contractor and the government entity. the government is bound to pay the rate for services to which it has already committed
now, it can negotiate with the service provider and offer to pay a lower rate, but the contractor is now going to look for a concession to agree to that, such as less performance or an expanded contract period. any time a government buyer seeks to modify a contract that is money in the bank for the contractor. contract law moves in the contractors' favor

You rarely hear about the school district that cuts 5% from their operational budget by changing to motion-sensor lighting, cutting charter bus service for regional travel, or switching to NG buses (or even utilizing outside sponsorship on buses to increase revenue and avoid cuts).

let's again look at why your suggestion cannot be adopted. there is NO additional money to purchase the motion sensor system that has to be installed. remember, they are trying to find ways to spend less money. now, the installation would save money over time, but the savings are on the back end; the installation costs are heavy on the front end. at a time when money for such is obviously unavailable
that is only magnified when it comes to purchasing NG fueled buses when the existing buses have many miles left on them
my berg DID cut charter bus service. no field trips. no middle school sports and significant cuts in high school sports

I find it a ridiculous, malicious tactic. Don't care who started it or who perpetuates it, it's still highly offensive to play with social and economic stability by making cuts first and foremost to supplements, personnel, or services.

i am not saying that politics is not played with the budget. i have seen a lot of it first hand. at the federal level, every agency knows what programs congress wants to preserve. so, when asked where its program cuts need to happen, those pet projects are always listed first, in the knowledge that congress is never going to de-fund those programs the lobbyists have already bought with campaign contributions
but the reality is this is a non-story concocted by faux news to make it seem like the Indian students are getting shafted to facilitate advancement of Black school programs. bull****. the reservation schools are 100% funded by the federal government. in contrast, that portion going to public schools is about 10%. so, we can see why the story highlighted a reservation school. and is there anyone who believes we do not need to improve the efforts to enhance the educational performance of black students nation-wide
this is the wingnuts trying to further divide us, to pit the black community against the Native American community, under the guise of appearing fiscally responsible

 

[CanadaJohn]

I'm actually quite pleased that Obama displayed for all to see just who he is as a leader and as a politician. The farce about him being bipartisan and a different kind of politician, the poster boy for hope and change, incredibly fooled so many people, but it's encouraging that Obama is being marginalized so early in his second term. The President is essentially irrelevant now and those who hold power in congress will be the true players to watch.

 

[tessaesque]

and i think it is more reich wing sophistry lead by faux news


not here. they cut back on construction first


not here; they lengthened the time to expand the mass transit system, instead


it is probably because those kinds of cuts are very impractical to make
let's use your example of re-bidding service contracts
if the contract is still binding on the government, then why is the present contractor going to do other than sue for performance against the existing contract. the contract was bid and awarded against a set of rules that are followed by BOTH the contractor and the government entity. the government is bound to pay the rate for services to which it has already committed
now, it can negotiate with the service provider and offer to pay a lower rate, but the contractor is now going to look for a concession to agree to that, such as less performance or an expanded contract period. any time a government buyer seeks to modify a contract that is money in the bank for the contractor. contract law moves in the contractors' favor


let's again look at why your suggestion cannot be adopted. there is NO additional money to purchase the motion sensor system that has to be installed. remember, they are trying to find ways to spend less money. now, the installation would save money over time, but the savings are on the back end; the installation costs are heavy on the front end. at a time when money for such is obviously unavailable
that is only magnified when it comes to purchasing NG fueled buses when the existing buses have many miles left on them
my berg DID cut charter bus service. no field trips. no middle school sports and significant cuts in high school sports


i am not saying that politics is not played with the budget. i have seen a lot of it first hand. at the federal level, every agency knows what programs congress wants to preserve. so, when asked where its program cuts need to happen, those pet projects are always listed first, in the knowledge that congress is never going to de-fund those programs the lobbyists have already bought with campaign contributions
but the reality is this is a non-story concocted by faux news to make it seem like the Indian students are getting shafted to facilitate advancement of Black school programs. bull****. the reservation schools are 100% funded by the federal government. in contrast, that portion going to public schools is about 10%. so, we can see why the story highlighted a reservation school. and is there anyone who believes we do not need to improve the efforts to enhance the educational performance of black students nation-wide
this is the wingnuts trying to further divide us, to pit the black community against the Native American community, under the guise of appearing fiscally responsible

...As I stated in the OP, I was asking only about the section of the article that I quoted. The rest of it, I felt, wasn't really worth discussion. I appreciate the remarks...sort of...but am really only interested in the statements made at the very end.

As to your comments regarding my budget cutting options, I would say this:

I've worked with several government entities (city government, county government, public universities, school districts, military installations, Nation Guard installations, etc), and I've yet to run across a single one that didn't have an "out" clause in their vendor contracts. I'm sure there are exceptions for some specific vendors (Bell, TI, Lockheed, etc), but most contracts I've had to sign off on allow the govt. to rebid any time they want, for any reason, without penalty. So I'm not sure why you would assume it impractical to rebid at least SOME of their contracts.

Most of the teacher cuts in schools around here came with severance packages and locked pensions (ongoing current costs for the district). And many of those teachers were replaced with other teachers who, while cheaper in direct cost, would still come with costs of their own. So the savings was likely nominal, if any existed at all. And most of them were short-term due to automatic raises for the new hires and continued increases in the cost of benefits. Switching to cheaper electricity management systems and buses WOULD have a high initial cost, but long term it can save more money than cutting teachers.

But if you don't like those suggestions, that's fine. They certainly aren't the only options that were available or are available for school districts facing budget cuts. Dallas ISD, for example, could have cut one of the 5 secretaries to the SI, or one of the secretaries to the secretaries. Or they could have done a 5% across the board cut in pay for administrative staff, since they're some of the highest paid in the state, running one of the worst school districts. Or they could have decided NOT to buy new cars yearly for "traveling" TAs who drive less than 10 miles round trip between schools 3 days a week. Or they could have implemented a cost-saving system for their HVAC (as my previous company proposed) that would have saved them nearly 10% a year with an initial cost of just $10k (yearly cost for their inefficient system was almost $1 million).

The point is, there were/are plenty of areas for government entities to cut that don't involve cutting personnel, services, or benefits that will directly and negatively affect the "customer" of that entity. When the moves taken ignore those areas it seems more than a little disingenuous.