Prs. Obama plans to cut 121 Federal Jobs...

I have nothing against them, in fact I have had a few classes with middle managers at the college I attend for graduate classes. We've all discussed this issue, and during this tough economic times everyone, including management, needs to make some changes. However, in American business we're trained not to make those cuts, hence the lower level workers tend to take the brunt of the hits when business goes sour, or declines. The book we're now studying is called The New American Workplace. It's a book I'd highly recommend regarding today's business world. Again, the only thing you're doing now is calling me names because I disagree with you. I've offered a solution. I don't hate CEO's, but it seems logical to have them take temporary pay cuts by half of their salary and funnel those monies into lower level jobs so that all can keep their job and keep the company going until the economy comes back to full force. It keeps everyone fed, and in houses. Namaste-Anora

"However, in American business we're trained not to make those cuts, hence the lower level workers tend to take the brunt of the hits when business goes sour, or declines." This just screams of people who have never worked in big businesses. In every business I've ever worked in, with only one exception, the cuts have ALWAYS started at the top. You dump a VP here, an Operations Manager here, and you just shaved almost 200,000.00 off your annual budget. You'd have to cut 10 of your lower level workers to make up that amount and then you have to deal with the fallout as other low level workers start to panic. Phase 2 involved consolidating departments which is when you see middle management shaved down to a more skeletal system. The lower level employees are more of an after thought once those departments are consolidated and some departments, including department heads and managers, just cease to exist.

This is going to have absolutely NOTHING to do with the original discussion, but.. ParaTed: you really need to take a breath and chill the eff out. I'm probably not the only one who's thinking this..But seriously, dude. You have NO right calling people stupid just because you don't agree with their beliefs, and because you feel that your political beliefs are superior to others. Because guess what - they're not, and it's really annoying that you're so obviously trying to pick fights with people when we're all here at myLot for the same reason. (Unless your reason for being here is to piss off as many people as you can..In which case, you're doing a great job!). And believe me - I do love a good discussion. But there's absolutely NO excuse for calling people stupid, ignorant, and bigoted. You don't even KNOW this person that you're talking smack about, but your hubris is causing you to be a total jerk to everyone around you. And I'm pretty sure I'm saying what everyone else is thinking. I just figured that you'd like to hear my opinion (since you're so flamboyant with your own - I guess I'm following suit).

I understand your position about cutting out the VA medical system, but hear me out. I am retired Army myself. I've also worked as a health tech at a VA clinic. The waste that goes on in the VA health system is only surpassed by the barely competent treatment available in it. Instead of wasting billions on the bloated bureaucracy, the federal government should fund our healthcare with our doctors and local hospitals. It would be much, much, cheaper and almost all of us would get better care. It would also make it so vets wouldn't get sent to facilities 200 miles away to get a simple set of x-rays. I'm not saying the government shouldn't make good on the commitment to vets, in fact, I'm saying just the opposite, they should make the commitment to the vets something good for a change.

Smith- My husband is a former Army medic, disabled Vet. He was discharged honorably, but gets horrible service from the local VA. We have to fight them tooth and nail for what little service he gets. And there are many Vets treated this way. He's on next to nothing disability, so he has to work in pain every day because the government refuses to give him livable disability pay for serving his country. It definately needs to be run better. Namaste-Anora

Everytime Congress fails to come up with a budget in time, the departments order "all non essential people don't come to work". The list of people who are already identified as "non-essential" sound like a great place to start consideration for cutting.

Actually, when you look at it, the Dept of Homeland Security really didn't increase the size of the government much. Yes, there was some growth with department heads and staff, but almost all of the organizations within the DHS already existed. But yeah, the DEA, ATF, NEA, The VA medical system, all the Czars, the Department of Education, everything involved in No Child Left Behind.. and 100s of wasteful and/or unconstitutional offices within departments that are legitimate.

I'm not 100% with those departments, but you're on the right track. The czars are a joke and have already proven to be thoroughly incompetent. The IRS is run by a guy who doesn't even understand the tax system. It's bloated, tyrannical, and quite frankly, doesn't answer to anyone. It needs to go.

YOur right about the DHS, but what it DID do was beurocrotize a number of other security forces and in effect, increased size and cost.

"doing something about the problems...without actually doing anything significate about it." That almost completely defines politicians today.