How would YOU balance the budget? (sales, camp, salary)

[notdancingqueen]

Use this tool to figure out how YOU would balance the federal budget...then do your homework and vote for congressmen and senators who will represent NH in a way that most aligns with your specific fiscal strategies.

Budget Puzzle: You Fix the Budget - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

[sgthoskins]

I'd start by stopping federal government pensions.

[GotBackHome]

Originally Posted by sgthoskins

I'd start by stopping federal government pensions.

why? so all those civilian federal employees at all those agencies and bureaus aren't deserving of a pension? People who have worked there all their lives, they often got paid less than they could have made in private sector and until a couple of years ago weren't allowed to put money into social security (not that one can live off that anyway, but...) and you think they don't deserve the same consideration that any other employee of a business should get? Congress-critters aren't the ONLY employees who get pensions!

[SacalaitWhisperer]

Stop handing out corporate welfare (subsidies) like candy to business and sending so much money to other countries would be a great start.

[steveusaf]

Originally Posted by sgthoskins

I'd start by stopping federal government pensions.

Including military pensions for 20+ years of service? That's a big retention tool to get people to stay in....

[BF66389]

I don't think pensions are the issue; contributions may need to be re-looked...but they aren't driving the deficit. The federal pension system is also completely different. Someone with 30 years only gets a 30% pension...that's not the 70% it was 15 years ago. Pay-for-performance needs to be re-introduced in a more intelligent manner, etc.

Realistically the biggest driver is medicare...which isn't even "on the table" for either political party except perhaps in talk. It's not even a problem with the system as much as it is a problem with longevity of people and sophistication of treatment. A replacement knee for $50k has replaced a cane for $15....combine with more old people...and you've got skyrocketing costs. Of course when solutions are proposed they aren't rational because no-one actually wants to solve it...go figure.

So what would I cut- I'm not sure I have enough information to say without making uninformed blanket statements. I know some agencies where I would cap & reduce budgets; but the big money is in entitlement spending which is political suicide to propose anything (democrat or republican...no-one actually wants to touch it). Oh- and these wars aren't cheap; fairly sure we could more or less bribe people not to bomb us for less money- it worked with the Barbary Pirates in the early 1800s...

[sgthoskins]

Originally Posted by WannaComeHome

why? so all those civilian federal employees at all those agencies and bureaus aren't deserving of a pension? People who have worked there all their lives, they often got paid less than they could have made in private sector and until a couple of years ago weren't allowed to put money into social security (not that one can live off that anyway, but...) and you think they don't deserve the same consideration that any other employee of a business should get? Congress-critters aren't the ONLY employees who get pensions!

The pension system doesn't support itself. What private company do you know will pay a portion of your salary until you die after only 30 years of working?
Why can't they invest in to 401Ks or IRA's like the rest of America?

Originally Posted by steveusaf

Including military pensions for 20+ years of service? That's a big retention tool to get people to stay in....

Dude in the military you only get 25% of a horrible salary after 20 years... They would be better off with a private retirement program.

[steveusaf]

Originally Posted by sgthoskins

Dude in the military you only get 25% of a horrible salary after 20 years....

It's actually 50% of base salary. Not included in military retirement pay is housing allowance, special pays (flight, hazardous duty, etc.), and subsistance (food) pay. If you include all those extra pays, then for me it would be about 35% of the total. So when I retire, I will see 35% of what I saw on active duty every month, starting the day after my terminal leave ends.

There has been talk here and there over the years of ending military retirement as we know it (starting immediately after retirement at 20 years). I don't think it will ever happen. The military is not corporate America.

BF - you're right - these wars are expensive. I hope we can wrap them up to some degree of satisfaction. That will save a tremendous amount of money. As for bribing, it worked with Israel and Egypt, so far. We give Israel $2.4 billion and Egypt $1.2 billion annually in foreign military sales financing $$ because they signed a peace treaty with each other at Camp David years ago...

[sgthoskins]

Originally Posted by steveusaf

It's actually 50% of base salary. Not included in military retirement pay is housing allowance, special pays (flight, hazardous duty, etc.), and subsistance (food) pay. If you include all those extra pays, then for me it would be about 35% of the total. So when I retire, I will see 35% of what I saw on active duty every month, starting the day after my terminal leave ends.

There has been talk here and there over the years of ending military retirement as we know it (starting immediately after retirement at 20 years). I don't think it will ever happen. The military is not corporate America.

BF - you're right - these wars are expensive. I hope we can wrap them up to some degree of satisfaction. That will save a tremendous amount of money. As for bribing, it worked with Israel and Egypt, so far. We give Israel $2.4 billion and Egypt $1.2 billion annually in foreign military sales financing $$ because they signed a peace treaty with each other at Camp David years ago...

It's 50% after 30 years. It's 25% after 20.

How many guys do you know actually make it to 30? Pretty much the REMF's who sit behind a desk all day. Most of the ground pounders and bullet magnets can't make it to 30 because they've beaten up their bodies too much.

[sgthoskins]

Wow even the pentagon says the military retirement system can't sustain itself.

Military retirement system broken, board says - News - Stripes