From the New York Times:
Senate Republican leaders introduced a bill that would keep the payroll tax rate at its current level for another year. The cost is roughly $120 billion. Senate Republicans would offset most of the cost by freezing the pay of federal employees through 2015 and gradually reducing the federal work force by 10 percent.
In addition, Senate Republican leaders would go after “millionaires and billionaires,” not by raising their taxes but by making them ineligible for unemployment compensation and food stamps and increasing their Medicare premiums. Democrats said that this part of the Republican proposal was not serious, pointing out that high earners were already ineligible to receive food stamps.
Can someone please tell me why millionaires and billionaires would apply for unemployment and get food stamps. If this gesture is serious, it is so bogus.
If this was a serious Republican proposal to reduce spending, then I simply give up.
It also seems like federal employees are the perennial whipping boy for both Democrats and Republicans when they have to look like they are doing something about the deficit. That is getting old real fast, especially to people in this area.
The Congressional Budget Office said the Republican bill would reduce federal deficits by $111 billion, mainly because of the pay freeze and the reduction in the federal work force. Senate Democratic leaders want a deeper temporary reduction in Social Security payroll taxes. They would provide payroll tax relief to employers as well as employees. And they would offset the cost with a 3.25 percent surtax on modified adjusted gross income in excess of $1 million.
I guess its all a matter of who someone wants to stick it to.
Well, now that you mention it, there is the recent case of the former head of Philadephia public schools. She made $335K per year for several years. She failed to meet certain objectives, and it was decided that she needed to go. She and the City reached an agreement to buy out the remainder of her contract, for $900K, plus she would still receive her pension and medical benefits. Upon leaving with her generous severence, she promptly applied for state unemployment benefits….
Someone wrote her severence package wrong. That wouldn’t fly in Virginia. As long as you are getting any severence pay, no unemployment.
Still, how often does that happen?
That’s a nice exit package for sure. It makes you wonder why school systems set themselves up for that kind of payout.
Food Stamps: like all government programs, there are loopholes and the “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -SNAP” (which is the newer name for food stamps) has a big one.
To qualify for SNAP, you can have $2,000 in COUNTABLE resources (key word that is) in terms of a bank account and if your over 60 or disabled, you can have $3,250. BUT what is NOT “countable” is the house, the land, Supplemental Security Income, TANF, and certain retirement (pension) plans which generrally speaking are the 401s, 403s, 408s, 501 and the Federal Thrift Savings.
So a person would need a monthly income of between $900 to $1100 of other than the exclusions mentioned. Yup, a millionare could be eligible for SNAP very easily.
Shoot, I am sorting through it to see if I can qualify, damn it!
Do you think most do though. Ok, you and Steve got me. Its possible. But how often does that happen? Most people just wouldn’t.
Would Peapod take food stamps? Mr. Howler just asked if our welfare delivery was still arriving tonight.
Do both people have to be 65 or can you have just one sacrificial lamb out there?
Well, for someone who was in the Military for over two decades, and it would not be popular to “stick it” to those serving, the fast place to go next is Civil Service. My sister retired last month with 29yrs, 6mos to get out while the getting was good. She decided the last six months was not worth it to cap it out at 30.
Neither party is serious about cuts and balancing.
We’re screwed. No one wants to be the one to point out that we’re broke, and getting broker….. and that the free ice cream is over.
What a joke. They won’t ever cut anything substantive. Don’t Feds vote?
I guess they can’s see past federal employees. Those folks really shouldn’t keep being on the short list. If they don’t get a raise until 2015, that is far too long. Of course they can move up the ranks but still.
Sticking it to the military during war time is pretty dumb. Howver, if there are no wars around…they might be able to get by with it. Look at all the creepy other things that have happened to the military.
From the same article:
Wow, we are so screwed.
So, is the indignation because rich people can get benefits off the money their required to provide to the State?
In Captain dummy talk-terms for me; we require that the rich pay taxes but get made when they ask for their deductions?
Agreed with a few commentators above; unless we cut with seriousness we’re done.
@Moon-howler
Peapod can accept SNAP since its parent grocery chain does. Actually, all it takes is signing an agreement with USDA, enrolling with your State (since each State has specific income numbers within the range I gave), and any grocery outfit/food vendor (to include Meals on Wheels in some locations) will take SNAP.
As for being on it, don’t have to be 65 like you asked, Moon. Age 60 is where they tweak the income level. And does not take one lamb to meww – LOL – just meet the eligibility in terms of income which also has the variable of how many people are in the family and how many of those have incomes.
Warned ya it was a government program! LMAO! Have to have a zillion rules.
Lots of loops holes for sure. Actually I think people who use stuff like this when they don’t need to are scum-bags. I hope everyone knows I was kidding. I am glad it is there for those who are in need. I would not hesitate to use it if I needed to. Hell, you never know when it might be your turn.
Thanks for letting us know about it, Ray.
Civil Service and moving up the ranks: don’t bet on it. Positions are already frozen or being frozen….another reason my sister got out as the GS-6 slot was there, just they could not fill it. Vacant for four years now.
Its time for the Federal employees to be taken off the frozen list. They have paid their fair share.
This idea of dumping on the public employees has to stop.
@Ray Beverage
What’s this Peapod stuff that takes SNAP?
I was making a bad joke about the food stamp program, SNAP, being used to pay for my peapod order. Ray told me that it does take SNAP.
@punchak
Peapod is the internet way of ordering your groceries from Giant or Stop & Shop (the farther north Yankee version of Giant). Orginially, Peapod was the first successful internet company doing this in several areas and several food chains…then the parent company of Giant bought them up. Nice easy way to get your groceries if you are aged or disabled – they come in and even will put the food away for you.
I don’t know about the putting away of food for you. They are great for busy working people. If you use them, always make sure you have them booked when you want them before holidays. You can also get in a bind if it snows. I don’t order roasts and things through them. I find they are expensive and often not the right size.
@Moon-howler
Moon, don’t know if I will fire up more contributors to this thread when I say it – but Fed employees are in a tough spot. The way to reduce Government expense is realign/delete various departments or secretariets…but that means also someone may loose a job. This applies even to State and Local level. Necessary evil though since there is too many departments and too much duplication of work as discussed more than once on y’all’s blog.
Being a retired federal employee, this is fairly typical. Instead of going after the real money in duplicative and unnecessary parts of programs, the “low hanging fruit” is employees. With 3 million employees spread all over the country, only the Congress people with large concentrations of Federal employees care about fairness to Fed employees.
In other words, Fed employees are singled out because no one wants to do the real political job of reforming or eliminating programs.
If you want to be educated about it, try looking at https://www.cfda.gov/ and the sheer volume of the programs will help you understand. it would behoove all citizens to look at this web site and look at the duplication of programs to solve the same problems.
Clinton, thank you for leaving this link. I am just tired of the same people getting hammered year after year after year. Around here, we all have friends who are federal employees. It is a poor political climate for all public servants. I come from a long line of public servants myself. They are spoken of and about disrespectfully. I could go on and on. Don’t even get me started.
@Ray Beverage
Thanks for the info. I’d never heard of Peapod. Hope I’ll never have to use it.
I LIKE going shopping ; I have the time. And I like to talk to the checker-outers.
@Moon-howler
Moon, I know a couple of our Vintage Virginians and disabled folks who when they get deliveries, the delivery guy is always willing to assist. I think that speaks high of the service!
By the way “Vintage Virginians” is the new slick way of speaking about our citizens who are 65+….of course, with Virginia becoming a major wine exporter, it fits…LOL!