Relax, Everything is Going to be Okay!

[Nick87]

What is "true" and does it matter anymore?

No idea.

 

[SAJ-99]

No idea.

Exactly. I think that is the point, unfortunately.

 

[noharleyyet]

What is "true" and does it matter anymore?

Ah, the old linguistic existential crisis deja vu...

 

[Sytes]

What is "true" and does it matter anymore?

Truth is a novelty based on the newsfeeds fed as one reads certain topics typically of their own flavored delight.
Thus, the menu is going to continuously fuel the persons featured "diet".

 

[noharleyyet]

The parties have it riddled out folks...as long as they run neck and neck shitty, whataboutism is free rent & repellent to a third party pipe dream.

"You torches keep your grubby hands off my pitchfork."

*subscription rates apply

 

[Doublecluck]

The cracks are filled with promises of $5000 checks.

Seems like a lot, some people might go along for a cheeseburger and fries.

 

[hank4elk]

"These are the times that try men's souls." T. Paine

American citizens, where are you?

 

[Nick87]

Seems like a lot, some people might go along for a cheeseburger and fries.

 

[dranrab]

Well Paul Barnard, I still think you should come ride The Palisade Plunge next time you vacay in Crusty Butt.

Don't know if we'll make it out that way this year with the impending move. I'll ride the Plunge as long as I don't have to pedal to the top! Gratuitous public land photo.

 

[406dn]

All I know is that the old saw...don't put all of your eggs in one basket, has never been more relevant.

All of this, imo, is to do exactly what they are doing. Create a big show over cutting spending, as a pretext to justify continuing the tax rates passed in Trump's first term. Hell, they might even trim them a bit.

The sad truth is... if they included a free $1000/ person in the bill, his base would lap it up. There would be no attention paid to the many millions the very well off will receive in tax cuts.

Trump's first term showed how serious he was about the national debt. 25% of the entire national debt, occurred on his watch. Neither party will face the fact we need to put our finances in order. Republicans, going back to Reagan, learned that cutting taxes, and not touching spending, is very popular with the populace. Then when out of power, rail against spending and pretend to care about the debt.

This time they have included a three ring circus about cutting government, to justify the cutting of taxes. We have been headed this way for decades. There was a short period during Clinton's presidency, where between the parties, where we were actually paying down some debt. But that is no fun, it is more fun to cut taxes, and pretend that economic growth will cover the revenue loss.

I guess this thread could just as easily been titled...Don't worry, be happy. It was a catchy tune, in its day.

 

[Vek]

You have no $*)Q!#@$ idea what I'm actually doing to "help". You don't know how many calls I've made, emails I've sent, and letters I'm working on. My neighbor is one of our county commissioners and a diehard Trump supporter. I've spent an absurd amount of time trying to get him to just listen and keep him from getting defensive over actual issues Trump is causing that will have real implications for our area. What I keep running into is the unbelievable amount of loyalism he's managed to build. You are not allowed to question or critique anything Trump does or you're a traitor and a libtard and un-American. It is a bad idea to fire all of the FS employees responsible for wilderness enforcement and excrement removal within THE most highly used wilderness area in our entire state, without a backup plan. I'm not going to wait for the mountains of shit to build up around the alpine groovers before I speak up. From what I know, it's hard to get shit back in the asshole that deposited it. If I thought someone else would speak up I might stay quiet, but I don't hear anything but cheering coming from the loyalists.

For my efforts in the last week I've been pigeonholed as the enemy. I'm over it. I'm over the MAGA crowd literally cheering as Trump puts down entire groups of Americans he views as the enemy while in the next breath being bent out of shape because someone called Trump a childish name. No one in my lifetime has so successfully weaponized hate speech toward other Americans while still maintaining the role of victim. So if you, cgasner, can't handle the childish nametag I've used for him, then sorry, block me, sounds like you can't handle it. I haven't directed a single insult to anyone on this forum except the Orange Narcist himself.

This mass firing of .gov employees is done for one of two reasons: 1. lack of understanding of what's being lost, or 2. in spite of and fully understanding what's being lost. I'll lend the benefit of the doubt to the administration for which I voted, that they've discovered rot too pervasive to excise piecemeal. Instead we get the West Helsinki Fire Sale: everyone must go. We all have a mountain of anecdotes as to the utter waste and graft occurring across all of .gov but have no data, and I assume with his access and resources, Mr. Trump has data, and data informs this action.

Earlier someone mentioned the "default" phenomenon, where the default answer to inquiry from .gov is along the lines of "sorry, we don't do things that way". It appears that phenomenon is being fired.

None of us are privy to the plan. The left will argue there is none. But I'm secure knowing that there ARE ways to restore function, soon, after things are lost, and I'm happy to trust that the current administration is fully aware of this and has an equally-rash plan to do so. The trails will be cleared, the backcountry crappers emptied, and hope restored. This time, maybe, policies which prohibit certain things from occurring in an efficient manner will be reviewed and revised. Maybe we'll yet hear sound of chainsaws clearing trail in wilderness areas, as a pragmatic answer to the post-Civilian-Conservation-Corps reality in which we dwell.

 

[Justabirdwatcher]

This mass firing of .gov employees is done for one of two reasons: 1. lack of understanding of what's being lost, or 2. in spite of and fully understanding what's being lost. I'll lend the benefit of the doubt to the administration for which I voted, that they've discovered rot too pervasive to excise piecemeal. Instead we get the West Helsinki Fire Sale: everyone must go. We all have a mountain of anecdotes as to the utter waste and graft occurring across all of .gov but have no data, and I assume with his access and resources, Mr. Trump has data, and data informs this action.

 

[SAJ-99]

None of us are privy to the plan.

They literally published the plan.

 

[NDGuy]

The irony of people cheering the firing of minimum-wage workers to combat "waste, fraud, and abuse" while a billionaire abuses the system to not pay taxes and the same dipshits give him a pat on the back.

 

[sclancy27]

This mass firing of .gov employees is done for one of two reasons: 1. lack of understanding of what's being lost, or 2. in spite of and fully understanding what's being lost. I'll lend the benefit of the doubt to the administration for which I voted, that they've discovered rot too pervasive to excise piecemeal. Instead we get the West Helsinki Fire Sale: everyone must go. We all have a mountain of anecdotes as to the utter waste and graft occurring across all of .gov but have no data, and I assume with his access and resources, Mr. Trump has data, and data informs this action.

Earlier someone mentioned the "default" phenomenon, where the default answer to inquiry from .gov is along the lines of "sorry, we don't do things that way". It appears that phenomenon is being fired.

None of us are privy to the plan. The left will argue there is none. But I'm secure knowing that there ARE ways to restore function, soon, after things are lost, and I'm happy to trust that the current administration is fully aware of this and has an equally-rash plan to do so. The trails will be cleared, the backcountry crappers emptied, and hope restored. This time, maybe, policies which prohibit certain things from occurring in an efficient manner will be reviewed and revised. Maybe we'll yet hear sound of chainsaws clearing trail in wilderness areas, as a pragmatic answer to the post-Civilian-Conservation-Corps reality in which we dwell.

You can't use chainsaws in wilderness.

Musk could direct his ire toward the corpulent, degenerate reptiles that are the legislative branch of govt. They have created the financial "cliff" with reckless spending.

And yet, those ghouls cheer when someone making $40K gets fired because they are in probationary status.

There will certainly be unintended consequences from all this, what they are we will find out.

 

[squirrel]

It would be interesting, for this particular thread, to know how many here have been (cumulatively)

1. fired
2. layed off
3. quit or added another job because of actual physical hunger that is unable to be met by current pay stubs.
3. a. stopped for fresh roadkill deer to eat counts 1/2... SWERVING to bag the deer counts full value.
4. If the cumulative total is <5 you have a distinct lack of "schoolahardnoks" degrees.

Layed off job attached does not count except for paid time off to hunt geese/ducks in winter which is its own reward, but if you ate the geese because of the actual physical hunger I guess you can count the Job attached layoffs.

If you have been fired by your spouse you get a 2fer.

Real job cuts start at 80-90% of work force, anything less is just an adjustment. Those with <5 will vehemently disagree which proves #4.

 

[Sytes]

Thought these would serve as five great bullet reviews of responsibilities from the past week if ever necessary...

• I complied fully and faithfully with my oath of office. (“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”)
• I performed tasks and assignments to implement the laws and regulations that govern the official duties of my program and agency.
• I performed the duties outlined and required by my job classification in my position of record.
• I followed the law and regulations regarding confidentiality of data and information sharing with outside parties that are part of my work.
• I performed these assignments during work hours at my duty station as outlined in my personnel records (Standard Form 50 — Notification of Personnel Action).

How to Summarize Government Work in Five Easy Bullets

It was reported this weekend that all federal employees received an e-mail from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) telling employees to report “five bullets about what you did last week.” The e-mail also states that failure to do so would be interpreted to mean that the employee is...

natlawreview.com

 

[Justabirdwatcher]

I wonder if it ever occurred to any of the employees who received that "last week" email to respond with five bullet points that began with letters that spelled out how they felt?

Nah. Probably not.

 

[Borny1]

I get what you're saying, and I don't like seeing fellow federal employees begging for sympathy. But at the same time, I don't get the idea that "because this bad thing happened to me, it should happen to other people too." Not saying that's what you're getting at, but I'm seeing that in other places.

I don't think most people think that it should be impossible to lay off federal employees. Reductions in force happen often enough and there's no guarantee that anyone won't be affected. This DOGE experience is striking for its indiscriminate nature and how Musk is being deliberately antagonistic and disrespectful.

No. When I say I have lived the DOGE experience, I mean the exact same thing. I work for one of the largest O&G companies in the world. Tens of thousands employees, millions including contractors. Indiscriminate firings happen about every 10 years. 10 to 15% of the workforce. They fire those with the least tenure and force those close to retirement out the door. It's business. When times are tough, budgets get cut. That's how they stay in business.

 

[Wild Bill]

So you’re saying you’re just okay with whacking 10-15% of random employees every 10 or soyears, without regard to their position or education or prior work experience or any other additional values they add to your/their work team?
Seems like bad process to me.
Part of good business practice is identifying and developing internal workforce for future position openings, often positions of leadership.
Anyone with a pulse knows that there are tons of folks in administrative and managerial positions set to retire in the next decade. Now, we’ve not only alienated an entire age demographic to government service, but we’ve put all of our current government servants on edge.
What kind of business acumen is that?