Let me begin by saying...
I am not political. I keep abreast of what is happening in our country because it would be to my detriment to stick my head in the sand; however, I try and not dwell on things I don't always feel I can have an effect on - it can easily get my blood boiling.
Do I vote? Sure!
Do I believe in the power of the vote? Absolutely!
Do I believe in Democracy? Absolutely!
I am proud to be an American and am so thankful to those people who have sacraficed and continue to sacrafice for the freedom I am blessed to experience. Their sacrafice allows me the freedom to type this blog and share my thoughts and my stories with all of you!
I do, typcially, align with Republican/Conservative ideals; however, I am not pointing the blame on our current situation to one party or the other. I place the blame on them all. I believe that, yes, we all have differences. It is what makes each and everyone one of us unique. Having said that, though, when our differences are now impeeding progress and the health of the country, it is the responsibility of the White House (whoever is in power) and Congress (whoever is in power) to come to an agreement. Is that not what we pay them for?
So - as I continue my story of how sequestration is going to effect my family, please understand that I am sharing my story of how, what I feel, the people we have elected to positions of power in this country are failing my family and, in turn, us as Americans.
A little background...
For those that may be reading this that haven't kept up much with the news, let me give you a little information on what sequestration is and what has happened. Please understand I am no expert on the subject and everything I share here I have either read in an article or my husband has shared with me based on information passed along to him at work.
Sequestration is, at its core, budget cuts to the federal budget. In the past few years the White House and Congress have yet to come to an agreement on a balanced budget and, because of that, America's financial health has been running on fumes.
Think about it like this...what is happening (in my opinion, of course) with our finances in this country is similiar to you continuing to spend money without ever really paying attention to your income or how much money was in your bank account. You just keep taking out credit cards (without any regard for the interest rate) and keep spending never really knowing if you have the money to do that. On a basic level, this is what is happening in government right now.
That isn't a smart way to live.
That isn't a smart way for our government to function.
The White House wants you to believe that this is all Congress' (i.e. the Republican's) fault and Congress wants you to believe this is all the White House's (i.e. the Democrat's) fault. Personally, I believe that they are all to blame. They have failed to learn how to work together and come up with a solution to a problem that has been around for several years. Though the deadline for this particular issue was Friday, the fiscal cliff has been looming for a while.
I encourage you to read this post from The Washington Post: The Sequester, Absolutely Everything You Could Possibly Need to Know,in One FAQ. It is a good overview of how we got to this point, where sequestration came from, and what is actually affected.
Our Story...
I am on facebook. I am friends with democrats and republicans alike. Some have very strong opinions and have even posted information regarding sequestration. That is their right and, I encourage them to continue sharing their opinion (again - that is their right in the country that we live in!). Because of this, though, I began to realize that I did need to share our story. I want people to understand how this is effecting a normal, American family.My husband works for a contractor that works for the government. Essentially, though, his paycheck comes from the government. Because of this, the sequestor will effect us. How? We aren't sure yet. The earliest he will know something (for anything to happen, he has to be notified in writing 30 days prior) is probably today, but no one really knows what is going on at this point. He was told about a month ago that, if Congress and the White House didn't come to an agreement, it was possible that he, along with all of the other workers where he works (there are about 3,000) would be furloughed (...another way of saying unpaid leave). Best case scenario would be a week without pay and worst case scenario would be three weeks. We are thankful he will keep his job, but going without pay, when we are bascially a one income household, is not ideal.
Because we live off of a budget (hmm...maybe I ought to give some pointers to the government... ;-) ), we have money in savings. I also work part-time, though we cannot count on money from the work I do as it is not steady and is purely supplemental (in other words, it comes nowhere near replacing the money we will be without, but will definitely help).
So, my girls will not go hungry.
We will still be able to keep a roof over our head and gas in the car.
We will have to focus on our needs and not our wants.
Because my husband and I have been smart with our money, we will still be able to provide for our family.
This, though, may not be the case for everyone. Some families still live paycheck to paycheck (no judgement as I know there could be many different reasons for this...). Going time without pay may mean they are not able to make a house payment or pay rent. It may mean that they aren't able to put gas in their car. It may mean they are not able to pay their bills. So, while these may be projected budget cuts (this is something I've heard - why are we getting our "nickers in a wad"? This is projected spending we are talking about!), they are very real and will affect Americans. My family may not be as hard hit as others, but when you expect a current income for the work you do, you hope to get it.
So what's my issue then?
If my family isn't going to be too affected (I mean - can I really complain? Our needs will be met and we may just have to forego purchasing a new vacuum or that new tool that Aaron's been wanting), why am I so concerned?I agree that something needs to happen. I have lived off of a very tight budget before. The idea of a budget is that you don't spend more than you make. I understand the need to make cuts because they have not been able to balance the budget. They don't want to cut programs therefore, I understand that some of the programs that exhist have to reduce the amount they spend. In my brain - it makes sense. I'm upset that it has come to this, though. They needed to been financially smart with the money that we, the taxpaying workers have entrusted them and this has not happened. Because of that, now my family (and many other families accross American) will be going without, at least part of, a paycheck. I am thankful that we still have a job (there may be some Americans that won't be able to say the same).
After the initial shock of having to rework/rethink our budget (I do understand you make budgets off of projected income and if the actual income is different, than adjustments have to be made to spending...hmmm...another lesson for our leaders in Washington? ;-) ), the logical thinking took over.
We have planned for situations like this.
Taking a cut in pay (isn't that what a furlough is, after all?) is better than someone else losing their job. We are being asked to make a sacrifice for our country and while we may not be sacrificing our lives like our troops do, we are being asked to make a financial sacrifice for our country. Us taking a pay cut is sacrificing so that our country can try and become financially healthy again.
So, why should the President, Vice-President, and members of Congress not make that same sacrifice? Yep - that's right! The salaries of the aforementioned are immune to the sequestration. Bascially, they are saying to me, please sacrifice so that we can continue making bad decisions and getting paid, to boot! There have been some in Congress who have tried to cut the salaries of Congress and even offered their salaries to charity or returning the money to the government and, if this is true, thank you! The rest of you - shame on you!
For additional information on those in power who have suggested they are doing something with their salary, read the Bloomburg article titled
Obama-Congress Paychecks Safe From Automatic Budget Cuts".
If the leaders of our country are asking us to take a pay cut for the betterment of our country, then they should be willing to do the same.
Something needs to happen.
We cannot continue as we are.
We cannot continue to bleed money or, eventually, it will catch up to us.
I ask and encourage the leaders that we have elected to their positions to quit pointing fingers, trying to make the other guy look bad, and begin to work together as Americans.
1 comment:
Well said, Jennifer!
Government spending cuts must be made for your children, my grandchildren, to avoid future heavy taxation or tax payer rebellion.
My gripe is with the way this was done. For more than 4 years the government and those companpies and employers involved have known the cuts were coming and made few if any adjustments in the amount of money they spent. In fact they hired new people, therefore more people to lay-off or furlough during the expected cut backs.
I'm sorry to say but we ALL can't work for the government and we All can't expect the government to pay for everyting. Your family has been wise and has a budget and I commend you. I wish more people, companies and our government would learn that simple principle. We will suffer until they do. May God bless you with strength and answers during your time of furlough.
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