Government waste exposed?

[Fezmid]

So yesterday I read this article from USA Today:

http://www.usatoday....delays/1962837/

 

Your typical, "OMG, the sky is falling because of the budget cuts!!! Passengers will be waiting hours to get through lines!" But then I read this:

 

Agencies within the Department of Homeland Security initiated a hiring freeze and reduced overtime immediately after the $85 billion in spending cuts across the government began Friday. Customs and Border Protection says it reduced its number of checkpoint lanes to cut overtime staffing over the weekend, and waiting times for arriving passengers seeking to clear checkpoints spiked at some airports. Typically 25% to 40% of the lanes at two top international gateways — New York's JFK airport and Miami International — would have been staffed with employees on overtime, according to the agency.

 

So based on this, it sounds like taxpayers are paying overtime constantly. Why aren't we limiting these employees to 40 hours a week and hiring MORE employees to avoid overtime, thus cutting cost? That'd have the added benefit of lowering unemployment too! Overtime should be used for temporary staffing issues -- not a permanent solution. That's one of the first things my wife had to manage at her company in order to cut costs - why aren't we doing that in the government? (that's probably a rhetorical question).

[Koko78]

I believe that quite often overtime is the cheaper alternative, once you factor in benefits a new employee would be entitled to. Unless, of course, you have people working 80+ hours per week to cover the gaps.

[Fezmid]

I believe that quite often overtime is the cheaper alternative, once you factor in benefits a new employee would be entitled to. Unless, of course, you have people working 80+ hours per week to cover the gaps.

A few hours here and there, sure. But this is up to 40% of the lanes over the weekend -- I can't picture how that's going to be cheaper.

[Gary M]

So yesterday I read this article from USA Today:

http://www.usatoday....delays/1962837/

 

Your typical, "OMG, the sky is falling because of the budget cuts!!! Passengers will be waiting hours to get through lines!" But then I read this:

 

 

 

So based on this, it sounds like taxpayers are paying overtime constantly. Why aren't we limiting these employees to 40 hours a week and hiring MORE employees to avoid overtime, thus cutting cost? That'd have the added benefit of lowering unemployment too! Overtime should be used for temporary staffing issues -- not a permanent solution. That's one of the first things my wife had to manage at her company in order to cut costs - why aren't we doing that in the government? (that's probably a rhetorical question).

 

Oh well, it's time to pay the piper. We all need to give a little to get the overspending under control.

[B-Man]

Also......................this:

 

“TSA Sealed $50-Million Sequester-Eve Deal to Buy New Uniforms”

 

The impending sequester did not prevent the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from acting in late February to seal a $50-million deal to purchase new uniforms for its agents–uniforms that will be partly manufactured in Mexico.

Soon after this new investment in TSA uniforms, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned Americans that the lines are already lengthening at airports due to the sequester.

 

“

We are already seeing the effect on the ports of entry, the big airports for example

,” Napolitano

told Politico

on Monday. “

Some of them had very long lines this weekend

.”

 

“

Look people, I don’t mean to scare, I mean to inform

,” Napolitiano said.”

If you’re traveling, get to the airport earlier than you otherwise would. There’s only so much we can do with personnel and please don’t yell at the customs officers, the TSA officers. They aren’t responsible for sequester.”

 

 

No. But they will be nattily attired while being so dramatically overburdened, thanks to the draconian cuts that are destroying our transportation infrastructure.

 

 

And really, that’s all that matters.

 

 

 

 

http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=47801

Edited March 5, 2013 by B-Man

[Koko78]

Also......................this:

 

“TSA Sealed $50-Million Sequester-Eve Deal to Buy New Uniforms”

 

The impending sequester did not prevent the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from acting in late February to seal a $50-million deal to purchase new uniforms for its agents–uniforms that will be partly manufactured in Mexico.

Soon after this new investment in TSA uniforms, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned Americans that the lines are already lengthening at airports due to the sequester.

 

“

We are already seeing the effect on the ports of entry, the big airports for example

,” Napolitano

told Politico

on Monday. “

Some of them had very long lines this weekend

.”

 

“

Look people, I don’t mean to scare, I mean to inform

,” Napolitiano said.”

If you’re traveling, get to the airport earlier than you otherwise would. There’s only so much we can do with personnel and please don’t yell at the customs officers, the TSA officers. They aren’t responsible for sequester.”

 

 

No. But they will be nattily attired while being so dramatically overburdened, thanks to the draconian cuts that are destroying our transportation infrastructure.

 

 

And really, that’s all that matters.

 

 

 

 

http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=47801

 

That explains why they let all the illegals out of detention; they needed someone to manufacture their new uniforms.

[Keukasmallies]

This just in: No tours of the Whiter House due to sequestration driven budget cuts. In a related report, POTUS will no longer take Marine 1 to travel to Joint Base Andrews; he'll hail a cab, or ride a bicycle

[Dean Cain]

The solution here is paying a flat salary & hiring more people.

[3rdnlng]

The solution here is paying a flat salary & hiring more people.

 

If you want to be taken seriously here you need to step it up. Don't claim one philosophy and propose another. A good troll stays in character. He doesn't let his true feelings be known. You are better suited for an ambassadorship to Trinidad and Tobago than an internship at the CIA.

[Bigfatbillsfan]

The solution here is paying a flat salary & hiring more people.

 

In most cases you cannot pay a flat salary unless the person is in a managment position. When it come to hiring more people, you need to factor in the cost of the bennies you're goingt to be paying out per new hire. In the end, it may be the cheaper option to pay overtime.