Aug 25, 2019

Lawsuits: Federal Gov't Fails To Protect Military Reservists Returning To Civilian Jobs


Lawsuits: Federal Gov't Fails To Protect Military Reservists Returning To Civilian Jobs


'...Claiming they are denied promotions and pay, reservists and guard troops are suing their civilian employers under a federal law designed to protect their civilian careers...'


Reference: www.kpbs.org
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Jul 10, 2019

Seven reasons to worry about the American middle class


Seven reasons to worry about the American middle class


'...Middle-class incomes are stagnant Despite gains in national income over the past half-century, American households in the middle of the distribution have experienced very little income growth in recent decades...'


Reference: www.brookings.edu
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Jul 6, 2019

All-American Flag Act: Bill would require feds to only buy American flags made in U.S.


Bill would require feds to only buy American flags made in U.S.


'...Republican Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, introduced legislation they call the “All-American Flag Act” that would require the government to buy flags produced entirely with U.S.-made materials. The flags would also have to be manufactured in the U.S...'


Reference: www.wifr.com
Tags: All-American Flag Act

Jun 8, 2019

New withdrawal options and 4 other things to watch from the TSP this year


New withdrawal options and 4 other things to watch from the TSP this year


'...New withdrawal options are first up on the to-do list for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), the agency that administers the TSP. The new withdrawal flexibilities will be available for participants starting Sept. 15...'


Reference: federalnewsnetwork.com
Tags: Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB)

May 20, 2019

Senate bill would provide financial relief to federal employees relocating for work


Senate bill would provide financial relief to federal employees relocating for work


'...The Relocation Expense Parity Act will ensure that all federal employees who qualify to have their moving costs reimbursed by the government are also repaid for the taxes owed on relocation reimbursements. “Straddling our loyal public employees with part of the cost of their employment-related relocation is not just wrong, it’s also a disservice to our workforce,” said Sen. Warner...'


Reference: augustafreepress.com
Tags: Relocation Expense Parity Act,

Mar 12, 2019

White House Revives Retirement Cuts in 2020 Budget Proposal


White House Revives Retirement Cuts in 2020 Budget Proposal


'...do away with the FERS supplement for workers forced to retire before age 62, when Social Security kicks in. The Trump administration also proposed reducing payments to retirees by basing annuities on the average of workers’ highest five years of salary...'


Reference: www.govexec.com
Tags: Destruction of America's Working Class, The destruction of FERS benefits, FERS, TSP, G Fund, FERS supplement, Special Retirement Supplement (SRS), Employers with High Rates of Employed Military Veterans Being Attacked,

Feb 19, 2019

The Wealthy Are Not Paying an Equal Income Percentage to Social Secirity as Working Class Foots Bill


The Rich Are Costing Social Security Almost $150 Billion a Year


'...More than nine out of 10 working Americans will make less than $132,900 this year, and will therefore be paying into the system on every dollar they earn. Mind you, only the self-employed will owe the 12.4% rate. If you're employed by someone else, you and your employer split the payroll tax liability down the middle, 6.2% each. This means just a single-digit percentage of the working population will sidestep paying tax on a portion of their earnings. But, in 2016, this "portion" equaled $1.2 trillion in earnings . At the 12.4% rate, that's $148.8 billion (nearly $150 billion) in revenue that Social Security is missing out on each year...'


Reference: www.nasdaq.com
Tags: Expand Social Security Act, Social Security,

Jan 27, 2019

Government shutdown cost $6 billion, more than President Trump wanted to fund border wall


Government shutdown cost $6 billion, more than President Trump wanted to fund border wall


'...Standard & Poor’s analyzed the cost of the partial government shutdown on the United States economy and found it added up to at least $6 billion...'


Reference: fox8.com
Tags: Shutdown 2018, Shutdown 2019, Border Wall, Illegal Immigration,

Jan 22, 2019

Wife of unpaid federal employee wins $100,000 on lottery


Wife of unpaid federal employee wins $100,000 on lottery


'...Along with the $100,000, Walls -- who lives in Ashburn, a suburban town near Washington -- also bagged a Ford Expedition SUV. Around 800,000 federal employees have been...'


Reference: www.yahoo.com
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Jan 4, 2019

Shutdown: Why Are Federal Workers Punished So Illegals Can Enter The U.S.?


Dems unprepared for a partial government shutdown that lasts for months and months


'...In other words, a prime segment of the Democrats' coalition is in a financial hole that gets deeper and deeper with each passing day – all because Nancy Pelosi says a border wall is "immoral," a nonsense proposition that only sycophants can mouth without inner doubts. The position that not even a dollar should be spent on a border wall is not viable, which means that a compromise on calling it a "slatted fence" or "border protection" or some other euphemism is going to get more attractive to the federal employees and to the political bosses...'


Reference:www.americanthinker.com
Tags: Illegal Immigration, Border Wall, Shutdown 2018, Shutdown 2019, destruction of the middle class,

Nov 12, 2018

COLA, Largest Since 2012 Shortchanges FERS Retirees


COLA, Largest Since 2012 for CSRS Retirees and Social Security Recipients, Shortchanges FERS Retirees


'...Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of FERS retirees will be wondering why they are only receiving a 2 percent COLA when the relevant measure of consumer prices increased by 2.8 percent. That's due to the bargain struck in Congress in the 1980s when FERS was created, which limits COLAs to 2 percent when consumer prices increase between 2 and 3 percent. But that was the wrong policy then, as it is now. It prevents FERS annuities from keeping up with inflation, which is the whole point of a COLA. It is past time for Congress to ensure FERS retirees receive a full COLA each year...'


Reference: insurancenewsnet.com
Tags: CSRS vs FERS, FERS,

Oct 12, 2018

2019 CSRS and Social Security COLA Increase


2019 CSRS and Social Security COLA Increase Largest In 7 Years


'...The 2019 COLA for those covered in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) will be...'


Reference: www.myfederalretirement.com
Tags: FERS COLA 2019, CSRS COLA 2019,

Sep 26, 2018

2019 Federal Employee Pay raise: What are the odds?


Pay raise: What are the odds?


'...There is also the question, which is soon to be answered, of what happens to federal workers and retirees if the House, Senate or both change hands? Would they get a better deal if Democrats controlled Congress, as most unions say? Or, as some critics say, would Democrats take feds for granted? The three-year pay freeze from 2011-2013 came during the Obama administration, which also introduced “sequestration” and triggered furloughs. That sparked 20 percent pay losses for tens of thousands of workers...'


Reference: federalnewsradio.com
Tags:SRS, FERS annuity supplement, 2019 Federal Pay Raise,

Sep 24, 2018

Alabama: Peter Joffrion and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks tangle over federal worker pay raises


Peter Joffrion and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks tangle over federal worker pay raises


'...Joffrion says Brooks should be doing more for federal workers. “Now Mo flaps his gums about being for national defense, but he won’t fight for a pay increase for the Redstone workers who have earned it,” Joffrion said. "And I will....'


Reference: whnt.com
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Sep 5, 2018

Other pensions can put Social Security benefits at risk


Other pensions can put Social Security benefits at risk


'...One class of people affected are those who receive a pension from a job in which they haven't paid Social Security FICA taxes, such as public-sector workers like police officers and firefighters. Many federal, state and local employees are enrolled in retirement systems that are not part of Social Security. Federal employees hired before 1984 who stayed under Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) are affected. Federal workers who retired under the newer Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) are not subject to WEP because they paid Social Security FICA taxes. Some foreign workers are also affected...'


Reference: www.chicagotribune.com
Tags: Windfall Elimination,

Sep 4, 2018

GOP gives millions to the rich, shortchanges federal employees


GOP gives millions to the rich, shortchanges federal employees


'...In a letter to Congress, Trump — who never tires of telling us the economy is the best ever — argues that the freeze is justified by "serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare." Moreover, he would have us believe that we "must maintain efforts to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and Federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases." Perhaps if those efforts didn't give him, his children and his cronies enormous tax breaks, there would be enough to pay these people a raise that does not even keep up with inflation...'


Reference: www.reflector.com
Tags: 2019 Federal Pay Raise,

Sep 1, 2018

White House Expected to Keep Postal Task Force Report Secret Until After Midterms


White House Expected to Keep Postal Task Force Report Secret Until After Midterms


'...The findings will not be made public until after the November elections, however, according to three sources made aware of the administration’s thinking. Trump directed the task force to make the recommendations actionable, either through legislation or regulation, the sources said, but is not planning to start implementation until voters elect a new Congress...'


Reference: www.govexec.com
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Aug 31, 2018

Trump Says He’ll Eliminate Pay Raises for Civilian Federal Employees Next Year


Trump Says He’ll Eliminate Pay Raises for Civilian Federal Employees Next Year


'...the move “yet another slap in the face to American workers.” Under current law, federal civilian employees are set to receive a 2.1% across-the-board pay increase beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, but Mr. Trump said he is eliminating those raises...'


Reference: www.wsj.com
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Aug 23, 2018

Buyouts offered to some NLRB employees (Podcast)


Some NLRB employees offered buyouts and early retirement


'...In today’s Federal Newscast, the National Labor Relations Board says years of flat funding led to an imbalanced staff at NLRB headquarters and its regional offices...'


Reference: federalnewsradio.com
Tags: buyouts (VSIP), Voluntary Early Retirement (VER), Buyout 2018,

Jul 25, 2018

OPM Reviewing Pay, Leave, Performance Policies


OPM Reviewing Pay, Leave, Performance Policies


'...further recommended combining sick leave and annual leave into one category to be called paid time off...'


Reference: www.fedweek.com
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Apr 14, 2018

Trump administration outlines roadmap to modernizing federal workforce


Trump administration outlines roadmap to modernizing federal workforce


'...boost training opportunities for their managers to make sure they’re up to speed on dealing with employee misconduct. Not surprisingly, the administration will also devote its attention to simplifying its hiring process. By the third quarter of this year, OPM is supposed to demonstrate the initial capability for an “automated hiring adviser” for managers, the update said...'


Reference: federalnewsradio.com
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Mar 18, 2018

Beloved politicians will make tiny middle class tax breaks permanent if companies and the wealthy get more breaks


GOP pushes for 'phase two' of tax cuts


'...Besides making the individual tax cuts permanent, conservatives also said they would hope a second tax bill would lower capital gains taxes, which people pay when they sell investments. Republicans have long wanted to lower capital gains taxes, but they were largely left untouched in the new tax law...'


Reference: www.msn.com
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Feb 25, 2018

Average Federal Employee Salary in States: How Do You Compare?


Average Federal Employee Salary in States: How Do You Compare?


'...Individual federal employee salary data has been posted for fiscal year 2017 and is now available in the searchable database at FedsDataCenter.com. One reason some politicians are seeking to move agency functions out of the Washington, DC area is to share the wealth. Moving jobs and functions out of the Washington...'


Reference: www.fedsmith.com
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Feb 19, 2018

What’s the Impact of the [PROPOSED] FERS Benefit Cuts?


What’s the Impact of the [PROPOSED] FERS Benefit Cuts?


'...The elimination of the FERS Supplement would have a severe impact on an early FERS retiree. The loss of the Supplement may cause the retiree to withdraw substantially more from TSP during the years before Social Security eligibility. Without proper savings and planning, this may place a retiree at risk of running out of savings during their lifetime...'


Reference: www.fedsmith.com
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Jan 21, 2018

Brother of NASA Astronaut Blames Racism For Her Removal From ISS Mission


Brother of NASA Astronaut Blames Racism For Her Removal From ISS Mission


'...My sister Dr. Jeannette Epps has been fighting against oppressive racism and misogynist in NASA and now they are holding her back and allowing a Caucasian Astronaut to take her place!” Henry Epps wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday evening...'


Reference: www.newsweek.com
Tags: NASA,

Jan 12, 2018

IRS Sets Withholding Tables as GOP Pledges Paycheck Increase


IRS Sets Withholding Tables as GOP Pledges Paycheck Increase


'...expressed concern that the new tables would “systematically underwithhold income taxes during the 2018 tax year.” That sort of move would boost workers’ pay before the November 2018 congressional elections but could leave them “owing federal income tax when they file in 2019,” according to a Jan. 8 letter to the Treasury Department from Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Representative Richard Neal of Massachusetts...'


Reference: www.bloomberg.com
Tags: Withholding Tables, income taxes, 2018 Taxes,

Dec 13, 2017

Treasury Suspends Investment Into Federal Employee Retirement Funds to Avoid Hitting Debt Ceiling


Treasury Suspends Investment Into Federal Employee Retirement Funds to Avoid Hitting Debt Ceiling


'...The two funds are the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF) and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund. Mnuchin said the government can no longer fully invest in these funds as a way to avoid exceeding the debt ceiling. He noted, however, that once the debt limit is raised, the funds will be made whole again, much along the lines of what is done with the TSP’s G Fund...'


Reference: www.fedsmith.com
Tags:

Dec 5, 2017

Here's how the Republican tax cuts would actually be felt by regular Americans


Here's how the Republican tax cuts would actually be felt by regular Americans


'...the link between the tax bill and a change in take-home pay may not be obvious to all workers, because lots of other factors can cause take-home pay to change in January. For example, some workers (including federal employees) get annual raises on January 1...'


Reference: www.businessinsider.com
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Dec 4, 2017

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Life’s silent opera


CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Life’s silent opera


'...For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of the Federal or Postal worker’s job, life’s silent opera begins. It is time to prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, because – while no one acknowledges the “voices” and “sounds” of the medical condition, the “movements” are there, of the Agency beginning to realize less-than-acceptable performance; of using too much SL or extending one’s FMLA and remaining on LWOP...'


Reference: federaldisabilityretirement.wordpress.com
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Nov 13, 2017

House bill would eliminate existing federal tax breaks for state and local income or sales taxes


House Won't Accept Repeal of Local Tax Break, Brady Says


'...The House bill would eliminate existing federal tax breaks for state and local income or sales taxes...'


Reference: www.bloomberg.com
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Nov 6, 2017

Sen. Rand Paul Recovering From 5 Broken Ribs After Assault


Sen. Rand Paul Recovering From 5 Broken Ribs After Assault


'...trying to figure out why Paul's neighbor, a fellow medical doctor, might allegedly have attacked him with enough force to fracture five ribs. Paul was reportedly tackled while he was mowing the grass at his home in Bowling Green, Ky...'


Reference: www.npr.org
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Oct 6, 2017

House Budget is an attack on FERS employees more so than CSRS, cuts G Fund rate, ends SRS, raises employee contributions again


House advances 2018 budget resolution with federal retirement cuts


'...Those reforms would include: Higher employee contributions to the federal defined benefit pension plan; An elimination of supplemental payments to employees who retire before age 62; A switch to a defined contribution pension plan for new federal employees; reduce the G fund’s rate of return in the Thrift Savings Plan...'


Reference: federalnewsradio.com
Tags: destruction of the middle class, Attack on Veterans, The destruction of FERS benefits, CSRS vs FERS,

Sep 13, 2017

Clinton State Department silenced them on Benghazi security lapses, contractors say



'...Security at the State Department's Benghazi compound was so dire that another contractor was brought in to clean up the mess just two weeks before the 2012 terror attack – and was later pressured to keep quiet by a government bureaucrat under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to two men from the American security company...'


Reference: www.foxnews.com
Tags: State Department, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, Benghazi,

Sep 5, 2017

Help Hillary get richer, read her new book blaming everyone else for her loss



New Clinton book blasts Sanders for 'lasting damage' in 2016 race


'...Clinton, in a book that will be released September 12 entitled "What Happened," said Sanders "had to resort to innuendo and impugning my character" because the two Democrats "agreed on so much." "President Obama urged me to grit my teeth and lay off Bernie as much as I could...'

Reference: www.cnn.com
Tags: Victim mentality example,


Jun 28, 2017

Please do not feed the jets!


Flight delayed by woman hurling coins at jet engine


'...passenger saw Qiu behaving strangely around their plane as they boarded -- throwing a handful of coins straight at the jet's engine. She did it, it turns out, with a little prayer for good luck, hoping to bring herself and the other passengers in for a safe landing at their destination...'


Reference: www.cbsnews.com
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Jun 20, 2017

With Potential 2017 Federal Job Cuts Looming, OPM Updates Furlough and RIF Guidance


With Potential 2017 Cuts Looming, OPM Updates Furlough and RIF Guidance


'...OPM also issued new guidance on possible reductions in force, titled “Workforce Reshaping Operations Handbook.” The agency put forward the new manual to “provide assistance to agencies that are considering and/or undergoing some times of reshaping (e.g. reorganization, management directed reassignments, furlough, transfer of function, reduction in force.)” The guidance details layoff procedures under federal law and regulations...'


Reference: www.govexec.com
Tags: Federal Employee Furlough, RIF, Workforce Reshaping Operations Handbook,

Jun 14, 2017

Feds: Insurance firm owners bilked postal service


Feds: Insurance firm owners bilked postal service


'...Allan Yiv Chan and Jevelyn Viernes Chan, the owners of Sonic One Insurance Agency in Pleasanton, were named in an indictment handed up by a grand jury in San Jose. They were each charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and three counts of mail fraud. The two allegedly misused the postal service's bulk mail program between 2012 and 2016...'


Reference: www.ktvu.com
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May 2, 2017

TRUMP: Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September!


TRUMP: Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September!


'... The president concluded by saying the government should shut down in September to fix the "mess." "Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess!" he said...'


Reference: www.businessinsider.com
Tags: Government Shutdown 2017

Apr 10, 2017

TSP investing: Read how a TSP investor became a millionaire the hard way. You can too!


TSP investing: What would Einstein do?


'...Many, if not most, of the current crop of TSP millionaires did it the hard way. They didn’t bring money into government from their outside retirement accounts. They invested for decades, stuck with the C and S funds (stock indexed)...'


Reference: federalnewsradio.com
Tags: TSP, TSP Millionaire, Investing in the TSP, Tips for TSP,

Apr 4, 2017

Sessions orders review of Ferguson-style police reform deals


Sessions orders review of Ferguson-style police reform deals


'...The Justice Department late Monday asked a federal judge for more time to "review and assess" a proposed agreement to overhaul the Baltimore police department, saying it needed to determine how it might conflict with the crime-fighting agenda of new Attorney General Jeff Sessions...'


Reference: www.foxnews.com
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