Before you read this in the interest of full disclosure, I am an employee of the United States Government. I can't figure out how to change the time it says I posted a blog entry, but it is currently 9:40 PM central time. I am writing this on my home computer on my own time.
This week President Obama announced to trim the defecit, he planned to freeze the salaries of all employees within the civil service (antiquated term). Below you will find some informational sources:
White House press release
WSJ article
Washington Post Article
The plan is expected to save $28 billion over the next five years. That is a near unfathomable amount of money for anyone other than an economist or billionaire. That is what the President is relying on. Yeah $28 billion sounds like a lot of money. It is. $5.4 billion, the approximate average yearly savings, is also a huge amount of money. But the problem is the budget deficit this year alone was $1.3 trillion. Because math makes my head hurt lets just do some estimates and say the pay freeze will save $30 billion over the next five years. That means that the entire savings is only 2% of the yearly deficit. The $5.4 billion per year is only .4% of the FY2010 deficit (these numbers come from the Congressional Budget Office). But every little bit helps right?
According to Federaljobs.net, the US Government is the nation's largest employer employing approximately 2% of the working men and women in the United States. Let's not forget, these employees are the ones that you file income taxes with, you get social security from, protect our borders, treat our veterans, and perform many other tasks we take for granted. So to save .4% the plan is to essentially cut the salaries of a full 2% of the workforce? What a great idea! Also, if you think that person at the IRS or the Social Security office was a pain to deal with before, how do you think they will act when they know they will not be getting a cost of living adjustment? That is likely what this will affect, by the way. If the President really wanted to minimize the punishment of Federal Employees and save some money, he would have done this for the last two years when inflation was stagnent. In that case the COLA really was just a raise. But it is meant to keep salaries consistent in the face of inflation. With inflation creeping back into the economy, not having the COLA would make the effective salary of each employee lower.
Of course the first sentence of the White House press release blames the past administration for the deficit. There is no question the Bush government could have been more fiscally conservative, but does the President not remember the ARRA or the health bill that nobody wanted and less people read? I guess those didn't add any spending. I know what they did add- extended benefits for people who are unemployed. Intelligent people may disagree over whether this provision was proper. However, everyone should be outraged by the message sent. Unemployed people should be given benefits but let's cut raises for Federal WORKERS. Now, the President did note the first salaries he froze were for Senior White House staff. Logically, this would have been an irrelevant publicity stunt. If it was one of the first things he did, that would mean his senior staff had just started their jobs. So, why would they get raises? You don't hire someone and immediately give them a raise.
So, that brings me to the actual point of this blog entry. I think the President needs to be rewarded (see you thought this was meant negatively! shame!). He already won the Nobel Peace Prize so, his next awards would have to be of equal or higher esteem. First, because the President managed to get the ARRA and Obamacare passed with apparently spending no money, I think he should be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics (its a shame he missed it this ear). Now, by freezing the salaries of his senior staff, he really jumped on a grenade for all of us. Also, let's not forget, as Commander-in-Chief, he is technically in the military. Therefore, I propose he give himself the Medal of Honor. Who's with me!?!
-J
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Who doesn't love company?
I am sure it would be easy to find an answer to the above question. But I know for sure who does love company- Misery. Yes, less than one week after I make fun of the Cowboys, my Redskins get absolutely embarrassed by the much hated Eagles. I hope Dan Snyder picked up the phone today and called Sammy Baugh, Art Monk, Darrell Green, Joe Theismann, Riggo, Doug Williams, and Russ Grimm to apologize because what happened this week was an insult to everyone who has ever worn the uniform and every fan. It's not just that the Eagles gutter-stomped the Skins, it's McNabb. Why would Philly trade their franchise QB to the Redskins? Did the Cowboys try to trade Miles Austin to the Giants? Have the Giants tried to trade Brandon Jacobs to the Eagles? No. Why because they still are of some use. Jacobs has fallen far out of favor, but he is still worth too much to trade in the Division. So the Skins screwed up by trading for him. Then they give him a 4 year $78M deal on Monday. That night he comes out and plays just like someone that you would be willing to trade in the division. He threw the ball too high which is the worst place to put it. If it goes too low, I don't think the grass is gonna run the interception back for six. I want to give Shannahan a shot. But I think he needs to fire his son as well as Haslett. The Redskins are an absolute failure and an embarrassment. I don't think we can expect any better as long as Snyder owns the team. I (unfortunately) still can hope. Luckily the Cowboys are pretty embarrassing as well (although they even looked better last week).
-J
-J
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Broke Back Dome
As anyone who knows me very well at all has probably suspected, I am reveling in the unraveling going on in the "Big D." Like those two famous cowboys that found love in one another (actually, I think they were goatboys not cowboys), Jerry Jones has created a story nobody in Texas wants to watch. Frankly, I can't quit it. The most recent wrinkle is that Jerry Jones fired head coach Wade Phillips. I hadn't thought about it, but someone mentioned the interesting statistic on the radio that Jerry Jones has fired every coach the Cowboys had ever had. The only disappointment in this whole thing is that Wade got fired. Nothing pleased me more to see the Cowboys act woefully inadequately on the field to have the camera cut to Wade with that "Aww shucks" or that "Where am I?" look on his face.
Speaking of Wade... has anyone ever seen him and Bob's Big Boy in the same place at the same time?
The best part about this whole thing is that the Cowboys began the season talking about how they were gonna be the first team to play the Superbowl at home in Jerry World. The way it looks now, the only Cowboy employees that will be working the Superbowl will be janitorial staff. The NFL always puts their best officials out for the Superbowl. With all of the crap the Cowboys have been putting on the field this season those janitors will have had enough practice to be an all-star crew by then as well. If only this same type of thing could happen to the Giants as well. Unfortunately there is another team ripe for this type of fall with a demagogue owner. Sadly, that owner is Daniel Snyder. To be fair, at least Jerry has won some Superbowls, while the Daniel Snyder Redskins have been the model of consistent mediocrity. At least we can bask in the current work of art that is Broke Back Dome.
Speaking of Wade... has anyone ever seen him and Bob's Big Boy in the same place at the same time?
I think I have made my point.
The best part about this whole thing is that the Cowboys began the season talking about how they were gonna be the first team to play the Superbowl at home in Jerry World. The way it looks now, the only Cowboy employees that will be working the Superbowl will be janitorial staff. The NFL always puts their best officials out for the Superbowl. With all of the crap the Cowboys have been putting on the field this season those janitors will have had enough practice to be an all-star crew by then as well. If only this same type of thing could happen to the Giants as well. Unfortunately there is another team ripe for this type of fall with a demagogue owner. Sadly, that owner is Daniel Snyder. To be fair, at least Jerry has won some Superbowls, while the Daniel Snyder Redskins have been the model of consistent mediocrity. At least we can bask in the current work of art that is Broke Back Dome.
-J
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Nick Bell
About a month ago, I did not know who Nick Bell was. I am not one of those people with encyclopedic knowledge of lineups. Today, I find myself profoundly affected by the short life of this young man.
Of course the way I got to know Nick Bell's name was because of his surgery at Vanderbilt a few weeks ago. Brain tumor removed. I was concerned then. The thought that skin cancer could become a brain tumor sounded bad. The surgery was initially a success. Then very suddenly, over the last three days, Nick's condition deteriorated, and he died this afternoon.
After Nick's initial surgery his doctors came out and said that they were hopeful that one day Nick could again play football. I was very excited to hear this news. Nick had taken over a starting role on the defensive line as a sophomore. Nick coming back to football would be great for MSU. I wouldn't hold it against any fan for thinking that way. In any other case, that may have been how I would have felt. But that is not why I was excited. In this instance, even though I had never met the kid, I was excited because he was going to have a second chance to fulfill what was surely his dream - to play football. The reason its exciting to think of a sophomore good enough to start on an SEC defensive line for the fans, is because it shows talent. From the prospective of the player chasing his dream, this is exciting because it shows him he has the potential to actually make his own dreams come true. So, in that sense, I was genuinely excited he may be able to resume his football career so that he could have another chance to accomplish his goals.
This was buoyed by seeing Nick on the side line during the UAB game. Nick stood on the sidelines talking to his teammates and rooting them on. He had on his jersey with a camouflage cap and pants. He looked every bit the physical specimen you would expect an SEC defensive end to be. The model of health there in good spirits. MSU won the game. The cowbells rang with impermissible abandon. It was all of the pageantry and fuss of homecoming. In short, knowing that was the last game Nick could spend with his teammates, and us, it was perfect.
That was 10 days ago.
Yesterday afternoon when the news came out that Nick had taken a turn for the worse and the team was going to go to Birmingham to see him, I hoped for the best, but figured the worst. Skin cancer is generally on the skin, not the brain. For it to have gotten there, it was likely other places. Indeed, that seems to be the case. Now he is gone, and I never got to meet him, but have been greatly affected by his passing.
First of all, the second chance he got that was then taken away from him. Nick from all accounts I have heard was a hard worker who did not get into trouble and had a team first, not me first, attitude. But his second chance was stripped from him. It made me immediately think of Chris Rainey. Chris Rainey threatened to kill his girlfriend and was suspended from the team at Florida. He has now been welcomed back to the team. Jeremiah Massoli got kicked off the team at Oregon for breaking a number of laws, now he is spending his final year of eligibility intended to be Ole Miss's savior this year. To be fair, it also made me think of Anthony Dixon who got hopped up on Andre and drove around in a parking lot right before his senior year. All those guys got second chances. But not Nick.
The song Mad World as performed by Adam Lambert on American Idol has been playing in my head. It kinda fits my mood today.
Mississippi State students got together at 7:36 tonight to celebrate Nick. Seven wins for number 36. In true MSU form, they rang their cowbells for him. His family at Mississippi State will not know the heartache of his football family. He had been with them for three years (he was a redshirt sophomore). Intense heat in camp and intense games on Saturdays no doubt contribute to an intense bond. But even more than that, Nick's mother, Linda Bell, has lost her light. So far down the list am I yet so intense my reflection, I cannot fathom what is going through her mind right now. I hope, at this point, she is just numb.
When you lead the life I have led you get the full range of perspectives. When you are a kid you see these men playing on Saturdays. They look like giants (some of them still do) and are awe inspiring. You get to high school college age, and you see them as peers more or less. Generally, you know somebody that is playing football for your high school or college. Then you get older, approaching the middle section of your life and they change again. Now they are definitely kids. They are kids that are full of talent and promise. They can still be heroes but we now live more vicariously through their actions.
Nick Bell was a kid with promise to me. He never got to fulfill that promise. He was taken so young and so quickly. Ten days ago though, he stood on that sideline with his teammates. He heard the crowd cheering his team on. He was not playing but he was part of the team. For that period he got again to taste a sliver of his dream. And I was part of helping him do that. I will be forever thankful to Nick to have been given that opportunity.
-J
Of course the way I got to know Nick Bell's name was because of his surgery at Vanderbilt a few weeks ago. Brain tumor removed. I was concerned then. The thought that skin cancer could become a brain tumor sounded bad. The surgery was initially a success. Then very suddenly, over the last three days, Nick's condition deteriorated, and he died this afternoon.
After Nick's initial surgery his doctors came out and said that they were hopeful that one day Nick could again play football. I was very excited to hear this news. Nick had taken over a starting role on the defensive line as a sophomore. Nick coming back to football would be great for MSU. I wouldn't hold it against any fan for thinking that way. In any other case, that may have been how I would have felt. But that is not why I was excited. In this instance, even though I had never met the kid, I was excited because he was going to have a second chance to fulfill what was surely his dream - to play football. The reason its exciting to think of a sophomore good enough to start on an SEC defensive line for the fans, is because it shows talent. From the prospective of the player chasing his dream, this is exciting because it shows him he has the potential to actually make his own dreams come true. So, in that sense, I was genuinely excited he may be able to resume his football career so that he could have another chance to accomplish his goals.
This was buoyed by seeing Nick on the side line during the UAB game. Nick stood on the sidelines talking to his teammates and rooting them on. He had on his jersey with a camouflage cap and pants. He looked every bit the physical specimen you would expect an SEC defensive end to be. The model of health there in good spirits. MSU won the game. The cowbells rang with impermissible abandon. It was all of the pageantry and fuss of homecoming. In short, knowing that was the last game Nick could spend with his teammates, and us, it was perfect.
That was 10 days ago.
Yesterday afternoon when the news came out that Nick had taken a turn for the worse and the team was going to go to Birmingham to see him, I hoped for the best, but figured the worst. Skin cancer is generally on the skin, not the brain. For it to have gotten there, it was likely other places. Indeed, that seems to be the case. Now he is gone, and I never got to meet him, but have been greatly affected by his passing.
First of all, the second chance he got that was then taken away from him. Nick from all accounts I have heard was a hard worker who did not get into trouble and had a team first, not me first, attitude. But his second chance was stripped from him. It made me immediately think of Chris Rainey. Chris Rainey threatened to kill his girlfriend and was suspended from the team at Florida. He has now been welcomed back to the team. Jeremiah Massoli got kicked off the team at Oregon for breaking a number of laws, now he is spending his final year of eligibility intended to be Ole Miss's savior this year. To be fair, it also made me think of Anthony Dixon who got hopped up on Andre and drove around in a parking lot right before his senior year. All those guys got second chances. But not Nick.
The song Mad World as performed by Adam Lambert on American Idol has been playing in my head. It kinda fits my mood today.
Mississippi State students got together at 7:36 tonight to celebrate Nick. Seven wins for number 36. In true MSU form, they rang their cowbells for him. His family at Mississippi State will not know the heartache of his football family. He had been with them for three years (he was a redshirt sophomore). Intense heat in camp and intense games on Saturdays no doubt contribute to an intense bond. But even more than that, Nick's mother, Linda Bell, has lost her light. So far down the list am I yet so intense my reflection, I cannot fathom what is going through her mind right now. I hope, at this point, she is just numb.
When you lead the life I have led you get the full range of perspectives. When you are a kid you see these men playing on Saturdays. They look like giants (some of them still do) and are awe inspiring. You get to high school college age, and you see them as peers more or less. Generally, you know somebody that is playing football for your high school or college. Then you get older, approaching the middle section of your life and they change again. Now they are definitely kids. They are kids that are full of talent and promise. They can still be heroes but we now live more vicariously through their actions.
Nick Bell was a kid with promise to me. He never got to fulfill that promise. He was taken so young and so quickly. Ten days ago though, he stood on that sideline with his teammates. He heard the crowd cheering his team on. He was not playing but he was part of the team. For that period he got again to taste a sliver of his dream. And I was part of helping him do that. I will be forever thankful to Nick to have been given that opportunity.
-J
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