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Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

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Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#41

Post by AcerbicZero »

Hard to say how this will actually go but as a vet, I've had some pretty poor experiences with the government support networks as a whole, and the VA is no exception; I know the VA has improved from the horror days of 03-06 but it certainly feels like it could have done so much more, especially after we got out of Iraq and the overall operation tempo dropped.

I have friends who were hurt 15+ years ago now, and have been through the ups and downs of the VA system; its just sad that after all that time they're still struggling (occasionally at least) with basic things and keeping their care going.

Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#42

Post by mystraline »

redeux wrote: post #20
jorblumesea wrote: post #4

Ignoring the obvious humanitarian aspect of it (veteran suicide rate, societal promises of healthcare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honoring_our_PACT_Act_of_2022 ), politically you have to wonder why do this. Vets usually vote conservative, are often employed by the VA. It's an economically unstable time with other administration policies like tariffs. It won't reduce the deficit by any significant %. VA hospitals a…

Vets aren’t as conservative as you might think and they’re a vulnerable population without a strong collective voice. The vets that actually have a voice were usually officers who showed little empathy for the rank and file to begin with, so why would they now?

65% of veterans voted for trump.

They voted for this. Sounds like they chose their destiny, to die in a gutter homeless and no medical care. And with other public benefit cuts, low/no food stamps, delayed or stopped social security.

Its hard for me to actually care. They knew the debacle and hate, and they voted for it.

Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#43

Post by TimorousBestie »

lenerdenator wrote: post #18
jakeogh wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... until they outlaw silent prayer?

Seems hard to enforce, no?

I imagine grandparent is referring to an incident in the UK where a man was arrested for “silently praying.” The additional context is that he was in a legally mandated exclusion zone around an abortion clinic.

It’s become a meme (sans context of course) in conservative circles since Vance recently reiterated it. Never mind that the US uses such free speech exclusion zones frequently.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/christian-bourne...

Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#44

Post by blindriver »

Raidion wrote: post #33
blindriver wrote: post #15

Holy hell, they hired 83,000 people since 2019? Does no one care we are $36T in debt? 40% of our income taxes go to paying just the interest on our debt!

It's not the hiring people that's the problem. Assuming those people "cost" 300k a year all in (benefits/offices,etc) which is probably high, that's $24 billion. The government spent $6.8 trillion, cutting these jobs cuts spending by .3891%. Cutting the people without cutting the programs won't do much and is (IMO) a problem in that you should be able to access government services in a way that the writers of the law…

I really hate this attitude. "$24 billion a year is nothing compared to the deficit so we should just ignore it and keep spending."

Spending cuts have to start SOMEWHERE. Saying $24 billion is ignorable is insane. We are in a critical debt situation and my children's future is at stake.

Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#45

Post by [deleted] »

simonsarris wrote: post #2

It's so difficult to evaluate this stuff from afar. In 2019 there were 399,000 workers. Now 482,000. In 2022, the Biden admin tried to slash 50,000 workers and was stymied, and then the VA hired 61,000 the following year. What's the right number? I'm sure people leaning one way politically will confidently say one thing, though they may have said something else in 2022, and vice versa. I find it hard to have a proble…

[deleted]

Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#46

Post by lenerdenator »

blindriver wrote: post #15

Holy hell, they hired 83,000 people since 2019? Does no one care we are $36T in debt? 40% of our income taxes go to paying just the interest on our debt!

> Holy hell, they hired 83,000 people since 2019? Does no one care we are $36T in debt? 40% of our income taxes go to paying just the interest on our debt!

In short: no, no one cares. Particularly not the guys in the party who are carrying out these cuts.

The main reasons we are, in the year 2025, spending so much on interest, are:

1) A financial crisis that required massive bailouts 2) A pandemic crisis that required massive bailouts 3) Two wars in the Middle East that cost a lot of money 4) Perhaps the most important one here: a steadfast refusal by about half of the country to have a realistic, adult conversation about government revenues since George H.W. Bush said "Read my lips: no new taxes", which solidified the Reagan practice of deficit spending and the belief that any and all private holdings of massive amounts of money were still better than giving that money to the government, regardless of the economic reality.

The VA hospital in your nearest city is a drop in the bucket.

Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#47

Post by WalterBright »

Raidion wrote: post #33
blindriver wrote: post #15

Holy hell, they hired 83,000 people since 2019? Does no one care we are $36T in debt? 40% of our income taxes go to paying just the interest on our debt!

It's not the hiring people that's the problem. Assuming those people "cost" 300k a year all in (benefits/offices,etc) which is probably high, that's $24 billion. The government spent $6.8 trillion, cutting these jobs cuts spending by .3891%. Cutting the people without cutting the programs won't do much and is (IMO) a problem in that you should be able to access government services in a way that the writers of the law…

> cutting these jobs cuts spending by .3891%

A billion here, a billion there, soon it adds up to real money.

Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#48

Post by milesskorpen »

blindriver wrote: post #15

Holy hell, they hired 83,000 people since 2019? Does no one care we are $36T in debt? 40% of our income taxes go to paying just the interest on our debt!

This seems pretty suspicious. The whole org is about 450k people and overall federal employment peaked in the 1990s.

Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#49

Post by hello_moto »

hypeatei wrote: post #29
hello_moto wrote: post #14

The Administration actions are all to fund the $4.5 trillion tax cut. * DOGE - Cut Expenses * Tariff - Bring Revenue (another form of Tax, the victimized countries can't/don't influence USA politics); this is essentially Sales/VAT Tax without being said as Sales/VAT Tax. * Cutting Aids - Cut Expenses * Ukraine - Cut Expenses They're looking for all avenue to fund $4.5 trillion tax cut for the Billionaires. That is th…

That's not the main reason either, actually. There is no way that you're going to find $4.5T in "waste, fraud, and abuse" unless you consider anything you don't like as that. What they're really doing is handicapping as much as possible to make government appear inept so that they can come in and privatize.

They don't really care if the end result is to make Govt inept for privatization.

If that happened, good, otherwise, the Rich will still get their tax cut.

No matter what, The Rich wins.

Re: Leaked VA memo calls for up to 83,000 layoffs to reduce workforce to 2019 levels

#50

Post by hello_moto »

xnx wrote: post #35
hello_moto wrote: post #14

The Administration actions are all to fund the $4.5 trillion tax cut. * DOGE - Cut Expenses * Tariff - Bring Revenue (another form of Tax, the victimized countries can't/don't influence USA politics); this is essentially Sales/VAT Tax without being said as Sales/VAT Tax. * Cutting Aids - Cut Expenses * Ukraine - Cut Expenses They're looking for all avenue to fund $4.5 trillion tax cut for the Billionaires. That is th…

The goal is to rhetorically balance the "savings" from firing people with the additional giveaways to the rich to a low numeracy audience. The deficit and debt will continue to increase, but at least we will also get a recession.

Recession is good for The Rich. They can scoop asset and suppress wage.
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