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20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

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Re: 20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

#441

I'm sure that the guys who are otherwise being incredibly cruel to almost everyone in the US in some way, but who have offered an uncharacteristically generous severance package, have every intention of honouring that package.

plus they're known for their honesty!

Re: 20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

#442
post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a larger level, if the active & skilled people are taking the deal, doesn’t it mean they’re likely moving on to something that is a better fit and thus good for society anyway?

> they’re likely moving on to something that is... good for society anyway Like supporting advertising and/or furthering the financialization of our economy?

Don't you know, money is a perfect proxy for "goodness".

If it makes money that means it must be "good", right?

Re: 20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

#443
post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article mentions $2.5MM liens which is drastically less than 1% of expenses of $1445MM ("[SpaceX] generated $55 million in profit on $1.5 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2023") It don't appear to be because SpaceX is having trouble paying. I would guess SpaceX are delaying payment as much as possible because it is cheap lending and because it's run as an extremely mercenary company. Their costs of…

Edit: Never mind. They’re counting Musk’s personal donations against spacex. See reply. —— SpaceX donated $265M to Trump last year: https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presidential-race/donald-tr... It sounds like that’s comparable to their total profit for the year, and it would cover the liens 100 fold. I wonder how much of that cash was taxpayer money that got laundered and used for Trump’s personal finances.

$280,475,260 of total contributions was from individuals. AKA Elon Musk.

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary?id=D000029147

Re: 20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

#444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like the analogy, additionally, it seems like just 'stopping coming to work' is something that you could be fired for cause for. So if it comes up later that hey, this person has not been working due to a agreement that the government had no right to agree to. Well we'll be nice and just fire them, won't even ask for salary to be returned.

They have a lawful direction to stop working and keep getting paid coming from their management. If they were terminated for following a lawful direction they would have pretty easy recourse.

It's not a "lawful direction" if the order is illegal.

Re: 20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

#445

The idea that government workers cannot be hired and fired at will is wrong. Government workers should have no more rights than the single mother working at a restaurant or business, or anyone working at any normal business in the US. I other words, they should not have more rights or protections than the people who pay the taxes that pay for their salaries and benefits. One of the most fundamental problems in variou…

Maybe instead of punching down("everyone should have to live as bad as I do/did") you should be raising people up("everyone should live as good as they do/did")?

Why not ask yourself what is stopping yourself from having those protections in the private industry(hint: some people do have those protections in private industry) instead of focusing on taking them away from others?

Re: 20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

#446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The government needs to be downsized by millions Curious about the reason for this. Is there math that shows the first- and second-order effects of specific roles being removed? I ask because I've seen so much talk about the need for this, seemingly without much being supplied in the way of reason.

this is what you might call a vibes-based analysis. proof that the government needs to be dramatically downsized is found in the way it feels good to say and jives with relevant preconceptions.

I feel like there's some famous quote about facts and feelings not caring about one another...

Re: 20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

#447
post #443
post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Edit: Never mind. They’re counting Musk’s personal donations against spacex. See reply. —— SpaceX donated $265M to Trump last year: https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presidential-race/donald-tr... It sounds like that’s comparable to their total profit for the year, and it would cover the liens 100 fold. I wonder how much of that cash was taxpayer money that got laundered and used for Trump’s personal finances.

$280,475,260 of total contributions was from individuals. AKA Elon Musk. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary?id=D000029147

Thanks for correcting me.

The page I linked is confusing. (Why attribute it to SpaceX, but not X or Tesla?)

Re: 20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

#448

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the burn-it-down camp is better described as true believers in free-marketism, and they genuinely expect business to be booming and things to work great when they've cut back on government functionality. DOGE acts different. It seems to me DOGE is about crashing the US economy and/or world economy to attempt wild and radical Silicon Valley theories about alternate societies. As such, its actions are inclined…

> It seems to me DOGE is about crashing the US economy and/or world economy to attempt wild and radical Silicon Valley theories about alternate societies I see absolutely no evidence that the DOGE crowd wants to crash the economy and while they do have a utopian ideology so does the left. Additionally, the DOGE crowd would say they’re trying to dismantle an unaccountable deep state conspiracy that threatens the Ameri…

Man Elon himself said his plan is to crash the economy. When people tell you who they are, listen!

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-polit...

Re: 20k federal workers take "buyout" so far, official says

#449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have the exact payment details been released? Because I understood it as "you will get paid same as always through September, you just don't have to show up to work". Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but that doesn't sound like a "buyout" in the traditional sense.

It is not a buyout. OPM has said that agencies can opt to put people who choose this on administrative leave (but they don't have to, they can keep the people working). So the effect is what the name is "deferred resignation", OPM pinky swears that you won't be cut before 30 September in a RIF or other actions if you take this offer and you'll get your biweekly pay as normal.

What's your source for the assertion that it's not a buyout and it's up to the individual agency if the employee is required to continue working? You might be right that it's not a buyout, but the official Office of Personnel Management FAQ seems to clearly describe it as one:

Q: Am I expected to work at my government job during the deferred resignation period? A: No.

Q: Am I allowed to get a second job during the deferred resignation period? A: Absolutely! We encourage you to find a job in the private sector as soon as you would like to do so. The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.

Q: Will I really get my full pay and benefits during the entire period through September 30, even if I get a second job? A: Yes. You will also continue to accrue annual leave and sick leave during the deferred resignation period until you separate. You will be paid a lump sum for accrued but unused annual leave upon separation.

Q: Can I take an extended vacation while on administrative leave? A: You are most welcome to stay at home and relax or to travel to your dream destination. Whatever you would like.

https://www.opm.gov/fork/faq

Is there an explanation for this apparent discrepancy?

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