It’s not news to me. Three weeks ago, I wrote that my husband would no longer be working for SAIC. We have now been three weeks with no paycheck. SAIC did not wait for March 1.
In these three weeks, my husband, a smart guy with specialized skills as an Oracle DBA with a high level security clearance, has been searching for a new position. He sent his resume’ to numerous companies, talked to a lot of “headhunters”, talked with friends and talked with people he’s worked with in other positions, other companies.
I am an O.W.N. Optimist, so I believe something is going to turn up soon, but I do have a few thoughts I just have to get out there.
First, I’d like to say I completely empathize with all workers who will be furloughed one day a week. It’s more than a 20% pay cut, it’s also a 20% reduction in their benefits accrual. They will have less vacation hours, less medical benefits paid in a joint sharing plan, less retirement contributions. What does that mean over a lifetime of earnings? It’s hard to answer that question, isn’t it? Deep in my heart, though, I’m thinking, “Yes, but you do still have a job!”
Second, as much as I believe politicians attempt to understand the consequences of these cuts, they really have no idea of what it means to a family. Imagine a family of five going to the grocery and only being able to select food for four. I know that’s when everyone jumps in and yells…”Well that’s not the way it works! It’s cuts across the board!” Is it? Is every single household that works for or contracts for the government, or is a provider of service to the federal government receiving a furlough day?
Third, (and this is the thing that raise my hackles most) if there is room to cut 1.2 Trillion dollars, why was that money ever allocated in the first place? Who approved those purchases, signed those budgets, or vetted those contracts? I hope THOSE people are part of the 20% pay cuts.
Lastly, at the risk of sounding bitter, I think it is highly unfair that everyone who refers to the folks becoming unemployed or underemployed as a result of Sequestration as “dependent on the government”. We are not dependent on the government. Bill and are dependent on the belief that a job needed done, a service rendered that required a contract. “Laid off because of budget cuts” feels like tacit acknowledgement the job wasn’t necessary in the first place. I don’t know about the rest of America, but neither Bill nor I want to work a job that isn’t necessary or important to the success of our country in some way or another. Neither of us is interested in just making money for shareholders.
We opened our arms to the world and invited everyone to join us in America, the land of plenty. Then, we found ourselves trying to provide jobs, food, housing, medical, fire, police, roads, schools and services to all the people who flocked here. We embraced a global economy and then learned that our benefits and salary were so superior to the rest of the world, we couldn’t compete. Other countries are building better cars, better computers, and better televisions, cheaper than America. Couldn’t we have figured that out before we extended the invitation? (That sounds eerily familiar to my thinking about Prince William County.)
It’s done, it is official and we may as well move along and try to figure out what it means and how to live with it. It is too late for backward thinking and no point in lamenting our woes. The time for blame is already past. I don’t want to hear any more about Democrats or Republicans or who is at fault. We are all at fault and we are all to blame. Now, the trick is to figure out how to deal with it. Who is working on that? Who is figuring out how to create jobs that need filled and that contribute to the benefit of our entire community, whether local or nationwide?
