A lot of my neighbors, however, are also getting railed. My city sits between two major shipyards that do most of their work for the navy. One repairs submarines and the other is working on the new Destroyer class. They're seeing a lot of unpaid furlough days.

First -- the effects of sequestration are spread out between the 2013 and 2021 fiscal years. Second -- one of the more impactful cuts, the reduction in Medicare funding, took place only on the 1st of April, hardly enough time for such a small population as WebDip to have felt it significantly. Third -- why on *earth* would you propose slashing the Federal budget *again*, when you only have to look as far as the UK to see how damaging austerity can be in a recession?

"why on *earth* would you propose slashing the Federal budget *again*"

16 Trillion in debt and growing. What the hell is so hard to figure out about that.

You can *confiscate* the wealth of the top earners completely and not put a dent in this number. It is NOT a taxation problem...it's a spending problem.

Will cuts be "painful"? sure...to those that are not self-reliant, who live by the hand-out, for whom I have little sympathy...

It's been pretty rough on a couple of very self-reliant welders and pipefitters I know...

(Or is at least threatening to be very rough for them)

hecks is full of crap. people on this forum lie and say "this happened at my hometown" or "this happened to my friend" to make it seem like something is happening when it isnt. sequestration was a lot of crap. take for example the pentagon cuts.

the pentagon said it would be the end of the world they would lay off employees everything would grind to a halt because of a few tens of billions in cuts. but if you were paying attention, donald rumsfeld declared over a TRILLION "missing" from the pentagon on sept 10, 2001. coincidentally the exact location where the plane hit the pentagon was the budgetary office where people were trying to find out what happened with that money.

so over a trillion missing, no problem. a few tens of billions, end of the world. the media and government together lied to you about sequestration thinking it wouldnt happen so they wouldnt get caught. but it did happen and they were caught lying yet again.

Uh... so... jeez, I don't know how to answer when you say "That thing that happened didn't happen." I'm sorry my experience conflicts with your opinion, I guess.

"16 Trillion in debt and growing. What the hell is so hard to figure out about that."

That's a great number, and it's even factual. But you didn't answer my question. Why do you propose slashing the Federal budget? What do you hope to accomplish by doing so, what is the outcome you're going for, and why do you think that budget cuts will get you there?

@blankflag
I'm many things, but I'm not a liar. Furloughs at the shipyards near my house are, in fact, happening. It seems that your argument is that the military should be able to avoid them, which, if that's your point, fair enough, whatever. But that in no way makes me "full of crap". I was simply answering the OP's original question of whether anyone was feeling it. Here are some news articles about the furloughs.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20130319-NEWS-130319670
http://bangordailynews.com/2013/02/21/business/hundreds-of-biw-workers-at-risk-if-sequestration-occurs/

Sub repairs in drydock? The Navy has floating drydocks fully manned by the Navy that can completely lift a sub out of the water anywhere and repair it. And.must repairs on subs can be done in the water by a sub tender crew.

Destroyers I could possibly see, but the repair crews must have some level of clearance. Nuclear subs, not a chance in hell is some Joe Schmoe who happens to work at the local.shipyard *ever* gonna get the clearance to get in or on one of them.

Look guys, I'll say it again, I'm just answering the question that was asked.
Q: Is anyone feeling the effects of the sequestration?
A: Yes, these people I know are feeling the effects of the sequestration.

Now, if you think these are good cuts, that's another conversation, one I'll happily leave to you guys.

hecks, one of my friend's husband works at a prison and he's losing several benefits as well as taking a pay cut. Glad you're making it out okay, but I sympathize with your colleagues. I didn't realize the sequester was affecting government employees that high up the food chain (museums are still higher up the food chain than prisons, right?).

jmb, if you get a real answer out of krellin, keyword: real, I will +1 every single one of your posts in this thread until it locks.

My roommate is a waterfront civil engineer. A few months ago he inspected some naval docks with no clearance. He was told to "not look at the nuclear subs". Just saying...

A friend's husband works at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. He's a welder. I don't know what he does there, what kind of clearance he has, or what ships he works on. But he's been hit with these rolling furloughs.

@abge - And had he tried getting close, the SPs of the boat on duty guarding it would have tackled him to the ground and made it clear why he was told to not look at them. Just saying...

I believe it, hecks. And if he works at a naval shipyard (not just any shipyard) he has some level of clearance depending on the specific types of ships he is cleared to work on.

Looking at past job postings, they seem to hire a lot of construction people working on the buildings at the shipyard, mechanics maintaining the equipment, and machinists working on non-classified equipment to go into the subs. Maybe he does that sort of thing? Perhaps there are secure and less-secure parts of the facility? Or who knows, maybe he's an international spy and the shipyard is just his cover. I don't know, all conjecture.

My brother had to reschedule his first time flying a plane because the air traffic control tower was shut.

And for me personally, many are worried that the program I work on that maps and indexes development aid data will be curtailed because it is funded by USAID.

My roommate's company will likely have some layoffs because the Navy is cutting back on contracts.

Big Deal.

The Navy was having cutbacks even without "sequestration".

Abgemacht - Serious question: So there are layoffs. Big deal. Is that necessarily a bad thing?

Most non-governmental indsutries - for example the auto industry, which encompasses millions of workers, from direct OEM workers to those in the Tier 1 supplier ranks, Tier 2 and beyond. When the auto industry goes through a down-turn - which is does on a fairly cyclical basis - there are lay-offs. During this time, companies generally tighten their belts and a number of positive things result: For example, companies cross-train employees to make them more useful, which protects the company from unexpected absences or people quitting. They will generally review internal processes to "lean" them out, all the way from the design room through manufacturing. In manufacturing, lean initiatives are *huge*, both in eliminating material waste, but also stremalining to increase throughput while reducing needed workers, etc.

What this does is makes companies more profitable, more stable, and more productive, which in turn makes them better able to fight off *foreign* competition...which in the long run means more jobs.

Without belaboring this point....I will ask this: When does the government do the same thing? When, *ever* is a government run program/agency ever forced to self-evaluate and streamline? The answer, generally speaking, is *never*, until someone is brave enough to come along and cut their budget and *make* them self-examine.

The government does not exist to provide jobs to people. The government exist to serve the tax payers, not create tax payers. They also serve the tax payer at the tax payers expense, just like any business.

If you went to a car dealership and could choose between the $60,000 Chevy Cruze, or the $35,000 Chevy Cruze, which would you choose?

Our current government will sell you the $60,000 Cruze, becuse that the best they can do.

Anecdotal evidence: Michigan went through a budget crunch, and ended up doing the unpaid furlough thing at the Secretary of States office. Guess what? Everyone got thei licence and plates when they needed them. Everyone got to register to vote. The system was bloated, and when forced to acommodate, they found a way to make it work.

If there is *any* integrity left in our government, they will use Sequestration to learn how to streamline and lean out their organizations....and frankly, we all - you included - ought to be demanding it.

Thought I'd have an input from the other side of the pond. There is a massive difference between companies cutting and a government cutting. With a company going through a down-turn they only have to think about themselves, so long as they can meet demand for the "product" they are selling they can lay off anyone surplus to that and it will save them money which is beneficial for the long term growth of the company.

With the government it is different. Every job cut harms growth as it means one less person who can spend money and stimulate the economy. Now is not the time to be cutting, it is the time to be investing in infrastructure, in schools, hospitals, roads etc which will be of benefit long term and also help stimulate the economy in the shorter term. When the economy is stronger, then you can cut. This is why the UK has already had a double-dip recession and looks set to go into recession again, the government keep following an austerity plan that will never work. America's problem (and the UKs) is too much spending when things were going well and it was possible to save. In my opinion the current problems are mainly due to George 'Dubya' Bush

DW -- the falacy of that argument is that every dollar sent to the government to create a government job is one dollar less available to spend in the private sector on consumer products, which create jobs.

Government produces nothing - they are wealth consumer, not wealth creators, as a private business is, in the case of manufacturing. So I reject your argument.

Free capital from teh government, and in time it will produce jobs in the marketplace of private venture.

The problem is that there is a transition period between releasing the capital from government and the growth of private industry...and the whiny, government-tit suckers that live off government - whom are now approaching 50%+ of the population, are making it impossible to do that any longer.

And - if government cuts harm the economy, then why not suggest *everyone* work for the government and have the maximum economy possible.

The funny thing about liberalism - when the economy is good, all you want to do is grow the government. When the economy is bad, you say it's not time to cut government. So when, pray tell, *is* a good time to reduce a bloated, inefficient government?

Your argument goes like this: "Cuts will hurt...can't do it" Bullshit. the private sector takes cuts all the time...and it hurts...and we survive and move on. Why the hell can't the precious government workers ever share the pain of the private sector?

Since the US had a much smaller government for the vast majority of its history - and did very, very well with this model - when did massive government become a necessity?

After the 16th Amendment.

"So there are layoffs. Big deal. Is that necessarily a bad thing?"

Heh. Asshole.

No - the income tax only gave the government the means to become massive.

The liberals argue that the economy can not survive without constant government stimulus. Clearly the economy functioned and grew just well as primarily a private economy with no government stimulus for much of our history.

Thucy - mental mdget that he is, of course is incapable of reading the *entire* post before spewing like the leaky douche bag he is. Grow up, Thucy.