Cuts take aim at Blue Angels, Hanford leaks, housing, more ...
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SEATTLE - Severe spending cuts are now the law of the land, and while the impact has been minimal on Day 1 - the uncertainty of what's to come has many people worried.
On Friday, President Obama signed the sequestration order cutting $85 billion in federal spending after Congress failed to come up with an agreement to avoid it.
Half of the automatic spending cuts fall directly on the Pentagon. Furlough notices will go out to 800,000 civilian Defense Department employees later this month - including thousands in the Puget Sound region.
Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for letting the cuts go through.
"These cuts are not smart. They will hurt our economy and cost us jobs," says Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. "In the last year, the House of Representatives has passed two proposals to replace the president's sequester with smarter spending cuts."
Some local air traffic controllers could be furloughed in April. That means towers at airports like Renton Municipal and Paine Field could soon be sitting empty.
The spending cuts also means people struggling to find affordable housing are having a harder time. Ahead of the cuts, King and Snohomish counties have frozen their waiting lists for Section 8 vouchers, although Seattle is trying to help current low-income clients by preventing rent increases.
Meanwhile, the cuts could ground the Blue Angels at this year's Seafair festival. In a statement, Seafair officials say they're standing by for word about the precision Navy flying team's schedule - and they're working on alternative plans just in case the Blues can't fly.
And the sequestration cuts at the U.S. Energy Department could delay a top priority for Gov. Jay Inslee - the cleanup of six leaking tanks of radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear reservati0n.
Inslee says the leaks at Hanford pose no immediate threat to public health, but he says slowing down the cleanup is unacceptable.
In just one month's time, the problem at the Eastern Washington nuclear site will be coupled with big-time federal spending cuts, creating what some are calling the perfect storm.
"That's most disconcerting to see those two things happening," says Inslee.
On Feb. 15, hundreds of gallons of radioactive waste were found to be leaking from one tank at the Hanford reservation. Days later it was revealed that not one but six tanks were leaking the dangerous waste.
And now because of the sequestration cuts, federal money funding jobs at Hanford could be reduced, slowing down the cleanup.
"We don't know tonight about the furlough situation, but I would say it is probability rather than a possibility," says Inslee.
The governor says up 1,000 private workers could be impacted by the furloughs - and that means a federal cleanup that could take a lot longer.
"We do not accept and will not accept delays caused by any reason, including this, says Inslee.
The U.S. Energy Department is facing an estimated $1.9 billion is spending cuts including $400 million for the Office Of Environmental Management, which overseas the cleanup at Hanford.
"Our solution at Hanford is to insist that the federal government do its job - invest the dollars it takes to remove liquid or sludge from these leaking tanks ... and move with all dispatch," says Inslee.
Meanwhile, analysts say the full impact of the sequestration might not be felt for months.
Congress and the president could still halt the cuts in the coming weeks, but neither side has expressed any confidence they will do so.
And on Sunday, the Senate's Republican leader says the automatic spending cuts are modest and a step toward curing Washington of its "spending addiction."
Sen. Mitch McConnell says families have had to trim their budgets and can appreciate Washington's step to curb spending.
On Friday, President Obama signed the sequestration order cutting $85 billion in federal spending after Congress failed to come up with an agreement to avoid it.
Half of the automatic spending cuts fall directly on the Pentagon. Furlough notices will go out to 800,000 civilian Defense Department employees later this month - including thousands in the Puget Sound region.
Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for letting the cuts go through.
"These cuts are not smart. They will hurt our economy and cost us jobs," says Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. "In the last year, the House of Representatives has passed two proposals to replace the president's sequester with smarter spending cuts."
Some local air traffic controllers could be furloughed in April. That means towers at airports like Renton Municipal and Paine Field could soon be sitting empty.
The spending cuts also means people struggling to find affordable housing are having a harder time. Ahead of the cuts, King and Snohomish counties have frozen their waiting lists for Section 8 vouchers, although Seattle is trying to help current low-income clients by preventing rent increases.
Meanwhile, the cuts could ground the Blue Angels at this year's Seafair festival. In a statement, Seafair officials say they're standing by for word about the precision Navy flying team's schedule - and they're working on alternative plans just in case the Blues can't fly.
And the sequestration cuts at the U.S. Energy Department could delay a top priority for Gov. Jay Inslee - the cleanup of six leaking tanks of radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear reservati0n.
Inslee says the leaks at Hanford pose no immediate threat to public health, but he says slowing down the cleanup is unacceptable.
In just one month's time, the problem at the Eastern Washington nuclear site will be coupled with big-time federal spending cuts, creating what some are calling the perfect storm.
"That's most disconcerting to see those two things happening," says Inslee.
On Feb. 15, hundreds of gallons of radioactive waste were found to be leaking from one tank at the Hanford reservation. Days later it was revealed that not one but six tanks were leaking the dangerous waste.
And now because of the sequestration cuts, federal money funding jobs at Hanford could be reduced, slowing down the cleanup.
"We don't know tonight about the furlough situation, but I would say it is probability rather than a possibility," says Inslee.
The governor says up 1,000 private workers could be impacted by the furloughs - and that means a federal cleanup that could take a lot longer.
"We do not accept and will not accept delays caused by any reason, including this, says Inslee.
The U.S. Energy Department is facing an estimated $1.9 billion is spending cuts including $400 million for the Office Of Environmental Management, which overseas the cleanup at Hanford.
"Our solution at Hanford is to insist that the federal government do its job - invest the dollars it takes to remove liquid or sludge from these leaking tanks ... and move with all dispatch," says Inslee.
Meanwhile, analysts say the full impact of the sequestration might not be felt for months.
Congress and the president could still halt the cuts in the coming weeks, but neither side has expressed any confidence they will do so.
And on Sunday, the Senate's Republican leader says the automatic spending cuts are modest and a step toward curing Washington of its "spending addiction."
Sen. Mitch McConnell says families have had to trim their budgets and can appreciate Washington's step to curb spending.
Now we have proof that the administration is trying to cause disruption with the cuts rather than let them be managed properly:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/5/email-tells-feds-make-sequester-painful-promised/
vouchers for section 8 housing.. no loss there...people spitting out babies and not affording places to live are not my concern... elderly who cannot work logically need assistance but people of working age needing discount housing help... yeah no thank you
...Inslee pitching Hanford cleanup is getting slowed... again he has no control whatsoever so he is just grandstanding for the press... he should just shutup and watch like the rest of us...
...next cuts I want to see is the operations we have throughout the world closing up and bringing all our troops home as seriously America needs to take care of America not worrying about other third world nations... Korea is not going to do anything stupid as even in the condition we are in we could still level them if they attack our allies ...
...
"If we can't even cut federal spending by 2.4 percent without much of the country throwing an absolute hissy fit, then what hope does America have? All of this whining and crying about the sequester is absolutely disgraceful. The truth is that even if the sequester goes into effect, the U.S. government will still take in more money than ever before in 2013 and it will still spend more money than ever before in 2013. So it is a bit disingenuous to call what is about to happen "a spending cut"Â
"we can't stop ourselves. Americans are absolutely addicted to big government. They want a gigantic government that sends out free moneyto more than 100 million Americansevery month, but they absolutely do not want to pay for it. They would rather steal money from their children and their grandchildren to pay for it.
This has got to stop, because we are literally destroying the future of this country."Â
Via Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog
@nbatkinson253 boooooooo
Aren't I suppose to be suffering today? Â I don't feel any different. Â Are kids starving yet? Â Old people kicked out into the rain and cold?
Good riddance, these were always wasteful and absurd to be flying ever since we started deficit spending this decade back in 2000-2001. Aside from the fact they also occasionally crash into houses and waste lots of fuel and pollute fuel and noise, it was always absurd spending on these things.Â
Well of COURSE they land where its visible, painful and difficult for the maximum number of folks. this is nothing more than the congressional felons punishing the American people for Congress's failure to actually DO THEIR JOB.Â
It is, IMHO, EXACTLY what BHO WANTS as a lack of a written budget allows unbridled and unaccounted spending on things that he and others may not WANT to have come into the revealing glare of daylight.
We have to make cuts here, but it's o.k. to send billions in both cash and military arms to Egypt and Syria.........? Makes perfect sense.....right?
Every summer when I see the Blue Angels flying overhead, I think the same thing: What a giant waste of money.Â
If cutting the Blue Angels performance allowance is the scariest thing about the sequester cuts - we're all going to be fine.
No, its the one-day-in-five fouloughs.  A  20% paycut will impact a lot of folks.
Now the pentagon and other departments are playing politics, cutting the things we'll feel the most to convince us that their department shouldn't have any cuts - like threatening to cut the blue angels but leaving funding in place for Afghanistan and the F-35 program. Everyone is playing politics now..
If the .gov cut EVERYTHING they said would be cut there wouldn't be any deficit.
This is nothing more than scare tactics by the government and touted by the news media. (both in lower case for a reason)
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@dorimonsonfan This is satire, right? I mean, Obama's similarities to Goodluck Jonathan and/or his policies pretty much begin and end at skin color. Is that really all it takes for you to declare that two people are basically the same?
@Sutekh @dorimonsonfan ok fail on my part. I always mix up nigeria and kenya. I meant mwai kibaki. it was meant to be a joke not racism. you know since obsma is "kenyan" supposedly.
end the useless war...then much tax dollars be saved.Â
@puellavulnerata The tanks/APCs in the streets & the drones in the sky will be serving that role now. & other, deadlier roles too.
No Blue Angels, how will we ever survive..
@puellavulnerata They'll run around the streets in black vans, a guy in the back with a megaphone shouting "NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNnnnnn"....
@puellavulnerata I'm sure they'll have some costume filled parades to make up for it. Don't worry.
This just proves that the federal government has its hands in way to many things. But if everyone wants to have the government in every aspect of their lives then be willing to pay for it. Because Obama thinks he was given a mandate when he was reelected and those with incomes over $200,000 can't possible pay for it all, I think everyone should have increased taxes.Â
The farce played upon the american people over the last 12 years is that the feds can do it all without anyone paying for it...thus we are soon going to be $17 TRILLION in debt.Â
When Bush became president the debt was about 6 TRILLION when he left office it was almost 11 TRILLION 5 years later it is 17 TRILLION wake up people we need to cut spending and raise taxes on EVERYONE if the american people want all these programs.
@FED__UP Could not have said it better. We need to pay for our gov't programs or not have them.
what chaps my A%^ about these fools is that they screamed bloody murder and cried foul about the cuts.....now these idiots send Kerry over to Egypt and he pledges $250 million to start and over a billion in total WTF is wrong with these idiots, please someone tell me that this is still America and that WE THE PEOPLE can still VOTE these RETARDS out of the office in which they hold now!!!!!!!!
@M  Sorry M, we are screwed. The majority of US voters know nothing of this and could care less if your tried to explain it.  They will vote for anyone approved by Saturday Night Live.
Here's something everyone can play at home. The next time you take a trip down the freeways, have a peek at the comercial vehicles around you. Take notice of comcast, UPS, and FedEx vehicles, just to name a few. Pay extra attention to their license tabs. Are they paid like the rest of us or do they cruise around on EXEMPT tabs? Now ask yourself, why should some of the cars and trucks who use the roads more than the rest, get the benefit of not paying for vehicle taxes? That's just the easy part. Now think about property taxes that we all pay. Oops, sorry. How silly of me. That MOST of us pay... That one's not so easy to sort out as you have to dig a lot deeper to find out who pays and who doesn't. And just like the Hurricane Sandy bill that gave huge tax breaks to NASCAR track owners and Hollywood movie studios, BOTH parties approve these decisions. And they have the audacity to tell all of us they don't know how to figure out the budget...
ship the nuke waste to DC and you will see it cleaned up within 24 hours.
This is a NON-PARTISAN problem. That means BOTH parties are at fault. It isn't because of the democrats. The problem isn't because of the republicans. The problem doesn't lie with Obama. It's everyone's fault. Why? Because no one is willing to work together to find a solution. Both parties are holding out for their way or no way and that's why we're in this mess. As for Obama, he just happens to be in the white house when all this s* hit the fan.
@what? Exactly, everyone is at fault this time, because get this, they didn't even get together to talk about it until FEBURARY 28!!!  The very damn last day!  That was the first time SINCE DECEMBER that the two sides got together to discuss the budget and the Sequester. So they are all at fault, and nobody currently in office should be voted back in.
hmm lets see 2.7 trillion taken in taxes . spends 3.8 trillion Obama claims we need more spending to save the economy. I just don't see the logic here? Cut the spending to match what the feds get in taxes 2.7 trillon live with that. No more period. It is a spending problem stupid! Not lack of taxes problem!
@Exiled_Patriot Just how much do you think spending has increased under Obama. Check it out. You might be surprised.
@geezer @Exiled_Patriot It is not how much it has increased. it is how much we have to cut. if we are spending 1.1 trillon more then the feds take in taxes that is how much we have to reduce spending by over night. get the point? or is that to logical for a democrat to comprehend?
They could cut 300 billion dollars and it still wouldn't be enough. Liberals always believe if you have money, its their to take. WRONG>>>>. Just because I can afford to give you more doesn't mean I should.Â
How about cutting into some of the billions of dollars we send to nations who burn our flag while protesting?Â
Cut what's real, not what hurts. Heaven knows your humble public sure has had to make due with less!
With everything going on in this world, country, state, and in my own household, I think we can do without the Blue Angels for a while. By the way, kudos KOMO for using a beloved local tradition to post yet another article about these spending cuts.
Good riddance to the blue angels.. It costs $20m in tax payer money for each show. Take into account all the costs for an entire year of shows, maintenance, etc and those airborne acrobatics cost tax payers in the hundreds of millions a year. It's a prime example of poorly managed assets. When schools are crumbling, children are starving, people are out of work, and our transportation, electric, and water infrastructure is falling apart, we shouldn't be wasting money on air shows and other useless crap.
Just look at overall spending and you can see how screwed up the system is. 20%Â of ALL taxes we pay goes to the military right now. We spend 20x more than any other nation on military.. What are we preparing for? Russia, China, UK, France, Germany, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan, India, and Pakistan to all declare war on us at once??? Bloated military industrial complex alone could have 50+% of it's budget cut and we would be in no worse shape to take on any foe. That would cut 10% of ALL government spending right there by itself. We could pay for true universal healthcare, fix our power grid, bridges, roads, water supply, and much more with that...Â
Â
@Aidenag No one knows how much China spends on it's military. North Korea spends more per capita on theirs. So much so that their citizens live in poverty and starve. Realistically, your references would be viable if you support them with per capita figures. Comparing a nation that has 3.26 billion people to a nation that has 222 million is asinine. That's like comparing how much someone with an annual income of $200k per year spends on toys to that of a family who make $22k a year. If you compare the dollar ammounts, they have no bearing on each other as just numbers. Apples and oranges pal.
@what? @Aidenag Per capita has nothing to do with it. We aren't talking about population numbers. Were talking about amount of money spent on military. So what if China has 4x our population? How does that affect the size of their military budget? They spend 20x less than we do, and their military strength is far less than ours because of it. Hell, your reference to North Korea proves your wrong in of itself.. You are 110% correct in that they have the highest per capita spending. But their budget compared to ours is about 0.5% of what we spend a year.. Hence why they can't even lob a missile over Japan, and we can nuke the entire planet.
@Aidenagdo us all a favor and move out of the US since you don't like it here so much. In fact, tell a kid that loves the Blue Angels and see how far you get. Look there are lot of things I'd like to see done...like maybe an anger management course for you to go through and then some time with kids and some time at one of the many US military listening stations. By then I think your attitude will change a bit. You should be so lucky to live in a place where you can have such opinions.
@John K @Aidenag Wow John, you really need to learn to read, i didn't say anything "Anti-American". I love this country, i was raised on an army base, my family has been involved in military and defense contracting for generations and i've seen first hand how much waste we have and how much more that wasted money could be doing for this great nation... So quit making assumptions as all you did was make yourself look like a complete and utter fool.
 As for anger management, it seems it's you who could use it as you fly off the handle when people say things you don't understand and can't obviously grasp.
@John K@Aidenag @John K @Aidenag What are you talking about John? Nothing in Aidenags post suggested he doesn't like the United States. You think he doesn't because he happened to mention getting rid of the Blue Angels? Really? I personally love watching them, but I'm also logical enough to know he isn't wrong. They are a complete waste of money.Â
Everybody treats the Blue Angels as though they're some glorious piece of World wide entertainment. In truth they were created to entice young kids to become pilots so they can fly around the world perpetuating endless wars. They are also used to demonstrate US Power across the globe. Who else tries to project the image of power? HMM> Russia, China, North Korea, and a host of other belligerent nations that think they have the right to rule the planet. Â
As to Aidenag moving out of the country? I don't believe in double standards. Please send us a post card when your settled in and less us know how things are going...
The blue angels are nice, but expensive. Maybe their visit AND SEAFAIR should be every two years rather than every year. We all should cut back on expenses.
@contraryjim Then don't go. That's your choice.
The main stream media seemed to accidentally missed this news. I'm sure they would not spike it to protect Obama.
How much is enough?
In its latest Budget and Economic Update, the CBO forecasts that federal revenue will top $2.7 trillion in 2013, slightly higher than the $2.6 trillion the government collected in 2007, when the last recession officially began.
Government revenues had fallen by nearly $500 billion during the recession to $2.1 trillion in 2009, contributing to the $1.5 trillion deficit that year. However, federal revenues have been recovering since the recession ended in June 2009, and the CBO now projects that they will slightly eclipse their pre-recession peak.
In fact, the $2.7 trillion in revenue will be the most money the federal government has collected in history.
@Goodwin I love how I can copy and paste your post in Google search and see that you stole it from a right-wing blog without giving a citation. Classy!
@Goodwin and they will blow every penny of it!
I absolutely guarantee that the SOP for many cuts, particularly those that involve cutting funding to States and local governments, is a policy of "hit them where it hurts and makes great press!". That is, hit the people. Â Â Think about it, even if you are (and I know, this is going to sound far fetched, but) a strong GOP supporter and work within government, it is human nature to want to do all you can to maintain your job and your "rank.". So if your budgets get cut and body count go down, the Comparables for your pay get reduced. Â
And it is admittedly not easy for most folks regardless of political leaning, to tell people they no longer have a job, or ask for everyone to take a 5% or 10% reduction, drop in working hours, etc. Â Not fun but sometimes necessary. Â The private sector learned this long ago. Â When you are government and can play games to raise taxes, or float bonds the pressure is far less; you can exist in a bit of an artificial bubble world. Â For a while...
Now if you happen to be the more typical political leaning while working in government, this means you likely agree with the apparent official position of the Democrats in that, "there is already maximum efficiency, we cannot possibly become more efficient or improve, stretch dollars further, etc." (I am hopeful our new Governor follows through with his lean management promises). Â Business of necessity constantly figures this out and yes, sometimes government does, too. Â But the easy way out is to simply raise taxes. Â The problems started when the economy was going well and revenues expanded plus Comparables for manager pay was arguably the single biggest driver ensuring expanded budgets and larger body counts. Â Align agendas of management via increased pay and bonuses based on performance, quality and efficiencies, and suddenly we'd see a slew of great ideas to save money, stretch dollars, gain efficiencies.
Meanwhile, if "we hit the people where it hurts" and even better, "makes for great and scary press," we can pretty well guarantee they will demand their legislators to deal and ideally, that is, in the view of most managers in government, raise taxes.
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@TruthHonor They allways hit it where it hurts us. They want the money to get their toys and give their corporate cronies breaks so they continue to funnel money towards campaign contributions and the like. When they don't, the first things that usually get hit will be police, fire, and education. This is the same thing but on a much bigger scale. Hurricane sandy bill goes through and with it, NASCAR track owners get a huge tax break and Hollywood with it.Â
Hoe is that fair and how does that help us with our financial issues? Keeping in mind that both parties approved this bill as written.
I will continue to ask...how much foreign aid has been stopped, so we can take care of our own people? How many members of Congress have taken pay cuts? The president? (Oh yes, I know, their paychecks are EXEMPT from sequestration)...How many pet projects and programs have had funded shifted? How much redundancy been stopped, as you recall, the CBO said there are billions in redundant programs padding pockets everywhere.
The military IS one of the Constitutionally required non-discretionary expenditures our nation is OBLIGATED to pay for...yet, they are on the chopping block first? Of course, you remember that Barack Obama wanted to cut the military budget anyway, so this is just another back door way to do it. Sad that we have such poor leadership at the helm and in Congress!
@takncarabizniz Why does the US have their legions - armed forces scattered all over the world?
@takncarabizniz
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_KERRY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-03-14-30-49
@Goodwin @takncarabizniz Once again we give money to other countries! Yeah lets raise taxes so we give away more! Good Post/ example of where this govt's financial priorities are.
@TruthHonor @takncarabizniz WW3 could well be on the near horizon. Israel could pounce at any time... very real, very scary.
@Steve Anderson @Goodwin @takncarabizniz Regrettably, in addition to pressing needs here at home, arguably as much as ever, there are also dangerous realities elsewhere. Â The current President of Iran has made clear he'd love to see Israel destroyed, meanwhile in this last weekend's Wall Street Journal, there was what amounted to an expose on the realities of how far along Iran *most likely already is* (!), to getting their first nuke. Â Check it out. Â The Middle East remains a powder keg while the China Sea is coming online to potentially threaten the Middle East's position in terms of flashpoint danger. Â The risks and consequences re domino effects and escalations in both places, makes financial meltdowns look like relative Child's Play.
So yes, as painful as it may seem, our hands are somewhat tied into continuing to play key roles globally including financial, in critical hotspot territories, regions, countries and their neighbors. Â If we do not the Russians and Chinese will fill the void as they did despite UN sanctions they agreed to (wink, wink) in Iraq under Saddam, prompting a very tough choice later for Blair and Bush and I guarantee it; any other Leaders of these two key allies from their competing parties, would have made the same choice. Â Their alternative? Â Telling the world the UN Security Council was a total farce; that would have been a great option (sarcasm). Â That was soon after Russia shut the pipeline to Ukraine in their big spat, also shutting down a huge portion of the supply to Europe. Â That action as much as any other, made very clear we cannot risk the Russians especially, having controlling influence in key hotspots.
Remember also our highly centralized food supply System designed when gasoline was cheap. Â Europe doesn't have this problem, it is sliced up into a bunch of tiny countries in comparison. Â So strategically were we to experience another oil embargo our *now* much more sensitive food supply system today in comparison (massive consolidation and efficiencies of scale happened these last few decades since the oil embargo), very realistically could see food lines not unlike the Great Depression. Â
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