Since the 1980s, private companies, the federal government, and several state governments have eliminated the uncertainties and risks associated with managing defined benefit pension plans (low interest rates, stock market declines, and an aging work force) and have migrated to defined contribution retirement options. However, many companies that contract with the federal government have continued to offer defined benefit plans, in part because the investment risks are absorbed by the taxpayers through reimbursements for pension shortfalls.
Got jobs?
For all the hand-wringing since March 1 about the sequester and the Obama administration threatening to furlough thousands of federal employees and contractors, thus marking the end of civilization as we know it, you would be happy to know the federal government is still hiring people.
Government Waste TV
There are more than enough egregious examples of mismanagement and inefficiency to create “Government Waste TV.”
IRS Spent $60,000 on Star Trek and Gilligan’s Island Parody Videos
If you thought that there couldn’t possibly be any other embarrassing details about federal agency conference spending, I regret to inform you that you were wrong.
Business as Usual in the Land of the Midnight Sun
Alaska has long received more than its fair share of federal funding.
Pay No Attention to Those Political Appointees Behind the Curtain
Recently, the Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard informed readers that President’s Obama’s top political appointees make an average of $142,691 annually.
More Hysterics from Organizing for Action
Just got hold of yet another email from Organizing for Action, President Obama’s perpetual campaign operation, about the sequester.
To Catch a Thief
‘Tis the season…for tax refund fraud. And the 2012 filing season promises to be a whooper when it comes to taxpayers’ refunds being ripped off.
The Fed Boat: A Career on Cruise-Control
On February 5, the Washington Post reported that President Obama and his emissaries – particularly in the federal-employee-intensive enclaves of the D.C. suburbs in Virginia and Maryland – were sounding the alarm of a potential furlough if the dreaded sequester (automatic spending cuts) went into effect. On Friday, March 1, with no alternative agreement among the White House, the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, the sequestration took effect.
Snow-quester: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to (Work?)
In 2010, Washingtonians lived through Snowmageddon. Some referred to it as the Snowpocalypse.