Political Current Events March 7-12

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“… The department-wide email offered a "voluntary separation incentive payment," the source said. Employees have been given until a deadline of March 14 to reply.

… The far-reaching HHS has more than 80,000 employees and oversees several major health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Thousands of probationary workers across HHS were informed last month they would be fired. Probationary workers are generally those who have been on the job for less than a year. …”
 


“… The investments are being made through special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), shielding the identities of Chinese investors from public scrutiny while bypassing regulatory concerns in the United States.

… With US-China relations at a low point, Chinese capital faces increasing resistance in American markets. Many US authorities and companies remain wary of Chinese investments due to security concerns. To circumvent these restrictions, investors are using SPVs—investment structures designed to obscure their direct involvement—allowing them to participate in Musk’s ventures without drawing regulatory ire.

… Sources involved in the transactions emphasised that the primary motivation behind these investments is financial gain rather than technology transfer or policy influence. However, Musk’s longstanding interactions with top Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping, raise questions about the implications of these financial ties. …”

 
nycfan said:


“… The department-wide email offered a "voluntary separation incentive payment," the source said. Employees have been given until a deadline of March 14 to reply.

… The far-reaching HHS has more than 80,000 employees and oversees several major health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Thousands of probationary workers across HHS were informed last month they would be fired. Probationary workers are generally those who have been on the job for less than a year. …”
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What is the average salary for these employees? $25k isn't that great an offer.

Plus I read the offer is full of contingencies.
 
UNCatTech said:
What is the average salary for these employees? $25k isn't that great an offer.

Plus I read the offer is full of contingencies.
Click to expand...
I agree — $25,000 is probably not enough for most Americans to upend their life by quitting their job without time to figure out what their alternative employment options are. Just paying the extra taxes and covering your healthcare if it takes months to find a new job could eat up a big chunk of that. And they have a week to decide, hardly enough time to line up a new job or really analyze your job options before the deadline.
 
nycfan said:


“… The department-wide email offered a "voluntary separation incentive payment," the source said. Employees have been given until a deadline of March 14 to reply.

… The far-reaching HHS has more than 80,000 employees and oversees several major health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Thousands of probationary workers across HHS were informed last month they would be fired. Probationary workers are generally those who have been on the job for less than a year. …”
Click to expand...

If all 80,000 HHS employees accepted this absurd offer, the price tag would be $2 billion. Then they have to recruit and hire new people to do the work, they ain’t just closing up shop. In what world does this shit make sense to people who don’t have brain worms?
 
farce© said:
If all 80,000 HHS employees accepted this absurd offer, the price tag would be $2 billion. Then they have to recruit and hire new people to do the work, they ain’t just closing up shop. In what world does this shit make sense to people who don’t have brain worms?
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Wonder how much it would cost to get the equivalent in education and experience in that sort of work environment? I just don't see the best and brightest flocking there.
 
UNCatTech said:
What is the average salary for these employees? $25k isn't that great an offer.

Plus I read the offer is full of contingencies.
Click to expand...
Of course nearly everything they're doing is nuts, but letting every HHS employee go is simply fucking insane. The damage to the entire nation will be devastating and very visible and public. RFK, Jr. should feel lucky that he's rich, because in about a year or so he's going to need massive numbers of bodyguards and lots of security systems to hide behind from all the people who will suffer, or angry relatives of those who will have died thanks to him.
 

ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos​

At least seven senior officials have left the group, setting off deep concerns about its future as it confronts scrutiny from congressional Republicans.

www.nytimes.com

ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos

At least seven senior officials have left the group, setting off deep concerns about its future as it confronts scrutiny from congressional Republicans.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

“…
The departures from ActBlue, which helps raise money for Democrats running for office at all levels of government, come as the group is under investigation by congressional Republicans. They have advanced legislation that some Democrats warn could be used to debilitate what is the party’s leading fund-raising operation.

The exodus has set off deep concerns about ActBlue’s future. Last week, two unions representing the group’s workers sent a blistering letter to ActBlue’s board of directors that listed the seven officials who had left. The letter described an “alarming pattern” of departures that was “eroding our confidence in the stability of the organization.”

What prompted so many longtime ActBlue officials to leave is not clear — none of the former officials agreed to be interviewed on the record.

… If ActBlue were to become severely diminished, Democrats running for offices at all levels of government could face setbacks in their efforts to raise cash. Candidates for offices ranging from school boards and city councils to the presidency rely on the platform for their online fund-raising, while Republicans have spent years trying to catch up.

And while there are some alternative platforms, none have the scale or the reach of ActBlue. …”
 
nycfan said:

ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos​

At least seven senior officials have left the group, setting off deep concerns about its future as it confronts scrutiny from congressional Republicans.

www.nytimes.com

ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos

At least seven senior officials have left the group, setting off deep concerns about its future as it confronts scrutiny from congressional Republicans.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

“…
The departures from ActBlue, which helps raise money for Democrats running for office at all levels of government, come as the group is under investigation by congressional Republicans. They have advanced legislation that some Democrats warn could be used to debilitate what is the party’s leading fund-raising operation.

The exodus has set off deep concerns about ActBlue’s future. Last week, two unions representing the group’s workers sent a blistering letter to ActBlue’s board of directors that listed the seven officials who had left. The letter described an “alarming pattern” of departures that was “eroding our confidence in the stability of the organization.”

What prompted so many longtime ActBlue officials to leave is not clear — none of the former officials agreed to be interviewed on the record.

… If ActBlue were to become severely diminished, Democrats running for offices at all levels of government could face setbacks in their efforts to raise cash. Candidates for offices ranging from school boards and city councils to the presidency rely on the platform for their online fund-raising, while Republicans have spent years trying to catch up.

And while there are some alternative platforms, none have the scale or the reach of ActBlue. …”
Click to expand...
“… In recent weeks, congressional Republicans have demanded answers from ActBlue about its security and fraud-prevention measures, as well as how the group prevents certain foreign donors from illegally contributing to candidates. The letter from the ActBlue unions warned that the group was “under increasing scrutiny” and “the target of bad-faith political attacks at the hands of ill-intentioned operators.”

On Feb. 6, ActBlue responded to Republican congressional inquiries with a three-page letter, sent from the law firm Covington & Burling, to “provide an update regarding ActBlue’s security, fraud prevention measures and related procedures.”

Some Democrats fear that Republicans, who now control Congress and the White House, will seek to shut down ActBlue. These Democrats worry that the scrutiny of the fund-raising platform is just an opening salvo in a larger campaign to dismantle and destabilize the broader Democratic infrastructure. …”
 
nycfan said:

ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos​

At least seven senior officials have left the group, setting off deep concerns about its future as it confronts scrutiny from congressional Republicans.

www.nytimes.com

ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos

At least seven senior officials have left the group, setting off deep concerns about its future as it confronts scrutiny from congressional Republicans.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

“…
The departures from ActBlue, which helps raise money for Democrats running for office at all levels of government, come as the group is under investigation by congressional Republicans. They have advanced legislation that some Democrats warn could be used to debilitate what is the party’s leading fund-raising operation.

The exodus has set off deep concerns about ActBlue’s future. Last week, two unions representing the group’s workers sent a blistering letter to ActBlue’s board of directors that listed the seven officials who had left. The letter described an “alarming pattern” of departures that was “eroding our confidence in the stability of the organization.”

What prompted so many longtime ActBlue officials to leave is not clear — none of the former officials agreed to be interviewed on the record.

… If ActBlue were to become severely diminished, Democrats running for offices at all levels of government could face setbacks in their efforts to raise cash. Candidates for offices ranging from school boards and city councils to the presidency rely on the platform for their online fund-raising, while Republicans have spent years trying to catch up.

And while there are some alternative platforms, none have the scale or the reach of ActBlue. …”
Click to expand...
Again, the Orban playbook. Continue to hold elections but use your party's control of government to ensure that any opposing parties are severely handicapped in their ability to fundraise, publicize themselves, and in other ways so that their chances of winning elections are seriously diminished. And at the same time use your control of government to ensure that your party has massive advantages that make it nearly impossible to beat them. Among those advantages are gaining near-total control of the news and social media so that your party's message dominates everything. The GOP has been following his playbook perfectly, and Democrats so far seem powerless to do anything about it.
 

US government spending has not slowed under Trump so far, data shows​



“… any savings have been outweighed so far by higher spending on health and retirement programs and rising interest payments, Treasury Department spending records show.

Overall, the government spent about $710 billion between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20, Treasury daily spending data shows, up from the roughly $630 billion during a comparable period last year.

Independent budget experts said the figures illustrate the relentless pressures incurred by an aging population and a ballooning debt load.

… Musk's cost-cutting operation claimed last week that it had saved $55 billion through canceled contracts and property leases, but has since appeared to acknowledge that many of the cuts saved less money than originally claimed.

An update released on Tuesday had either removed or lowered the cost savings for 170 contracts by a total of roughly $3 billion, a Reuters examination found. Savings on one USAID contract, for example, dropped from almost $655 million to 35 cents.

Trump and Musk's most dramatic budget-cutting efforts to date have focused on a much smaller portion of the budget. He has effectively dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, which spent $42 billion in the 2023 fiscal year, equal to 0.6% of the budget.

He has also thinned the ranks of the U.S. civil service through a buyout program and mass layoffs that so far have affected about 100,000 of the nation's 2.3 million federal civilian workers. Any payroll savings have yet to materialize. Personnel costs equaled 4.3% of total spending in the 2022 fiscal year. …”
 
nycfan said:
Musk's cost-cutting operation claimed last week that it had saved $55 billion through canceled contracts and property leases, but has since appeared to acknowledge that many of the cuts saved less money than originally claimed.

An update released on Tuesday had either removed or lowered the cost savings for 170 contracts by a total of roughly $3 billion, a Reuters examination found. Savings on one USAID contract, for example, dropped from almost $655 million to 35 cents.
Click to expand...
Something something “wall of receipts” something something
 
nycfan said:

US government spending has not slowed under Trump so far, data shows​



“… any savings have been outweighed so far by higher spending on health and retirement programs and rising interest payments, Treasury Department spending records show.

Overall, the government spent about $710 billion between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20, Treasury daily spending data shows, up from the roughly $630 billion during a comparable period last year.

Independent budget experts said the figures illustrate the relentless pressures incurred by an aging population and a ballooning debt load.

… Musk's cost-cutting operation claimed last week that it had saved $55 billion through canceled contracts and property leases, but has since appeared to acknowledge that many of the cuts saved less money than originally claimed.

An update released on Tuesday had either removed or lowered the cost savings for 170 contracts by a total of roughly $3 billion, a Reuters examination found. Savings on one USAID contract, for example, dropped from almost $655 million to 35 cents.

Trump and Musk's most dramatic budget-cutting efforts to date have focused on a much smaller portion of the budget. He has effectively dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, which spent $42 billion in the 2023 fiscal year, equal to 0.6% of the budget.

He has also thinned the ranks of the U.S. civil service through a buyout program and mass layoffs that so far have affected about 100,000 of the nation's 2.3 million federal civilian workers. Any payroll savings have yet to materialize. Personnel costs equaled 4.3% of total spending in the 2022 fiscal year. …”
Click to expand...
Assuming we survive all of this intact (a big assumption I know), I think historians fifty or hundred years from now are going to say that all that happened in Trump's second term was a massive transfer of government money from public services to for-profit private companies like Elon's Starlink, and some outright theft of money from the US government into private hands. This is basically a raid on the federal government by corrupt corporations led by kleptocratic billionaires. There will be little to no actual savings to come out of this, but a whole lot of needless pain and suffering for huge numbers of public career servants and the American people in general. This is what happens in Russia and third-world banana republics when dictators and their corrupt buddies take over the government. And so many people thought it could never happen here.
 
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