How soon before they say all the sims are high enough quality for all currency requirements, so the only local sorties are for guys leaving for deployment the next day?

 

The idea was that the cuts would be over all spending, not just the military, so the 1.2 trillion over ten years amounts to less than the annual deficit for ONE year. Or, less than five percent of total spending.

In that context the proposed cuts are tiny in the big picture, and the real deficit generators are not even going to be touched.

It has caused much howling though and the Kabuki continues.



During FY2012, the federal government collected approximately $2.45 trillion in tax revenue, up $147 billion or 6% versus FY2011 revenues of $2.30 trillion.




During FY 2012, the federal government spent $3.54 trillion on a budget or cash basis, down $60 billion or 1.7% vs. FY 2011 spending of $3.60 trillion. Major categories of FY 2012 spending included: Medicare & Medicaid ($802B or 23% of spending), Social Security ($768B or 22%), Defense Department ($670B or 19%), non-defense discretionary ($615B or 17%), other mandatory ($461B or 13%) and interest ($223B or 6%). Social Security spending increased versus 2011 while Defense, Medicare and Medicaid spending fell.[10]

Expenditures are classified as mandatory, with payments required by specific laws, or discretionary, with payment amounts renewed annually as part of the budget process. Expenditures averaged 20.6% GDP from 1971 to 2008, generally ranging +/-2% GDP from that level. The 2012 spend was 22.8% GDP, versus 2011 spend of 24.1% GDP.[10][11]

Mandatory spending and entitlements




Source: CBO Report-July 2010.
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid expenditures are funded by more permanent Congressional appropriations and so are considered mandatory spending. Social Security and Medicare are sometimes called "entitlements," because people meeting relevant eligibility requirements are legally entitled to benefits, although most pay taxes into these programs throughout their working lives. Some programs, such as Food Stamps, are appropriated entitlements. Some mandatory spending, such as Congressional salaries, is not part of any entitlement program. Mandatory spending accounted for 57.4% of total federal outlays in FY2012, with net interest payments accounting for an additional 6.3%. In 2000, these were 53.2% and 12.5%, respectively

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/p...cememocutz.pdf

4 page powerpoint.

 

No more flying but taskers for everyone!

 

The other extreme being the flying hour program and the insistence to fly out your scheduled duration, even when training is completed.

 

These "cuts" seem drastic because the leaders in charge have failed to be fiscally responsible. As always, the warfighter is going to take the brunt of the cuts instead of the wasteful spending.

 

Sadly, that's just how some people like and want it. And we all know who they are, too. So do they, although they will deny, deny, deny...much in the same way that the same such people will claim that pouring urine on the flag should be considered "art" and not offensive.

 

They're just preparing in case an enemy launches a PowerPoint attack on us. We will brief them silly and win!

 

Good plan, that Powerpoint made me queasy, and I found it much like a game of three card monte in the dark.
No direction, but lots of boxes and charts and diagrams to explain failure.

 

BINGO! Easier to make across the board slashing cuts to personnel than to do the hard work of determining where money can be saved if people just worked at it. Just like counties do across the nation, they tell citizens critical services will be the first to go--cops, firemen, etc. The goal is to spread fear and pain so they can keep their power and kingdoms instead of doing what needs to be done to save money.

Maybe now wings are finally getting the message that if you don't have to fly out the flying hour program than guess what???? Don't fly out the flying hour program! Who here among us hasn't felt the pressure to get the hours flown just to zero out the hours?!! Even when I confronted my group CC in my final year of service about the need to fly out the hours (I had a memo in hand from the Air Staff stating you're done flying when you say your training is done, circa '08) he replied, "You told me before the FY started you needed XXXX hours to accomplish your training. Therefore, your training is not complete until you fly those hours."

The unneeded TDYs, the unneeded HD flat screens, blowing money at the end of the year that you won't get back if you don't spend it....it all should be looked at. But the low hanging fruit are the DoD's civilian employees. Generals need to stand up to their bosses and tell them the hard work of determining where the wasted dollars are has yet to even begin.