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[JoeGator]

nova, on 31 January 2013 - 08:46 AM, said:

It's the acquisition process that's broken. I see it every day. In reality though, as a contractor I cost the gov't approximately 30 percent less than equivalent gov't employee. The pay is about the say but gov't employees get so much more paid time off benefits

I'm on the other side.
Definitely overpaid, and the benefits are insane.
You are one of the good contractors though.

Most of mine are a pain in the ass because they've been doing it for so long.
No one wants to get rid of them even though they are bleeding us because it's so much easier to not change the processes.

I only deal in small acquisitions (less than $500,000), but even we have crazy restrictions that drive our costs up.

Edited by JoeGator, 31 January 2013 - 08:51 AM.

[nova]

JoeGator, on 31 January 2013 - 08:49 AM, said:

I'm on the other side.
Definitely overpaid, and the benefits are insane.
You are one of the good contractors though.

Most of mine are a pain in the ass because they've been doing it for so long.
No one wants to get rid of them even though they are bleeding us because it's so much easier to not change the processes.

I only deal in small acquisitions (less than $500,000), but even we have crazy restrictions that drive our costs up.

Oh, I've known people like that.  I work with some of them.  At least in the engineering services world, once someone has been around a while, it's hard to get rid of them because it amounts to a loss of tribal knowledge.  So much of what we do is based on past precedent that experience is at a premium.

I still stand by my conviction that the entire DoD acquisition process of broken and not just broken but ing broke.  Anybody that's ever dealth with DAU knows it.

[nova]

Hmmm

http://finance.yahoo...Y3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

[Neil Caudle is Superman]

zartan, on 31 January 2013 - 04:12 AM, said:

Well, I don't approve of lazy people exploiting welfare. However, how can we maintain a temporary safety net for decent people who get laid off and what not?

Giving people a safety net teaches them not to make their own. I was intelligent (stupid) enough to quit my job last May without first securing another job. I've been unemployed since then and I'm almost through all of my savings now, but I still haven't tried to get or accepted any governmental aid because I don't believe in it. How have I been able to survive for nearly an entire year of being unemployed? Well, I've sold an XBoX, I've sold guitars, I've taken any temp. job opportunity available, I've played music, and most importantly of all I don't have many bills because I don't have debt and I have lived as cheaply as possible. I'll sell my 2010 Challenger, as much as I love it, before I take welfare. It would kill me to do it, but I'll do what I have to.

Obviously when you bring kids into the question it becomes harder to live off of nothing, but if I can do it I'm pretty sure that most people can do it as well. There are some situations where people genuinely need a helping hand and I get that, but the vast majority of the people we have on welfare don't need it at all, they just want it. People who genuinely need help can find help; friends can help them, churches can help them, charities can help them, etc. I'd rather leave it in the hands f real people than a government that doesn't see where the money goes or what it is used for. Also, when you're receiving money from actual people you tend to appreciate it more rather than feel entitled.


And I'm not saying the government needs to cut all aid right now; I'm not that naive. I do think unemployment should be massively limited - three months with NO extension options and if you take it you're not eligible to get it again for at least five years. That's not as strong as I'd like it to be but it would save a lot of money even like that. It would cut out the main problem, which is millions of people who have literally been on welfare their entire lives.

[JoeGator]

nova, on 31 January 2013 - 12:07 PM, said:

Oh, I've known people like that.  I work with some of them.  At least in the engineering services world, once someone has been around a while, it's hard to get rid of them because it amounts to a loss of tribal knowledge.  So much of what we do is based on past precedent that experience is at a premium.

I still stand by my conviction that the entire DoD acquisition process of broken and not just broken but :lanekiffin:ing broke.  Anybody that's ever dealth with DAU knows it.

I feel your pain.
I don't even have bosses I report to anymore.
I was audited last year and had to explain to the auditors how things worked.

[nova]

Anyone remember me talking about the student loan bubble getting ready to pop not too terribly long ago?

http://finance.yahoo...Y3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

Quote

The number of student loans held by subprime borrowers is growing, and more of those loans are souring, the latest signs that a weak job market and rising debt loads are squeezing recent graduates.
In all, 33% of all subprime student loans in repayment were 90 days or more past due in March 2012, up from 24% in 2007, according to a Wednesday report by TransUnion LLC.
Meanwhile, the Chicago-based credit bureau found that 33% of the almost $900 billion in outstanding student loans was held by subprime, or the riskiest, borrowers as of March 2012, up from 31% in 2007.

http://finance.yahoo...Y3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

Quote

Americans now owe an average of $27,253 in student loans as the delinquency rate has increased by more than 47 percent since 2005, according to a new report.

Quote

In the latest study, the average credit score for new loans was going down as students with less ability to repay their loans are being granted loans with fewer questions.

Quote

The recession is hardly the only factor driving the growth in student loans, which have simply become easier to get. In 2010, the Obama administration pushed through legislation that made the federal government the primary issuer of student debt, and encouraged borrowing by cutting credit requirements, capping interest rates and reducing monthly repayments to 10 percent of a graduate's discretionary income, from 15 percent.

That sounds absolutely NOTHING like housing in 2008 huh?  $10 says that when we take the bite of this shit sandwich, people blame the bankers for it....

[nova]

http://www.washingto...ent-until-2022/

Hmm, almost exactly what demographic changes predict. Hate to tell people, those rosy 2016 projects are bullshit.  All based on huge growth and IF older people leave the workforce to make room for young people.  Guess what, when the 401k bubble starts unraveling, that ain't happening...

[ECDawg]

zartan, on 31 January 2013 - 04:12 AM, said:

Well, I don't approve of lazy people exploiting welfare. However, how can we maintain a temporary safety net for decent people who get laid off and what not?

Sure you do, by the way you vote and who you support.  You're just too ignorant to realize it ............

[zartan]

ECDawg, on 07 February 2013 - 06:37 AM, said:

Sure you do, by the way you vote and who you support.  You're just too ignorant to realize it ............

Shitty logic. So I suppose you approve of mass shootings if you're against gun control

[nova]

More scary for you...

http://www.zerohedge...t-post-all-well

[smokeyone]

The future is looking to turn out the way Obama and his handlers hoped it would.

[nova]

The economy is fan :lanekiffin:ing tastic people.  Nothing to see here.  Just pile on some more debt and everything will be fine....

http://finance.yahoo...Y3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

Edited by nova, 08 February 2013 - 12:21 PM.

[ECDawg]

zartan, on 07 February 2013 - 04:02 PM, said:

Shitty logic. So I suppose you approve of mass shootings if you're against gun control

No logic involved......only political positions esposued by politicians that you support, but ignorance of that too explains your post.  Mass shootings have much more to do with the mentally ill roaming the streets unabated than with guns, but you are drowning in the leftist koolaid.  The mentally ill also go apeshit and do horrible things with other weapons besides guns..........but I forget, for you to realize or understand that is out of your reach apparently.....

[Hoganknows]

Hogan just wants to know why his IRS refund check has been pending for over a week and it usually takes 48 hours and it's processed....let me guess who is the problem.

Thanks for putting this man back in office...WTF

"It's Only Just Begun"

[zartan]

ECDawg, on 09 February 2013 - 08:10 AM, said:

No logic involved......only political positions esposued by politicians that you support, but ignorance of that too explains your post.  Mass shootings have much more to do with the mentally ill roaming the streets unabated than with guns, but you are drowning in the leftist koolaid.  The mentally ill also go apeshit and do horrible things with other weapons besides guns..........but I forget, for you to realize or understand that is out of your reach apparently.....

Yeah, how could I forget all those school massacres where the attackers used tennis rackets...or bananas...or one of those towels twisted into a rat tail