It is not the fault of millions of hard-working career federal civil servants that roughly 117,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Management and Budget, the Internal Revenue Service, the Housing and Urban Development Department as well as from the Labor and Interior departments were furloughed May 24.
As part of last year's budget negotiations, the threat of sequestration, or an automatic 8 percent cut, was supposed to bring all parties to the table; there would be a balanced budget and less need for increasing our debt limit. Nothing has happened to date but more gridlock. This cut of $85 billion represents 2.3 percent of the budget.
There are just as many good managers in the government as in the private sector. If their superiors would give them the authority and flexibility to manage budgets, they could find savings without having to consider furloughs or layoffs. Millions of Americans have cut far more out of their family budgets and managed to survive.
The president and Congress need to work together to put our fiscal house in order and end future threats of sequestration and furloughs.
Larry Penner
Great Neck