The Pentagon has stated its intention to cut thousands of jobs. According to an article titled “Pentagon belt-tightening will cut thousands of jobs” (msnbc.com), the troubled economic times “require that [Gates] shutter a major command that employs some 5,000 people around Norfolk, Va., and begin to eliminate other jobs throughout the military.”
This announcement begins the loss of employment for thousands of government workers. It seems that there is absolute certainty in Gate’s words. The need for job cuts has arisen out of the Pentagon’s desire to “find $100 billion in savings in the next five years,” which will help alleviate debt.
Sadly, this is a continuing trend in the government. It appears that there are more workers than the federal government is able to maintain. According to leading economists, “30,000 public jobs will be cut each month at least through year’s end,” which is a frightening prediction.
The layoff announcement for the Pentagon’s government workers is a close echo of the layoffs in the education area of government jobs. It was a shock when the government announced that there would be large-scale cuts in the education sector. An article on the firing of public school teachers describes the effect on the education system. Understandably, this is projected to cripple the ability of public schools to provide students with the best education possible. That is why a bill was proposed to end the major teacher layoffs. The article, “Jobs Bill to Stop Teacher Layoffs Clears Major Hurdle,” quotes a report from Andrew Taylor. Taylor states on AOL News that:
“Last-minute money to save the jobs of tens of thousands of teachers and other public workers overcame a Republican filibuster Wednesday and sped toward Senate passage.” For the first time in a long while there is hope that things will start turning up.
“Both of these continuing layoffs spell major trouble for the nation. Though it comes with a price, these jobs exist for a reason and our government simply can’t function if there aren’t enough workers. What these layoffs mean is that the same amount of work is split between fewer workers. When this happens, workers either have to hurry through work and be less thorough, or go through work slower which causes things to be overlooked or looked at too late. Our national security will be jeopardized because there won’t be enough workers to handle Americans’ safety. The simple fact is that the Pentagon will not be able to cope with this loss.”
AVERSA, JEANNINE. “Government job losses to continue.” Kjonline.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38632261/ns/politics/
Abram, Ted. “Jobs Bill to Stop Teacher Layoffs Clears Major Hurdle.” Freedomworks.com
http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/teda/jobs-bill-to-stop-teacher-layoffs-clears-major-hur
ANNE FLAHERTY, ANNE GEARAN. “Pentagon belt-tightening will cut thousands of jobs
Gates to shut major command in Va. that employs 5,000 people.” Msnbc.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38632261/ns/politics
