800,000 Federal Workers Could Be Furloughed If Debt Ceiling Isn't Raised
Thursday, June 30, 2011
(DC Labor).gif)
Eight
hundred thousand
federal workers could end up furloughed if
Congress fails to move forward on an
increase of the debt ceiling. That's according
to a study conducted by George
H.W. Bush former Treasury undersecretary Jay
Powell who crunched the numbers
with assistance from Bill Clinton's former
budget director Alice Rivlin and
retired Senate Budget Committee Chairman
Republican Pete Domenici. "This
is the height of irresponsibility," said AFSCME
Council 26 Executive
Director Carl Goldman."Furloughing or not
paying nearly a million federal
workers would affect millions of Americans and
send the economy reeling. It
would also have a devastating impact on metro
Washington workers and residents,
whether they work for the government or not."
Council 26 represents
approximately 7,000 metro-area federal workers.
The study, released Tuesday,
reveals the U.S. government would be unable to
fund 50 percent of its
obligations. The federal government would need
to implement an immediate cut of
44 percent in federal spending. Impacted
departments include Veterans Affairs,
Labor, Health and Human Services,
Transportation and Education. Military pay
would also likely be on the chopping block.
Powell told reporters that the end
result would be "chaotic." There is a solution,
Goldman suggested.
"Close corporate tax loopholes and tax the
rich."
