Federal retirement is not what it used to be

I am a retiree.

As a reader might recall, I am what is officially called a federal 'annuitant.' This means I retired as a federal civil service and I am receiving a fixed-benefit pension. My federal civil service plus my military service buy-back gives me a pension that, combined with my Social Security benefit is ample enough for me to live "carefully comfortably."

[Note: the current federal retirement benefit is made up of three parts -- payment for length of service; Social Security benefit; and self-savings from the government's Thrift Savings Plan, similar to the civilian "401K" plans.]

I also pay to belong to a federal employee/retiree-oriented group called the National Active and Retired Federal Employees, NARFE. Each month, I receive their magazine and, each month for the past year or two, I have become less and less comfortable reading it. Why, you might ask? Let me explain simply.

As the recent issue says, the current administration and "some members of Congress are quick to see Feds as a piggy bank when it comes time to set the budget, despite the fact employees already contorted over $120 billion in deficit reduction..." These members of Congress and the current White House do not regard employees and retirees in the Executive Branch at the same level as previous members and administrations; combine that with the significant loss of federal revenue from the recent massive tax cut [which, by the way, largely benefited the group of people least needing tax relief, while almost totally ignoring the groups that did] means that the FY 2020 budget will have to be draconian in the cuts.

And it will be.

Through the budget reconciliation process, five Senate committees are required to combine $94 billion in cuts over a five-year span from programs under their jurisdictions. One of them is the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is required to cut $15 billion from mandatory spending programs, mainly federal benefits.

Reading these words makes my blood pressure either go up or drop. In either case, it is difficult to understand why the head of the Executive Branch would treat his own employees and retirees with such disrespect, especially when they - we - have already given up so much...that is, until I consider the incompetent, selfish, extremist administration currently holding the White House. They came in hoping to unravel the administrative order and are well on their way to doing so.

I am glad I retired in 2011. According to a former colleague of mine still working, looking back, daily life has gotten much, much worse and looking forward, the future is much less appealing. I believe him when he says he will have difficulty finding anyone willing to go into federal service, especially considering changes to the federal pay, compensation, and benefits plans and the recent painful furlough, which I would bet will happen next time, too.

That is not at all what I experienced through most of my career.

I guess I should stop reading that magazine.

Grammar really *is* important, people!

Here's why:

when I see sentences and paragrapsh like this I don't know what to think.other than our educational system has turned upside-down there are no punctuation marks no differences between sentences and lots of gramitical errers too.with no clear train of thought?

I do not know about any other reader, but for me, reading sentences like the one I just made up is painful to the point that I soon lose (NO! "Lose" and "loose" do not mean the same thing!) interest and stop reading.

But that is what one reads in many online posts, presumably 'written' by a younger person.

Lactobacillus acidophillus

You might be of the age that remembers when this was found in "healthy" milk. You might recall wondering, as I did, what it did for you. Here is the answer:

The benefits of Lactobacillus Acidophilus

• Treats and prevents vaginal infections
• Treats diarrhea and GI infections
• Aids digestion
• Treats chronic constipation
• Treats symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Enhances the immune system
• Lowers the risk of pollen allergies

You're welcome.

Lt. Everett Backstrom: Who is he and what does he have to do with television?

Not many of you who read this have seen or even heard of the 2015 short-lived TV series "Backstrom" starring Rainn Wilson as Lt. Everett Backstrom, head of the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau's Special Crimes Unit. Lt. Backstrom is an addict, a loaner, a miserable person, and an absolutely brilliant homicide detective in charge of a motley crew of misfits.

The show lasted one partial season and was canceled. Every time I watch it (I bought the series when it was available) I wonder why. It is edgy and exciting and quite unlike those other "perfect" detective shows that portray police as either completely competent and always in control or as idiots who stumble over their own feet.

They were not realistic. "Backstrom" is ... and it is not a pretty sight. While watching the season again this evening, I think I figured out why the public rejected the show.

You see, the star, Rainn Wilson, is most famous for playing 'Dwight' in the very popular TV show "The Office" not long ago. My guess is his name recognition brought a lot of the fans over from that show for a look-see - I am not one because I never watched one minute of even one episode. What they saw was nothing like what they expected and they left, revolted.

Our television habits are fairly predictable and we watch what we like to watch. Hollywood makes guesses about that and tries to keep familiar names, especially famous familiar names from well-received shows, close to those expectations. When Rainn Wilson deviated from the Dwight character, this was too much for them and they abandoned it.

His name is not well known outside "The Office" and that sealed the show's fate. The cancellation came fast and without remorse. But I own the entire season and watch often.

Gas Prices

Just now, I reviewed one of my blog entries on my other blog and found a series of entries from a permanent change-of-station trip I made from Anchorage to Grand Rapids. It seems relevant today.

May 4, 2007

Arrive: Hardin, MT
Mileage: 51,092
Fuel price: $2.99

Arrive: Gillette, WY
Mileage: 51,279
Fuel price: $2.76

Arrive: Western, WY
Mileage: 51,464
Fuel price: $2.99

It seems gasoline prices have not changed all that much in 12 years, though they have gone up and down as they do. It really is a pity those rich people change crude oil to be a commodity just so they could trade on it.

Are Michigan Real Estate Values Going Up? Maybe.

I returned home from a month at my daughter and her family's house in Maine. I helped manage the household after she underwent surgery until she recovered enough to handle my three grandchildren; they are very energetic and take a lot of energy to manage. A lot of energy.

When I returned, I saw that the house directly across the street had one of those ubiquitous lawn signs that show up when a house if for sale or rent. This one had the normal stuff: the company, agent, phone numbers.

And it had a panel I have never seen before. Just above the "Pending" panel - meaning the house has a potential buyer - was one with "Multiple Offers Made" on it, so there are more than one offer that the owner is contemplating.

That seems like good news for people considering selling their house in Michigan, which since the Great Recession in 2008 has had a stagnant housing market. My own house has been "under water" since then, meaning what I owe is more than the market value. But all that has changed recently, I guess. Amazon is building a huge new fulfillment center just a couple of miles away and I bet it is having a positive impact on real estate values. One area that has been a vacant field since I've been here is now filled with a brand new "neighborhood" of new construction, single family dwellings.

What makes my neighbor's house so unusual is that the entire process from "For Sale" to "Pending with Multiple Offers" happened during the month of April while I was gone. Again, that is probably good news for anyone pondering selling. Heck, it even makes me ponder, though I don't know where I would go if I did sell and there are some fairly expensive repairs to be made. But I do have a new roof, a new a/c unit, a new hot-water heater, and a new furnace...

Today Is A Significant Day

I have been retired since December 31, 2011. After retiring, I spent a good deal of an initial annuity payment on getting a commercial driver license, a CDL, that enabled me to drive a "big rig," something I wanted to do since I was a kid in high school and knew what they were. Since then (February 2012) I have taken a few jobs from time to time to help my financial condition, which has not been good for a private reason.

I also read a lot. In the past year or so, my attention and attraction has been to books written by people who are in what society might call "unusual" situations: quitting a "stable" job, selling everything, buying a recreational vehicle, and hitting the road, working when needed to fund more miles on the road; retiring and taking up a 'job' totally unrelated to work done during a 'normal' work life, like what I did (I was in aviation for almost 40 years and have done nothing related to flying nor wanted to); or being part of a corporate downsizing and either finding another career "with a future," as one writer put it, or pursuing a long-held desire, again, like I did.

I am fortunate to have earned an annuity payment that is higher than the normal retiree plus I am on Social Security, which provides me a monthly check that is also larger than many because of the income I had while working. The point of doing what I did all along, the goal of working hard and 'climbing the ladder' was to get to that point. I worked hard, moved when I needed to, and did what I had to advance as high as my skill and ability could take me. It worked. The downside, of course, is the payment for all that was two failed marriages, six children, from most of whom I am estranged, and a sense that tomorrow is as known and predictable as today was yesterday.

I probably chose the authors I did because of projection; I did not want to be "that guy" who vegetated and died soon after retirement. I was the other guy, the one who wanted, needed, to justify my own angst by saying to myself, 'See? Others do it, too." so, therefore, it must not be Bad.

I find myself having to go back to the workforce to pay down some of the debt I have incurred. Above all else, I truly want to have a retirement that means enjoying what I do, not just "not working." I really do not want to go back to work and the decision to do so has been difficult. I am wise enough not to pursue anything "with a future" - I do not want to fill the shoes of another person who would like to do it longer term than me - and am aware that whatever I take home in payment has to be worth the trouble I endure. I am no longer doing something to advance or improve. Now, it is all about money; while I am doing that, the money has to compensate.

So if you are one of those who sold everything and hit the road in an RV and/or have taken the lifestyle of what is called a "workamper," you are a kindred spirit. I am down with what you have done and do. I am a bit envious and hope one day to be able to stop "working" and enter full-time retirement again. Until then, I do what I have to to make payments I have to make.