Fiscal Cliff Deadline Approaches…..Again

Written by admin on Monday, January 14th, 2013

Well, thanks to bipartisanship politics and a desperate late hour, the government has been saved from plunging off the fiscal cliff. In the eleventh hour, congress was able to approve, overwhelmingly, a plan that pleases about 98 percent of Americans and keeps the largest tax increase in history at bay. Is the U.S. out of danger? Are we saved from the cliff? What about future generations?

True, the crisis has been averted…for now. In a show of solidarity, Congress has approved a tax deal that keeps past tax credits in place while raising taxes on the top 2% of income earning Americans. Although most of the country applauded the deal, a looming fiscal cliff is still on the horizon. Lawmakers now have until March first to come up with a large deficit reduction deal that will certainly test the merits and bartering skills of all politicians. If a budget is not approved by the second of March, $1 trillion in automatic spending cuts will begin, of which, half will come from the defense sector.

Planners have already started preparing for the worse and on the 10^th of January the office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense released a Memorandum to DOD activities listing a series of steps to ready for the upcoming cliff. Some of the details include a reduction in DOD civilian workforce to include: release of temporary employees, hiring freezes, voluntary early retirements and the possibility of furloughs up to 30 days. In addition, all travel, conferences and training would be cancelled and all R&D and production contracts over $500 million would be cleared. All of these measures would be the tip of the iceberg as far as other actions that would be envisioned by the DOD.

Congress

To say that the next few months are important for the future of the DOD would be a huge understatement. Politicians and leaders alike must come together to do what’s best for the country and produce budgets that provide fiscal responsibility and allow the DOD to emerge with a current and future presence that insures the strength and longevity of the U.S. military.

If you want advice about the world of military aviation, there’s no better people to turn to than men and women who have sat in the cockpit and flown some of the world’s most advanced aircraft. With over 50 current and ex-warfighters on call, Strike Fighter Consulting Inc. can give you access to up-to-date, first-hand technical and tactical expertise.