The recent publicity about charge card abuse by federal employees outlined in a GAO report has been reported in news media all over the country. The Office of Management and Budget has new guidance for federal agencies telling them steps they must take to get a handle on the problem.
Riding through the ups and downs of the stock market can be exasperating. Is this a good time buy more of the TSP stock funds or a good time to sell them?
Here is an issue with bipartisan support from our Congressional representatives. Congress apparently thinks that federal employees do not write well and intends to correct the problem. A bill has passed the House requiring agencies to use “plain language.” Haven’t we seen this before?
The issue of credit card abuse in government surfaces on a regular basis. Little seems to change. A new GAO report highlights a problem with purchase cards. The reaction of many in the government community is likely to be “Thanks for the report. We don’t really care.”
Why would the head of a major federal agency be writing a letter to Dear Abby? Can this be good for a political appointee’s career?
The F fund in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is sometimes the Rodney Dangerfield of the TSP funds–It doesn’t get any respect. The G fund is the safe haven; the I fund is used by market timers to try and juice up their returns, the S fund is good for fast growth as we are coming out of a recession and the C fund is the old stock market standby that most people think of when they want to put some of their retirement funds into stocks. But what is the F fund good for?
Marriage, divorce, remarriage and federal retirement benefits are a volatile mix. The money available is finite, there is often considerable emotion involved, and someone is going to get more money while another person may get less. In this case, wife number one thought she should get the maximum survivor annuity from her former husband. And, in this case, wife number one is the winner.
The culture of government has changed in the past 20 years and these changes have impacted how Uncle Sam selects its higher graded employees. Federal employees in GS grades 12 – 15 used to be selected from within the existing workforce. But, just as the Edsel, the hula hoop. and the “company man” have faded from American life, so has the practice of always using internal promotions to fill higher graded positions.
A settlement agreement between HUD and federal employee unions on the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to agency employees will result in a payment of $24 million.
There are changes on the horizon for federal travelers. The change in the mileage reimbursement rate is already in place but other changes that will be significant for some readers are in the proposal stage.
