FAA Finds One Rule to Cut Bonuses, Zero for War $$
When it comes to cutting bonuses for essential public servants, the FAA apparently discovered hyper-efficient bean-counting, disqualifying thousands of air traffic controllers due to a single rule after a 2018-2019 government shutdown created financial stress. Their internal auditors can find a reason to deny federal employees what's due, but when was the last time the Pentagon faced similar
scrutiny after a $886 billion budget request? One might wonder about the enthusiasm for enforcing rules that impact worker pay versus those affecting endless military aid. This microscopic rule enforcement for vital national infrastructure staff starkly contrasts with the broad strokes applied to spending in other areas. For instance, when aid packages like the recent $14 billion to the Israeli
government sail through Congress, where are the intricate rules disqualifying those funds? There seems to be a consistent pattern: austerity, fine print, and 'belt-tightening' for the working class, but a bottomless, rule-free purse for military adventures and foreign aid to governments with less-than-stellar human rights records.