They´ll live!

Shut down the IRS.

So they´ll ´work´ 4 days a week instead of 5. Big deal.

you have to understand that the washington times and the washington post have a vested commercial interest in keeping the federal government from shrinking.

dont expect any real unbiased news from these papers on this subject

It´s a big deal to their creditors. How would you like it if your boss took one day´s pay a week from you for 22 weeks just because of his mismanagement and no fault of yours.

All of this class warfare by so called conservatives is really disappointing. This is not the government workers fault.

BTW whomever wrote this headline is moron if he thinks a furlough is the same as getting a "pink slip".

Declare all federal workers to be part-time employees limited to working 29 hours per week. Then drop their health insurance coverage and tell them to get insurance at the Exchange.

That should save billions of $$$.

Let´s start with AMTRAK and USPS. There should be a few billions worth of savings there.

So the biggest layoffs are in:
Maryland - - voted for Obama
Virginia - - voted for Obama
California - voted for Obama

And the rest of us are supposed to do what, dig deeper into our savings to pay for the extra taxes? No, it´s time to restructure the economy away from government employment. If feel for the individuals that voted for Romney, but the rest? Meh.

Not every government worker is a lazy so-and-so. Some are, but not all. The DOD civilians I know take great pride in making a difference for the service members on our front lines. Many of them are former military.

Let´s remember that they and their families will be experiencing a 20% pay cut. They will survive, but that doesn´t mean they aren´t sacrificing. I know that many of the regular L-Dotters here can empathize with job loss or downsizing, as they´ve dealt with it themselves.

I´m not saying that anything said here about the need for cuts or Obama´s responsibility for this sequester is off base. I´m just saying that being callous about a significant financial setback for 800,000 real families doesn´t add anything to the conversation.

I´m seriously disappointed with many of the callous posters here. The DoD workers I know are motivated and hard-working. None of them fit into your convenient stereotypes. Our scientists and engineers produce the advanced weaponry that defeats our enemies and saves our soldiers.

The people I know are taking this in stride. They are tightening their belts and understand that the decision to cut their pay to fuel our ships and aircraft is a tough decision, but they are OK with it.

Most of these DoD folks are conservatives. The only thing that puzzles them is that the Constitution mandates that the federal government provide for the common defense, yet that is the first thing cut...

I know of at least one defense contractor that uses furloughs instead of layoffs to manage the bottom line. The furloughs are scheduled around holidays so the employees get an extra day off, unpaid. Since this is before-tax money, the ones I know enjoy the long holiday and hardly miss the shortage in the paycheck.

We could eliminate Zippy and ValJar plus the Wookie and her staff, and no one would notice.

How about the EPA ? Airport screeners ?

Why stop at the Pentagon ?

I sympathize with these workers but welcome to the club, friends. And I do wonder, even in the DofD, how many voted for Obama?

We currently have 1,422,000 people serving in the various armed US forces. DOD is preparing to lay off 800,000 civilian employees, that is one civilian for about 2 active duty military. Somehow that seems to be way out of line. Would suggest not laying off but firing about half.

Live off the taxpayers for your pay and die by the taxpayers who can no longer afford to hire you.

As #6 says, this would seem to be a way for the Administration/Democrats to cut the pay and the need to pay for health insurance for these DOD employees. There is nothing too sneaky that you can imagine that they will not do.

The smart move would be to defund the hundreds of Gov entities whose purpose is not clearly understood by anyone. I´m looking at the EPA, Homeland Security, Education, Energy, Interior, Transportation and myriad others.

Excuse second post but I fail to see how a temporary furlough NOT permanent layoff which is what private sector professionals have been experiencing is some unrecoverable financial disaster! Of course, if you are a government employee you like the situation like it is. We are broke. It´s time to share the pain, that´s all.

The 800,000 "pink slips" are nothing but a show. They have no real meaning. It is obama making one of his ridiculous points about how his sequester will affect people. It is another in a long string of obama lies.

Pink slips are cheap, and they provide a good visual for the inept, inexperienced, incompetent, anti-American, socialistic, muslim-leaning, ex-lawyer doofus.

These cuts wouldn´t even be on the table if Obama lost the election. Most of these people voted for Obama and get what they deserve. I don´t like seeing anybody lose their jobs but you can´t have endless spending to buy votes without more revenue coming in from economic growth.

What happens if you raise taxes to stall this off.How many more times can you come back and ask for more and more taxes? The liberals always do this,spend their brains out and come back later crying broke and having to lay off government workers,Nobody sheds a tear when regular people lose their jobs.These people can cash out of retirement money to get by on.

I support Furloughs for Washington, DC!

I just wonder how they´ll blame it on Bush.