Cliffhanger

     The fiscal cliff negotiations drag on. At this point, preventing the sequester is on the table and the chained CPI change for Social Security's Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) is off the table. Republicans are even denying that they want chained CPI! 

     If this is not resolved, Social Security employees should soon expect to receive a furlough warning. As an example of what's coming, the Department of Defense is preparing to notify 800,000 civilian employees that they can expect several weeks of unpaid leave. However, the White House has not informed agencies of exactly how sequestration will be administered. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was not even returning phone calls on the subject last week!