Mike Causey's Federal Report is the best way to stay up to date on the latest issues affecting federal pay, benefits, and retirement. Plus, Mike's funny. New Federal Report columns can be found each weekday morning right here on FederalNewsRadio.com. Bookmark Mike's homepage or have his columns delivered directly to your email.

Fed bashing: Is it time for a time out?

Some of your finest hours come at a very low point. The Boston bombings have brought out the best in the federal government, which is on the front line in this case. So maybe it's time, at least for a little while, for a moratorium on fed-bashing, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Furloughs: The Movie?

Furloughs are still on the radar, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. But are they getting any closer? What are your odds of working four-day weeks this summer?

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Crunching your COLA numbers

Federal, military and Social Security retirees would receive smaller benefits in the future if the government switches to a new yardstick to measure inflation. How much would it cost you? Maybe more than you think, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Gestures are great, but they aren't edible

Elected and appointed officials are exempt from sequestration-related furloughs. But now that President Barack Obama has voluntarily taken a 5 percent pay cut, odds are many of the people he appointed to their jobs will also follow suit. So what do rank-and-file federal employees think? Check out Senior Correspondent Mike Causey's column for more.

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Never-gonna-happen furloughs happening

When sequestration was proposed, politicians said it would never happen. It did. When it triggered furlough warnings, some said they would never take place. Except they are happening right now, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Feds in Survivor Island mode

President Barack Obama wants to make federal service cool again. But his budget proposals, which would reduce future retirement benefits and force feds to pay more for them, has a lot of current civil servants hot under the collar, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey.

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Is your retirement check shrink-proof?

Senior Correspondent Mike Causey wants to know: Would you be willing to accept a slightly smaller retirement benefit if it would help get the country out of debt? What if future cost-of-living adjustments to your civil service benefit were reduced by a mere 0.3 percent each year?

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Is there life after Berry?

John Berry, the ultimate Washington insider, is said to be leaving the Office of Personnel Management after four years running the federal civil-service machine. So how did he do, and how does he compare with the interesting assortment of OPM chiefs who came before him?

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Leaner retirement in the works

In your golden retirement years, will you be dining on steak or Hamburger Helper? Some people say the latter may be on the menu thanks to a White house plan to trim future cost-of-living-adjustments for federal, military and Social Security retirees, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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The Creatures From Planet Money

Although they came from Planet Money, they look and act just like the rest of us. They work alongside us, sometimes they even run the show. So, who are these Money People? Where did they come from and where are they taking us? For answers, check out Federal News Radio's week-long series on the people who make the big-bucks decision, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Sequestration hits us all (and I do mean all)

When it comes to the perils of sequestration, it appears that federal workers are all over the place, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Some say it's just another political fire drill, while others say this time for sure. Been-there-done-that workers say this too shall pass. But paycheck to paycheck people say furloughs could wreck their financial lives. So, where are you in all this?

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Gallows humor: Sequestration style

Remember the bad old days before political correctness mandated us to be better. It was a time when mother-in-law jokes were told and tolerated. Well, gone are the days. Now, at least in government circles, the old bad-news-good-news examples focus on sequestration and furloughs, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Surviving furlough pay cuts

Your stress level about the possibility of being furloughed probably depends on where you work, your length-of-service and how much cash you have in reserve for a rainy day. For long-time, comfortable feds, this is just a speed bump in the road, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. But for thousands of paycheck-to-paycheck employees, this is not a drill...

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Backpedaling on furloughs?

If you want to be really with it in the world of exercises, forget about hot yoga, insanity and P90X. They are so last year, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Thanks to sequestration, the exercise du jour is back-pedaling!

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Tax-free job & pension: No fooling ...

How would you like a government job where you paid no taxes, and when you retired your pension is also tax-free? Too good to be true? Not really. And this is NOT an April Fools' Day trick, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says. Read on...

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Federal furloughs: Chiseled in butter?

Remember the best seller, "I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It," by basketball great Charles Barkley. Maybe he should do a sequel, starting with the government, sequestration and furloughs, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Furloughs: Different strokes for different agencies

It may be that all men and women were created equally. But when it comes time for furloughs to kick in, all federal workers are not going to be treated equally, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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The Ballad of the Furloughed

Can the power of music be used to block furloughs? Does music really soothe the savage beast? Some feds are turning to music to help blunt sequestration-triggered pay cuts, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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Uncle Sam suffering death by a thousand cuts

Senior Correspondent Mike Causey wants to know: Are you and your coworkers suffering from what is known as death-by-a-thousand cuts? Is it happening? Does it hurt? Or can you not even tell?

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Sequestration part deux (or just duh!)

Furloughs are still in the federal forecast. But a funny thing happened last week that has some long-time, long-suffering government types wondering if things are going to be as tough as expected, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.

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