Posted on 11/20/2012 8:20:40 PM PST by BenLurkin
The Federal-Postal Coalition -- a group representing more than two dozen federal employee unions -- pleaded with Congress on Monday to spare their members in any deal related to the "fiscal cliff."
Federal workers, the coalition wrote in a letter, have contributed more than their fair share toward reducing the debt and are the only group that has been targeted so heavily.
“Federal and postal employees and their families are hardworking, middle-class Americans who are struggling during these tough times just like other Americans,” the group wrote. “No other group has been asked to financially contribute the way they have, and it is time our nation’s leaders found other ways to reduce the deficit than continually taking from those who have dedicated their lives to public service.”
According to the coalition, federal employees have funded $60 billion in budget savings in 2011 and 2012 as a result of their ongoing pay freeze and an additional $28 billion in savings will be derived from the freeze extension through March 2013.
Federal workers also contributed $15 billion toward the budget in 2011 when the contribution rate toward retirement pensions was raised to 2.3 percent for new employees.
Top Democratic lawmakers on committees related to the federal workforce told Government Executive last week that they would like to leave federal-employee benefits out of any potential debt deal. After President Obama’s reelection, top federal unions said they were confident their members would not be targeted in such a deal and a pay raise would be instituted.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationaljournal.com ...
A pay raise?
A PAY RAISE?
This is the battle.
Fight this one, now. Government is too darn big, and too darn expensive.
Cut government.
“Don’t cut mine, don’t cut thine’s- cut that man behind the pine’s.”
To rephrase the old adage...
They don’t live on the same planet as the rest of us
“Nobody in here but us chickens.”
eliminate 2/3 of the departments most of which are unconstitutional and fire all of their employees!!!
I just looked up the average salary for a mail carrier ... 48K plus, just to put advertisements in my mail box. Outrageous.
“Don’t you dare tax me! Tax that guy over there!” Soon to replace “In God We Trust” on our currency.
TAXPAYERS to Congress: Leave Us Out of Deficit Deal
Fixed it...
The Federal Workers have had a three year pay freeze. It’s the first time in nearly twenty years that has happened. They were also asked to contribute more to their pensions. While their benefits are somewhat better that most, they don’t even approach what cops and fireman and other state workers make/get (at least in NY metro area). Under the Federal Employee Retire System (as amended in 1984) federal workers earn 1% a year toward their retirement. That means for ever year they work they get 1% when they turn 65. After working forty years they would get 40% pension. Law enforcement is slightly higher (1.7 % for first twenty then 1% thereafter. Mandatory retirement @ 57). With a law degree and 25 years experience as an FBI agent, you make significantly less than a first year law associate at a Manhattan Law Firm. I know it’s better than a lot of people, but it’s not what everybody thinks.
A gentle solution would be to roll all salaries and benefits back to 2001 levels, allow them the pleasure of joining us in Obamacare and nationalizing their pension to shore up Social Security since they’ll be relying solely upon that as well. Hiring freeze, zero tolerance. Reduction in force through attrition if no other means can be found.
A little taste of what the private sector has been going through for a decade or more would do them some good.
This must be a joke.
But then again unions are exempt from 0-care, expmpt from the confiscation of union retirement plans, while forcing regular IRA’s and 401K’s to ‘invest’ in Treasury debt (per a pending Harry Reid bill), unions even get a piece of Gen Motors while the bondholders get royally scrood.
On second thought the joke may once again be on us.
Your right we should leave them out.
of the next budget. completely out of it.
you want a raise? I can’t even be civilized any more. Go F%#$ yourself and get out of damn wallet.
Your right we should leave them out.
of the next budget. completely out of it.
you want a raise? I can’t even be civilized any more. Go F%#$ yourself and get out of my damn wallet.
“But highly educated federal workers earn less than their peers in the private sector.”
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/federal-pay-vs-private-sector-compensation/
Listen for all the talk about “budget cuts” that will be coming in this “Fiscal Cliff Deal”. There will be no “budget cuts”, who do they think we are, stupid or something? Sheesh.
Tax rates will go up, and so will federal spending, the deficit, the National Debt, and certainly unemployment, but the only things that will be coming down are real tax revenues, and the GDP.
My heart is bleeding for the federal workers. At least they get a paycheck every pay period. Attrit, fire, and retire them and close out their posistions.
Wait until they find out they are going down like the ret of us.
I’d bet money (if I had any) that these “cuts” are nothing more than a reduction in growth.
Don’t for get a reduction from a 8% increase to 7.999999999999999 is not only a cut, but a draconian one at that.
True story: My neighbor worked here as a federal employee for Medicare and he retired getting a buy out (they dont lay off there) in his early 50s. As part of it the gubment gave him retirement health care at that age early 50s which is similar benefits as Medicare we MAY get at 65 or 66. And he got it under under Bush.
Isn’t that great?
Medicare is running huge deficits NOW that neither party will admit and this guy gets it in his early 50s for working for Medicare/Fed job to GET RID OF HIM. And that is ‘off the table’.
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