Obama to Freeze Pay for Most Federal Workers (for 2 Years)

NYT ^ | 11-29-10 | Peter Baker

[pillut48]

WASHINGTON -- President Obama plans to announce a two-year pay freeze for civilian federal workers later Monday morning, according to an administration official, the latest White House move intended to demonstrate concern over sky-high deficit spending.

[Americanexpat]

All this stuff is pure bullshit. This asshole and the dems keep talking about cutting the deficit but kee spending. They want to raise taxes and cut spending but they don’t cut they just keep spending. Weren’t they recently talking of another stimulas bill?

[NavyCanDo]

My Dad was a Federal worker (Naval Shipyard). I can't remember who was President at the time, but I remember once when he and many others were laid off for 24 hours at the end of the Federal fiscal year, and then hired back. Nothing but bragging rights for the then President of how he shrank government. I was young at the time, but it shaped the way I look at those we send to Washington D.C.

[Sooth2222]

Salaries and wages for federal employees accounted for $299.4 billion (9.2 percent) of all federal spending. The largest share of this category went to Department of Defense payrolls (45.8 percent), followed by federal civilian payrolls (35.3 percent) and U.S. Postal Service payrolls (18.9 percent).

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/governments/cb10-131.html

DOD is exempt as I'd imagine is the USPS. $299.4B x 35.3% x 5% = $5.28B.

This isn't even a "good start" or "a drop in the bucket". It's a joke.

[NurseZac]

It will probably only apply to the military, knowing the Obama Regime.

[CowboyJay]

I truly don’t get what you are talking about. Our Secretaries are getting 28,000 a year. One gets 32,000 a year because she has over 30 years. I don’t see anybody getting rich on their sacrifice.

In our local market, "secretary" pays $16-24k/yr depending on specific job requirements. Somebody with 30 yrs experience might be getting $25-30k. Expand that kind of discrepancy out to a couple million employees, and it's a lot of money.

Hard to justify that discrepancy to an equivalent private sector employee who probably hasn't seen a raise in 3 yrs or has had their benefits/hours cut so the company can keep its doors open. Especially considering their labors directly or indirectly pay the keep of their gov't counterparts.

[Qbert]

This freeze will save a grand total of 5 Billion dollars through 2012 (out of 14 Trillion in debt)...it’s better than nothing, but nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/11/29/after-the-freeze-real-reforms-toward-fair-federal-pay/

And this “freeze” of course comes *after* federal salaries have been boosted beyond comparable jobs in the private sector in recent years. The raises have already been baked in the cake...

[NavyCanDo]

My younger brother is a Federal worker (Naval shipyard) and I am in Aviation Industry (private sector). My hourly pay is more than his, but he passes me up when he includes all the overtime he gets. He can work as many weekends as he wants, and he often does. Where it's pretty regulated in most areas where I work. I have worked no weekends in the last year.

Every April at Tax time my brother and I go through the same “I made more than you, haha” brother against brother teasing. Maybe some day I can win the day.

[Skeez]

So when deflation hits, they’ll actually be better off.

[scbison]

Actually, low grade/wage workers are a thing of past in the federal government.. Most of these lower wage jobs are contracted to the private sector, ie secretarues, maintenace, landscape etc, date entry clerks. This is one reason why Federal Gov’t salaries are so high on average as it mostly a professional workface(engineers, IT, accountants, budget and Project mangers) and these lower contracted out positions are not figured into the average.

[Sooth2222]

Zero's 2011 budget proposal was $3.69 trillion. A "saving" of 5 billion represents 0.135% of the annual Federal budget. Over 2 (two) years. This is just plain silly.

A "good start" would be to fire 10% of all federal employees.

WRT gov't secretarial salaries -- I haven't had a secretary in 20 years -- not coincidentally, since I left gov't service. In jobs in the private sector, I've been given a PC instead.

[Qbert]

“Zero’s 2011 budget proposal was $3.69 trillion. A “saving” of 5 billion represents 0.135% of the annual Federal budget. Over 2 (two) years. This is just plain silly.
A “good start” would be to fire 10% of all federal employees.”

I agree. He’s just doing this to pose as “being serious about the budget”, when it’s a joke in reality. (And even something this minimal causes hysteria in the Libs).

[Red in Blue PA]

Congress Exempt!

[kabar]

The federal budget never goes down. FY 2011 was still going to be higher than FY 2010. The only cuts agencies take is a reduction in the rate of increase. I say that advisedly having worked for the USG for 36 years.

[kabar]

FERS is just another form of the old CSRS. For those who joined after 1983 or elected to switch to the new system, they will receive pensions from FERS and SS. They pay into both. And they can elect to join the TSP and get a pension from that. Thus, the three legs of the stool are there.

CSRS will not be taken away from the existing retirees anymore than SS would be.

[markman46]

does anyone think this stunt is going to effect the fed COLA’s? or tranfers to a higher paying position I dont

[edcoil]

According to Fox this will save 2 Billion per year.

We have 300 Billion a year going in foreign aid. Lets stop all this.

[meyer]

Ronald Reagan changed the Fed Govt. pension plans. It stopped being an annuity (read taxpayer pays all of it) to one that combined social security with a 401(k)-type program. Just like a big business, the employee pays social security and contributes to financial funds (like Wilshire 500). The Fed Gov matches up to a certain amount.

Did he do that with the entire federal government or just part of it? I know that TVA changed retirement systems under Reagan, but all the older employees on the "old" defined-benefit plan are still on that plan, while newer employees are on the newer "defined-contribution" plan.

Also, that the contribution to the new retirement plan do not come from the employee's pay but is an additional sum based on their pay. They also have social security and a 401K though.

[glm]

The FERS system has the employee paying social security premiums at 7%, plus the Federal Government pays an automatic 1% in the Govt. 401(k) plan [called Thrift Savings Plan] but it will match up to 5% of what the employee contributes in their 401(k). So an employee can put in 5% and the Govt. will match the 5%. This is very similar to big business where the Company provides matching contributions. Heck, even my parents and their small business did something similar.

Reagan had said the annuity retirement plan (CSRS) had to be replaced or it would fail of its own weight. Now that was 26 years ago. Reagan did the right thing. Plus now I believe the employees are more mobile. When I worked, I could not take my CSRS pension with me to the private sector. That was another issue Reagan tried to fix.

Hope this helps.

[GailA]

Did you get back wages? Hope so.

[GailA]

They sure didn’t give those kinds of raises to the ones who deserve it most...our MILITARY!. Now Gates wants to gut their health care.