Comments on: Why Not A Pay Cut for Federal Employees?

By: Debra Steward

Debra Steward — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:39:23 +0000

I am a Federal employee and am willing to take a zero COLA for the next two years or longer – if needed. I can work around that financially. Remember too that many Federal employees have private sector partners/spouses/children that are affected by the current economy. How dare you suggest cutting someone’s pay – as it could impact their ability to pay bills, mortgages, you name it. The Metropolitan DC area would see even more forclosures than it already has and it would further financial losses. My “stable” job has been the single, hopeful glimmer in my family – where my husband has already lost his job , where we have a special needs child, and we’re now surviving on a single income with bills based on two incomes. There’s far more to the picture than just saying “Cut Feds Pay.” I have a rather unsettling view of the future of America at this point — one where millions and millions will suffer to pay for the mistakes of others. I already know that I have no hope of ever retiring. There seems to be no entity out there that has a win-win situation for anyone at the moment.

By: mj

mj — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:49:16 +0000

Neptune,

“The problem with Federal workers isnâ€™t the workers at all.”

Government employees work less and take less responsibility than private workers. In addition to plenty of empirical support, the government employees I know freely admit this, and I know many. This doesn’t make those who work for government necessarily different than other Americans. Most people work to what is expected. The difference is that vastly less is expected, required, and enforced.

Everything else you say is correct. There are plenty of good employees in the system. But fewer than would otherwise occur because those just looking to get by are disproportionately drawn to government seeking the employment protections, benefits, and avoiding rewards contingent on contribution. The valuable employees government does hire tend to underperform because the system permits them to and in many cases encourages underperformance..

By: Neptune

Neptune — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:13:15 +0000

The problem with Federal workers isn’t the workers at all. Certainly there are plenty of bad examples we identify that fit the stereotype, but IMHO the real problem is the never-ending politics and budget cycles that result. Too many federal agencies seem more interested in maintaining their slice of the budget pie, because that’s the environment congress has created. Otherwise excellent public servants can’t do their job because they are handcuffed by politics.

Also, just my opinion as the son and grandson of long-time, proud civil servants, and someone who supports the DoD in my current private industry role, many high performing Federal managers make far, far less than the equivalent jobs in commercial industry. It’s all an argument for true merit pay, but if you want to provide merit pay, you have to take off the regulatory handcuffs that limit a leader’s decision-making authority.

By: MJ

MJ — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:02:29 +0000

The problem with government employees isn’t normally the pay. There certainly are exceptions like Fannie/Freddie executives (Jamie Gorelick, Franklin Raines) making tens of millions in bonus money why the institutions were failing. The main problems are (1) volume / quality of workl product for some, and (2) vastly over-generous retirement and medical benefits for nearly all. These areas are vastly harder to police than salary and thus tend to be the areas of abuse.

By: Duffy - Native Intelligence

Duffy - Native Intelligence — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 03:14:23 +0000

Humm…AIG executives give back the bonuses. How about Congress forego any raises for the next 5 years. If they dont like the pay, do the tax payer a favor and try to locate employment in the private sector. With all their talent for running the country into the ground – especially Barney Frank – I am certain that most businesses would value their experience…lol. Barney needs to run the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He more than qualifies in the incompetence category.

By: MarkJ

MarkJ — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:37:13 +0000

Here’s my cunning plan: cut government workers’ salaries in half…and use that to double the pay for our troops, police, and fire fighters.

I think that’s more than an even trade.

By: Chuck In Del

Chuck In Del — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:39:19 +0000

Must be quite a paradox to be a conservative working for the government.

My conservative father was all about gun rights, pro-life, less government. But he was also a Police officer and head negotiator for the union when the contracts came up. So while arguing for lower taxes less government at home, he pushed for more pay and better pensions at work. I don’t think he ever got the conflict because when it came to getting paid/benefits, it was all about him trying to get the best deal. Not giving a seconds thought about growing the goverment or how the town was going to pay for what he got.

I am with you Ignatius. I work 50+ hours a week now, and that is because things are slow due to this economic meltdown, recession, depression what ever you call it.

By: Ignatius

Ignatius — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:09:12 +0000

50 hour work weeks? Alert the media! How cruel!

Try owning a small business. You never get to go home.

By: Pat

Pat — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:49:10 +0000

Actually, Mike, I appreciate all government workers who do their job and even go above and beyond what they should as part of their job. My problem is that there are too many workers who are nothing more than dead would and/or upper level bureaucrats who clearly get more money than deserved. Bruce’s example above illustrates one of my beefs with government.

By: Mike M.

Mike M. — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:01:22 +0000

P.S. I could buy into a 0% cost of living adjustment if EVERYBODY sacrificed. A freeze not just on Civil Service pay, but on Social Security and all other welfares. And a 5% cut for elected officials.

By: Mike M.

Mike M. — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:45:41 +0000

You know, I AM one of the “lazy civil servants.” I work for the Department of Defense. For the last three years, I’ve averaged a fifty hour week. Twelve hour days frequent, fourteen to twenty at times. Worked many weekends, most holidays, and more overnight watches than I can shake a stick at.

Overtime? Ha! It’s only in the last eighteen months that we got full pay for overtime…it was 80% before that.

I’ve PAID my share. With toil, tears, sweat…and avoided paying in blood only through a bit of luck.

Have you?

By: Gene in Pennsylvania

Gene in Pennsylvania — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:43:16 +0000

ahemm The new head of AIG is paying himself $1 ONE DOLLAR a year. But that is for a bankrupt company, floating loans to stay afloat. Ooops that’s similar to the US govenment. Wouldn’t you love to see Barney Frank, Chris Dodd making one dollar a year, until the budget is balanced? I think there are some great suggestions in this thread already.

By: Chuck In Del

Chuck In Del — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:05:55 +0000

Good idea, everyone else is taking a paycut, time to offer up.

Delaware, a blue state with a Dem Gov, Republican senate and dem house, will be cutting state employees pay 10%. Along with pension reform and medical coverage reform. Along with a whole host of other cuts in the state.

The Republican’t party really did yoemans work reducing the size of gov’t and spending the last 8 years, didn’t they?

By: Beaker

Beaker — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:05:21 +0000

A pay cut for federal employees would be a nice gesture, but the cost of implementing it would probably outweigh it’s significance. However, a 0% COLA in 2010 is always a possibility. Remember, President Reagan did just that in 1985.

By: Bruce (GayPatriot)

Bruce (GayPatriot) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:45:17 +0000

So I just saw a notice that the NC State Medicaid Director was named today.

Any guess on the taxpayer-funded salary? $270,000.

I nearly crapped.

By: Peter Hughes

Peter Hughes — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:37:03 +0000

Better yet, why not apply the Dhimmicrats’ own “logic” and tax all government employees – especially those in the WH and Congress – 90% on all current and future bonuses, and make it retroactive to 2008?

Lower-casers hyperventilating in 3…2…1…

Regards,
Peter H.

By: Blinkered Thinker

Blinkered Thinker — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:24:55 +0000

A minimal pay cut for federal employees would be useful, especially if the Big Guy (at $400,000 per annum) were to take the lead on this issue. Not only could he afford the cut–he did, after all sign a $500,000 advance against royalties just prior to taking office, for a cut-and-paste job of a kids’ version of one of his best-selling memoirs. He would still gets a swell place to live, get early boarding privileges on Air Force One and Marine One, and his daughters would continue to attend private school (instead of the rotten DC public school system).

By: Ignatius

Ignatius — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:18:15 +0000

It’d be great, but unions and their sympathizers are still too large a bloc to suggest doing away with COLAs and other salary/benefit guarantees. Enshrining and enriching those in public service is one of the reasons we have the Obama administration and so we’re expanding the public payroll in a spirit of can-do with a goal of as many dependents (voters) as possible.

Community organizers gotta eat, too.