Bush shrinks federal pay raises.
Bush shrinks federal pay raises.
In January, pursuant to current law, all “federal civilian workers will get a 2.5 percent across-the-board raise.” Additionally, “workers living in more expensive regions of the country” are supposed to “receive an additional raise of 12.5 percent.” But President Bush ordered today that the raises for those workers will be slashed significantly:
On average, workers who live in such metro areas were due to receive an additional raise of 12.5 percent. Bush is cutting that added bump to 0.5 percent.
That means that workers scheduled to receive pay differentials will now receive a total pay raise of 3 percent, not 15 percent, on average.
Bush said he was taking action because the scheduled pay raises would exceed his budget by $12.7 billion next year, and only compound in later years.
This isn’t the first time Bush has cut the pay of low-level federal staffers. In July, he issued a pay cut for “those at the bottom of the White House staff pay scale,” while awarding a $2,800 raise to Karl Rove.
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The one criticism you can’t make about Shrubbie is inconsistency.
If there’s a way to stick it to middle-class Americans, he’s all for it. Every single time.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:14 pmThe US treasury is running out of money, folks. Please do your best to prepare for your retirement years.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:14 pmDown with the less than wealthy . . .
Long live my illegal actions . . .
Accountability be damned !!!
GWB
November 28th, 2007 at 6:15 pmI haven’t had a raise in 7 years!!! 911 caused my pay to be cut by 25%, I have absolutely no sympathy for them. They have retirement, I had my 401K wiped out, they have medical, I pay 500 a month for medical.
They get no sympathy from me, none what so ever.
Buck Fush
November 28th, 2007 at 6:18 pmIsn’t it a bit late to put the “horse of fiscal responsibility” back in a barn that has been burnt to the ground?
November 28th, 2007 at 6:23 pmI haven’t had a raise in 7 years!!! 911 caused my pay to be cut by 25%, I have absolutely no sympathy for them. They have retirement, I had my 401K wiped out, they have medical, I pay 500 a month for medical.
They get no sympathy from me, none what so ever.
Sheesh Buckie. My family hasn’t fared well during BushCo’s reign, but watching someone else get screwed still ticks me off. Ideally, it’s not all about ME, ME, ME (or YOU, YOU, YOU). Unless you are in the GOP.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:26 pmAnd why is it that Bush keeps trying to prevent federal workers from organizing into unions? Perhaps so that crap like this can’t go through — such as the raise actually being in a contract, not just executive decision to screw the workers?
November 28th, 2007 at 6:28 pmNice. All for me – and none for thee.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:32 pmYup, welcome to the 21th century indenture servants in the Bush’s world.
Bush’s motto: What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:37 pmEat the rich!
November 28th, 2007 at 6:38 pmGeez, Buckie. Who pissed in your cornflakes?
(Well, Bush did, but these middle-class public servants sure didn’t. Who’s your enemy here?)
November 28th, 2007 at 6:38 pmNah, Epenthesis, it is just that I have known way too many very lazy government workers, the only reason they worked for the government is because they could not get hired in the private sector.
Some of them might deserve a raise, but when Bush’s 911 and War screwed my pay so bad that my wife (now 51) has to enter the work force just so we can make ends meet, well I get a bit peeved.
Buck Fush
November 28th, 2007 at 6:46 pm“The US treasury is running out of money, folks.”
Comment by StratRat
StratRat,
You are only partially correct. The US Treasury doesn’t have any money but the money didn’t “run” out. The money was carried out by a bunch of theiving bastards called the bushco.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:48 pmYou are only partially correct. The US Treasury doesn’t have any money but the money didn’t “run†out. The money was carried out by a bunch of theiving bastards called the bushco.
Comment by Clyde the Ripper
I do stand corrected. Thanks for that. Yeah, how does money ‘run’ anywhere? It don’t got no legs.
November 28th, 2007 at 7:00 pmSince the Treasury is drained and the credit cards are maxed-out, do you think Republicans will finally go away?
November 28th, 2007 at 7:05 pm“…do you think Republicans will finally go away?”
Above the Clouds,
Only with the business end of the metaphorical cattle prod inserted in their collective rearmost body orifice.
Let’s start prodding!
November 28th, 2007 at 7:11 pmSince the Treasury is drained and the credit cards are maxed-out, do you think Republicans will finally go away?
Comment by Above the Clouds — November 28, 2007 @ 7:05 pm
Don’t bet on it. Not since they have established their own private army :(
November 28th, 2007 at 7:11 pmThe inflation figures being reported are 1/2 the actual figures.
http://www.shadowstats.com/cgi-bin/sgs?
As a result, GDP growth is overstated, and real wages have been in significant decline. The American working class is being waterboarded and do not even know it. No wonder government has no respect for it’s critters, not only are they sheep, but they are dumb sheep.
At least Bush tried to take care of his people, since they know the real story and he has to count on them to keep the secrets. Not sure anyone should be satisfied with a 3% raise, but hey, if you believe inflation is only 3%, whatever keeps you happy. Baah.
November 28th, 2007 at 7:13 pmBut but but . . . the trolls keep telling us that we’re in the middle of a robust economy. Everything is dandy, recession is not just around the corner, the dollar is safe as houses (oops) . . . did someone forget to give all this information to The Deciderer?
November 28th, 2007 at 7:22 pmgosh, and just who would those majority workers be in those expensive major metropolitan areas….
this is deliberate, just to show how much he despises america.
November 28th, 2007 at 7:30 pmBohica Bush
November 28th, 2007 at 7:52 pmThat’s modern conservatism for you. Cronies get paid, every body else gets screwed and any talk of raising taxes on the wealthy is “class warfare.”
November 28th, 2007 at 8:01 pmHe walked right.
Through the door.
He walked right through the door.
Hey alright, funkified.
It’s mine.
He wants it all. Every thin dime. He’s taking it, too.
He’s extremely disappointed his Social Security deform didn’t work out. Yet.
November 28th, 2007 at 8:24 pmThere was no proposal to increase anybody’s pay by 15%! That’s ridiculous. That is very sloppy reporting, and you should know it. That is absurd on the face of it! Look up “locality pay”. If there is a general 3% pay raise, they will use locality pay to spread the raises around unevenly, so that some areas get less than 3% and some get more. Most (”rest of US”) may only get 2.75% and workers in some of the metropolitan area will get as much as 3.5%.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:03 pmRepublicans: “All fellow members of the GOP, hear me. Shall we continue to build palace after palace for the rich? Or shall we aspire to a more noble purpose and build decent housing for the poor? How does the the GOP vote?”
Bush, Cheney, and the GOP: “F**K THE POOR!”
** Slightly altered from History of the World, Part I, but you get the point! **
November 28th, 2007 at 9:59 pmWell, this is kind of obvious. Bush cutting wages for the working man. I am not shocked.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:31 amGL, nice Mel Brooks. Extremely appropriate.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:31 amThe government isn’t running out money; social security by design needs to be adjusted periodically; public employees generally are not awarded large raises as are found in the private sector and the Chinese are not buying Giant Stadium. However, many would like you to believe the sky is falling that you should sell your house now; live in a bomb shelter with your gold and silver that you acquired from selling all of your mutual funds. And if there still is a April 15, 2008 the IRS will be very interested in you paying your fair share, the Capital Gains, via the alternative minimum tax that you received for cashing-in in 2007.
November 29th, 2007 at 2:47 amthe obvious word here is strike.
November 29th, 2007 at 7:04 amSure Bush has restricted Union rights but you dont need a Union ofr a wildcat walkout. Its not that difficult to organise your workplace in face of what is a below inflation pay rise and so a pay cut??
Strike indefinetley untill you get what was promised, have other Unions and federal workers strike in support of the aims.
OK — it’s still early and I haven’t had my caffeine yet, and that may be the reason why I’m having difficulty wrapping my head around this one. But I still have a few questions.
1) Aren’t federal workers living in “expensive regions” already getting paid commensurate with the cost of living in their area? If they’re not, that needs to be fixed immediately.
2) Have these “expensive regions” experienced a rise in the cost of living that’s several times higher than the rest of the country? If not, there’s no justification for a 12.5% bump if a worker is already getting paid a salary that fits the local area.
3) Why was the 12.5% bump even considered? Who made that decision?
If a federal worker in San Francisco has always made the same amount of money as a federal worker in Omaha who’s doing the same work, then I’d say it’s about high time the government recognized the differential in local cost of living and adjust pay accordingly.
However, if local cost of living has always been a factor in determining pay, I don’t see the need to give a 12.5% bump to the high-rent workers unless the cost of living has increased that much in their area.
If I was controlling the purse strings, I wouldn’t have cut the raise due to “budget” reasons (our current President’s spending record has destroyed his credibility in that area), I would have cut the raise because, unless there has been a skyrocketing cost of living increase, there’s no justification for it.
Bush should have explained this better. But, considering his track record, that’s asking way too much of him.
November 29th, 2007 at 9:01 amThe expensive areas are by and large in blue cities in blue states. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:11 amI do stand corrected. Thanks for that. Yeah, how does money ‘run’ anywhere? It don’t got no legs.
Comment by StratRat
Money don’t got no wings either. That’s why it has to palletized and flown to Iraq on C-130 transport planes.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:26 pmI trust the workers understand that the King’s decision to shrink pay raises is all about patriotism, protecting the homeland, and supporting the troops. That said, they should support the King and be proud to vote Republican again in 2008. We must all sacrifice when we’re at war, correct?
November 29th, 2007 at 7:00 pm