Obama to announce pay freeze for federal workers

[Soggy in NOLA]

May 2009 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

So, a postal service employee makes $52,000 per year; after taxes, shelter, food, clothing & shoes, transportation, how much is left for, say, college for his kids? Or, a nice vacation? A new car? A roof?

Yet many find it okay for a Wall Street Banker to earn millions. How often does that banker walk in the sleet or snow, carry heavy bundles and avoid angry dogs? And what does a banker produce? He loans your money for a profit. You earn, today, maybe 1% on your savings, possibly but not always a bit more on a CD or IRA; yet taking your money the banker earns 4 or 5 or 6 times that amount (it bears repeating, on YOUR Money).
Oh, and what about bank fees, hidden or noted in very tiny small print. Don't be fooled, bankers are not your friend.

Ever met a letter carrier? Nuff said.

 

[SwingVoter]

So, WHAT is the GOP plan, again?

One of the first staements was to move spoending back to 2008 levels

which were up because Bush implemented 3-4 percent pay increases throughout his admin, and when Obama came in he was hearing it from Fed workers because he wanted to drop this to 2 percent

Obama is doing something here Bush didn't have the balls to

Bush was a true enemy of the taxpayer when it came to overcompensating Fed workers

but look where you said "statements", GOP is all about talking limited government, but when it comes to doing it, they're worse than Obama

 

[SwingVoter]

A two year freeze is a start, now how about Banks and Insurance Companies following suit. Cut back bonuses, freeze salaries, eliminate made up fees and return the savings to their customers. Won't that be the same as the tax cuts so loved by Republicans and crowd who bleats, "it's our money".

No it wouldn't be the same. You have to give all the credit in the world to Obama for doing something Bush wouldn't do. But banks, insurers, and every private company hiring people aren't borrowing over a trillion dollars of public money to do so. I don't care what they pay their employees, the market does.

Government "work" has been far too lucrative ever since Bush came in and went on his big spending spree. But don't confuse Obama's wise decision on Fed pay with any schemes to over-regulate private companies just to create a feel good story for soft-headed liberals.

 

[California Girl]

Would it not have been more sensible if he hadn't expanded the federal government first? And, how does freezing pay for two years produce five years of "savings"? And why punish the low paid federal workers? And.... did he freeze the pay for congress critters?

 

[kiwiman127]

Whenever we start surgically cutting out chunks that equal in the hundreds of billions, let me know. Five billion over two years? Are you kidding me? Hell, we accrue that much in interest deficits every 5 minutes.

More shell games, no substance.

Something like cutting Ear Marks,,another shell game and now some folks on the right want to reclassify Ear Marks so they won't be called Ear Marks.
That's what you get with politicians, period.

 

[SwingVoter]

And why punish the low paid federal workers? And.... did he freeze the pay for congress critters?

they're not low paid, avg Fed worker now makes about 70 percent more than avg private sector worker, under Bush Fed employment and pay increased at a higher rate than private sector pay

Congress is not the on the Federal "GS" civilian pay scale. Obama signed a pay freeze for Congress back in May, and their pay is frozen at $174,000 for 2011.

 

[Oddball]

The far right, as represented here by the proud and loud members of the echo chamber offer the usual platitudes, making them nothing more (and much less) then elected Republicans. Of course no real and practical ideas ever are offered by these dimwits - elected or self appointed,

Why not turn back spending to 1980 or even 1880? Why not terminate the employment of 400,000 Federal employees? [yep, let's fire the whole dept. of education - tomorrow.] Never a thought to the consequences of such action, the idea that such a policy might cause great harm never occurs to them, and in this lies their strength, for they truly believe the end justifies the means.

The only "harm" would be that a bunch of do-nothing parasite bureaucrats would go out and get productive jobs in the real economy, rather than being a total drag on it.

A two year freeze is a start, now how about Banks and Insurance Companies following suit. Cut back bonuses, freeze salaries, eliminate made up fees and return the savings to their customers. Won't that be the same as the tax cuts so loved by Republicans and crowd who bleats, "it's our money".

Now there's a great plan, Uncle Josef.

 

[RadiomanATL]

Wasn't the pay freeze originally a Republican idea?

I'm for it. Just like I'm for cutting earmarks. A billion here, a billion there...

Now lets get serious with the axe for once though.

 

[Oddball]

Calling for a pay freeze, after you've just expanded the federal bureaucracy like nobody else has in the last 50 years, is little different from a 350 pound fatass declaring that they're going to freeze their intake of Twinkies to "only" a box a day.

 

[jillian]

The democrats are like spoiled rich kids with credit cards that doesn't care where the money comes from until mommy and daddy is tapped out, now they are looking anywhere they can to find pennies. How cool is that?

rightwingnuts can't make up their mind...

what are "democrats", spoiled rich kids, or lazy slugs living on the dole.

can't have it both ways.

nice troll though.

 

[thereisnospoon]

So, WHAT is the GOP plan, again?

Genius...What do you think the chances are of Obama raising the ire of unionized federal workers would be if the democrats had maintained the majority in the US House.?
How about ZILCH?
You are nothing but a drive by troll poster.
And that candy cane needs to go into one of your other orifices. Jackwagon.

 

[thereisnospoon]

This is a start. A freeze on federal hiring should be next. Then a reduction in federal employment should be next. First by attrition. If enough people do not leave, layoffs.
The federal pension allotment should be adjusted downward by 50%. Also, all federal employees should be paying the same portion of their health insurance as those in the private sector. No more freebies. All federal new hires would pay into the Social Security system and be subject to the same rules as the private sector. That means Obamacare.
A wage cap of $100,000 per year for federal employees. No saving up sick time. No carrying over vacation time from year to year. No working overtime to artificially bump salary for reasons of inflating pension.
These are examples of how the private sector works. There's no reason why the public sector cannot exist in the same manner.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Hope the GOP starts slicing and dicing in the Fed employee ranks.


Hell. They could get rid of half the Fed employees and who the hell would notice they were gone??

I have a queestion.....the USPS proposed saving billions every year by cancelling mail delivery service on Saturday. SOME Americans went ape shit. I personally could care less if they only delivered mail twice a week. Who's with me?

That's a bullshit deal. I would not miss Saturday delivery. No that at all. The fact that the "savings" part is nonsense. The federal government would simply take that "savings" and spend it elsewhere.
Now, if the government would lower the price of a stamp by 10 cents, that would tell me the government is "saving" expense and then returning it to the owners(Taxpayers).

 

[Harry Dresden]

Hope the GOP starts slicing and dicing in the Fed employee ranks.


Hell. They could get rid of half the Fed employees and who the hell would notice they were gone??

I have a queestion.....the USPS proposed saving billions every year by cancelling mail delivery service on Saturday. SOME Americans went ape shit. I personally could care less if they only delivered mail twice a week. Who's with me?

you might not care because you might only get a small amount of mail per week....but the businesses of this Country would care....80% of the mail coming off the OCR's are for the businesses of the Country.....many of those letters are either checks or info that the Company needs now...not twice a week...also there are medicines that are not supposed to be delayed....

 

[Harry Dresden]

I'm fine with that.

Hell, add Monday through Friday as well. Where is the USPS now? Seven "Brazilian" dollars in debt? sheesh

On edit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPdYGraVg84

geezus your a little late with that one......by the way the UPS and FedX drivers on my route have told me every time we bump into each other out on the streets.....that they are doing exactly the same as the PO is doing...Consolidating routes,not hireing,etc,etc.....because?.....they are not doing as well as they should be....their volume is down also....

 

[Harry Dresden]

There would still be "snail mail". It would just be delivered by FedEx, DHL, UPS, and whatever other companies form from the buying and selling of the assets of the bankrupt USPS.

Heck, you might have the same mailman just in a different uniform.

no you wouldnt....because none of those companies would deliver mail to the rural areas without charging an arm and a leg to do it.....which is one of the big reasons Congress is against privatizing it.......44 cents compared to 3-4 dollars for a letter....im sure those rural people will gladly pay that....and the UPS driver on my route has already told me that in one of their morning meetings that UPS and FED-X do not want any part of it because of the costs it would take to expand into that....and the possibility that it would not be profitable enough....AND if your going to deliver the mail,then their delivery people and installations would be scrutinized by the Postal Inspection Services...more expense....which now means you have someone making sure your doing everything by the rules and regulations Congress has set for delivering First Class Mail....there is a ton of expenses associated with this and a ton of headaches........and im sure the Teamsters will want more money for the people they represent.....and the Fed-X people will im sure will want more to do more work.....basically...easier said than done......

 

[newpolitics]

The democrats are like spoiled rich kids with credit cards that doesn't care where the money comes from until mommy and daddy is tapped out, now they are looking anywhere they can to find pennies. How cool is that?

It's more like, Democrats care about these programs beacuse they are needed in our society, like, as has already been mentioned, education. Republicans remind ME of the spoiled rich kids who already have their fill, and want everyone else to suffer.

 

[Revere]

The democrats are like spoiled rich kids with credit cards that doesn't care where the money comes from until mommy and daddy is tapped out, now they are looking anywhere they can to find pennies. How cool is that?

It's more like, Democrats care about these programs beacuse they are needed in our society, like, as has already been mentioned, education. Republicans remind ME of the spoiled rich kids who already have their fill, and want everyone else to suffer.

Who does the US Department of Education educate?

 

[JBeukema]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a two-year freeze of the salaries of some 2 million federal workers, trying to seize the deficit-cutting initiative from Republicans with a sudden, dramatic stroke. Though signaling White House concern over record deficits, the freeze would make only a tiny dent in annual deficits or the nation's $14 trillion debt.

The Daily Astorian - Astoria, Oregon

so.. suddenly he cares about gross federal waste?

 

[Harry Dresden]

On AVERAGE, a USPS "carrier" makes nearly $52,000.00 annually. A Postmaster (whatever the hell that is) makes nearly $72,000.00 annually, not inlcuding their benefits. Please tell me you are not REALLY crying for these people?

PayScale - U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Employer Salary, Average Salaries

so?.....lets see you get your ass out there in the snow,in the pouring rain,100 degree heat,30-40 MPH winds,darkness in the winter time......fucking dogs attacking you......oh and dont forget unlike UPS my truck is not all loaded and ready to roll when i get there....i have to put up the mail that i deliver every morning when i get there,which can take depending on how much mail there is that day 2-4 hours....then load up the truck and go and deliver the stuff....and to top it off..the UPS guy makes more money than i do....and he just has to deliver parcels...until you have done this job Va....you have no idea what a clueless ass you sound like......