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"Liberal groups blast Obama pay-freeze proposal, release alternative plan"

Not surprisingly, the “alternative” plan is to raise salaries.

Because there’s no better way to cut government spending than by spending more, particularly when that additional spending would go toward increasing the pay of government employees, who would then turn around and spend more money, allowing the government to tax them more and recoup more “revenue” [CODE WORD ALERT] in order to cut the deficit.

It’s a kind of trickle down economics for the union class — with the front end increases paid for by the taxpayers.

What could possibly be more fair? Frankly, I’m surprised Obama didn’t go for it…

71 Replies to “"Liberal groups blast Obama pay-freeze proposal, release alternative plan"”

  1. Abe Froman says:

    Like it isn’t sickening enough that the wealthiest counties in America are now the ones which encircle Washington DC. By the left’s very definition, the exceedingly common two government employee household is rich. How bizarre to watch them fight to keep what’s theirs while simultaneously advocating tax increases on everyone else in the name of “fairness.” Useless parasites, the lot of em’.

  2. happyfeet says:

    go on strike then, bitches

  3. Squid says:

    “We are not a Greece, we are not an Ireland, we are not a Portugal,” he said referring to several European economies that have faced debt crises recently.

    “And we will not stop until we have surpassed all of those countries! We will show the world what happens when a superpower develops a super welfare state! Now get busy people — we have a lot of catching up to do!”

  4. cranky-d says:

    Up is down. Black is white. Spending is revenue.

    They want us to give up. That’s the only conclusion I can reach from what they are doing.

  5. newrouter says:

    Instead of just a pay freeze, Sherk recommends:

    * Abolish the General Schedule and implement performance-based pay. Congress should replace the General Schedule with pay-for-performance systems tied to market compensation. The Office of Personnel Management should set broad pay bands for each occupation and region of the country with managerial discretion to award raises for good performance, subject to budget limitations. OPM should adjust these pay bands up or down based on qualified applicant-to-position ratios and quit rates. This would align federal pay with market rates while allowing high-performing federal workers to earn what their skills merit.
    * Hire More Private Contractors. Many jobs performed by federal employees are not inherently governmental tasks and can be performed by private-sector workers. However, federal regulations deter government agencies from hiring private contractors for this work. Congress should eliminate these regulations and instead require the federal bureaucracy to compete on cost and quality with private-sector workers to perform non-inherently governmental tasks. This would expose federal employees to the same market competition that private-sector workers face each day. This competitive pressure would force federal agencies to reduce compensation to market rates in order to keep work in-house. To the extent that more work was contracted out, it would also create more jobs for private-sector workers.
    * Reduce Federal Benefits. Congress should reduce the generosity of its benefits to market rates. Paid leave should be reduced to comparable levels at private corporations. Congress should re-examine the utility of the existing defined-benefit plans and consider moving federal workers to a fully portable and funded 401(k)-style system instead.
    * End Dismissal Restrictions. Federal workers who have passed their probationary period can only be fired with great difficulty. As a result, some federal workers slack off knowing they will not lose their jobs. Congress should allow government managers the same discretion to remove poor performers as that of private managers.

    link

  6. Blake says:

    I’ve written my representative requesting a 20% across the board spending cut.

    As I explained to my mom, 80% of something is better than 100% of nothing, which is where things are headed if the fed budget isn’t brought under control.

    These yahoos advocating for an increase in wages never want to understand that in order for federal wages to be paid, let alone raised, the money is pulled from the private sector.

    I expect the next argument for raising federal wages is going to be “Well, it’s only a small percentage of the overall budget.”

  7. bh says:

    I think they’re all paid a yearly bonus to collectively pretend the government can do anything without wasting a few thousand man hours per task.

    Check this out. Pretty cool the way that little gray bureaucrats in Washington were able to figure out all the intricacies of geographic and specialist wage anomalies! They must be really, really smart.

  8. irongrampa says:

    Dear God, the “logic” employed by these sub-moronic cretins makes my head hurt.

    Do they need help getting dressed?

  9. Obstreperous Infidel says:

    I realize that I don’t pay enough attenion at times, but in what universe is this true?

    The representatives argued that federal pay has lagged private-sector pay and the reduction announced by Obama today would exacerbate the difference.

    I mean during tough economic times like now. If someone has actual emprical evidence of the above quote being true, I’d be much obliged. Until then, I’m calling bullshit.

  10. mongo78 says:

    I’m starting to think seriously about going to work for the FedGuv. Less work, more money, better benefits, and unlimited job security, plus they are now starting to seriously meddle in my industry to where we can hardly wipe our ass without their permission. I’m pretty much at the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” breaking point.

  11. bh says:

    I like going to relative quit rates to cut through the bullshit, OI. Here, from the Reason Foundation:

    Lower quit rates indicate a lack of better job opportunities elsewhere. Indeed, as the Cato Institute’s Chris Edwards points out (see pages 92-93[pages 6-7 in the pdf]), BLS data reveal that the quit rate is significantly lower in the public sector than in the private sector. Between 2001 and 2009, the public sector layoff and discharge rate is only about one-third of the private-sector rate. Surely, if government workers were so poorly compensated and were qualified to earn significantly more in the private sector, they would leave for those private sector opportunities and the quit rate would be much higher.*

    (His source is a Cato study found here in a .pdf file. Note that while he refers to the layoff and discharge rate, I checked and the source material says the rate is also 1/3 for voluntarily quitting.)

  12. JD says:

    OI – There is no evidence of same. That was an aggressive asspull.

    Am I the only one that thinks this is a cowardly and bullshit first step towards deficit reduction? I guess I will give Barcky Obambi credit for a BS token gesture, but that is all it is.

  13. Pablo says:

    These yahoos advocating for an increase in wages never want to understand that in order for federal wages to be paid, let alone raised, the money is pulled from the private sector.

    On the contrary, they know that reducing spending is taking (borrowed Chinese) money out of the economy. OK, so maybe they don’t know the italicized part, but they’re damned certain about the rest.

    Let’s remember, these are people who think food stamps and unemployment benefits are stimulative.

  14. Abe Froman says:

    For what I pay in taxes, there really should be an “Adopt A Bureaucrat” program where he/she sends me monthly pictures of hijinks around the office and a handwritten account of what they’ve been working on. I should also get a direct line where I can phone this person and chit chat at any time during work hours. Not his/her work hours, mind you, but mine.

  15. JD says:

    Abe – That made me laugh out loud, literally, and that is hard to do.

  16. Jim in KC says:

    Abe–It’d be nice if they could come by and mow my lawn a couple times a summer, maybe scoop the snow in the winter–you know, do something to earn the money…

  17. NoisyAndrew says:

    So insane, I had to fisk it. Check the blog.

  18. JD says:

    Noisy – How did you manage to read that drivel, much less fisk it?

  19. geoffb says:

    My take was on a previous thread and I see no reason to change it. This is about shutting down any Republican plans to cut back anything except the military which the Dems wouldn’t oppose but would still use against Republicans in 2012.

  20. cranky-d says:

    In Abe’s plan, we should have one private sector taxpayer assigned for every, say, $20K in salary a public employee makes. Otherwise, it’s all good.

  21. JD says:

    i just lurv the feedback loop on these things. They take actual taxpayer money, to pay federal employees, who happen to belong to a union that is decidedly hostil to the private sector and decidedly liberal, and ultimately the taxpayers money for salaries winds up in the union/Dem coffers advocating for taking more from the actual taxpayers. It is sick.

  22. sdferr says:

    Is the rest of the country expected to negotiate?

    Lemme suggest a %50 force reduction for starters, and a %50 pay cut for the mooks who get to keep their jobs. Not stiff enough? Call’er out, bids are open.

  23. geoffb says:

    And there is the problem. The negotiations are done by two groups neither of which are the ultimate ones paying for what is negotiated.

  24. JD says:

    i would like to volunteer to allow the commenters here to decide my salary, and the funding will come from someone that we all really do not care for.

  25. JD says:

    Except for bh. That cheesehead would certainly screw me ;-)

  26. newrouter says:

    The negotiations are done by two groups neither of which are the ultimate ones paying for what is negotiated.

    the forgotten man gets mugged everytime

  27. bh says:

    Except for bh. That cheesehead would certainly screw me ;-)

    Heck, I was going to bid it up in exchange for a cut of the action, JD.

  28. newrouter says:

    “I believe it is time that America adopted a flat tax and scrapped the current system once and for all,” Pence said. Later in the speech, he elaborated on his support: “The flat tax eliminates all of the credits and deductions and special preferences and tax loopholes that Congress and an army of lobbyists have built into the tax code over time. These fuel special interests and generally benefit one person, business or industry over another. Our tax system should not pick winners and losers, but should treat every business, small and large, with the same basic rules.”

    The speech ended with a reflection on free market dynamism. “The problem with our economy today is that, after years of runaway spending and growth of government under both political parties, America is on that wall between West and East,” Pence said, referring to the difference between free market economies and government-run ones. “No longer the vibrant free market that built cities like Detroit but not yet overtaken by the policies that have engulfed Europe in a sea of debt and mediocrity. To restore American economic exceptionalism, we have to decide that we believe in it again and turn and pursue a free market economy again with all our hearts.”

    Pence may not have announced a run for 2012, but this speech sure makes it appear that he’s considering it seriously.

    link

  29. JD says:

    In that case, I would like bh to be my representative to the negotiations.

  30. JD says:

    Unless your cut makes my net less than it would have been, in which case, be gone with you.

  31. JD says:

    bh – I would give you half of anything over what I would have got on my own. That way, we are both invested ;-)

  32. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – Wonder if any talking heads on TV are exposing this latest Union scam, in particular the “lower than private industry” total chicanery.

  33. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – While you two are cutting up the pie I’ll watch the door while I fill in the “voluntary” union member ballots.

  34. bh says:

    Now you’re thinking like a government worker, JD. I want my cut in the form of campaign contributions, voter fraud and a cushy board of directors job just in case anyone catches onto our scheme.

  35. JD says:

    Good idea. I would want 75% of mine in cold hard cash, and the other 25% in the form of a percentage of future earnings of people I do not like.

  36. McGehee says:

    “Abolish the General Schedule and implement performance-based pay.”

    If they do that my wife’s boss will be the lowest- paid person in her office.

  37. bh says:

    You know, thinking about Abe’s joke, I wonder if there isn’t some political theater/propaganda to be made that way. What if everyone in the tea party chose a highly paid yet worthless government employee and kept tabs on them? Take photos of their overly nice car and their overly nice house and post them on a web page directly under their job description.

    John Smith is in charge of making sure that requisition forms for Department of Agriculture office supplies are in full compliance with The Americans with Disabilities Act. As you can see below, he drives a silver Lexus GS11 and chooses between four bathrooms for his morning crap.

  38. JD says:

    I also want someone else to pay bh for negotiating on my behalf, and in the future, the people that I do not like should pay bh for his stellar work here, as well as paying him for negotiation on behalf of others.

  39. bh says:

    JD, remember to act like I’m a bastard though and say that you’re getting screwed. Tell us about eating cat food and the emotional pain of having to chose which child gets to wear their shared shoes every morning.

    Let’s get MSNBC on the line, I’m pretty sure they’ll send over a camera crew.

  40. bh says:

    Completely off-topic, I still have about 20 gallons of booze, beer and wine at my house.

    Apparently my family and friends all used to be alcoholics and then just quit this year without my noticing.

  41. geoffb says:

    bh you need a good agent. I’m willing for the usual 15% plus expenses. We can do this “turtles all the way down”.

  42. bh says:

    I don’t know, Geoff. You’ve always struck me as an honest sort of guy. Don’t know if you’ll fit in at the workplace.

  43. geoffb says:

    As per Swift.

  44. JD says:

    I agree, geoffb should be your agent, bh. And geoffb’s fee should be paid by the taxpayer, direct, for his service in representing the man that represents the downtrodden in society.

  45. Big Bang Hunter says:

    Let’s get MSNBC on the line, I’m pretty sure they’ll send over a camera crew.

    – That bunch of asshats would be glad to provide the stunt orphans, and some of main wardrobes best bum shoes.

    – Katie Caric, and 60 minutes could both do expose’s on “the forgotten children of the recession”.

  46. JD says:

    i have a headache. My daughter used 3 itunes gift cards to buy every Glee albumn available and a Camp Rock soundtrack. My melon is fixing to burst.

  47. JD says:

    Stunt orphans? Is that anything like crash test midgets?

  48. geoffb says:

    Harumph! Harumph! Harumph!

  49. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – They’re only allowed to work 5 hours a week, but not to worry, they still get scale.

  50. newrouter says:

    what type of marinade do you use for a gov’t employee?

  51. bastiches says:

    what type of marinade do you use for a gov’t employee?

    SIMPLE MARINADE FOR PORK

    1/8 tsp. black pepper
    1/2 cup soy sauce
    1 or 2 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped
    1/2 inch fresh ginger, thinly sliced
    1/2 cup pineapple juice
    2 pineapple slices, chopped

    However, I must warn you that ingesting too much bureaucracy clogs the arteries and is known to lead to congestive republic failure.

  52. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – Hillery on wickilesks:

    “You mothers are harshing my mello!”

  53. Big Bang Hunter says:

    – Where is the anti-war movement now that Bummblefuck has been in office almost two years, following the Bush/Cheney doctrine to the letter.

    – The silence is deafening. Fucking hypocrites.

  54. geoffb says:

    One of the side effects of this leak may be to put an anchor around the neck of any attempt by Hillary to run against Obama. Her Department after all.

  55. […] Off Bonin Islands BLOGS & STUFFGateway Pundit: Palin Slams Administration Handling Of WikileaksProtein Wisdom: Democrat Alternative To Obama Wage Freeze? Increase Pay!NRO: Hauser’s Law – This Reality Isn’t NegotiableCommentary: When Will Liberals […]

  56. alppuccino says:

    Keep Fed employees pay the same, but keep them on constant surveillance, and allow taxpayers to YouTube them whackin’ it to porn, snoozing in the broom closet, eating White Castle Suit Cases, etc. etc.

  57. Carin says:

    i have a headache. My daughter used 3 itunes gift cards to buy every Glee albumn available and a Camp Rock soundtrack. My melon is fixing to burst.

    Oh you poor thing.

    I’ve safely delivered my sons into the world of progg-metal (although I occasionally hear my one son listening to The Offspring, of which I do not approve), but my daughters are still an unknown quantity. They know that if I hear that crap, I will tease them unmercifully. Basically, I take a zero tolerance stance on pop.

  58. Carin says:

    I am completely unimpresses with this BS move by Obamabi. Pay freeze? After huge gains for them. There isn’t a hiring freeze. And there isn’t any restrictions on BONUSES. These fuckers are prolly all gonna just get bigger bonuses. WSJ:

    The freeze doesn’t extend to new hiring, bonuses or step increases. It doesn’t even match the three-year freeze recommended by the President’s deficit commission

    I know how this game is played. “This isn’t a raise, I’ve got a new title and a new salary commiserate with said title.” And the fact that leftards think this symbolic gesture is “too much” makes me sick.

  59. JD says:

    Carin – If only I could get her past Demi Lovato and Miley, I would be sooooooooo much happier.

  60. Crawford says:

    And the fact that leftards think this symbolic gesture is “too much” makes me sick.

    The lefties won’t be happy until government employees hold actual bill of sales on American taxpayers.

  61. Carin says:

    I had to look up the Demi lovato chick. My daughter was into the pop (she still is, I should say) but just lately she’s taken a liking to Our Lady Peace.

    Baby steps. OLP is like the gateway drug to progmetal.

  62. Carin says:

    You may wanna try that JD.

    “Wipe that Smile Off Your Face”. That’s the song that got my daughter on the path to righteousness.

  63. NoisyAndrew says:

    Noisy – How did you manage to read that drivel, much less fisk it?

    Oh, the worse the drivel, the better the fisk, I always say.

    Of course, Blogger has decided to turn my post into some kind of meta-jigsaw puzzle. All the quotes and replies keep ending up somewhere other than where I put them. Some kind of coding issue. I’ll fix it later.

  64. B. Moe says:

    Strap her in a chair with some headphones blasting nothing but Little Richard, Sun era Elvis & Johnny Cash, and AC/DC for at least four hours a day until she starts to sneer, JD.

    It is for her own good.

  65. happyfeet says:

    so yesterday bumblefuck announces to his piggy piggy federal union whores that they’ve nothing to worry about – no cuts for them… today he sends propaganda whore Viv Schiller’s National Soros Radio out to ratchet up the fear for everyone else

    The budget watchdogs who’ve been trying to scare us about the nation’s debt have a pretty good idea of how this ghost story ends. But what they don’t know is when it will end.

    Robert Reischauer, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, says the crisis could come in 18 months or 18 years. Either way, he finds it frightening.

    “When countries get into trouble, the waters are relatively calm until the wind comes up,” he says. “The wind comes up very rapidly, the storm develops and the ship sinks a few days later.”*

  66. gregorbo says:

    “particularly when that additional spending would go toward increasing the pay of government employees, who would then turn around and spend more money, allowing the government to tax them more and recoup more ‘revenue'”

    Trickle down economics? That’s circle-jerk economics. . . .

  67. sdferr says:

    Like Scrooge, we’re getting a timely wake-up call, and a chance to change our ways.

    So is NPR, along with the CPB and PBS urging the Federal Government to end their own frivolous funding? No? I thought not.

  68. happyfeet says:

    prepare to be incented

    It’s estimated that 40 million smart meters, which allow two-way communication between the utility and the home, will be installed on U.S. homes between now and 2012. Among other benefits, these smart meters will enable “time-of-use” pricing programs that incent consumers to lower their consumption during “peak-demand” periods.*

  69. cranky-d says:

    The only reason we have energy problems is jackasses who block the building of new power plants, especially nuclear plants. Then we have people telling us to “save energy” when the natural solution is to let the market work. They make me sick.

  70. Nolanimrod says:

    Smart Meters. So the government can find out just who’s been stocking up on light bulbs and just who has been running the A/C AND having a fire in the fireplace (where else?) Remember when Nixon did that? His fate was sealed when THAT hit the papers!

  71. Mueller says:

    These too will be hacked.

Comments are closed.