President Obama on Monday announced a two-year pay freeze for most of the 1.9 million civilians who work for the federal government, as he tried to address concerns over a mushrooming deficit and placate Republicans who have targeted the workforce for big cuts.I have conflicted feelings about this. On the one hand, if the rate of inflation is such that Social Security recipients are not getting a cost-of-living increase, then it's kind of hard to see why other people paid by the federal government are getting pay raises.
"Getting this deficit under control is going to require some broad sacrifices, and that sacrifice must be shared by the employees of the federal government," Obama said in a White House speech. He called federal workers "patriots who love their country" and said the cut is not just "a line item on a federal ledger." But he said he is asking federal workers to sacrifice for the country as "they've always done."
On the other hand, Jimmy Carter tried to fight inflation by limiting federal pay raises for everyone to 5.5% at a time when inflation went to over double that. It didn't help worth a damn and the anger towards him by the federal work force was very real. Between that and coming dangerously close to having a "payless payday" in October for a couple years running, there was a real sense that neither Carter nor the Congress gave a fuck for the people who do the nation's dirty work.
Sometimes I wonder if Obama has an inner compass that is guiding him down the path of the Carter presidency. His
Obama had better find his balls real soon now, and I don't mean the ones he throws through basketball hoops. If he seriously thinks that the GOP is willing to work with him on anything, then he is arguably seriously delusional. Playing three-dimensional chess is one thing, but 3-D chess is not a good idea when your opponent shows up with automatic weapons and shoots up the chess board and the room.
Maybe we ought to invoke the 25th Amendment and get Biden in there.
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As an ATC, I'm really concerned about this. For three years we lived under a 'nontract' imposed on us by the FAA that slashed the pay for us newbie controllers. My wife and I were literally living on ramen for a while.
Once in office, Obama forced the FAA and our NATCA union into mediation. The result was a new actual contract that would have incremental pay raises for us new guys. At the beginning of 2010, 2011, and 2012 we would receive a large step increase that, by 2012, would have us making somewhat close to what we should have been making.
Well, we got our 2010 raise. Now, we have no idea what's going to happen with the '11 and '12 jumps. Those were supposed to be the biggest ones, the ones that many of us were counting on.
Worst case scenario? Obama freezes everything for two years. Then he loses his reelection to a Republican. At the same time, the contract we worked so hard to get expires. That leaves us, yet again, at the whim of some union-hating bastard.
Nearly all of the certified controllers I work with will be eligible to retire within the next couple years, if they're not already eligible. If that freeze kicks in, they'll be walking out that door on the first day of eligibility. There will be no reason for them to stay. That's a lot of useful experience on the way out, and a big part of the aviation safety margin.
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