Obama has said that he wants to place a 2-year pay freeze on Federal civilian employees. He says this will help combat the national debt. The national debt that he has increased nearly 3 trillion dollars since he has been in office. So basically he wants us to pay for everyone to have health insurance, but he's going to freeze our pay in the process. I really hope that eveyone that voted this guy into office, realize how far back they have set our country. How about he finds a way to truly control unnecessary gov't spending or is that too much to ask from the POTUS??

http://www.fedsmith.com/article/2634/president-obama-proposes-freeze-federal-civilian-employee.html

^^^Yeah I find this interesting. BHO comes charging in and with the help of Pelosi and Reid, ramrod a bogus stimulus package through Congress. Then they proceed to piece together one of the worst and most costly pieces of legislation ever to be inflicted on the American people in the name of ObamaKare (the negative consequences already being felt by nearly everyone) and NOW he's telling Federal employees they need to help him pay for it.

In principle I'm not opposed to the idea. I think freezing Federal pay and re-evaluating Federal employee compensation packages MUST be a part of the many, many steps the Feds need to do to get the deficit under control.

Still, I do think it's hypocritical of BHO to spend like a drunken sailor when the Dems enjoyed near-Super Majority status and now suddenly he wants to appear fiscally responsible particularly after the Republicans kicked Democrat ass in this past election.

He said he was going to run the most transparent administration in American history. Can anyone or everyone else see through this?

Any company in the private sector hemorrhaging a tiny fraction of the money the federal government is losing has already taken this step. Sorry about your personal situation, but big picture it's the right call.

It's not a bad first step. I would have preferred actual cuts in lieu of a freeze, but I guess I'll take it.

Cuts should been done, not freezes.

I would be more than happy to contribute my part to helping the deficit, if it weren't for the fact that he is asking us to shell out more and more money to pay for his bogus programs, while freezing our pay. I can tell you right now that in lieu of contributing my normal $1500/yr to the Combined Federal Campaign(money that goes to charities of my choice), I will have to hang on to that money to make up for the pay freeze. Also, the fact that this pay freeze does not affect Congress is ridiculous.

He doesn't have a choice at this point, does he?

se-alum;581775 wrote: Also, the fact that this pay freeze does not affect Congress is ridiculous.

But, they NEED that money in order to have a home "back home" and a house in the DC area lol
IMO, they're too damn comfortable.

I'm for the freeze.
However, if you look at what the private sector offers people in the DC area and then the government equivalent, people can make more usually in the private sector, especially in the defense/ foreign policy side.
Also, the cost of living in DC is one, if not the, highest in the nation. It is expensive as hell to live here. So, that was one rational to maintain the gradual increase in pay scales.
That said, keeping increases is not politically viable, so I'm not surprised.

Hopefully, this will lead to a gradual decrease in the cost of living, but I doubt it.

ptown_trojans_1;581788 wrote:I'm for the freeze.
However, if you look at what the private sector offers people in the DC area and then the government equivalent, people can make more usually in the private sector, especially in the defense/ foreign policy side.
Also, the cost of living in DC is one, if not the, highest in the nation. It is expensive as hell to live here. So, that was one rational to maintain the gradual increase in pay scales.
That said, keeping increases is not politically viable, so I'm not surprised.

Hopefully, this will lead to a gradual decrease in the cost of living, but I doubt it.

Gov't employees make around 24% less than their private sector counterparts. I think alot of people grossly overestimate the pay of MOST gov't jobs. For instance, an LPN at a VA hospital, is not going to make as much as an LPN at private hospital.

se-alum;581824 wrote:Gov't employees make around 24% less than their private sector counterparts. I think alot of people grossly overestimate the pay of MOST gov't jobs. For instance, an LPN at a VA hospital, is not going to make as much as an LPN at private hospital.

True, I was referring to mainly defense and foreign policy related jobs as well as jobs like accountants, consultants, etc which make up, I'd say a sizable chunk of DC.

Pretty much half of my classmates from my Masters program at Maryland chose contractors or private firms like LMI, CSC, PWC or Booze Allen simply because the pay was much, much better than the government.

se-alum;581824 wrote:Gov't employees make around 24% less than their private sector counterparts. I think alot of people grossly overestimate the pay of MOST gov't jobs. For instance, an LPN at a VA hospital, is not going to make as much as an LPN at private hospital.

Yes, but their benefits tend to be excellent, and have a measure of job security that the typical at-will private sector employee don't.

ptown_trojans_1;581788 wrote:...
Also, the cost of living in DC is one, if not the, highest in the nation. It is expensive as hell to live here....

I lived in Severna Park in Maryland. Loved the area. Hated the expense to do so.

Welcome to our world for the past two years. I agree, instead of a freeze it should be a cut in staff.

Con_Alma;581840 wrote:I lived in Severna Park in Maryland. Loved the area. Hated the expense to do so.

Off topic...but I've been there a few times. My ex grew up there and his sister still lives there.

"Pretty much half of my classmates from my Masters program at Maryland chose contractors or private firms like LMI, CSC, PWC or Booze Allen simply because the pay was much, much better than the government. "

And its an up or out system - sure you get paid more up front but that job doesn't even guarantee 2 to 3 years of employment. If you are working at PWC or Booze here's some friendly advice - look for an exit strategy immediately.

As QCB alluded to, the benefits and job security of a Fed job is so out of whack with the private sector - looking at straight comp is meaningless. I would have easily taken a 25% lower salary from my first job if you told me I was guaranteed to keep it (aside from egregious incompetence) with even modest COLA/promotion increases, would get a pension and enjoy unbelievable vacation time/benefits.

Fab4Runner;581858 wrote:Off topic...but I've been there a few times. My ex grew up there and his sister still lives there.

I think I remember you telling me that one time. I was just back there last summer and have plans to go again in April and in June....both are work related but it's always good to go back and buy some old friends a drink.

What were your thoughts of the area? We lived along the river and I remember the evenings just watching the boats for hours while sippin' cocktails.

There's nothing like a bushel of crabs and some drinks on the banks of the Severn River in August with friends.

Bigdogg;581850 wrote:Welcome to our world for the past two years. I agree, instead of a freeze it should be a cut in staff.

I think you will soon see a cut in staff, due to the fact that over 50% of the gov't workforce is at/close to retirement age, and there will be alot of jobs not filled as retirees depart. The pay freeze will speed up that process, and also drain alot of knowledge from the workforce.

I have to laugh at people being ok with this simply because they believe gov't employees have it better than them. I imagine these are the same people that want to penalize successful people for being successful.

Con_Alma;581865 wrote:I think I remember you telling me that one time. I was just back there last summer and have plans to go again in April and in June....both are work related but it's always good to go back and buy some old friends a drink.

What were your thoughts of the area? We lived along the river and I remember the evenings just watching the boats for hours while sippin' cocktails.

There's nothing like a bushel of crabs and some drinks on the banks of the Severn River in August with friends.

I loved it. I saw the house my ex lived in and the neighborhood seemed great. They spent a lot of time at Chartwell and the family still has a lot of close friends in the area. His sister bought an old house on the river and tore it down and built a new one in it's place. When I was there (for their rehearsal dinner) it was still the old structure. They were not living there but wanted all of the family members from each side to see where they would eventually be living.

His other sister lives in Grasonville and I liked it there as well. I've also been to Ocean City and Annapolis...I love it all. MD is definitely a great state, IMO.

se-alum;581874 wrote:I have to laugh at people being ok with this simply because they believe gov't employees have it better than them. I imagine these are the same people that want to penalize successful people for being successful.

No, I think it has more to do with the fact that there's no guarantee that a private job will always be there, but there's a guarantee that a government job will - even with mismanagement, fraud, incompetence and greed.

bought an old house on the river and tore it down and built a new one in it's place.

SACRILEGE!!

Manhattan Buckeye;581862 wrote:"Pretty much half of my classmates from my Masters program at Maryland chose contractors or private firms like LMI, CSC, PWC or Booze Allen simply because the pay was much, much better than the government. "

And its an up or out system - sure you get paid more up front but that job doesn't even guarantee 2 to 3 years of employment. If you are working at PWC or Booze here's some friendly advice - look for an exit strategy immediately.

As QCB alluded to, the benefits and job security of a Fed job is so out of whack with the private sector - looking at straight comp is meaningless. I would have easily taken a 25% lower salary from my first job if you told me I was guaranteed to keep it (aside from egregious incompetence) with even modest COLA/promotion increases, would get a pension and enjoy unbelievable vacation time/benefits.

True, but now a days people do not stay in jobs that long. Often a year or two anyways before they move to another firm or company. So, the job insecurity is not really an issue as if you get fired from one company, you just walk across the street.

se-alum;581874 wrote:I think you will soon see a cut in staff, due to the fact that over 50% of the gov't workforce is at/close to retirement age, and there will be alot of jobs not filled as retirees depart. The pay freeze will speed up that process, and also drain alot of knowledge from the workforce.

I have to laugh at people being ok with this simply because they believe gov't employees have it better than them. I imagine these are the same people that want to penalize successful people for being successful.

The retirement of a large portion of the federal workforce is going to be interesting. I've talked with a few friends in the intelligence community who notice a huge age gap between them and the majority of the workers. Most of the those people are leaving creating a big void, and their own cuts, as if 2 people retire, only 1 is getting hired.

Also, this is an issue at the National Labs, as the heads of those labs have testified numerous times about the concern of the aging workforce and not being able to replace them.

CenterBHSFan;581881 wrote:No, I think it has more to do with the fact that there's no guarantee that a private job will always be there, but there's a guarantee that a government job will - even with mismanagement, fraud, incompetence and greed.

I think that's painting "government" jobs with a very broad brush. Like I said before, people tend to relate government jobs with DC, and there's much more to it than that. I don't feel sorry for myself, as I can make up that money by cutting CFC and other things. However, I do feel bad for the NA's, LPN's, Housekeepers, and Dietetics workers who are making $12/hr and will be hit by this pay freeze the hardest. There's a stigma that comes with being a "Federal" employee, and people don't realize there are 1,000's of blue collar Federal employees.

Fab4Runner;581876 wrote:... His sister bought an old house on the river and tore it down and built a new one in it's place. When I was there (for their rehearsal dinner) it was still the old structure. ...

For some reason that rings a bell with me also. They must have an fantastic lot.

If they had the money to buy in that location tearing down and building new wasn't an issue for them.

se-alum;581893 wrote:I think that's painting "government" jobs with a very broad brush..

That may be. I'm just giving you an answer based on what I ascertain is the general concensus.