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Federal workers' sacrifice would help U.S. debt, deficit panel says
WaPo ^ | 11/10/2010 | Joe Davidson

Posted on 11/11/2010 4:54:41 AM PST by markomalley

Federal employees would play a major role in reducing the nation's debt and deficit under a set of draft proposals released Wednesday by the co-chairs of President Obama's deficit commission.

Former Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and former senator Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.) called on Americans to make sacrifices to "make America strong for the long haul."

Federal workers would face a freeze on "federal salaries, bonuses, and other compensation at non-Defense agencies for three years," saving $15.1 billion. Pentagon civilians would take the same hit, for a $5.3 billion savings.

The federal workforce would be cut by 10 percent, about 200,000 people, by hiring only two workers for every three who leave federal service. That would save $13.2 billion.

The response from the National Treasury Employees Union was swift.

"If enacted, the proposals in the draft report offered by the co-chairs of the White House deficit reduction commission would have an unfair and disproportionate impact on the federal employee and retiree community," said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Government
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Under the Obama government, Ms Kelley has absolutely nothing to fear.
1 posted on 11/11/2010 4:54:44 AM PST by markomalley
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To: markomalley
STOP SPENDING!!!!

Raisning taxes is only a license to keep on spending!!!

2 posted on 11/11/2010 4:56:21 AM PST by Sacajaweau
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To: markomalley

We need to get rid of a whole lot of federal workers, not just freeze their pay.


3 posted on 11/11/2010 4:56:37 AM PST by whershey
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To: markomalley

Federal workers “sacrifice”????????? What “sacrifice”? They get paid a fortune. Their pay has been going up by leaps and bounds while average Americans have been getting pay cuts. The headline should be “Country Shouldn’t Borrow to Pay Federal Workers Premiums Over Private Sector and Give Them Huge Salary Increases in a Bad Recession.”


4 posted on 11/11/2010 4:58:13 AM PST by Opinionated Blowhard
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To: markomalley

“If enacted, the proposals in the draft report offered by the co-chairs of the White House deficit reduction commission would have an unfair and disproportionate impact on the federal employee and retiree community,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley.

Unions - what a bunch of losers. “Me, me, me!”


5 posted on 11/11/2010 4:59:26 AM PST by DennisR (Look around - God gives countless, indisputable clues that He does, indeed, exist.)
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To: whershey

A lot of the Federal workforce is getting on in years. So if 2 are hired for every 3 that retire, then you could see a reduction in the workforce of probably around 10-20%.

Which I really wouldn’t have expected to come from a government panel, made up of governmental workers.


6 posted on 11/11/2010 5:02:24 AM PST by gogogodzilla (Live free or die!)
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To: markomalley
I'm all for sacrificing gooberment employees, but where do we find an active volcano?

/johnny

7 posted on 11/11/2010 5:07:05 AM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: whershey
"We need to get rid of a whole lot of federal workers, not just freeze their pay."

Yes but not freeze, CUT.We can put through a 15% across the board forall non-military (excepting officers of Colonel and above) and not suffer any loss of "efficiency".

8 posted on 11/11/2010 5:08:27 AM PST by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dream)
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To: markomalley; ExTexasRedhead; Impy

The Debt Panel’s reccomendations are a mixed bag.


9 posted on 11/11/2010 5:15:18 AM PST by Clintonfatigued (Illegal aliens commit crimes that Americans won't commit.)
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To: markomalley

Bullshit....to hell with a “freeze”; we need a rollback to reasonable compensation and benefits, removal of ALL government employee unions, and a scrutiny of ALL Federal Employee and State Employee compensation/retirement funds’ shenanigans.


10 posted on 11/11/2010 5:17:03 AM PST by traditional1 ("Don't gotsta worry 'bout no mo'gage, don't gotsta worry 'bout no gas; Obama gonna take care o' me!)
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To: Jimmy Valentine
Why not the military? If everybody else is losing income why not the troops?

Remember, your principal argument here is one of national government/private sector "equity", so exceptions have to have a really good reason.

I would be curious why you think defense analysts and weapons system designers should take a financial hit but not the folks in the mess hall.

11 posted on 11/11/2010 5:21:57 AM PST by muawiyah (GIT OUT THE WAY ~ REPUBLICANS COMIN' THROUGH)
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To: traditional1

Cut federal pay across the board and close the departments of Education and Energy. Neither one produces anything.
Completely stop foreign aid, dues to the UN and contributions to the World Bank.
Cut the budget of every agency in federal government by ten percent. Do it again.
Do away with all retirement pay to federal legislators and the High Court.
That’s a start...


12 posted on 11/11/2010 5:23:52 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Impeachment !)
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To: traditional1

>>Federal workers would face a freeze on “federal salaries, bonuses, and other compensation at non-Defense agencies for three years,” saving $15.1 billion. Pentagon civilians would take the same hit, for a $5.3 billion savings.<<

Group punishment for a year to save $20B while our dear leader spends $2B on a ten day trip??


13 posted on 11/11/2010 5:23:55 AM PST by greenhornet68
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To: markomalley

Watch these ‘gubmimt’ workers scream like stuck pigs.


14 posted on 11/11/2010 5:41:25 AM PST by AdaGray
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To: greenhornet68

**Group punishment**????????????????

When a private company goes bankrupt - the employees are laid off permanently!!!

The Federal Government is BANKRUPT!!!!!! It produces nothing but rules and regulations.

STOP THE MADNESS - lay off all Federal workers for six months without pay. (bankruptcy lite)


15 posted on 11/11/2010 5:42:04 AM PST by sodpoodle (Despair; man's surrender. Laughter; God 's redemption.)
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To: markomalley
Cut the Federal Government by 60%!

(Employment in thousands)
Total Federal Employees (2008) 1,909
Jobs to be eliminated: 250 + 725 + 163 = 1,138

The following Departments and Agencies should be wholly eliminated, saving 230K jobs:

The following Departments and Agencies should be radically reduced an average of 75%, saving 725K jobs:

Reduce the Defense Department by 25% saving 163K jobs.

SOURCE: U.S. Office of Personnel Management via http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs041.htm

By 'saving' here I meant saving the Taxpayer the expense of the job.

16 posted on 11/11/2010 5:42:12 AM PST by bvw
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To: muawiyah

The families of the fighting troops are on food stamps at Ft. Hood. I think they are sacrificing enough. For the fat cats in the Pentagon offices, we ought to board up every other office and we wouldn’t notice any difference.


17 posted on 11/11/2010 5:45:42 AM PST by kittymyrib
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To: bvw
The following Departments and Agencies should be wholly eliminated, saving 230K jobs:

* Smithsonian Institution 4


Ok, but I call dibs on "The Spirit of St. Louis" and "Glamorous Glennis". I could really use a couple gate guards at the foot of my driveway, and unlike "Enola Gay" (which could be cut up and sold for good profit as razor blades and Coke cans) and the Space Shuttle Enterprise they would actually fit in the space there.
18 posted on 11/11/2010 5:59:03 AM PST by tanknetter
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To: markomalley

The federal (so-called) “workforce” has grown by what? 200% in 20 years? And they want to trim it 10%, most of which would come right back through the revolving door as consultants?

BS! Eliminate BOTH DOEs immediately. Chop 50% of EVERY remaining department immediately. That would get us back to a federal gov’t size in place maybe 20 years ago.

It’s time to quit nibbling at the edges and cut a giant swath through the beast destroying the United States.


19 posted on 11/11/2010 6:16:58 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: markomalley
Meanwhile....

Government Workers Making $150,000+ Have Doubled Under President Obama

20 posted on 11/11/2010 6:19:06 AM PST by mewzilla (Still voteless in NY-29. Over 400 roll call votes missed and counting...)
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