Posted on 06/16/2017 2:04:06 PM PDT by mdittmar
WASHINGTON –A new video from the American Federation of Government Employees illustrates how President Trump’s proposed budget would cut wages for current federal workers and slash federal retirement benefits for current and future retirees.
“It takes money out of your paycheck right now and cuts the benefits you were promised for retirement,” the narrator intones. “Most employees will be forced to pay nearly eight times more out of every paycheck for a worse pension benefit than you receive today.”
Specifically, the budget would:
The retirement cuts alone total about $149 billion over a decade, which would be on top of $182 billion in cuts to federal employees’ pay and benefits since 2010.
“President Trump’s budget continues this race to the bottom by penalizing the working-class people who serve and protect their fellow Americans,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said.
“And adding insult to injury, the money saved from cutting federal workers’ retirement would go toward a massive set of tax cuts to further enrich corporations and wealthy individuals.”
The video ends by asking current and retired federal workers to call their lawmakers and voice their opposition to budget cuts that threaten their financial security.
“A union griping because they can’t duck the life blood out of us anymore.”
That should be the response. “We get it back in reduced union dues.”
I am less concerned about the pay, benefits and performance of federal employees in the career service than I am the SES and political appointee jobs that are infected with ideology and self-preservation. Most federal employees are competent and qualified to do the jobs they hold, excepting —in some instances—those that obtained their positions via “preference” rules, excepted service, affirmative action and other “special” hiring programs.
Good start!
Federal employees on average are way overpaid for their talent and effort—especially in their post-retirement benefits.
It’s the old union ploy of connecting two unrelated events in order to promote class hatred and anger.
They would have had just a little more credibility if they had focused on retirement only. As it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if all their claims are so exaggerated and misrepresented as to be, basically, bogus.
The government can make any rules they want for new employees. Ronald Reagan revamped the retirement system for new employees. He gave existing employees the choice of changing over to the new system or staying in the old system. (It would have been nice if Obamacare had worked that way.)
Cost of living adjustment (COLA) has always been a matter of government (Presidential?) discretion. It’s important in high inflation years. Not so important now.
My Fortune 500 employer froze our retirement plan in 2008 and then dropped a wonderful health plan to force us to buy high deductible plan that pays nothing.
Government workers should be forced to die at their desks like us "private" employees have to.
This seems to come up every couple of years or so. I’d be surprised if it actually goes through; the government unions are very strong.
Love it. High time those bloated federal bureaucrats were reined in. I’d like to see their pensions cut in half and them paying for all their health insurance costs.
Correct, my point was, with the atrocious treasury debt, we are emulating ancient Roman empire, living high on debt and indulging in foreign wars with borrowed money. So yes, federal work force must be trimmed drastically. They produce nothing, not even a pencil or an eraser.
No doubt he will be as successful at getting this one passed as he was the last one he gave congress.
Good. Thank you, President Trump.
4. Five year average vs. 3 year? Means they have to sand bag over time for 2 more years
Don’t know about LEO rules but for normal civil service employees it is BASE salary excluding any overtime or bonus/awards received.
For GS this is true.
For WG probably not.
Actually they aren’t doing anything. It takes lots of people to do the work of one person in the e private sector. If you take into account their sick days, annual days, and paid holidays, they only work about half the year. No wonder we have more than twice the government we need.
I took a more than 30% pay cut to leave the private sector and work for the military, that was fine and a course I chose but if they start hacking away too much, I may have to give up what I love doing to get my retirement in order.
Exactly which time did PDT submit a budget before the one for FY2018? Are you referring to the CR that was in place before he took office when he tried to remove some spending? That was not his budget. FY2018 will be his first attempt. You sound like a Never-Trumper.
As for the article's contention that Trump's budget wants to cut any COLAs that federal retirees would receive by .05 %, I hope this is fake news because if it comes to pass, I would most likely abandon the Republican party. Not that I would go to the Democratic party, but I would seek to affiliate with an alternate party or just register as non-affiliated. The reason I was so against Obama was that he gave no COLA to federal and postal retirees for three out of the eight years of his Presidency, in contrast to all previous administrations, and I thought Trump was for the working person.
The absurdity of this statement is overwhelming!
Characterizing feds as "working-class people" is fake newsworthy...
Then there is BS statement "...who serve and protect..."!
I would oppose cutting military retirement benefits (except shopping at the PX). They served.
Federal employees aren’t serving. They are being paid premium compensation at the public trough.
This issue of the COLA will be the primary issue for me as to how I will vote in any future election.
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