Courage! And may the frequency be with you!
Posted on 04/08/2017 3:25:43 PM PDT by Kaslin
Remember those surveys which showed that up to one third of federal workers were thinking of quitting their jobs as soon as Donald Trump was sworn in as the nation’s 45th president? More than a few of them were obviously workers at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where the media mournfully reported that workers were “coming to work in tears” over what was to become of their beloved agency. But for all of the angst and bluster showing up in the press we weren’t actually seeing many (if any) people making good on their promise. That is… until now. We’ve finally found that long sought after worker who took a stand, flipped the bird to Scott Pruitt and Donald Trump, fired off a take this job and shove it letter and walked off the job. And his name is Mike Cox. (Washington Post)
When Mike Cox quit, he did so with gusto.
After 25 years, he retired last week from the Environmental Protection Agency with a tough message for the boss, Administrator Scott Pruitt.
“I, along with many EPA staff, are becoming increasing alarmed about the direction of EPA under your leadership … ” Cox said in a letter to Pruitt. “The policies this Administration is advancing are contrary to what the majority of the American people, who pay our salaries, want EPA to accomplish, which are to ensure the air their children breath is safe; the land they live, play, and hunt on to be free of toxic chemicals; and the water they drink, the lakes they swim in, and the rivers they fish in to be clean.”
Oh, my! How principled. How bold. And I love the way the Washington Post chooses to describe Cox’s actions. The headline informs us that he “leaves with a bang.” The opening paragraph lets us know that he “quit” and that “he did so with gusto.” But did he really?
Not really. In fact, he didn’t quit at all. He retired with 25 years of service… something he could have done at least five years earlier if he didn’t want to hang around and run out the clock to maximize his benefits. And speaking of which, Mike is in for a pretty sweet deal. If you calculate his Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) payout he’s looking at anywhere from a quarter to a half of his highest three year compensation average plus a host of other goodies. (Thanks, unions!) It’s a pretty sweet deal if you can get it.
When you think of someone “quitting” their job in righteous indignation it’s usually somebody taking a principled stand and leaving rather than being associated with an outfit which they find unacceptable. Mike is doing nothing of the sort. He could have stayed longer or left earlier, but he’s still going to be part of the program as he collects all of those generous, taxpayer funded checks for the rest of his life. This is not an example of biting the hand that feeds you because you’ve still got your snout in the troth.
Writing a nasty letter to your boss and bragging about it to the press is a far less impressive move when your boss can’t do a thing about it. Enjoy your retirement, Mike. I’m sure all of us out here in the private sector are just pleased as punch to be able to pay for your comfortable lifestyle for the rest of your days.
Good. I hope this is the first of many.
After 25 years of destroying our economy he is rewarded with a huge retirement. Karl Marx would be proud.
LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! REALLY, LOOK AT ME!
The fraud also takes into his retirement for the rest of his life his Cadillac of a health care plan for him & his family — mostly paid for by the taxpayers. It’s the same health care plan that our wonderful Congesscritters have.
Knock it off with the fudge factor. The FERS formula is one percent of the "high three" times years of service. If this guy worked for the feds for 25 years, he'll retire with 25 percent of his high three. Anything beyond that will come from his thrift savings plan.
Bump
I hope Mikey’s last days are short and soon.
Oh, I thing I’m going to have the vapors! What a horrible thought that these turds will be voluntarily or involuntarily removed from the public payroll. You’d think that the Sarin gas had been dropped somewhere in our country the way this jerk describes the current environment in Washington State. I just wonder how many of them will end up here on California’s payroll?
Brave Sir Michael!
He bravely fled!
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat
Bravest of the brave, Sir Michael!
I hope we spends some time in West Virginia in retirement bragging about what he did and how the American people support him.
Unless he’s also collecting from another government job, in addition to his EPA haul.
The old federal system (CSRS) was very rich, enough to cause real problems with job lock. People who should have moved on, and who really would have liked to move on, tended to stay in place because they had enough time invested towards the pension that leaving was financially punitive. The shift to FERS back in the 1980's (right date?) was very positive. The basic federal pension is decent but not outrageous, and federal employees expect to rely on the thrift savings component for most of their retirement income. This is portable and entirely compatible with private sector 401(k)'s.
The real pension abuse is in state and local government. Not all state and local systems are corrupt, by any means, but enough are that it's a systemic problem.
Quit please! These pampered and babied federal employees have never had a real job, and; they damn sure are not quitting jobs that allow them to DO NOTHING.
Courage! And may the frequency be with you!
LOL....I wonder how many newly minted FP members get that?
Three levels of mocking the father of fake news: Dan Rather..
I wish writers would stick to using words that are in their vocabulary.
The trick is to NOT replace him. He’s just making it easier.
Exactly, Sphinx.
My “sweet deal” (the terms I signed up for when offered in 1990) included under FERS:
1% per year of my high-five years of employment
Eligible to keep my Health insurance if I payed 100% of the premium (costing me $800+ per month for wife and me
My 401K funds saved like any intelligent civilian
A very nice letter from the Commandant of the USMC.
No union was involved in any way in my 50 years of service to the Department of Defense.
TC
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