Free Republic

In an interview aired on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted that "the current inflation will not go on indefinitely. History has shown that sooner or later it will have to come down. Whether this will be due to saner government policies or total collapse of the current monetary system remains to be seen." Yellen observed that "1920s Germany is an example where the money collapsed. By the mid-1920s it took a shopping cart full of cash to buy a loaf of bread. Ultimately, the money became worthless and the government had to issue completely new money. The...

Jeb Bush on Friday ordered across-the-board pay cuts to his struggling presidential campaign and warned staff that job functions would change. On a Friday conference call, top officials said resources would shift heavily to ballot access and voter contact. One person on the Friday morning staff call said they were left with the impression that "very few people will be left in Miami." Danny Diaz led the call. Sally Bradshaw also spoke. So did general counsel Megan Sowards. Although campaign officials insisted they're still in strong shape, the moves — combined with Bush's stagnant poll numbers, despite millions having been...

SIERRA VISTA — U.S. Border Patrol spouses have banded together and will stage a protest at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 30, at Veterans’ Memorial Park to voice their opinions on a possible 40 percent cut in pay agents may see as a result of the federal budget sequestration. “The spouses of the agents have banded together and we want the public to know that these pay cuts and furloughs will not only have a devastating effect on us,” said Connie Johnson, event organizer and wife of a Border Patrol agent. “It will have a domino effect on the local...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) characterized the limitations on Congressional pay in the looming sequester as “the cruelest cut in the entire package.” “Considering all the money we have appropriated for those making dubious or even negative contributions to our society it is unconscionable that we should be treated so shabbily,” Pelosi contended. “We are key players in ruling this country. We ought to have salaries commensurate with the significance of our role.” “Corporate executives presiding over budgets a tiny fraction of what we dispose of in a year take down salaries and bonuses in the millions of dollars,”...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is speaking out against a cut in congressional pay because she says it will undermine the dignity of their positions. "I think we should respect the work we do," Pelosi said. "I think it's necessary for us to have the dignity of the job that we have rewarded."

In what a prudent observer would think is the least they should do, the pay for Gov. Jerry Brown, legislators and statewide officeholders will be reduced 5 percent, thanks to the state’s independent salary-setting commission. . . Had the people of California to do it over again, they may want to give themselves the power to raise and lower officials’ pay. Voting on Facebook by registered voters seems to us an effective tool for whipping these folks into shape in a timely manner. Bad acts in Sacramento could be cause for pay cuts instantly. That would be some motivation. ....

Herman Cain is the man of the hour in American politics. In the latest Zogby poll, out yesterday, he leads former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney by 20 points, in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Enthusiasm for Mr. Cain, a successful businessman and former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, who has never held elected office, is palpable. It is, in part, a sign of voter discontent with Washington and a system which, at best, can only be termed as dysfunctional. Herman Cain might win the Republican nomination and go on to become, as...

Public employees are retiring at a quickening pace around the U.S., providing a mixed blessing for state and local governments seeking to save money. The retirements mean employers can shelve some planned layoffs. And some of the departing workers, generally more senior and higher paid, are being replaced by lower-paid employees with less-generous retirement benefits, government officials say. But the loss of veterans threatens to erode the quality of public services that make communities attractive, they say. The exodus of public employees is an unintended consequence of states' financial struggles. Some workers have been required to take unpaid furlough days,...

Governor and Administration Secretary Announce Contract Agreement with State Employees Union Two-year contract calls for 3% wage reduction with no automatic yearly wage adjustments or step increases Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Jim Douglas and Secretary of Administration Neale Lunderville today announced that agreement on a new two-year contract has been reached with the Vermont State Employees Association (VSEA). The contract, which was signed by both parties earlier today, includes a 3% wage reduction as well as no automatic yearly wage adjustments or step increases for the duration of the contract. This settlement is very good news for the taxpayers of...

Worried about a potential slippery slope with the Obama administration dictating what people are paid in the private sector - TARP bailout or no TARP bailout? Message from CNBC's Jim Cramer: Get over it. On CNBC's Oct. 21 "Street Signs," the "Mad Money" host ripped into Wall Street executives that objected to the government dictating the rules of compensation. Opponents argue these pay restrictions inhibit Wall Street firms ability to retain the best employees possible - an argument Cramer says doesn't matter. "Hey, there's no God-given right to work at those companies," Cramer said. "These people can go off if...

Thanks to the Great Recession, another corporate taboo has been shattered: large-scale pay cuts. As a general practice, companies typically resist slashing worker pay during downturns, especially for their white-collar employees. The preferred response to falling profits has long been layoffs. The main reason both managers and workers prefer layoffs to pay cuts is that pink slips seem to concentrate the pain while pay cuts spread the distress. "Employers are reluctant to cut the nominal rate of pay," says Daniel J.B. Mitchell, professor emeritus at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and the School of Public Affairs. "It causes morale...

This recession is introducing many Americans to a novel experience -- the pay cut. Fifteen percent of employers surveyed by the Society of Human Resource Management reduced pay in the past six months -- a threefold increase from earlier this year. Downward pressure on salaries is intensifying. While job losses slowed in May, the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent — the highest since July 1983. The Conference Board's measure of consumers' income expectations has dipped to the lowest level in its 21-year history.

Salaries of California lawmakers and top elected officials should be cut to share the pain of a massive budget deficit, the head of the state's independent salary commission has concluded. Charles Murray said Friday that he plans to propose a cut of perhaps 10 percent when the California Citizens Compensation Commission meets Tuesday in Sacramento City Hall. "It's across-the-board for everybody under our power – from the governor on down," Murray said. If approved by the seven-member commission, a 10 percent cut would slice annual pay by amounts ranging from about $21,000 for the governor to $11,600 for legislators. Because...

<p>SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - Some 3,000 Orange County teachers have agreed to reduce their salaries by 4 percent over the next two years to help avoid layoffs and larger class sizes in their financially strapped Santa Ana Unified School District.</p>