Progressives love talking about “shared sacrifice” and “fairness,” to the point of inducing nausea. But when you read things like this, you realize they don’t believe in either.
The Washington Times: The only thing that seems to be growing during the current economic downturn is the government, and that’s cause for alarm. While families and businesses struggle to make ends meet, the ranks of federal workers swell – as does their compensation. It’s time for the feds to start making the same financial sacrifices as the rest of us.
Consider how much money a bureaucrat can make for successfully sitting at his desk for a year. In January, all federal workers, regardless of competence or expertise, saw a 2.4 percent boost in their paychecks. That came on top of a 4.8 percent increase the previous year and a 4.5 percent rise before that. Compare this boon to private-sector wages, which increased, on average, a mere 1.4 percent last year and 2.6 percent a year earlier. Aside from the cost-of-living adjustment, government schedule employees also receive “step increases,” which, for the most part, are just as automatic.
These continual increases have so engorged the federal trough that, according to a USA Today analysis published Monday, government salaries exceed the pay for equivalent work in the private sector. Combined with generous benefit packages, ironclad job security and low productivity expectations, a federal gig has never looked better – especially with real unemployment hovering at 16.8 percent.
Nonetheless, Uncle Sam is busy dishing out “recruitment, relocation and retention incentives” to bring workers onto the federal gravy train or encourage them to stay with it. This largesse, which does not include “merit pay” and other variations on the bonus theme, cost taxpayers $285 million in 2008.
As if anyone needs incentives to hop aboard the gravy train. This is so infuriating!
[...] The Lonely Conservative responds to the Washington Times ‘government growth’ story I mentioned earlier: “Progressives love talking about “shared sacrifice” and “fairness,” to the point of inducing nausea. But when you read things like this, you realize they don’t believe in either.” AKPC_IDS += "4486,"; [...]
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This makes me so mad. And then they can retire after thirty years and we pay their pension and health care for the rest of their lives. You’re right, it’s infuriating!
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It’s always the shared sacrifice only by us drones and “fairness” as defined by any progressive ruling political class. This is not new stuff historically. Attempting to project unfounded guilt to shame and intimidate only raises my ire. I guess we shouldn’t expect the government to shortchange in anyway, those that move them forward at our expense.
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Progressive Sared Sacrifice means share other peoples money and sacrifice none themselves
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