Today’s op/ed page is about as clear an illustration as you can get of the Seattle Times editorial board’s schizophrenic politics: socially liberal, fiscally, well, not just conservative, but profoundly anti-worker. I mean, if repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” could only be achieved via a modest hike in the estate tax, you can be sure that the Times ed board would be vehemently opposed.
A freeze on federal pay is an acceptable part of a larger strategy.
I guess, maybe, depending on the strategy. Problem is, there is no larger strategy. In fact, now that President Obama has unilaterally proposed the freeze, it’s totally lost as a bargaining chip to force concessions from Republicans, so even if there is a strategy, this won’t be part of it. That’s kinda dumb.
As for the Times, I’m pretty sure, based on past editorials, that forcing wage and benefits concessions from public employee unions pretty much is their only strategy toward addressing government budget woes. At least, I don’t remember hearing any other suggestions.
Federal workers have not shared in the financial sacrifices made by other employment sectors.
You mean, sectors like Wall Street?
Federal wages have increased during the recession…
You mean, like Wall Street? I mean honestly… the Times’ editors even go so far as to call for a freeze on “bonuses” to federal workers, as if these are the bonuses that represent the real moral outrage. Forget about a sense of decency… at long last, have they no cognitive dissonance?
These are tough economic times, and like I said, I would be willing to at least consider government employee wage freezes and concessions as part of a larger strategy… but one that truly involved sharing the burden amongst all Americans. And if the Times ed board is really as concerned about budget deficits as they claim, I look forward to reading the editorial in which they oppose extending the Bush-era tax cuts to the top two percent of households.
Public employees are the whipping boy of the day. So are public unions. And if people can conflate their various rages at both state and federal employees, all the better.
Obama has demonstrated clearly that he isn’t about bargaining on anything. He clearly has and is courting the republicans over and over in some sort of unrequited crush. If people needed any more evidence (besides this move) then all they have to look at is his appointment of Alan Simpson to the deficit commission.
Government Employees are supposely Public Servants. Obviously not.
Goldy, trying to compare millions of government employees with a few thousand Wall Streeters is ludicrous. If you hate Wall Street, DON’T INVEST.
Whining about Government employees not getting raises is ludicrous.
They can still be moved up levels within the grade moron.
A GS-9 Level 9 makes more than a GS-10 Level 1.
We have a totally unsustainable Government cost model. Salaries and Benefits are a huge part of that.
Where is the common sense?
Great post Goldy!
Mr. Cynical, you seem to be forgetting that it’s not just investors who are being stolen from by Wall Street. They make their living on the economy itself. It was only a couple years ago that they wrecked our country by taking on irresponsible risks with other people’s money, and paying themselves absurd salaries for the privilege of doing so.
We didn’t just have a housing bubble… in fact the cost of it would have been a relatively minor recession. We had a finance bubble built on top of those shady loans. Some of the investment banks were leveraged 30-1 on this paper and then they piled derivative trading on top of that. When the housing bubble burst, it brought down the house of cards built on top of it. What was their punishment? More bonuses. It’s a joke.
I agree that wages, and maybe more appropriately benefits, need to be a part of any restructuring of government discussion. Ideally it always should be. It’s the responsibility of our electeds to ensure that they are paying fair market value for these jobs all the time, not too little or too much.
However, to pretend that those salaries are the source of our deficits, federally and locally, and not a decade of tax cuts/adding programs without paying for them is just absurd.
Wall street firms like Goldman Sachs specifically targeted large pension funds in their crimes over the past decade. This hurts lots of little people. They did all this to make a few people at the top stinking rich. And this money didn’t come from nowhere. It was in essence stolen for the poor and middle class.
@2 “Government Employees are supposely Public Servants. Obviously not.”
Really? What’s obvious is that you have your head so far up a goat’s cunt trying to lick the smegma off its entrails that you wouldn’t know a federal meat inspector was there until he planted a boot in your ass for polluting Montana’s food supply with your saliva.
@2 “We have a totally unsustainable Government cost model.”
Wrong again, goatfucker. We have a totally unsustainable capitalist greed model.
Government salaries are low. I quit the government because I could make more (my salary nearly doubled) when I left the Federal government to become a computer programmer in the “private world”. The GS pay scales are public, go look them up, they’re not that high. I quit because the salary was TOO low. Sure, a nice matching 401K (Thrift Savings Plan they called it) and decent health benefits. But no stock grants/options like Google or Microsoft, and low pay. The government has a hard time attracting and keeping qualified workers as it is, and the solution it to CUT pay? LOL Let me know how that works out.
2. Mr. Cynical spews:
Government Employees are supposely Public Servants. Obviously not.
So, they just drive around in limos talking on their cell phones and taking home litteraly tens of millions for bad decisions that cost their organizations hundres of millions, destroy the market they work in and steal the employment and pensions of working class Americans?
Goldy, trying to compare millions of government employees with a few thousand Wall Streeters is ludicrous.
Even if the top 10% do own 70% of the wealth in America. Poor Goldy, can’t you see that millions of working class American’s just don’t matter? To compare them with the John Galts of Wall Street is ludicrous
If you hate Wall Street, DON’T INVEST.
And don’t let governments invest or issue bonds or let hedge fund managers talk government agencies into investing state pension funds.
Whining about Government employees not getting raises is ludicrous.
They can still be moved up levels within the grade moron.
A GS-9 Level 9 makes more than a GS-10 Level 1.
Damn you Government for allowing merit and experience to be reflected in pay!!! What’s next? Being forced to pay for an educated workforce?
We have a totally unsustainable Government cost model. Salaries and Benefits are a huge part of that.
Yeah! Look at how well private business has been doing for the last 30 years since they started moving pensions to 401k’s that can go bankrupt at any time, stagnating wages, union busting and out sourcing labor to foreign countries!
Where is the common sense?
Once we’ve fired every employee our labor costs will be 0 thus we’ll have 100% profit!!!
We really shouldn’t expect the Seattle Times to be any better than their mentors, the Republican Party.
Today we saw Republican leadership go ballistic when the Democrates in the House called them on their bluff and passed a tax bill which extended the Bush-era tax cuts for 99% of Americans, excluding only those who made above $250K a year ($500K for married couples). The tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans can be debated later, the Democratic leadership said, and there was no need to hold the poor and middle class hostage in the meantime.
Boener sputtered and turned red as he called the bill “chicken crap”, because it didn’t include his wealthiest financiers in the package. Rep. Dryer (R-Calif) then turned to the well-known Republican game of turning reality on it’s head, and arguing that white is black and up is down:
John Boehner Calls Vote on Middle-Class-Only Tax Cut ‘Chicken Crap’
While the Republicans were ranting and railing about the Democrats pursing a “political exercise”, what really got their ire was that the Democrats finally quit allowing them to play their own political gains. They had hoped to take the credit for extending the tax credits for everyone in January, when the new Republican majority in the house takes office, and then use Democratic votes against the bill in the campaign two years from now. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, they are outraged that someone isn’t going to let them play that silly little game, all while holding up the extension of unemployment benefits and every other legislation hostage.
Banks are now just gambling casinos. We should nationalize them.
We sure as hell can’t go on doing what we’re doing with all this spending. I recommend shutting down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, closing all our bases overseas and bringing those troops home, abolishing the Department of Homeland Security (and its agencies), abolishing the DEA, and ending the so-called War on Drugs.
That’s just for starters.
Cowardly.
Fearing going after a Democrat for the wage freeze, Goldy doesn’t directly criticize the wage freeze himself, instead, he chooses to attack the Times’ opinion on the wage freeze.
Again, cowardly.
rhp @ 11
Congressional Republicans accusing the Ds of playing political games. Now, isn’t that just precious. Excellent strategy by the Ds, for once–make the Rs put on full display their corporatist colors.
PI @ 12
I might just be on board with that proposal.
Troll @ 13,
You use the word “cowardly” twice in your comment, but neither use is in any kind of sensible context. Perhaps you meant some other word?
Perhaps your mommy can help you express yourself more coherently.
re 2: Remember when Hank Paulson was explaining the huge bonuses that executives of failing financial houses were STILL getting as the price that we all must pay for, “…people that know what they are doing.”
Extrapolate (and thats not something that you do with hand lotioon and a tissue)from that to government ‘servants’.
re 12: I would not take issue with any of your statements.
Let’s let China bear the expense of making the world safe for monopoly capitalism.
…and always remember: If you build a better mousetrap, a large corporation will beat its way to your door, so that they can buy the patent and keep it off the market.
18: “Let’s let China bear the expense of making the world safe for monopoly capitalism.”
There is such a beautiful irony in that statement.
re 20: I minored in English Lit. I just tossed that one off.
When I have something serious to say, I usually consult Jay Leno or Merv Griffin.
(“Boy o’ boy, isn’t that Eva Gabor really HOT???!!!??” Merv Griffin) ……….see what I mean?
Stunned to say that for the most part I agree with Goldy, particularly the part about Obama getting nothing for the $5B he will save by freezing salaries. He could have used it as an offset for, say, an extension of unemployment benefits, and shown himself to be open to compromise in the process. Instead……..
Shared sacrifice should include the federal workers. For the most part they are fully employed. Foregoing a small increase in salary in a very low inflation environment, and preserving full employment, seems to be a reasonable tradeoff, no? The Seattle police and fire unions recognize this and they have my respect for doing so.
On the topic of Obama giving away the store…we’ve been watching him do this for 2 years: either showing up at the negotiating table with concessions in hand, or packing commissions with freaky right wing appointees. Some people are aghast and proclaim themselves to be “washing their hands” of him, some people firmly stand behind him, saying he’s doing what he can. Where’s the third group, those of us who, when the facts as they stand make no sense, realize we are missing information? I would like to hear a cry for the truth–what is really going on here?
I wonder if the cry of our forefathers about ‘no taxation without representation’ applies in today’s world — where politicians of all stripe represent big business and not the people.
If there was a movement where many citizens refused to allow withholding on their paychecks (better not spend it, you’ll need it later, I’ll just bet we could get Washington’s attention.
I still don’t understand why in a time when private sector workers have been hit so hard, public employees are off limits. Explain me the morality behind that.
Nope, public employee unions are sacred and must not be touched.
Goldy, I thought being indignant about people getting rich on wall-street while the public suffers was a libertarian trait. Maybe you should give small government libertarianism a shot and ditch the Democrat thing?
@24 – agreed! I think we should all stop paying taxes until the fascism stops. I hate the war. I hate the bailouts. I hate it all.
@9 if you hate wallstreet, you have a problem much too profound to solve simply by not investing. you’d have to stop paying taxes and remove yourself from the american politic social contract.