A Formula for Real Economic Growth: Cut Public Employee Pay by 20%
by Morgan Warstler
Slate’s Jacob Weisberg came unhinged on Friday and gave the country the finger.
“Down with the People!” he screams from Bill Gates lap. As Jacob sees it, we the people are demanding two mutually exclusive things: premium government services and tax cuts, and when we can’t have what we want, we become unruly children.
There is of course a third option, and I think it is the voting issue for the 2010 elections. It frankly amazes me that TPM-style Democrats going after Paul Ryan’s Roadmap, don’t see it coming…
You can thank me later, but I just saved the United State of America at least $278,309,600,000.00 PER YEAR. You read that right. $278 BILLION per year. That’s almost entirely what Medicaid will spend this year for children and the disabled. That’s what our normal deficit looks like without TARP and stimulus.
The crazy thing is how easy it was to do. It took me like three minutes. And since I’m a big open source, creative commons guy I’m even posting my magical formula shown here using 2008’s budget:
(1,391,548 1,000,000)*.2
Somebody start printing bumper stickers baby, so everyone can see how much we save when we cut federal, state, and local public employee pay by 20%.*
Amazing isn’t it? And Obama, Weisberg, and SEIU are out of their friggin minds if they think 20% government pay cuts aren’t on the table come next November. What are they going to do? Quit? Strike? Bring it on. Newt’s 1994 revolution will look uneventful by comparison. We call them civil “servants,” for a reason.
We don’t need to be politically delicate about this, we aren’t advocating a single program cut, no school closed, no park uncleaned, no fireman not coming to save you. All of that will continue to happen.
But the government employees doing all this marvelous stuff for us are going to earn 20% less…. and from now on their future pay increases will be tied to private wage inflation. Our country is in deep financial straits, and it is time for government workers to share our pain and get their interests aligned with ours. They’ll make more money when we do.
Yes, there are further budget issues we face, entitlements must be humanely reigned in, but before we can seriously look at future debt projections, we must first return sanity to the public labor market. Until we cut government pay down to size, we can’t honestly talk about which programs to fund…. because right now they all cost too much.
Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats should refuse to deal with any other issue, until this one is fixed. They should make Senator Shelby’s 70 holds seem a trifle. Want a jobs bill? Let’s fix government pay, so main street can have a tax cut. $278 BILLION as small business tax relief at the federal, state, and local level is one hell of a jobs program. Real jobs. The kind that don’t have the dirty taint of government on them.
China will LOVE us. Wall Street will soar. It will be serious proof Washington DC has been cracked to the core. It will be morning in America.
I can’t imagine a single Indie voter not rushing to the voting booth on this one. Politicians courting the tea party, listen up, this gets completely around the false choice the left wants the voters to have to make. Instantly, the debate changes.
*of course, Josh Marshall, there will be no military cuts. Minus military wages, the Bureau of Economic Analysis places government compensation in 2008, at $1,391,548,000,000.00
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308 Comments
Brilliant! – or should I say obvious to anyone with an IQ over their shoe size!
The left won't agree but then they aren't very smart or moral. They only want to take what others earn.
I am not saying it is a bad idea or good but 20% is a lot perhaps 5% a year for the next 3 years for the folks that really work and congress would get a 20% pay cut right away since accordingly it should be within the working wages. I am sure that it will not pass this congress but it should the next one or two.
(1,391,548 1,000,000)*.2, looks like there's a typo in that number in the formula, an extra one… …,548 1,…
Good for openers and also cut the bloated fed payroll by 50% as there are way too many getting paid for work that we do not need.
Morgan, Congress will never go for it. It is way to easy to understand. It doesn't give any political cover for the next election cycle.
or just missing the "*" in between…
This could work!
However, if the Democrats want an alternative plan to this, then maybe it could be proposed that a "progressive" scale be used – those that make the most would have the highest percentage pay cut…
You realize that a lot of the government are conservatives and live all over the nation right? We are talking teachers, mail men etc. It isn't just congress and the President. You are messing with real people's lives when you cut their salary 20%.
I can't believe this made it onto BigGovernment. The left are going to have a field day.
And if I missed the joke, I apologize.
Considering most in the private sector make and average of $40,000 a year and government worker make $71,000, I don't think its a bad idea:
"What are they going to do? Quit? Strike? Bring it on. Newt’s 1994 revolution will look uneventful by comparison. We call them civil “servants,” for a reason."
Not if they want to eat they won't quit.
I love it, a great start.
I think this a great, but highly improbable, idea. My only concern would be cutting police officers pay. I'm not a police officer, but I've read and heard studies relating to police corruption and low pay. I'd rather have them compensated to the point where they're not trying to shake people down or dispense unequal protection. I also wish government jobs were connected to the private sectors unemployment rate – we lose jobs then they lose jobs.
And Egypt? Do you know how much we give to Egypt?
"What are they going to do? Quit? Strike? Bring it on."
PLEEEEEEAZZZZE!!!! BRING IT ON!
Not only is is much less for a MUCH larger and MUCH poorer nation, it is given ONLY because we give money to Israel, so it goes on Israel's tab as far as I'm concerned. Camp David Accords.
well, here in illinois, fireman get their own line on my property tax bill. so the village does not pay for them. school teachers get their own line on my property tax bill. the garbage man is a private contract. but we do have village employees who get paid union wages, with full medical and pensions. i just saw them yesterday, with a full crew. you know one guy to direct traffic, he got his own truck and assistant. then the guy in front clearing the way, he also had a assistant. then there was the work detail, all four of them. so we had eight guys with full healthcare, pensions and union wages, along with three full sized dumptrucks spewing out diesel fumes. what was the project all this tax money was specifically doing to maintain the village? give your self 100 points if you guessed taking down christmas lights.
That was supposed to be (1,391,548 * 1,000,000)*.2 which comes out to be $1,391,548,000,000.00 * 0.2
Which means service would no longer be available for many. Maybe you are only familiar with the Israeli constitution but the US Constitution provides for a postal service. Let's cut out the things that are 100% loss – like our aid to Israel.
Since when are public school teachers conservative? The post office should go out of business, they have been bleeding $$ for decades.
Yes, cut their salaries by 20%; their leaving the system will reduce the size of government. Didn't the Pres we all have to have some skin in the game? – let them have a piece of it.
Yeah, that will finish off the Middle Class. The rest of the jobs have been sent overseas.
Yeah! Bring it on! It'll really add to our economy when that many people have 20% less to spend. Adding to the foreclosure/default rate will be fantastic, too. Woooo!
I agree, but I say cut govt by 20% across the board, and then cut the pay by 40% to bring it in line with the private sector. A public service job should be just that, public service, not a luxurious gravy train funded by taxpayers.
It won't affect Cop's they are not Federal Employees!
Actually, that would be the best part. We don't need to cut pay for police but reduce their numbers and have them focus on real crimes, not speeding.
I like the Progressive pay cut idea. So should the Progressives "RIGHT". Wack the top 20% of GOVT. employees with 30% cut and work down. That way the GS-5 secretairy will make enough to get by.
Anytime I write a letter to the editor about our financial disaster; I'm shocked at the size of these numbers, I have to use scientific notation to do the math because my calculator does not have enough digits.
Typical skewed figures. That "average" is including many minimum wage jobs – there is no equivalent to those jobs in government – or not very much.
Most police work at the state, county, city and local level, not federal. At the federal level there is tremendous waste due to the overlap of different departments such as FBI, Homeland Security, etc. we don't need 12 departments to do 1 job.
We need to cut military pay – might be on board if you include that. That way fewer people join up and our government can't wage pointless wars of aggression overseas.
Really, though, this is a pretty disgusting notion you have here – after the Bank Bailouts, TARP and all that. I might agree because it would finally push people to overthrow our government which is the only way things will get fixed at this point.
While I agree with this, I think it should be taken a couple of steps further. Get rid of pensions. That's right, bet rid of all pensions. Why should government employees get pensions, some paying out 80% salary for the remainder of the employees life, while the bulk of American workers have to rely on the dying Social Security system? I believe all government pensions should be liquidated immediately, all proceeds dumped into SS and SS become privatized. As the news points out to me this morning, SS is now in the red. No, I mean in the RED. That is, the infamous 2017 insolvency of SS has already come. That's right, as of today, they are claiming that SS output is exceeding SS tax input. We have just surpassed the infamous "tipping point" that wasn't supposed to happen until 2017.
Further, remove unions from government. It should be illegal for ANY "public" service position to be unionized! They are already unionized! … hello, they are part of the "union" that IS the United States of America! Get rid of the fricken unions already! You will save hundreds of billions of dollars per year.
Government employment should be brought into line with private employment. Get rid of all of the perks! Even the playing field!
Your formula leaves out the pension liability savings. Early retirement and/or or no increase in "high 3" means a greater than 20% savings in pensions.
They may be personally conservative, but they vote Dem/left.
A lot of private sector people have taken a hit around that range too. If you have not had a raise in a three years and maybe a 5-10% pay cut on top… many of us have….
we buyoff egypts government to the toon of $2 billion a year. it keeps them from causing trouble. a real bargin imho. I would love a simular deal with Iran.
From the blog:
Somebody start printing bumper stickers baby, so everyone can see how much we save when we cut federal, state, and local public employee pay by 20%.*
20% pay cut across the board. Sounds good to me. And while we're at it, lets cut out all the "unnecassary staff" of our politicians. And while we are at it, why don't our public services try to live on a budget freeze for the next three years and stop spending our money unnecessarily.
I know for a fact that when public services have a good year they spend it all and don't put away funds for a rainy day…they just ask for a smaller raise the next year. That's our money, people.
Hey, if 20% is too rich how about 10%, or 8%, or even 5%? Isn't the public sector part of America as well? What would be the alternative…..cut 10% of the Federal government work force? Hey, 10% of us regular folks are already layed off!
time to cut the fat.
Public sector employees already get less than the private sector for comparable jobs, lemming.
It will also mean more foreclosures and make your property values go down further.
These are Federal employees….not too many teachers or fireman in this group!
Besides, isn't the public sector part of America as well? What would be the alternative…..cut 10% of the Federal government work force? Hey, 10% of us regular folks are already layed off! Suck it up Fed!
Chad………The point is why are government employees immune from economic downturns when non govt employees must tighten their belts, business owners are suffering, and then their taxes are raised so that govt employees can maintain a lifestyle 30% greater than the national average? We either go all in, cut across the board, or all go down. If this doesn't happen, then you are fomenting class warfare and pitting private citizens/employees against union represented public employees who continue to slop from the public trough.
We pay more for Israel yet they continue to cause trouble. So let's stop giving money to Israel and give it to Iran.
It needs to be a 20% across the board cut. Otherwise the burocrats will cut teachers and cops to save themselves and there secrataries.
No, those are the very ones they WON'T cut.
Amazing how quickly you want to go after your own neighbors working salaried positions – after the elites like AIG, banks, GM, etc….. got TRILLIONS. What a perfect little fascist enabler you are.
Wow! Its been over thirty years since I have had a minimum wage job. Has it gone up that much?
Again, I would agree IF we also:
Seize all the assets of the companies that OUTSOURCED OUR JOBS
Raise tariffs – produce everything domestically
Stop foreign aid.
if we just took care of ourselves we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with.
Exempt uniformed military and sworn law-enforcement officers.
Where's the car…?
I always thought the car was the smarter of you two…then you go and prove it…
There you go again with your anti-semitic rants. You poor man, scared of your own shadow!
Fed-Ex…its not unionized…
I guess you don't understand what I'm saying….or how averaging works.
Then they had too much to begin with…
Isn't that what you Progs always say…?
Like I told your sister Nazi troll sister, Fonz, go masturbate on your Reich Flagge with your favorite photo of der Fuhrer or what ever you neo-Nazis use and stop spewing your bullshit here.
Your are part of the problem not part of the solution.
No. One has nothing to do with the other HasselToff.
What don't you get about–We're talking about saving money from public sector jobs?
Seizing assets? That's mighty National Socialist of you.
December 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says
Public employees earned benefits worth an average of $13.38 an hour. Private-sector workers got $7.98 an hour.”
• “Overall, total compensation for state and local workers was $39.25 an hour — $11.90 more than in private business. In 2007, the gap in wages and benefits was $11.31.”
• “A full-time government worker receives benefits worth an average of $27,830 per year. A private worker's benefits are worth $16,598.”
Agreed. Many of these people are shut-ins and only listen to Rush. I agree about the left – I hope the draw the comparison between the bail-outs to the tune of TRILLIONS of dollars and these people wanting to destroy people's meager government wages. It really plays in to the stereotype of Republicans. I used to think it was unfounded, but these are the people that outsourced the very private sector jobs these people think are morally superior. There will be no recovery until the jobs return no matter how much they play with the numbers or run up the stock market with tricks. These people are still following the pied piper of neoconism in a race to the bottom.
Way too easy! Find a way to put it in 2000 pages or so. Maybe it'll pass that way.
Everyone listen up don't worry about teachers and local cops. They are not paid by the federal government. They would not get a cut. I think we should cut 20-25% off all federal desk jockeys and 50% off all federal elected officials and their staff. Leave the federal law enforcement and military alone. The military is the only real responsibility the federal government has anyway. Get rid of the rest and STOP paying anything to worthless criminal liberal groups like ACORN NOW!
I’d go one further and fire 20% of the federal work force, and still reduce pay by 20%.
Oh I understand! It was sarcasm and I think you are deluding your self in believing that there are very many minimum wage jobs with the government. They always start higher than normal and move up rather quickly.
They aren't immune – far from it. Get your facts straight. Maybe talk to someone who has been there? You are regurgitating falsehoods.
Excellent point! Thanks for adding that Mjolnir!
Do you guys only see what you want to see????????? This guy includes state and local.
Somebody start printing bumper stickers baby, so everyone can see how much we save when we cut federal, state, and local public employee pay by 20%.*
You guys need reading comprehension lessons.
But the benefit package is better…let's cut that…too…
Time for austerity from the Government Employees…
Skin in the game…skin in the game…
And still no car…
so perhaps you feel more sorry for the folks that lose their jobs and take a 100% pay cut? I think rather than this we cut govenrment work force by 20% this year, 10% the following year and 10% the following year and let them improve efficiency like they have been forcing the private sector.
Not enough qualified people…public schools, you know…
We might seriously look at financing our wars through Israel, though…they seem to be able to thrash Jihadists economically…
LOL
I can't forget the image of him drunk and eating the cheeseburger off the floor.
Why don't you harp on Iran as much as you do Israel?
Oh, i know.
You're the most blatant anti-Semite i have seen posting on this site. Comment after comment, you post the most retarded, anti-semitic bullshit.
Israel causes trouble? Even if that were true, the muslim arabs cause a lot of trouble and are pretty damn belligerent, but i never see you post about them.
By the way, Iran is the country threatening to wipe Israel off the map… oh, and don't forget how their president said israel is a stinking corpse…. so, yeah, continue with your typical anti-israeli rants. douche bag.
and it only took you three posts to bash israel. thin disguise eff head.
It was a third-generation Pontiac…the company the Obama caused to be mothballed…it had the "bowling ball" wheel covers…
Stop showing off how drunk you are on the kid's cameraphone…and go get the car…
Look, Dhasselhoff, we want the car to speak on this issue now…
Go pick up the burger off the floor and eat it…
Cutting waste would be a better idea. As an air traffic controller for the FAA for the last 22 years, I have seen our parking lot torn up and repaved three times. It was completely ripped up to a depth of about two feet, new subsoil and grading and repaving last year. Constant remodeling and renovating of the facility, including a complete teardown to the studs and rebuilding of our two main restrooms (which worked just fine) are just one example of unnecessary spending . However, because the FAA imposed it's own work rules and pay scales that cut entry level and transferring controllers pay by over 20%, I received no raise for three years while my utilities, food prices and other expenses continued to climb. Unlike almost all people in the workforce, air traffic controllers must retire by the month of their 56th birthday. We do not have the option of continuing to work at our profession. "Would you like fries with that" is something that many of us will be saying for many years after we are unwillingly forced into retirement at a pension that starts at about 1/3 of our former salaries. Most of us have mortgages that are longer than our careers. We may be civilian employees, but the "civl servants"are those elected and appointed fools who refuse to stop spending $500 on a toilet seat, or pad our legislation with billions in pork.
Question: Was it a Whopper with cheese…?
Curious minds are asking…
Like some one else said, the mass majority of Emergency Services are provided by local government and their pay varies greatly. Their pay is based on the local economy by your local government so a federal pay cut will not effect them.
We can't just cut everyone's salary by 20 %, since most public employees are paid based on the number of years at their job. The problem with they way we currently pay public employees is that their salary isn't necessarily dependent upon how good they perform, or how valuable their services are.
As a teacher (in ny), i made 33k a year. There are teacher's assistants who make over 60k. Thats the problem. You have people who get paid more than others, just because they've been at their job for 20 years. It didn't matter that the person was basically babysitting students in study halls and in the lunch room
We need to pay people fair market wage, based on how valuable their services are. Paying someone 60k a year to babysit students in study halls and lunch, while paying a teacher 33k, is stupid. Pay the teacher 33k and pay the teachers assistant 20k or 25k.
I'm thinking dhasselhoff is a postal worker. It scares him to think of loosing his "precious" share of the pie. He only works as a part time employee and so he is Soro's troll on his days off.
It depends on the employee. Elected officials, sure, cut their pay. Emergency workers…no, I don't think cops and firemen should take paycuts. Period.
Why no cuts in military pay? Reduce pay, not as many people willing to join, smaller military, we can't do as many wars, additional reductions in spending. A no brainer.
I would much rather start with the monies we send to the UN and every other Country in the world. These people do nothing for the billions we give them. You can cut fire and police salaries and pensions, and you will have more folks that lose their house and need government subsities. This is a ridiculous idea. A pox on the house of whoever thinks this is a great idea. Cut the UN, cut the billions we give to other nations. Let's use our money to fix our problems. Build manufacturing, build refineries, lets be a Nation that makes, grows and uses our own energy, food and products.
HasselDork, if only you'd posted your last sentence and left it at that…
China finances us and we're not about to engage in a trade war. More government fascism isn't the answer. You can't force manufacturing jobs, but you can create an environment where they can thrive. And, while we should force Europeans to pay for their own defense and retool foreign aid, we keep the peace (so to speak). Stop with the constant attacks on Israel.
Why? We could cut the pay of people who are part of the "war on drugs" or get rid of them altogether.
There is no reason why these cuts could not be made. A pay scale is a pay scale if adjusted across the board it could be done. Don't confuse the issues with teacher contracts, that's a whole other issue.
I'm willing to accept whatever it takes to reduce the size of government. Are you?
the 20% should be for people who regularly get paper cuts, ot carpal tunnel. but then now many towns are now sending bills for service for firefighters, ambulance rides, and police calls. i wonder why we should even pay local taxes, if after the fleecing of tax dollars with utility bills, phone bills, sales taxes, eating out special taxes, rental car taxes, hotel room taxes, they still don't get enough to feed the monster, now they send out invoices for doing what i thought we were paying the taxes for in the first place. are they next going to send us a bill for the calculation of my property tax bill, and the money for the stamp and enevelope?
but why stop at 20%, lets go to 20% lower than it was before obama took office. i think it has grown over 20% in just one year.
I assure you, there is not confusion on my part, with regard to teacher contracts. Teacher, and most other public employee, contracts are entirely part of the problem we're discussing here. Mandatory pay raises and excessive benefits are the direct result of these contracts.
So you're really advocating a 20 % cut of all salaries? You would still have people babysitting students in study hall, making double what a teacher makes. That is insanity. Its even crazier to do it on the tax payer dime.
My point is that a teacher is a much more valuable job than a study hall monitor. I don't really see the justification for paying someone twice as much as a teacher, for a job less valuable than the teacher's job. But if you can make the case, go ahead.
I totally agree. It depends on the employee.
"when we cut federal, state, and local public employee pay by 20%.*"
That is straight from the article. He didn't just say federal.
how about we cut social programs for dead beats, instead of cut pay for the people who protect and defend our country?
that would be okay too, the company I worked for lost 40% of thier workforce and is still in it, why should the government be able to do the same thing,
OK, that would have been a better message, but I have to disagree.
"when we cut federal, state, and local public employee pay by 20%.*"
Do you realize we could lose teachers across the entire country by the droves? It doesn't make sense. Horribly thought out and EXACTLY what the left can pounce on and make us look stupid.
FDR, upon election to his first term, cut government salaries by 15% across the board. He also completely revamped the bureaucracy eliminating unnecessary agencies, commissions and more.
A lot of people who are self-employed or own small businesses have taken a much bigger cut in "pay" over the past couple of years, more like 30-50%. Why do we have to pay for bloated government and non-existent "stimulus" projects? And giving a potential $5K tax credit does not create jobs – you have to fund the job from day one and wait to get a tax credit the following year? PLUHESE. This admin has no earthly idea how business works. Uncertainty of policy prohibits job creation. Period.
How about we implement Fair Tax, which will start making 30-40 million illegals and all the drug dealers pay tax, freeze spending and then cut he pork out?
That would allow us to pay down the debt because revenue goes up and spending would go down.
Audit the Federal Reserve and make congressman's salaries the average of their constituents.
Anyone who runs on that platform will win in November.
Okay make it 20% cut in departmental pay…some people lose more, some lose less and some are out.
Most government jobs are professional jobs. They actually make less than equivalent positions in the private sector.
I'll vote for a pay cut for all Congress, in fact I'll vote twice.
That's brilliant. Use an axe to do surgery. Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it, along with a lot of unintended consequences. You better think this one through.
I assume you're planning to cut ALL federal employees' pay, including those deployed and their hazardous duty pay? Now that's a great way to show support for the troops, while you sit safely behind their protection.
Does the word "contract" mean anything to you? The federal regulations under which federal employees signed on constitute contracts. Breach thereof is grounds for a law suit, a REALLY BIG one. It could get VERY expensive.
Do that and you will find out just how much you really depend on we so-called leeches. There is a term with which you may become familiar: "Work to rule," which means doing EXACTLY what job descriptions entail, under the precise hours mandated. Cut pay 20% and you will get just that, and I guarantee you won't like it, at all, as the short term and longer term effects set in.
If the taxpayer had to pay for all the unpaid overtime and services that they get now rendered by most federal employees, the alternative of continuing to pay what you're currently paying federal employees would look like a real bargain.
Do this and be prepared for a HUGE wave of retirements well beyond the current mass exodus from federal service as boomers retire by the thousands each month. That pig in the python retirement bulge will be costly as their retirement is paid while new employees hired to replace them, or those promoted to higher-paying positions create new budget obligations. And this does not take into account the vast amounts of expertise that will depart, much of which is irreplaceable by just a new, warm body.
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