By Question Everything, December 5 at 5:11 am Link to this comment

“regarding Federal employees. SOME earn more than those in the provate
sector, but you’re exaggerating the numbers.”

On the contrary - I minimized them.  The difference is more than double:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-
1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm

And i’m not blaming govt. workers for private sector woes, only justifying the
application of some sanity to their ever-expanding compensation regime which
gives govt. a bloated name.  And Obama’s freeze only applies to higher paid
appointees, with rank and file still getting pay increases (i.e. it doesn’t go far
enough).

Federal employment is one of the last places to get employment with
a decent wage, working conditions, job security and benefits.
So naturally, the Ruling Class needs to go after Federal employment so
that McDonalds and Walmart will have more applicants standing in line
for private sector jobs.
Welcome to the new no-middle-class ‘Merika.

Time to see some price rollbacks from our Walmart government.

@ Marsjall - regarding Federal employees. SOME earn more than those in the provate sector, but you’re exaggerating the numbers. In exchange for more worker protection & health care, they took LOWER salaries - as did city & state employees.

Now I agree that lower & mid level workers in the private sector have been suffering for some time now. Is that the fault of govt employees? No. The companies they work for ship their jobs abroad & lower their wages & benefits. Don’t misdirect anger at the wrong people.

Lowering govt workers benefits (not really “high” at all) will only lower everybody’s alreading decreasing standard of living. Ask instead what you must do to get private the same benefits (or even better) than the govt workers. Go out and then fight for it. It’s clear you just repeat corporate propaganda; if the govt workers suffer, so will you. Really, now, try and work with them to make it beter for all. You’re being selfish.

By ocjim, December 4 at 7:22 am Link to this comment

“Yep, it is the federal employees that almost brought the global economy to its
knees and now take obscene bonuses.”

Federal employees on average make more than their private sector counterparts
for equivalent jobs.

Cultural genocide and framing of 70% of the American population, the American Populace, as “The Poor”, in favor of a Middle Class Singularity that the “so called” Poor are striving to obtain membership in is a false and disingenuous frame.

The American Populace striving to achieve a better life in societal circumstances where the Professional Middle Class is a part of the American Populace as a 90% Majority Population of the United States; where all 90% of the American Populace is politically represented in the making and enforcing of legislated law and order is in the best interest of the whole 90% Majority Population of the United States, rather than the situation that presently exists in the United States where the Middle Class is a 20% minority population of the United States represented politically by the Democratic Party in the making and enforcing of legislated law and order in the United States, and the remaining 70% Majority Population of the United States, the American Populace, are NOT REPRESENTED by a political party, are NOT REPRESENTED in the making and enforcing of legislated law and order in the United States and are left with “no choice” for political representation in the making and enforcing of legislated law and order in the United States other than “backlash” between the political agenda of the American Aristocracy, a 10% minority population of the United States, and the Professional Middle Class Singularity, a 20% minority population of the United States.

The 70% Majority Common Population of the United States, the American Populace, are NOT POLITICALLY REPRESENTED by an institutionalized political party and are NOT, therefore, represented in the making and enforcing of legislated law and order in the United States; this is “Greek Democracy” where the American Populace are the “Helots”,  the Professional Middle Class are the “Perioci” and the American Aristocracy are the “Spartans”; which is democracy for the few at the expense of the many, originated and maintained by the use of “personal metrics of morality” as a substitute to replace “cyclical historical metrics of culture”, to frame resultant tyranny and oppression as democracy.

American Democracy was evolved from “Greek Democracy” as a model, and American Democracy is based upon the Concept of Democracy for the FEW at the expense of the many and Causal Education for the FEW at the expense of the many.

Power, Control, and Benefit were originated and are maintained with American Democracy by way of the origin and maintenance of Class and Cultural Stratification that originates and maintains a Cultural Vacuum in the masses and perpetuates that Cultural Vacuum with “savant education”, so that “personal metrics of morality” supplant and replace “cyclically historical and causal metrics of culture”, and those being ruled over are trained to act and react with “personal metrics of morality as culture” as the mass equivalent of a cultural metric;————This is a very efficient and effective system of governance of a majority population by a minority population, but it is NOT DEMOCRACY in any shape, form, or fashion that is inclusive of the 70% Majority Common Population of the United States, the American Populace.

Since 1776 America has prided itself on Democracy for all of the people of a great American Democracy.

It is time for a change from American Democracy for the few at the expense of the many to American Democracy for the many with the few paying their own way and making restitution for the Class and Cultural oppression, tyranny, and benefit received from 1776 to the present.

Yep, it is the federal employees that almost brought the global economy to its knees and now take obscene bonuses.

****************

glider, know what you are talking about. As with
clinton and now o, the dims are just not any
antidote to the republicans, they are both one
and the same playing a charade of fighting with
each other.

I caught o’s pledge of american faith to corporate
america and the american izraeli public affairs
committee which told me he was the fraud he
was hiding from his ‘fan base’. As always I qualify
the aipac with being the crud of the jewish people
of which I have friends and I have read where
even jews living in izrael are just as disgusted
with those ‘leaders’ actions and suffer for that
disgust.

I have either decided to vote 3rd party from now
on or just not vote. Replacing incumbents should
be an answer but as these new teabaggers will
prove, they too will come under the spell of the
lobbying bribe money which is why most, if not
all, ran for office in the first place, to get on the
fast track to elitism, enriching themselves at the
expense of the country. They most likely have not
one intention of ‘changing’ our government which
would mean enforcing accountability. Sounds a
lot like a certain presidents campaign song and
dance which so many fell for in 2008.

As important as the presidency is, voting for your
representatives at the local, state and federal
levels would or should be even more so and
pushing out the current crooks would hopefully
bring back a resemblance of a democracy.

Of course there is the participation in a
democracy that is needed to maintain it by that
most critical part, eternal vigilance, which has
disappeared down the drain of the much needed
media that should be scrutinizing those in people
in power.

Obama is a maddening fraudster.  I can barely stand to look at this cheating lier for the next 2 years.  You can not even depend on this manipulator to veto republican bills.  What a total scum bag!  and I voted for the SOB!  Never again will I vote Dem!  Screw em all!!

Well, most all Americans are now suffering, except the perpetrators of this
economic meltdown who are getting ready to collect their biggest year-end
bonuses ever. The entire world has taken a financial haircut except Wall Street and
the banks. Obama and his fellow Democrats have let Wall Street and the banks off
scott free and of course the Republican’s could care less since all they want to do
is blame government for all of our suffering. Wall Street has so permeated our
government that it is impossible to hold them accountable no matter how badly
they screw up.

An absolute cynic who patronises the public like a schoolteacher a child in the corner with a dunce cap on. Federal workers - like other American workers - didn’t cause these problems. They’ve always “sacrificed”. Can’t say the same for a millionaire though…

By the way, Morales decided to help the people of Haiti by donating part of his salary to aid them. The US donated part of their military. The Americans have been “sacrifing” a whopping 54% of their tax dollars to fund ilegal wars of aggression led by this war criminal. “Sacrifice”? Yes, talk to the Iraqi’s and Afghans. They know all about America’s “help”. Imperialism.

Thanks to Bernie Sanders and the new financial regulation passed by Congress,
we’re learning more about the Federal Reserve’s $3.3 trillion bailout of Wall Street
in 2008.

So we need to take it out on federal employees?

Obama is undeterred.  He’s doing what the Repubs want.  Cutting further into the
middle class with this pay freeze so the rich won’t have to sacrifice plays right into
the Repub playbook.  Obama is the least bit bothered.

By freikish, November 30 at 5:40 am Link to this comment

The tax revenue generated from those earning less than $250K/yr. is much higher
than the 250K and up taxpayers.  So why don’t you advocate raising taxes below
250K?

Once again, Mr. President, how is wall street going to make sacrifises?

It was interesting this morning to hear people react to the news. By far, the
biggest complainers were the big fat good ol’ boys who previous to today have
expressed loathing for Obama because he’s not one of them. These are the same
jerks who are masters of playing around all day, doing veritably nothing of value
and constantly talk about their benefits and pensions. They foam at the mouth
about the “guvmint” and all of the waste of money, yet they spend their entire
careers milking the system for all it’s worth.

Yes, let’s freeze the pay of all federal employees, because that will save us $28bn over 5 years!  Woohoo!  But don’t raise taxes on those of us who are earning over $250K/year.  By grabbing some random search data, I uncovered that just 2% of American households have an AGI of over $250K/year.  The average tax increase in those households would be $23K/year.  And there are about 110 million households in the US.  So, $23K * 110mn * .02 is about $50bn/year.  Not $50 billion over 5 years, but $50bn PER YEAR!

WTF is wrong with our country?

Jesus wept. And his tears have washed off the veneer on the newest member of the D.C.s lawn jockeys.

No matter. It was cheap veneer in the first place. You could see right through it.

How is wall street going to share equally in fixing the economy Mr. president? Shouldn’t
those who made vast fortunes gutting this economy, and who made record profits be
Required to do more? Working people never shared in the boom times, they have
struggled to make ends meet for decades. So apparantly those who own you, get off
Scott free, and get to pass the burden of what they have done on to the working man
with your blessing. You logic and reasoning are for sale, twisted and disturbed.

The man is shameless. Announce a pray-freeze right before Christmas? Scrooge anyone?

(why doesn’t he attack congressional salaries and health plans or the military’s Cadillac health plans, or Wall Street bonuses or restoring the Bush tax cuts and reducing the deficit by 4 trillion dollars in 10 years,why,why,why?)