White House Proposes Federal Pay Freeze

Those greedy bureaucrats sending out Grandma’s Social Security check and cleaning the toilets in our national parks finally will get slapped down, thanks to our honest, hard-working politicians. Republican lawmakers are expected to call for downsizing the government and for pay cuts, while President Obama is proposing a two-year pay freeze for non-military federal employees.

The freeze would, the White House estimates, save a piddling (in deficit terms) $5 billion by 2012. It’s probably more of a strategic maneuver to keep the GOP’s purges at bay. — PZS

Los Angeles Times:

The plan is part of Obama’s effort to contain the $1.3-trillion federal deficit, and will be followed by more proposals for spending reductions over the next few months, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said Monday morning.

The president’s announcement lands as a pre-emptive strike on congressional Republicans, who are preparing a plan to slash federal pay and workforce next year. It comes in advance of a meeting between the Democratic president and GOP leaders at the White House on Tuesday.

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