Trump Makes 2019 Federal Pay Freeze Official

[wishstar]

Source: Federal News Network

Dec 28 2018 7:37 pm:

"Federal employees, about to head into the second week of a partial government shutdown, received another piece of bad news on Friday evening: their pay will be frozen at 2018 levels for the entirety of next year.

President Donald Trump had signaled his intent to hold the line on federal civilian pay in a letter to Congress in late August. But he made the freeze official in an executive order Friday.

Official 2019 pay tables from the Office of Personnel Management released later that evening confirmed that base pay would remain at the same levels as 2018, as will locality pay rates across the country.

In his August message, the president wrote that his plan to freeze federal compensation was based on a desire to put the nation’s budget on a sound fiscal footing, and that the decision would “not materially affect our ability to attract and retain a well-qualified federal workforce"

Read more: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/pay-benefits/2018/12/trump-makes-2019-federal-pay-freeze-official/

---

The hits just keep coming

[TomCADem]

1. I thought the tax cut would pay for itself?

Weren’t Republicans bragging about the prosperity that the tax cut would bring to workers?

[onit2day]

46. Gives the wealthy trillion in tax cuts without even saying the words

Balanced Budget. The old two Santa Claus theory. Spend like drunken sailors when in power then wail about the deficit and debt when dems are in power. Not this time. Time to claim deficits don't matter. If they did repubs would not rob the treasury to give money to the richest Americans. Every time a republican smiles makes me want to slap them for robbery and pollution.

[Nitram]

2. Trump is just punishing federal employees. He really wants to break the government.

I hope the guy spends the rest of his life behind bars getting abused by his fellow inmates.

[politicaljunkie41910]

30. Exactly. Can't break Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schummer, so he'll punish the federal workforce.

Also, when he hired all his friends and former staff at the beginning of his administration, he maxxed them all out at the highest salary, which was $180,000 at the time. Hope Hicks $180,000; Omarosa Manigault $180,000. Everyone he brought along with him from the campaign or Trump Towers regardless of their skills or lack thereof received the maximum of $180,000. But when it comes to federal workers, he wants to freeze salaries for the year and then implement a new wage scale that he says is performance based. If he was on a performance-based salary, he'd owe the Treasury money back based on his performance over the past two years.

[PeeJ52]

3. Have we ever had a pay freeze when the economy was booming?

I can't remember anything like this... They are destroying the country from within...

[NCjack]

4. 0range45 is chopping away live wood so he can hire dead wood. MAGA!!! nt

[salin]

5. an odd self-fullfilling prophecy per equating federal workers to democrats?

He seems determined to act in ways that might flip federal workers who aren't democrats into becoming democrats.

[watoos]

8. I agree with you.

Someone told Trump that federal workers are Democrats.

[mahina]

35. Well if they weren't before they will be now.

[allgood33]

48. And they told hime they were black, brown, red, and yellow with many women.

[Tech]

6. Time to buy a pitchfork

[olegramps]

20. Don't forget the torches.

If you had to rely on today's citizens to revolt against the tyranny of a king, we would still be vassals of the monarchy.

[OMGWTF]

27. Everyone Reread "A Tale of Two Cities" to Get in the Mood for a Revolution

[BlueJac]

7. Asshole

thinks they are all Democrats! What an evil Shit Stain!

[watoos]

9. He better hope that karma isn't real,

because he is in store for a big dose of bad karma.

[Nitram]

36. Oh, it's real all right. It'll strike when he last expects it.

[Cha]

47. Karma is Real and it can

be a MF.

[Drahthaardogs]

10. Mean fucker.

Fuck him.

[PeeJ52]

11. Hmmmmm.... the last time I remember the government freezing wages was around 2008...

Now what was going on around back then? I don't remember. Oh wait. Now I remember. It was when Bush crashed the economy. I remember now. We didn't get a raise working for the state of Florida under Rick Scott for 7 years.

[Igel]

16. The last time I remember was after that.

Google provided the dates: 2011-2013, 3 years.

[Honeycombe8]

12. The idea that some thought he cared about "the little people" was always ridiculous.

A rich man CAN care about "commoners." But there is and was plenty in Trump's background to indicate that he has never cared about "the little people."

These guys are desperate to get money to offset the huge bill we taxpayers are being hit with to pay for the large tax cuts to the very wealthy and corporations. They are desperate.

[turbinetree]

13. SO the military which is part of the "federal workforce" was told that they got a 10% raise

and now they get a pay freeze, while the asshole was outing seal team five and giving a thumbs up...........and his grifter wife went back down to Mar a Lago...................on the taxpayers dime.........

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

49. The freeze seems to be aimed at federal "civilian" workers.

Military should still get their 10%, er, 2.6%, pay hike.

[duforsure]

14. trump's hurting more American people intentionally

From his policies, and it will only get worse , and he'll hurt a lot more American people, because that's always been his pattern. When he's getting any pressure from his corruption , he always finds ways to hurt people for it with, and he'll just increase ways to do it now as the Mueller and other investigations close in on him. Its an abuse of power to do this, and no republicans are doing anything to stop it. Guess they didn't learn anything from the whipping they got in the Mid Terms at the polls. Them doing this now is going to make it a lot worse for them, and they'll be huge numbers from their party voted out of office in 2020. trump won't make it until then and could care less about other republicans careers. This shutdown is just icing on the cake for the 2020 elections, and the American people will be even more motivated to vote them all out of office.

[Bengus81]

15. 2.1% raise is "inappropriate" but of course a 14% TAX CUT for Amazon is 100% appropriate.

[TomCADem]

18. I think the tax cut was not limited to just Amazon.

The tax cut was far, far broader than for just one company.

[Rainbow Droid]

19. Completely unnecessary.

[TomCADem]

23. Totally Agree. Trump's Tax Cuts Haven't Spiked Job Growth

Even Fortune magazine notes that the huge tax cut did not exactly job growth as Republicans promised. It was expensive and entirely unnecessary.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2018/12/08/trumps-tax-cuts-havent-spiked-job-growth/#54516f5f2df9

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its November employment report, which showed 155,000 jobs being created. However, when September and October revisions are included (down 12,000) the net change is 143,000. While this was less than expected (around 180,000 to 200,000), the monthly average for 2018 has been a solid 206,000.

Over 200,000 new jobs per month is positive but given the Trump Administration’s rhetoric that the tax cuts would spur GDP growth to 4% (or in the case of President Trump, up to 6%) it doesn’t appear that companies are hiring much faster than they would have without the tax cuts . One challenge organizations are facing in hiring is that there is a skills gap between what is needed for open positions and what skills people have. Unfortunately, a tax cut doesn’t address this.

Passing the tax cut when unemployment was already at 4.1% wasn’t the best timing , especially since the revenue loss now has the federal yearly deficit on a path to $1 trillion and growing. Additionally, December quarter’s GDP growth seems to be in the mid-2% area. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast was lowered to 2.4% on Friday with the New York Fed also projecting 2.4% and the St. Louis Fed is at 2.3%.

A 2%ish GDP growth rate would be down from 4.2% in the June quarter and 3.5% in the September quarter. Trade and expanded inventories could still increase December’s result as companies try and beat what had appeared to be a 25% tariff on Chinese goods. However, these would only be a temporary benefit.

[Bengus81]

41. Gosh really?? I didn't know that......

Guess I could have listed a hundred Corporations that make similar money but everyone else on DU KNEW what I was talking about. Sorry if I offended any Amazon lovers out there.

[TomCADem]

44. Sorry. Thought you were referring to a specific tax cut directed at Amazon.

Look at GM and how Trump is threatening to revoke their tax cut specifically, so you never know these days. There are specific tax cuts directed at specific companies such as the Indiana carrier company or industries, so did not know whether you referring to a specific one or the 2017 tax bill as a whole.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/27/trump-threatens-to-strip-gm-of-a-tax-credit-its-about-to-lose-anyway.html

Trump threatens to strip GM of a tax credit it's about to lose anyway

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to strip General Motors of a tax credit that makes its electric vehicles more affordable for car buyers, escalating a dispute with the automaker over its plan to halt production at several American plants.

There's just one problem with the threat: GM is on the verge of losing the tax credit anyhow.

The IRS offers car buyers a tax credit of $2,500 to $7,500 when they purchase an electric vehicle for use in the United States. However, after an automaker sells 200,000 electric vehicles, that manufacturer gets phased out of the program over the course of about a year.

[Vinca]

17. What an asshole.

[Frances]

21. Does that mean Trump's pay is frozen?

Trump should stop having the secret service pay for so many of the unnecessary trips he and his family take

[OMGWTF]

29. Shitler's Secret Service Aren't Getting Paid

[politicaljunkie41910]

32. Where did you hear that? I would imagine that his Secret Service details were Essential Employees.

If they are, they should be getting paid. My issue with the Secret Service is how he misused them. Recall when he and Melania were having marital problems over the two women that Cohen paid for their silence. During that period when they were traveling somewhere they were taking separate SS Details. Talk about a waste of Taxpayer money.

[IronLionZion]

40. In the past Congress has given them back pay once the government reopens

Relax. Dems take charge of the House next Thursday and will make sure those workers get paid.

Millions of contractors, however, are screwed and will never get back pay from their employers.

[politicaljunkie41910]

42. Why do you think that the contractors won't get paid? If the contractors have a contract with the

federal government, that contract will dictate when and how they are paid. I worked for the federal government as a Contract Administrator and a Supervisory Contract Administrator, and a government shutdown never got in the way of a contractor getting paid for work performed under the terms of a contract they had with the government.

[BumRushDaShow]

43. It depends on the contract

many of the ones that my agency had included stipulations that indicated that if a stop work order was issued, then they would not get paid by the federal government beyond the time of issuance (although their prime could still continue to pay them if they wished). And unless they were funded under other-than-BA funds (budget authority), then during a lapse of appropriations, there would be no pay once the stop work was issued (with the expectation they would get paid for any work already performed prior).

[IronLionZion]

45. For time and materials contracts, many companies have stopped work

and furloughed their workers without pay. It happened to me in 2013 and I never got paid. It sucked sitting at home seeing winguts gloat about it while I was scrambling to make rent that month and pay for medical treatment that I was in the middle of.

The same happens for workers on bench or providing indirect support (not currently billable on a contract). Some of the smaller companies just let people go with the ability to apply again to be rehired.

[groundloop]

22. Hey Asshole, if you want to balance the budget then why'd you give a massive tax break to the rich?

Massive tax breaks for Tiny and his buddies, whele the lower and middle class are expected to shoulder the burden of balancing the budget.

[dlk]

24. Freezing Pay and Shutting Down the Government has Absolutely No Affect on Attracting the Best People

There is a method to this madness and it gives the billionaire oligarchs just that much more power over time.

[workinclasszero]

25. Alternate headline: Trump creates tens of thousands of new democratic voters!

When you have skin in the game, you respond as in 2020 for instance!

[SunSeeker]

26. Typical reverse Robin Hood Republican wage theft, for tax cuts for the rich.

With cost of living increasing unabated, a pay freeze is a wage cut.

This isn't just a Trump thing. This is a Republican thing. So fucking predictable.

The parties are not the same. Vote for the party that helps working people instead of shits on them. VOTE DEMOCRATIC.

[Fuzzpope]

28. Simple

This is just a facet of the broader assault; every action is a further attempt to cripple and incapacitate the federal government, it has zero to do with partisanship, the immediate goal here is to a - drive away existing employees, and b - throttle the ambitions of anyone seeking to become a federal employee until our institutions and departments are utterly derelict.

Do we even HAVE a State Department anymore???

This not complicated, the thrust has been plain from the start, when booze cannon mega-ego Steve Bannon bragged about the destruction of the administrative state that was his primarily objective.

It's irrelevant if Trump is fueled by support from American oligarchy or Russian, if he is not stopped, the United States is going to end up a wasteland well before the end of his term.

It's accelerating, the damage is compounding. This man is our mortal enemy, and he must be stopped. Unmask his network after he's been neutralized, arresting this hemorrhage is the greater crisis today.

[hostalover]

31. He is totally obscene.

[Maxheader]

33. The higher skilled workers will leave for greaner pastures, leaving..

the rest to try and fill in..

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

34. The Grinch-in-Chief strikes again!! What a fuckin' asshole!!

[Paladin]

37. I cannot imagine that put-upon federal workers won't exact some revenge against trump for this.

I hope they do so, in as many devastating ways as possible. And damn soon.

[LovingA2andMI]

38. PISSED....

This Period.

[keithbvadu2]

39. Thank goodness Donald gave our military a 10% pay raise.

Thank goodness Donald gave our military a 10% pay raise.

(sarcasm thingie goes here)