Federal Employee Pay Freeze as a Political Symbol

The actions taken by the Obama Administration, as stated in the article below, is a poor attempt to curtail the national deficit as well as being a political "act of trust" symbol for the Democrats to the Republicans. What's also being considered is taking the total amount of an employee's retirement and cutting it by 50%. This means the employee would have to work twice as long (60 years) to get what they would normally get in 30 years. This is not acceptable. Take up your pens, computer keyboards, etc. and contact your respective Congressmen and voice your disgust about this draconian-style tactics just to fix a problem that was initially created by our slumbering government.

Federal Employee Pay Freeze as a Political Symbol

By Ralph Smith

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Americans have been reading about riots in Europe over the past few months. Government employees, led by their unions in many cases, students and even pensioners have taken to the streets in Greece, England, and Ireland to protest cuts in their benefits as governments try to prevent a financial meltdown and to bring government spending into line with their revenue. As in America, these countries (and others) have been spending more than they were taking in and, in some cases, the borrowing and spending greatly exceeded their revenue or the total value of the nation's gross domestic product.

We are not immune to these financial pressures and, as most readers now know, President Obama has proposed a two-year salary freeze for federal employees. No doubt, this is not the end of an attempt to bring federal spending more into line with revenue.

The political pressure has been building. While some of our readers have complained about the articles that discuss a possible pay freeze as being unsympathetic or not "advancing the interests of the federal workforce," as some thought we should be doing, we have kept readers informed of the various positions of interested parties on the topic knowing full well some readers don't like reading about possible benefit or pay cuts.

The president's proposed freeze would require Congressional approval before it can be implemented. It would impact about two million workers in 2011 and 2012 and save about $28 billion. $28 billion is a huge number but, as hard as it is to believe that is a small fraction of the $1.3 trillion annual budget deficit. What is more important to the federal workforce is that Republicans (and probably some Democrats) are asking for much larger reductions in federal spending. Some of these proposals would have a larger impact on the federal workforce and include proposals to change the calculation for federal retirement, reducing federal hiring, etc.

The co-chairmen of the Obama deficit-cutting commission also put federal employees in their sights by calling for a three-year freeze on compensation for civilian workers and a 10% reduction in the federal work force by 2020. This action would eliminate about 200,000 jobs. The pay freeze alone would reportedly save $42.3 billion over five years, the co-chairmen projected.

The president's action is more important as a symbol of political action by the political class. The action by President Obama this week appears to signaling a willingness to reach toward Republicans ahead of negotiations on deficit-cutting that are likely to dominate the political atmosphere in Washington next year.

And, of course, the federal workforce has its share of lobbyists in the form of unions and associations such as the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) which will be out in force to try and reverse the president's recommendation for a freeze.

The Heritage Foundation says that compensation for federal employees is 30% to 40% higher than for comparable jobs in the private sector. Federal employee unions call that assertion a "myth.'' The Federal Salary Council, which consists of federal employee union representatives and government officials says that federal employees are underpaid by 24% or so.

Federal employee unions are already hitting the airwaves with press releases attacking the president's action.

Presumably because his salary is paid by federal employees, AFGE President John Gage referred to the savings by freezing federal employee pay as "peanuts at best." It is unlikely most Americans would agree with this assessment and won't create good public relations with the nation's taxpayers but presumably those dues paying members are looking for dramatic rhetoric. He also described the president's action as "a superficial panic reaction to the draconian cuts the deficit commission will recommend." While he did not mention it, we can probably assume that less "superficial" cuts are in the offing in coming months.

NTEU, perhaps because it had to get its ire under control or just because it wanted to hit the airwaves with a calculated response was initially more measured and may have had future political relations with the administration on its mind when publishing on its website: "NTEU is mindful of our nation’s economic circumstances, but we are very disappointed with the White House’s position and intend to explore all of our options, including working with Congress to overturn it." But, after a few hours and, perhaps with some time for reflection, this union got its PR section warmed up with a quote from NTEU's Colleen Kelly to USA Today: "I would say that any CEO who would propose a pay freeze without consulting employees is not going to be a very successful CEO."

NARFE issued a press release within a short time after the president's statement and NARFE's president stated: "In light of the growing number of critical challenges being shouldered by federal workers, the government cannot afford to make substantial reductions to the earned compensation of individuals who have dedicated their careers to public service. For that reason, we urge the president to reconsider this ill-conceived decision."

Keeping in mind that the director of OPM owes his job to President Obama, the government's human resources agency issued a very short press release that is supportive of the pay freeze. Its press release stated: "Federal employees work hard for our nation each day, and this sacrifice the President asked them to make today is significant and emblematic of the shared sacrifice we all will have to make if we are to bring the deficit to heel and preserve an economic future for our children."

So, not surprisingly, the lobbying has already begun. The president's pay freeze proposal is the latest political event highlighting cutting back on federal spending and it will not be the last of these events. Whether the efforts of the special interest groups will turn around the political tide remains to be seen.

We can reasonably predict a few public protests by federal unions, at least when future cuts may be announced, but we aren't likely to see federal employees taking to the streets and setting fire to trash cans or effigies of Barack Obama burning while swinging from a lanyard.

But, without a doubt, federal employees are now a political symbol of federal spending and the spiraling federal debt.

What happens to the salaries and benefits of federal employees in coming months may give insight into whether the Congress and the administration are going to make a concerted effort to reduce the federal deficit. And, as we know from the initial recommendations issued by the co-chairmen of the debt commission, there will be few segments of society spared from the ultimate cuts if Congress and the administration decide to seriously attack the subject.

These future cuts, if they occur, will overshadow the two-year pay freeze for federal employees. Yesterday's action may have been the opening round and put federal employees on the front pages in the nation's media but, in all likelihood, we can anticipate future actions that will further raise the ire of the federal workforce.

Dr. Steven Greer presents "Contact & Disclosure: The Final Sequence"

Here's a video by Dr. Greer speaking about full UFO disclosure and those professionals who experienced UFO encounters. Time to welcome your Universal Brethren.

Blessings

Time of the Sixth Sun

Time to awaken my Brothers and Sisters in Spirit. 

Blessed Be Earth Mama,

David Eagle Heart

Message from T. H. O. R. - We Are Here

We greet you in love and light our Brothers and Sisters in Spirit. As we pass on information of current events we ask that you always go within and use discernment and intuition to validate the information being presented. Use only that which best resonates with your personal truth. When enough of your fellow brethren awaken to their personal truth, only then will Universal Truth be presented to all those ready to receive it.

There are many of you in recent days that have expressed peculiar sensations culminating in nausea, dizziness, and other symptoms not recognized by your physical bodies. Some of these symptoms may be underlying issues that require the attention of your medical practitioners. But a great many of you, after having ruled out any medical imbalances, are still experiencing much unrest in body, mind, and Spirit. Much of what is being experienced is two fold.

First. Your planet, a living organism just like yourselves, is going through much change in preparation for the next level of experience in Spirit. Due to these changes, any living physical body created within your planet's span of influence will also experience these changes. This interaction with your planet, and all who live within the planet, is no different then when your physical body experiences an injury in a localized area and the entire physical body reacts to the injury, i. e., immune system changes, increased blood flow to the affected area, etc. When your planet changes so do your physical bodies to match the planet's changes. These changes assist the physical body to move to a higher state of Spirit (higher frequency) to match the intent and frequency of your individual souls and the soul of your planet.

Second. A further influence on your physical bodies is the cloaking device used on the ships of our Galactic brethren. As our Galactic brethren prepare to assist in the fulfillment of your agreed upon soul contracts, and as they locate themselves globally in places conducive to the fulfillment of these contracts, the harmonics produced by their cloaking devices are of such high frequency that those physical bodies that are in the process of raising their frequency to match your planet's frequency will be more susceptible to its harmonics. Understand that the harmonics created by the cloaking device is not in anyway intended to persuade you in making a choice to pursue your intended soul goal. Your free will and choice are not in anyway affected. The harmonics of the cloaking devices, which create the feelings being experienced, are just a by-product that resonates outside of space-time. The harmonics of these cloaking devices are also in alignment with the energy that is a part of the next level of consciousness.

There is much more involved in this process with much more levels of complexity but for now we have given you a brief overview of what is occurring at this time and what you and your planet may begin to feel, if it has not begun already.

As both your planet and all of you living amongst her walk the path of your soul contracts, culminating in the raising of your consciousness to the next level of soul experience within Spirit, know that We Are Here ready to be of service to assist you all in any form that is needed within the confines of your soul contracts. We will only assist and not intervene. Call upon us and we will be there.

In Service of the Galactic Council and of our Brethren in Spirit,

T. H. O. R.

"Zeitgeist: Moving Forward" trailer

In January 2011, the feature length movie, Zeigeist: Moving Foward, will be unfolded for us. This movie will include the vision of the Venus Project (http://www.thevenusproject.com/).

Spread the word my brothers and sisters in Spirit because ascension has begun.