Federal Pay Freeze Will Mean a Raise for the Rest of Us

[cawacko]

For those who were asking why some believe federal workers shouldn't get raises even in this good economy this explains it quite well.




Trump's Federal Pay Freeze Will Mean a Raise for the Rest of Us


“Without you, I’m nothing.” A version of the latter is frequently uttered by movie stars and athletes to their fans. Absent the individuals who buy tickets to their games and movies, or who watch them on TV, these celebrities would be largely unknown. And they would earn very little money by extension. Celebrities of the film, television and sports variety, along with businesses more broadly, well understand that consumers conduct a daily vote with the fruits of their labor. Without them, they’re nothing in the figurative sense.

What’s obvious to those who’ve won customers in the competitive markets is frequently glossed over by government workers shielded from market signals. If anyone doubts this, try walking in to a Post Office to speedily get a passport, or asking a government agency for help, or calling any agency in search of a quick answer. It’s a statement of the obvious that “government services” is an oxymoron.

All of the above is interesting given the basic truth that there are no government workers earning actual salaries absent private sector production. For one to say that government work is a direct effect of private sector wealth creation is to waste words so obvious is it. While big government and government spending don’t power economic growth, they’re certainly the result of it. The dollars don’t fall from the sky despite what some believe.

This is a reminder that government jobs come at the expense of private sector earnings. That the federal government costs $4 trillion per year means that Americans (and realistically, people around the world…think about it) in the private sector earn less. Government is a cost that limits savings and investment. If the federal government cost $400 billion per year instead, Americans would earn more. Probably a lot more since investment would surge. Figure that successful investments multiply wealth and productivity. Bastiat’s unseen when it comes to government spending is sick inducing. Suffice it to say, absent all this waste over the decades it’s not unreasonable to suggest that cancer would have already been cured, that WiFi and Netflix would be as yesterday as the payphone and Blockbuster are now, plus private flight would be kind of common. Government spending is the biggest tax of all for it shrinking the experimentation without which there is no progress.

Which brings us to President Trump’s recent decision to freeze pay for more than 2 million civilian federal workers. As readers can imagine, the outcry from the left was typically hysterical. The always emotional Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times referred to Trump’s wise decision as his “most cynical and self-destructive stunt yet.” It seems attempted trade wars don’t register with the Times scribe. One wonders if Hiltzik was similarly up in arms when President Obama wisely froze federal worker pay in 2011….

If there’s a criticism of Trump now, and the apparently penny-pinching Obama in 2011, it’s that they didn’t do more than freeze pay. Logic dictates that they slash federal worker pay. That the private sector can do much better (and at lower cost) what the feds aim to do is yet another statement of the obvious. Assuming a massive decrease in government spending and worker pay, whatever services previously offered by the feds would soon enough – if desired – be offered by the profit motivated.

Better yet, the workers who would depart federal employ in response to slashed compensation would be much better off. It’s not healthy for individuals to be in jobs that they almost as a rule cannot lose. Such false incentives reinforce our worst human qualities. On the other hand, when we run a little bit scared it forces us to stretch ourselves, to innovate, to experiment. Silicon Valley thrives precisely because so many businesses formed there eventually go bankrupt. The ruthless way in which markets root out the bad in the Valley is the source of its relentless innovation. If it were run like the government is, the Valley would be the picture of bleak. The very real possibility of failure – and the total loss of a paycheck – is what helps bring out the best in private sector workers just as a lack of failure saps the on-the-job-intelligence of government workers.

So President Trump is talking about freezing federal pay? While progress in a sense, implicit in Trump’s decision is that the work done by the two million civilian workers not only fits within strict constitutional limits, but that it’s also necessary. No on both counts. A truly laudable move by Trump would be for him to go to Congress with a request to slash federal pay, all the while holding up every federal activity to a harsh constitutional light to see if the power is enumerated. Such actions would redound to a majority of Americans who don’t work for the federal government, but who pay for it through worse health, lower living standards, and substantially lower pay.

Until then, it would be nice if government workers would at least acknowledge that a bad day for them is merely a pay freeze. Talk about cushy benefits on our dime. Take a bow, America.


https://www.realclearmarkets.com/art...us_103406.html

[reagansghost]

sure it will gomer, sure it will

[Bourbon]

Will this be a Direct Deposit or should I expect to see in in the mail box?

Somehow I missed that Big Tax Break

[cawacko]

Will this be a Direct Deposit or should I expect to see in in the mail box?

Somehow I missed that Big Tax Break

It's about the understanding the role an enlarged federal sector has on the overall economy

[Rune]

Why does the GOP keep enlarging GovCo?

[reagansghost]

It's about the understanding the role an enlarged federal sector has on the overall economy

fantasy^^

[PoliTalker]

Hello cawacko,

"It’s a statement of the obvious that “government services” is an oxymoron. "

If you want better quality work out of government workers you are unlikely to get it by paying less.

Republicans are trying very hard to make what they believe to be true, true.

"While big government and government spending don’t power economic growth,"

That is not true. The social safety net provides the poor with funds to live on. Their spending drives economic demand, thus creating jobs. The poor spend 100% of everything they get. Supporting the poor goes directly into the economy, raising the GDP.

"The dollars don’t fall from the sky"

And likewise, dollars spent on the government do not simply vanish into smoke. The government keeps none of it. Instead, every single dollar (and then some) goes directly into the economy.

" If the federal government cost $400 billion per year instead"

Dreamer! You couldn't run the American military for that.
They want the worst government possible, so they are setting out to make that real.

"One wonders if Hiltzik was similarly up in arms when President Obama wisely froze federal worker pay in 2011…."

The recovering economy required it then. And Obama reduced the deficit. Trump has increased it. When will the debt get paid down?

"That the private sector can do much better (and at lower cost) what the feds aim to do is yet another statement of the obvious. Assuming a massive decrease in government spending and worker pay, whatever services previously offered by the feds would soon enough – if desired – be offered by the profit motivated. "

Balderdash. Capitalism has no interest in providing a social safety net. Capitalism generates the need for a government-run one.

"It’s not healthy for individuals to be in jobs that they almost as a rule cannot lose."

Then nobody should be in the military. Nobody should be a teacher. And certainly nobody should be elected to Congress in a gerrymandered Republican district.

"On the other hand, when we run a little bit scared it forces us to stretch ourselves, to innovate, to experiment."

That only rewards the best, not the rest. We need a system which promotes the GENERAL welfare, not only that of the most exceptional.

"A truly laudable move by Trump would be for him to go to Congress with a request to slash federal pay"

Not everyone can profit from the office like the President does. But if government pay is low enough, we would see a lot more graft. People in office would begin illegally charging for their services, as seen in many corrupt foreign economies.

This whole piece that you've posted is pure and total propaganda for the Class War.

Getting people to believe this motivates them to vote against their own better interest.

All this type of policy does is make the rich richer and leave the rest behind.

Great way to make wealth inequality even more extreme, and take us one step closer to revolution.