(Darren McCollester, Getty Images)
Now that Mitt Romney has all but locked up the GOP presidential nomination, he’s turning his focus to the general election against President Obama. And if his comments last night are any indication, your pay and benefits are going to be a hot topic between now and November:
I have a very different vision for America, and of our future. […] This America is fundamentally fair. We will stop the unfairness of urban children being denied access to the good schools of their choice; we will stop the unfairness of politicians giving taxpayer money to their friends’ businesses; we will stop the unfairness of requiring union workers to contribute to politicians not of their choosing; we will stop the unfairness of government workers getting better pay and benefits than the taxpayers they serve; and we will stop the unfairness of one generation passing larger and larger debts on to the next. [emphasis added]
This isn’t the first time Romney has taken aim at federal employees. Last August, he said the government has too many feds who are paid too much, and in November he proposed cutting 10 percent of the federal workforce through attrition to save $4 billion.
National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley blasted Romney’s comments:
Every day, federal workers — from law enforcement officers to food inspectors to doctors to scientists in virtually every discipline, and many others — perform a variety of tasks vital to ordinary people throughout our country. Every federal employee knows well there is a direct connection between the efforts he or she makes, day in and day out, and the quality of life for the public they serve.
Kelley also reiterated that federal employees are in the midst of a two-year pay scale freeze that is expected to save $60 billion over a decade. Also, Congress has also passed pension cuts for new and future feds that will cost them $15 billion.
14 Comments
I have never voted for a Democrat in my life, but I will never vote to Mitt Romney. I’m an OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM veteran who took a substantial cut in pay and benefits to work as a federal employee in the Navy. This is a slap in the face to all those who serve.
As a former Marine and a former Diplomat I’m amazed that Romney would claim it is unfair for someone to be paid more than the people they are serving. That means that the brain surgeon can’t be paid more than the waitress he is doing surgery on. The value of a service is not based upon the value of those you serve but on the value of the work you do.
Romney clearly lacks even basic economic literacy.
Does this mean my salary will be raised by anywhere from 10-25% should Mr Romney be elected? As a senior engineer in the DoD, my salary is nowhere over and above my peers in the private sector.
Maybe Mitt Romney will ask the US Secret Service federal employees who guard him and his family what they think about that?
In my job I have no idea on what job would be comparable to mine in the private sector. So I have no idea if I am overpaid or underpaid but I do know that I have had enough of them trying to balance the budget on my and other federal workers backs.
He keeps talking about doing away with federal workers and Federal Departments but what will happen to the programs that these folks oversee.
Maybe we need to look at some of the programs that are funded and get back to the original intentions of them. For example Social Security was meant to be a supplement to your retirement, it was not meant to be for folks that never paid into it. HUD was meant to be a temporary help for folks needing a leg up, it was not meant to be a forever program and not even try.
My son works as a nurse for DOD for substantially below what he would be paid in the private sector. As someone who does not bother to inform himself of the facts before he impugns someone, I would never vote for Romney. When and if he ever took office he would be surrounded by all those highly paid federal employees. I guess he doesn’t care if he mistreats and lies about them.
I don’t see how he can say that urban children are unfairly being denied access to colleges when there are more programs to support higher education of urban children then any other segment of the population. Examples of such programs are the UNCF (United Negro College Fund), BIG (Blacks in Government Organization), BSF established in 1964 (Black Student Fund), UMC Black College Fund, The National Black Nurses Association, NAACP College Scholarship, Little Africa Scholarship, AACF (African American Community Fund) and many other religious affiliated entities who contribute millions of dollars through donations. In addition to this, many urban areas spend more tax dollars per capita on education then suburban or rural areas. Just look at these budgets for yourself, it’s all public information. Romney, I was a supporter however you are losing my support very fast.
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Really?? I’m disappointed that so many of our political leaders are willing to throw federal employees and retirees under the bus to get elected. I guess that we are an easy target. I know who I’m voting for in November.
Someone should explain to Mr. Romney that nothing in life is fair. There is only one kind of fair and that is the one where you pay money to ride on rides and they come once a year. Everything else is what you make it.
The Republicans lost my vote some time ago. They lie; they distort. They want us to think they’re so patriotic when slamming programs for those in need. They’ve all but destroyed the middle class while protecting those who are in a position to pay higher taxes. Mr. Romney is incredibly plastic and out of touch with hardworking folks, especially Federal employees.
Are rich folks really this much out of touch? how can Guys like Romney and Issa say that we people who are barely making it are making to much? What really puzzles me is the fact that the Tea party republicans whom I believe they’re caving too don’t realize that all the cuts that they purpose apply to them as well, Maybe it’s just me but it is only a fool who would cut his own throat, yet they keep on doing it. You can’t keep following rich folks rhetouric, what they cut, spend, disallow, take back, whatever do not apply to or effect them they’re rich remember.
It’s obvious Romney doesn’t really want to be President. He’s just going through the motions. Nobody can be that stupid and still walk upright.
This is going to be one of the closest elections in the history of the US. I can’t believe Mr. Romney will risk alienating a large block of voters with this reckless talk of overpaid government workers. One non-vote for him is as good as a vote for Mr. Obama. As for me, I’m a GS-5 and I can absolutely say in good faith, I’m certainly not overpaid. Are the Republicans trying to lose this election?