So Donald Trump's has decided that the 2% pay raise for Federal workers is on ice. He has the authority based on responding to a "national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare”. I'm personally a little conflicted about it (full disclosure, as a government sub-contractor I am feeding at the trough so to speak).
One part feels that somehow we have to do something. The deficit is not being addressed (yet again). Yes, the tax cuts have done a great job stimulating the economy, but if I was not happy with the Obama spending stimulus then I cannot be happy with this increase in the debt (albeit this one actually achieved some of the objective). Like an addict, no one in DC seems capable of breaking the spending habit, loath to tell constituents that we cannot afford all of this. And the really scary part is an increasing number of younger Americans who want even more, totally uncoupled from economic reality.
But I am suspicious that this really boils down to another way for Trump to give a back hand to a group that does not support him, and some in fact may be actively trying to sabotage his presidency (let's set aside for the moment the stellar job he does on that front without any assistance). Yes, the stereotype of the unmotivated and unproductive government worker has come about due to there being plenty of anecdotal examples of it (see above). But there are lots and lots of worker bees doing the job of serving us consistently and effectively. Trump touts the pay raise for the military, which seemed appropriate, but are they more worthy of a pay raise than the fire fighters battling these blazes out west? Or the other non-military professionals who keep us safe?
At the end of the day it probably boils down to having to apply these raises with a broad brush. If they were more merit based there would probably be more of an outcry to this punitive action by the president. Unfortunately we can only provide these raises across the board, rewarding the diligent along with the negligent. To lift a line from our tweeter in chief "Sad!!"
