A Small Move

President Obama is going to announce today a freeze on the salaries of federal workers for the next two years according to the AP. This is supposed to save $5 billion over those two years, and it is a symbolic move to show that Obama “gets it” with regard to the public concern about the size of the deficit.
Let me first say that I applaud the move by Obama. Any action that reduces federal spending to more manageable levels should be encouraged. This is just a tiny step, however. A wage freeze is not enough. There needs to be a reduction in the number of federal workers by at least 10%. Since Obama took office, the number of non-military federal workers has shot up to a record high. Indeed, by returning to the level of workers that were employed by the federal government just two years ago, the savings would be about $100 billion over the next two years compared to the $5 billion that results from Obama’s pay freeze. If Obama cannot bring himself to go all the way back to the levels when he took office, he could at least cut half for a savings of $50 billion. This is real money. It would be a meaningful step, not just a political gesture. The pressure needs to stay on Obama to do the right thing for the country for once.
The next step that is needed with regard to the federal work force is a reduction in salaries and benefits so that these items closely align with salaries and benefits in the private sector. Right now federal workers make nearly double what private workers earn. It is ridiculous for government workers to earn such a premium over what their counterparts in private industry make. And, by the way, if someone tells you that the difference in pay is due to the higher quality or education level of the federal workers, ask them about the high quality and qualifications of the TSA workers doing searches at the airports. I bet they all took college level courses called “Patting Down with the back of the Hand 101”.