Local Government TV

Friday, February 15, 2013

Dent, Cartwright Differ in House Vote Against Federal Pay Hike

LV Congressman Charlie Dent joined all House Republicans and 43 House Democrats in rejecting a 0.5% pay hike for federal workers, scheduled to take effect in April. The final vote was 261 in favor and 154 opposed.

Dent has consistently supported the Simpson-Bowles budget recommendations, which include a three year freeze on pay raises for federal government workers. This would lead to $11 billion in savings over ten years.

“We must address Washington’s spending problem,” said Dent. “I am shocked when some people still say things like, “Well, but that’s only a billion dollars a year, that doesn’t mean anything.’ You have to shake your head,” Dent said.

“That’s the exact attitude that has us running deficits over a trillion dollars a year. When does Washington begin to recognize how wrong it looks for legislators to increase the pay of federal government workers when wages in the private sector are stagnant?” asked Dent.

Federal workers continue to enjoy a significant pay advantage over their private sector counterparts. In 2010 the average wage for federal employees was $83,679 as compared to $51,986 for private sector workers. They are in the second year of a pay freeze/

This House vote has no impact on those serving in the military.

Though Dent said No, LV Congressman Matt Cartwright supported the wage hike. He explains why he thinks a wage hike is warranted:

“While Congress has only two weeks to prevent sequestration and take action on a comprehensive solution to our deficits, the House wasted time and taxpayer dollars this week on a bill that once again targets federal employees and does nothing to prevent automatic spending cuts set to go into effect on March 1. Federal employees are middle-class Americans who have already contributed $103 billion towards deficit reduction. These hardworking men and women, who serve our country so diligently, are the only working Americans who have been asked to contribute to deficit reduction. We cannot put the burden of our fiscal challenges on their shoulders alone.”

“Federal employees provide important services to communities across our country – they serve alongside our military personnel, keep our borders safe and secure, support our veterans and our seniors, ensure the safety of our families, conduct life-saving research, and fulfill countless other responsibilities. To single them out and continue to ask even more of them is unfair and unwise policy that undermines our ability to recruit the skilled workforce our nation expects. I oppose efforts that continue to target our public servants, and hope that Congress will get serious about a fair and balanced plan to prevent sequestration and put our country on a sound fiscal path.”

Who do you think is right? Dent or Cartwright? I side with Dent on this one. We need to address the nation's deficit, which is the biggest threat to our national security. Federal employees are being asked to wait one more year. The number one impediment to progress is that no one is willing to start anywhere. This is a start. A small one.

49 comments:

  1. Federal employees are already contributing toward deficit reduction? They've lost nothing. What type of Fantasyland is Cartwright living in?

    A perfect example of the problem in Washington!

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you stagnate recompense for hours worked: But allow commodity pricing market fluxuations....ALL workers lose money (reverse taxation) by de-valuation of currencies necessary for hours worked or they make less fair wage by Proxy.(i.e. Procurator). Is this tactic to be claimed as a spending surplus???

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  3. Please do us a favor and try to make your point with more simple language. Sorry, I'm just not that smart.

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  4. There is a palpable needence-for-parity astir/ing.

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  5. Are the electronic fund trans-ferer's/ference of the county secure-from-hackers or do we still use couri-ers for protection of sensitive data at Tax-Payers expense?

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  6. I do have to give Rep. Dent an "A" for a "profile in courage" for being one of only 38 House members to vote for Simpson-Bowles, which included a mix of spending cuts and tax increases (almost 1:1). Tax hikes and spending cuts that neither party was ultimately willing to accept.

    I guess the one problem I have with the specific vote is that at all levels of government, National down to local, many employees have taken pay freezes or reduced/delayed increases, and have done more with less through positions unfilled through atrition, with general acceptance as they realize the financial realities. A little trimming can be a positive. But eventually, fat gives way to muscle, which gives way to bone. And over time it becomes a de facto reduction for the people who actually DO the work as living expenses don't take a "freeze." Yet, the politicians in Harrisburg and DC will keep funding programs--or provide tax/regulatory breaks--for their "client" constituenties. That's why Dent was only one of 38. For the other 382 members of BOTH parties, it was "tax THEIR constinuency" or "cut THEIR program", but "don't touch mine". So year after year, we have no real FY budget, but keep playing games of brinkmanship and kicking the can a few more months down the road.

    And for the record, I semi-praise Dent here (as I have often in the past) yet voted for Cartwright over the Tea Party candidate since we were gerrymandered out of the Lehigh Valley.

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  7. I voted for Dent all the previous elections.

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  8. @ Lighthouse: Nice to know we-the-people of the leghigh valley are Represented by people so knowledgeable in Local Demographic Customs/Peoples. Are interpreter's in the budget for the 40 languages spoken here? Social service paperwork's are insurmountable for the illiterate. Thank You

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  9. If the federal workers are upset with the pay cut they can always look for work in the private sector.

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  10. Funny thing about Fiat monies....you can't take it back to them and as for your money back. It's not based on Anything.
    Whose hands will be "in the till" when they leave? Or on the buttons that "control" things? Temporary Service Providers. Fiscally Imprudent Gerrymandered Politics.

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  11. The heroin-addict-type attitude of Cartwright is how Democrats widened their base and won big last November. Piling up debt on the grand kids' credit card is the entitlement of the greatest generation and the coveting class they bred. Cartwright represents his constituents well. If Dent's district wasn't carefully Gerrymandered from Nazareth to Hershey Park, he'd be a former Congressman working as a lobbyist right now.

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  12. MORE "MALARKEY" FROM WASHINGTON D.C.

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  13. You side with Dent on this one? Now there's a shocker..If sequestration goes into effect as the Republicans want,So many jobs would be lost that we'll be bck in a recession..That the direction these crazy R's want..But you side with Dent on that one...Of course you do.

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  14. Hey, idiot, Sequestration was Obama's idea.

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  15. I side with Dent. In good times and in bad, private sector workers who aren't union - i.e. the vast majority of taxpayers - never see regular yearly pay increases.

    "Federal workers continue to enjoy a significant pay advantage over their private sector counterparts. In 2010 the average wage for federal employees was $83,679 as compared to $51,986 for private sector workers."

    BOH: Someone reading quickly might think this statement means that the federal government pays $83,679 for the same job that pays $51,986 in the private sector. The comparison is misleading if it doesn't take into account the nature of the work being done. I would expect the average for private sector workers to be much lower than the public sector because the federal government has far fewer low-skill workers (i.e. McJobs) than the private sector.

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  16. 9:37, Assholes like you can't even argue honestly. I side with Dent on the 3-year wage freeze for federal employees, which is part of the Bipartisan (remember that word?) Simpson-Bowles plan. You go from there to conclude that Dent and I want sequestration, which is ridiculous. Extremist and partisan assholes like you, on both sides, are the real problem with this country. And most of you are cowards unwilling to take any responsibility for your own garbage.

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  17. I have deleted two very nice comments. I am sorry to the author, whom I am sure means well. But the comments are so far off topic that it really is unfair to me and my readers. Please stick to the topic.

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  18. Remember Green Knight Energy Consortium with John & Craig Daly? Mt. Trashmore is too heavy for our aquifer characteristics of Slate & hydrolitic Limestone of ancient vents underwater. Do you know where you are? More than slate is mined in these parts. Unbeknownst to All.

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  19. 12:10 from the "leghigh valley", I have no idea what you are talking about. Working on a theory, I'll just say that Blogger is diffent from Twitter since you added @.

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  20. 11;10, No need to apologize. I wish I could allow the comments but they are too far afield.

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  21. Dent is on my "watch list" of which incumbents I will not vote for next time around.

    How Dent could have voted to return limp John Boehner to leadership is beyond logic. He ALWAYS caves for nothing in return.

    As I see things unfolding, essentially every Democrat, and three-forth of Republican officeholders will need to be replaced for this country to ever regain its strength.

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  22. I was unaware that you could vote fore or against several incumbents. No wonder you keep a watch list.

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  23. Good one, Bernie!

    I refer to several different levels of government. For those I can NOT cast any vote, I donate money to the campaign of their opponent.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Aren't we a "Brown's Field" designation here in the Lehigh Valley water-shed? Pollution and all that razz....

    ReplyDelete
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    of overextension......About those Bugeted Social Service's Interpreter's for us 40 different Native language speaker's in the Lehigh Valley....when?

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  27. smuck-stik-stuck....now what?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Gee I did not know the workers of this country were responsible for the deficit,could it be possible that the deficit might have to do with two wars on a credit card and George Bush pissing away something around 65 billion surplus that Clinton left for him and the debt ceiling being raised without question when he was president?

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  29. 6:45-

    I assume you can do the math, and then recognize the difference between 65 billion and 4-5 TRILLION.
    It's HUGE!

    Numbers are becoming fuzzy, but reality remains the same. Maybe we should introduce the concept of "gazillions." We'll all feel better then.

    Look, your guy hasn't worked out. It happens. Time to move on and work toward getting us out of the disaster the Obama administration is building.

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  30. They used to have a half penny in the 1800's. If gasoline is TAXED @ 9 TENTHS-OF-1%....where is our change? gadzillions are ludicrous

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  33. Resident of AllentownFebruary 16, 2013 at 11:43 PM

    Keep chopping away at the working stiffs wages and give more to our esteemed senators and company CEOs. They deserve it for helping create the Northern Mexico we'd all like to see. Pretty soon Canada will be building the wall. I'm just glad I got my ammo and 40 capacity mags early. NOW THAT was an investment in the future.

    ReplyDelete



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You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.