The federal government is facing massive furloughs beginning later this week, but it is still running help-wanted ads seeking workers to answer phones — at up to $81,000 a year — or to drive cars for the State Department, for as much as $26.45 an hour.
Why close airports? FAA’s annual budget for ‘consultants, travel’ is larger than sequestration cuts
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood threatened to shut down airports if Congress does not undo sequestration, even though the Federal Aviation Administration annual budget for consultants, travel, and supplies is larger than the sequester cut.
At a time when workers' pay and benefits have stagnated, federal employees' average compensation has grown to more than double what private sector workers earn...
More federal workers' pay tops $150,000
The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office...
Federal workers starting at much higher pay than in past
Newly hired federal workers are starting at much higher salaries than those who did the same jobs in the past, a lift that has elevated the salaries of scientists and custodians alike. The pay hikes have made the federal government a go-to place for many young people.
Some federal pensions pay handsome rewards
More than 21,000 retired federal workers receive lifetime government pensions of $100,000 or more per year... Of these, nearly 2,000 have federal pensions that pay $125,000 or more annually, and 151 take home $150,000 or more. Six federal retirees get more than $200,000 a year.
And then comes the topper. It seems that our Man of the People is safe whether the sequester comes or not...
Oh look, Obama's exempt...shocker. And his typical lines about social security checks not going out and our military members not being paid, etc., etc....baloney. Just more of the same ol' rehashed lies and scare tactics. What a charade this sequester scare is turning out to be. If Boehner and the boys fall for this, they won't just be the laughing stock we know the Republican leadership already is, they'll be that closer to furthering the party's own demise.CNSNews: President Barack Obama won’t have to worry about his paycheck if the spending sequestration included in the Budget Control Act that he signed into law in 2011 begins taking effect this Friday.
A report published last month by the Congressional Research Service--“Budget Sequestration and Selected Program Exemptions and Special Rules"--identifies certain programs that are exempt from sequestration and lays out special rules that govern the sequestration of others.
Section 255 of the Budget Control Act includes “Compensation for the President” as one of those exemptions (Page 19).
“Most exempt programs are mandatory, and include Social Security and Medicaid; refundable tax credits to individuals; and low-income programs such as the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Supplemental Security Income,” the report states.
“Some discretionary programs also are exempt, notably all programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs,” it said. “Also, subject to notification of Congress by the president, military personnel accounts may either be exempt or reduced by a lower percentage,” the report states. (The report states in a footnote that the White House notified Congress last year of President Obama's intention to exempt military personnel accounts from sequestration.)
Pensions for former presidents are also exempt, according to the report.
H/t: Mark Levin
