Solidarity
So, President Obama will write a check to the Treasury for 5% of his salary, while Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and his deputy, Ashton Carter are writing checks equivalent to the 14-days of furlough that their subordinates are facing under the ‘sequester’.
So far, Congress hasn’t shown any interest in giving up anything. I would note that a 14-day furlough represents more than 10% of the work days that the House has scheduled for this year, which is around 130. Other than sitting on a board of directors for a major corporation it is hard to find a part-time job that pays better than Congress.
2 comments
A millionaire giving up a few thousand dollars salary is a lot different from a social worker giving up a few thousand dollars salary. The millionaire doesn’t really notice the lack. The social worker… well, her kids eat a lot of beans and rice this month, and she skips lunch because she can’t afford it anymore.
Color me unimpressed all around.
– Badtux the Former Civil Servant Penguin
At least they are making an effort. In Japan corporate cuts start at top management and then go down with line workers the last to be affected. Having been in a public workers strike over a contract that would have enabled the county to impose furloughs at will, I’m not exactly a fan of the concept. The county gave in after three days.
The furloughs in my case were only for those in rated positions, not for the management or elected officials, which really pissed us off.
At least they are taking the same percentage cut as the workers, not some bogus fixed dollar amount.