Good news, everyone! Joe Biden is looking out for the little guy! You know, the poor struggling folks who live paycheck to paycheck, trying to figure out if they want to buy food, keep the lights on, or make a mortgage or rent payment. Or which kidney they plan to sell for a tank of gas. Biden is living up to his promise to grow the economy from the bottom up. And true to his word, he is seeing that everyone gets a fatter paycheck. Well, everyone who is employed by the federal government. Everyone else? Well, you all can pretty much suck it up and/or go to hell.
On Thursday, Biden signed an executive order giving all civilian federal employees a 5.2% pay bump. According to the Federal News Network, the raise will take effect during January's first full pay period. Ostensibly, the wage hike is to close the gap between federal and private wages. The network reported:
The 5.2% number is an average. Depending on their locality, some civilian employees will see a raise slightly above or below that number. I mentioned that the raise is "ostensibly" to close the federal/private wage gap. But even the most casual political observer is aware that 2024 is an election year. And it is no secret that Biden is only somewhat more popular than most STDs. I believe his last poll numbers had to be collected by the Ty-D-Bol Man.The variation in pay based on locality pay areas stems from the 1990 Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA), which attempted to mitigate a growing wage gap between federal and private sector employees. Over the last year, federal employees earned on average 27.54% less in wages than their private sector counterparts, according to a report from the Federal Salary Council.
With that in mind, it is no wonder Biden chose now to codify the raises for federal employees that he announced in August. Well, there's at least one voter demographic he stands a chance of locking up. The move and its timing did not go unnoticed. Twitchy corralled a few reactions from X:
The President just bought off millions of Federal employees. https://t.co/zYuVjqsx6r
— Stacey (@ScotsFyre) December 26, 2023
Work from home and a massive pay raise too, this administration just continues to grow big government.
— Scott Coleman (@bandphan) December 26, 2023
This isn’t a “win”.
— Morgana Le Faye *Patriot *America 1st* 🇺🇸 (@Keltic_Witch) December 25, 2023
The rest of the US workers - who PAY federal workers salaries - didn’t get 5.2% raises. Many got no raise at all - and were lucky if they kept their jobs.
This is a slap in the face to ordinary Americans who work in private business.
— FugitiveMama (@fugitivemama) December 26, 2023
The pension system for government workers is far worse. https://t.co/7vjZQZktv5
How is using the federal government to increase wages for its own workers with our tax dollars building from the bottom up?
— C. Lane (@mr__blonde_) December 25, 2023
Weird how the only people getting raises that keep them up with inflation are the people who caused inflation. https://t.co/GTE6oQYw8r
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) December 25, 2023
Live look at the American taxpayer: https://t.co/cLld4ppCci pic.twitter.com/1D08T7G1zR
— From the Land of Sky Blue Waters 🇺🇸 (@HammsLager) December 26, 2023
Yall didn’t get raises .. you just get to pay for someone else’s.
— LaurieAnn 🧚🏻♂️💫 (@mooshakins) December 26, 2023
Congrats? https://t.co/BYbrbNf9nF
On the bright side, members of the military will also see a 5.2% bump, but keep in mind that this funding is through the National Defense Authorization Act.
Related: The Underground People
No one will begrudge another person decent wages, or even the occasional raise. And I have known plenty of federal employees who were closet conservatives and/or were also contributing members of the community. But I also remember when the government shut down during the Obama administration. I was confronted by a furious federal employee, waving a press release she had crafted with her co-workers. The press release was an indignant rant on how put out these people would be by a two-week break, for which they would be reimbursed. That same employee was oblivious to the oil and gas jobs around the area that were disappearing courtesy of the administration's energy policy.
So while federal employees celebrate their raises, the people employed by the private sector will still be trying to figure out how to continue to tread water. That's if they can keep their jobs. And the Great Uniter finds another way to buy votes while simultaneously driving another wedge into America.
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