Support.
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!
Contact
Top Headlines
I't's time to let go. Actor Val Kilmer dies at 65. Doc Holiday in Tombstone was his ultimate role, but I'll always love his comedic turns in Top Secret! and Real Genius. RIP. [Weirddave]
Sen. Cory Booker Speaks All Night on Senate Floor to Protest Against Trump's Agenda So what! Apparently his beard has a date and he has nothing else to do. [CBD]
Weekend nightcap. Boardwalk band plays Fleetwood Mac. [dri]
"We Got the Receipts" recaps some of the Tesla Terrorism the left has perpetrated the past week
Democrats plan a global terrorism campaign next week, Tuesday I think, called "Takedown Tesla." Democrat politicians encourage the violence and refuse to condemn it. Well okay, but if violence is approved for your side, it's approved for ours as well.
Flashback: Zombie Joe Biden's "Farewell Address"
Was this the worst speech ever delivered by a "president"?
Forgotten 80s Mystery Click
I see the problem start I watch the tension grow
I see you keeping it to yourself
And then instead of reaching conclusions
I see you reaching for something else
It's the #HackMadness tournament, second round of 32!
A lot of big heats going on, including some real nailbiters, like Cuckshed Resident David French vs. CBS' plain-as-an-Amish-frock fabulist Margaret Brennan
CJN podcast 1400 copy.jpg
Podcast: CBD and J.J. Sefton babble on about the tempest in a teapot that is the Goldberg files, the economy, including tariffs, that is improving, deportations are lovely, Crockett2028, the deep state hanging on like leeches, and more!
I feel bad about this but I'm going to have to post about Rachel Zegler again...
The "Ghost Gun" case before SCOTUS: BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL, ET AL. v. VANDERSTOK ET AL. We lose... 7-2, and you can guess who the two dissenting judges are. [CBD]
Masih Alinejad "Where are @AOC, @IlhanMN, the left-wing activists who called me an Islamophobe, and the campus protesters chanting "I am Hamas"? The killers sent by the Islamic Republic to assassinate a woman on US soil were convicted in federal court, You're silent. Why?" [CBD]
Great interview of Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce, and a close friend of Trump for 30 years. He explains the blueprint for Trump's financial transformation of the USA and how it really will succeed. I can't recommend this long video enough. [dri]
FAA Hiring Blitz Draws 10,000 Air-Traffic Control Candidates Wait a second... wasn't DOGE destroying air safety in America? We were told that by our esteemed media! [CBD]
I Attended Apple's Annual Meeting. It Was a Turning Point Against ESG and DEI This guy may be a bit optimistic, but change is definitely coming! [CBD]
CJN podcast 1400 copy.jpg
Podcast: CBD and J.J. Sefton discuss the pending Ukraine ceasefire, Israel going back into Gaza, should President Trump simply ignore the courts, Roberts is a crap Chief Justice, violence directed at Tesla (and others) by the left, and more!
Black Conservative Perspective has a hot take on the Harry Sisson "cancellation" -- he thinks it's all a psyop
He thinks Democrats trying to portray the very femmy Sisson as straight to appeal to the young straight male voters Democrats need, despite widespread belief that he's as gay as a peacock at high tea. He thinks they've arranged for female Democrats to accuse him of Toxic Masculinity and Absolutely RECKING That Poon.
This is a silly theory, except for when you remember that literally every single messaging offensive by the Democrat Party is 1 fake and 2 gay
Recent Entries
Quinippiac Poll: Democrats Fall to Lowest Approval Level Ever, Now at 21% Approval
Republicans Boost Their Razorthin Majority With Two Wins in Florida
Wednesday Morning Rant
Mid-Morning Art Thread [Kris]
The Morning Report — 4/ 2 /25
Daily Tech News 2 April 2025
Tuesday Overnight Open Thread - April 1, 2025 [scampydog]
Dogs Are Good People Cafe
60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl Attacks Former Hamas Hostage: How Do You Know They Were Deliberately Starving You? Maybe The Poor Hamas Terrorists Just Didn't Have Food!
A UK Panel Calls for Getting Tough on Violent Offenders... Except...
Recent Comments
Elon John: "Nood ..." [view]

tubal: "429 Mars has a very weak magnetosphere, if I reca ..." [view]

whig: "432 Congressional districts can only be re-drawn a ..." [view]

joe, living dangerously: "424 It's nose under the door, or whatever that met ..." [view]

Elon John: "I'm not the man they think I am at home ..." [view]

Yudhishthira's Dice: "Remote votes for Congressfucks doesn't matter. It ..." [view]

ShainS -- If Elon Bought Planned Parenthood, The Left Would Hate Abortion [/b][/i][/s][/u]: " Leading Report @LeadingReport BREAKING: Amaz ..." [view]

It's me donna : " Because Princess Luna wanted to make a big stink ..." [view]

13times: ""San Quentin State Prison—home to some of th ..." [view]

whig: "421 Frank Luntz says Cory Booker's tongue-a-thon " ..." [view]

BruceWayne: "I agree. Also, why now, when stopping rogue judges ..." [view]

Angzarr the Cromulent: "Congressional districts can only be re-drawn after ..." [view]

Crusader: "Also, why now, when stopping rogue judges was goin ..." [view]

SpeakingOf: "370 Colonizing Mars is stupid. I like Musk's sp ..." [view]

[i]Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/b][/i][/s][/u]: " Mars has a very weak magnetosphere, if I recall ..." [view]

Search


Bloggers in Arms

RI Red's Blog!
Behind The Black
CutJibNewsletter
The Pipeline
Second City Cop
Talk Of The Town with Steve Noxon
Belmont Club
Chicago Boyz
Cold Fury
Da Goddess
Daily Pundit
Dawn Eden
Day by Day (Cartoon)
EduWonk
Enter Stage Right
The Epoch Times
Grim's Hall
Victor Davis Hanson
Hugh Hewitt
IMAO
Instapundit
JihadWatch
Kausfiles
Lileks/The Bleat
Memeorandum (Metablog)
Outside the Beltway
Patterico's Pontifications
The People's Cube
Powerline
RedState
Reliapundit
Viking Pundit
WizBang
Faces From Ace's
The Rogues' Gallery.
Archives
Syndicate this site (XML)

Powered by
Movable Type 2.64

« Christienomics? Republicans Buzzing About Cool New Way To Cut Federal Spending Without Touching Taxpayers' Checks -- Cut Federal Employee Wages | Main
August 10, 2010

Christienomics? Republicans Buzzing About Cool New Way To Cut Federal Spending Without Touching Taxpayers' Checks -- Cut Federal Employee Wages

DrewM. linked this briefly in his DOD cuts post, but he suggests that maybe it's important for a stand-alone post. He's right.

The upside? This affects only Obama voters, pretty much. The cost is borne by them. (It's the right thing to do, too, but let's just talk political effect.)

It is a truism that the taxpayer is always up for increasing someone else's taxes. It stands to reason, then, they'd also be game to cut someone else's pay, right?

This is straight from Obama's playbook -- when a cost is to be imposed, only impose it on those who vote against you.

As Alinksy said, make them live up to their own rulebook.

Okay, that's not really exactly on-target but close enough.

Whenever a conservative suggests reducing the federal deficit by cutting spending rather than raising taxes, there's always someone to ask: Well, what would you cut? Americans may say they want less government spending, the argument goes, but they don't want anyone to touch their services and subsidies and monthly checks.

Fair enough. But there's a persuasive counter-argument going around in conservative circles these days: You can start cutting government spending without cutting anyone's services or subsidies or monthly checks. Just bring the pay of federal workers into line with pay in the private sector.

A recent Heritage Foundation study found the average federal worker (excluding the uniformed military) makes $78,901 a year in wages and salary versus $50,111 for the average private sector worker. When you count generous health and pension benefits, the average total compensation of federal workers comes to $111,015 a year versus $60,078 in the private sector.

In recent years, that disparity has been fueled by an explosion of federal generosity on the high end of the pay scale....

If Congress were to freeze federal pay raises until the private sector begins to catch up, the savings to taxpayers would be considerable. Heritage scholar James Sherk estimates that ending the disparity could save the taxpayers $47 billion a year. (A study by the American Enterprise Institute put the figure at $40 billion.) That won't get close to balancing the budget, but add up 10 years of that and the government will save significant money.

Indeed. And it's very nearly cost-free, as far as political damage.


posted by Ace at 11:42 AM