President Trump has cancelled all automatic raises for federal employees for the coming year, in a move that could cost them an average of US$1,640 per year in lost income.
The raises were set to take effect in January 2019, and have never before been cancelled, even during the 2009 financial crisis.
However, automatic pay increases, said Trump, are 'inappropriate' given the record-setting national debt, which is set to climb past US$20 trillion by 2020. For the first time in American history, federal debt will be larger than the entire US economy.
Federal civilian workers earn more than their private-sector counterparts, on average grossing some US$88,800 in 2016. This compares with an average of US$59,400 per year among private-sector workers, according to the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis. Federal benefits are also more generous than those earned in the for-profit sector.
The automatic raises have been halted by setting both cost-of-living increases and high-cost city salary adjustments to zero for the coming fiscal year. Trump, or a future president, could undo this wage freeze with a simple administrative order.
Trump has said he has far-reaching reforms in mind. Instead of the across-the-board system that rewards every worker equally – no matter how hard or dangerous their work or how much their productivity has improved over the past year – Trump seeks a system that matches pay with individual performance.
The move has made some GOP lawmakers unhappy, according to the AMI Newswire.
Barbara Comstock, a Republican who represents a large swathe of northern Virginia suburbs, wrote to Trump on August 31 asking him to reverse his decision on automatic pay hikes. She later said that Trump was 'reportedly reconsidering this decision'.
Source: AMI Newswire
President Trump has cancelled all automatic raises for federal employees for the coming year, in a move that could cost them an average of US$1,640 per year in lost income.
The raises were set to take effect in January 2019, and have never before been cancelled, even during the 2009 financial crisis.
However, automatic pay increases, said Trump, are 'inappropriate' given the record-setting national debt, which is set to climb past US$20 trillion by 2020. For the first time in American history, federal debt will be larger than the entire US economy.
Federal civilian workers earn more than their private-sector counterparts, on average grossing some US$88,800 in 2016. This compares with an average of US$59,400 per year among private-sector workers, according to the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis. Federal benefits are also more generous than those earned in the for-profit sector.
The automatic raises have been halted by setting both cost-of-living increases and high-cost city salary adjustments to zero for the coming fiscal year. Trump, or a future president, could undo this wage freeze with a simple administrative order.
Trump has said he has far-reaching reforms in mind. Instead of the across-the-board system that rewards every worker equally – no matter how hard or dangerous their work or how much their productivity has improved over the past year – Trump seeks a system that matches pay with individual performance.
The move has made some GOP lawmakers unhappy, according to the AMI Newswire.
Barbara Comstock, a Republican who represents a large swathe of northern Virginia suburbs, wrote to Trump on August 31 asking him to reverse his decision on automatic pay hikes. She later said that Trump was 'reportedly reconsidering this decision'.
Source: AMI Newswire
