I figured it was only a matter of time before this happened. I mean, God forbid that anyone other than bankers have a comfortable retirement in this country: The generous pension system enjoyed by millions of federal workers from clerks to
May 15, 2011

I figured it was only a matter of time before this happened. I mean, God forbid that anyone other than bankers have a comfortable retirement in this country:

The generous pension system enjoyed by millions of federal workers from clerks to senators and judges has emerged as a key target in negotiations between Vice President Biden and congressional leaders looking to restrain the growing national debt.

Republicans have proposed saving more than $120 billion over the next decade by requiring the civilian workforce to contribute more toward retirement — a plan that would effectively impose an immediate 5 percent pay cut on more than 2 million federal employees. President Obama’s bipartisan fiscal commission has also endorsed the idea, calling the federal system “out of line” with the private sector.

Yes, it's true that the federal retirement system is better than that of the private sector, but that's because the private sector has decimated their retirement benefits by comparison. So the "bipartisan" solution is to make retirement just as miserable for federal workers as it is for everyone else! Let's not even get into the fact that federal workers have agreed to work for less pay in order to have a dependable retirement plan.

Now, administration officials have expressed interest in raising the amount that employees contribute to their pensions — though probably not as high as the GOP proposal, definitely not as fast and possibly not for all workers, according to people in both parties familiar with the discussions.

If adopted as part of a compromise plan to control federal borrowing, the proposal promises to test the resolve of local lawmakers — particularly Democrats — by forcing them to choose between the lofty goal of debt reduction and the interests of public-sector workers, who have come under fire from Republicans in Washington and several state capitals.

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