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No, the two COLA's are derived from different calculations. The SS COLA is derived from CPI-U in July, August, and September of the preceding year. If you'll recall, gasoline prices were in the $4.00 per gallon range in those months during 2008. SS recipients got a very large COLA for 2009 as the result, even though gas was back down to $1.50 a gallon by the first of the year. By the summer of 2009, gas prices were still way down from a year ealrier, and the rest of the CPI-U was falling as well thanks to the economic collapse of 2008. Thus SS recipients SHOULD get a negative COLA this year, but they will get zero instead. They may get zero in 2011 as well if the CPI-U for the summer of 2010 is not above that for the summer of 2008.
The COLA for federal workers is meanwhile based on a basket of private sector wage rates. These worker-citizen-taxpayers got a solid raise in 2009, but much less than what SS recipients got. This year, they will get a modest increase while SS gets none. Over the two years, the two groups will break about even, but the SS folks got their money earlier.
This is both correct and incorrect.
The really big incorrect part is:
A federal worker does or does not get a pay raise.
A federal retiree does or does not get a COLA.
I've been both a federal worker and now a federal retiree, and I can tell you for a fact, it is absolutely wrong to think that the pay raise that federal workers are getting in 2010 is a COLA.
People who use the "pay raise" and "COLA" interchangeably are simply wrong.
And the two COLAs - Social Security and federal retiree - are based on the same calculation. In 2010, as a federal retiree, I get no COLA, just as my neighbor, as a Social Security retiree, gets no COLA.
No money no raises, most of us have taken large pay cuts.
Then maybe you should find another place to work when the recession ends.
Most folks are still getting pay raises - smaller than typical to be sure - but still getting raises.
Average pay raise is likely to be below 2 percent | Philly | 08/10/2009 (http://www.philly.com/philly/jobs/Average_pay_raise_is_likely_to_be_below_2_percent. html - broken link)
If the Federal Government has to bail the company out - it IS taxpayer money.
Don't you even read your OWN posts? LOL
Ken
Let me make it real simple for you
1-I dont support ceos getting bonuses with taxpayers money or till they pay back the amount they got from the taxpayers.
2-I dont support federal employees getting one now either.
Is that simple enough for ya? Ken
You on the other hand support federal employees getting a raise but not a ceo of getting a bonus with taxpayer money.
You act like the federal gov hasnt failed like the company that we had to bailout, Have you seen the amount of debt this country is in? Is this countrys books in the red or black?
Federal employee pay raises will help the recovery as most of these employees spend every dime.
I LOVE this logic.
It's great to know that THEY are willing to spend every dime they make to save the economy the rest of us can't help out much with.
It's ALL on "their" shoulders to stimulate the ailing economy, I suppose.......since WE gotta make sure they keep their salaries and don't have to settle for their measley 2% raises for very long.
I guess all those green jobs will be available for millions of the rest of us....soon?
THEN.....WE will all be able to do our part and allow the 15% raises they surely desire.....so THEY have even MORE money to stimulate the economy?
We must not be allowed to afford such a luxury to stimulate it in the way they can.
But.....the economy thrives whether one is stuck buying that 48" big screen....and all those who will continue to be happy buying that 10 year old 19" RCA at Goodwill.
After all.....it's still SPENDING.
It's a shame that the socio-economic gap still continues to widen more rapidly than ever....and noticeably so....between those in TODAY'S private sector and those with salaries provided by them.
Then maybe you should find another place to work when the recession ends.
Most folks are still getting pay raises - smaller than typical to be sure - but still getting raises.
Average pay raise is likely to be below 2 percent | Philly | 08/10/2009 (http://www.philly.com/philly/jobs/Average_pay_raise_is_likely_to_be_below_2_percent. html - broken link)
Did you read your own links? Or did you google something and these sites came up so you posted them
The bottom link is to a poll of a thousand companys asking if they plan to change their payroll budget. It says yes they plan to lower their payroll budget. DO you get what that means.
Did you read your own links? Or did you google something and these sites came up so you posted them
The bottom link is to a poll of a thousand companys asking if they plan to change their payroll budget. It says yes they plan to lower their payroll budget. DO you get what that means.
Yes - it means they laid people (gee THAT'S a surprise in a recession) - but the remaining people STILL GOT RAISES ("Employers to Decrease Salary Budgets But Still Plan to Give Raises")
A 2% raise for 15 million employees making say (conservatively) $50,000/year will pump an additional 15 billion dollars into the economy in the first year - that's 15 billion dollars additional that will "trickle down" (to use a favorite phrase of Ronald Reagan) paying the wages of all kinds of American workers who make things those 15 million Federal workers will buy, eat or entertain themselves with.
Ken
This is the faied argument of the tax and spend liberals.
So basically, you want the average joe to pick up the tab of 15 billion, to pay the pay increases, and your justification is "then people will get it back when it is infused into the economy".
That is like saying "hey, give me 5 bucks before you go mow my lawn so I can pay you 5 bucks when your finished". Awesome deal.
The problem many tax and spend people have is that they can't comprehend that the government has no money that is their own. All of the money they have to stimulate the economy was taken from the economy. Its moving money around with some people benefiting while others sacrifice while being told a terrible lie. Smoke and mirrors.
I work in the private sector, and for the last 2 years, I have gotten a 0% raise. So much for that non-sense of average 8-10% raises for the private sector BS.
Yes - it means they laid people (gee THAT'S a surprise in a recession) - but the remaining people STILL GOT RAISES ("Employers to Decrease Salary Budgets But Still Plan to Give Raises")
Ken
So basically, to justify the feds getting a raise, they pay attention to HALF the facts that justify their raise... and ignore all of the people on the unemployment roles.
How convenient.
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