zerohedge.com / By Tyler Durden / 12/29/2012 15:19
When it comes to US austerity, a very sensitive topic as framed best by the “spending cuts” portion in the Fiscal Cliff debate, the ideas range from the surreal to the outright idiotic: as an example in the most recent Obama proposal spending would be “reduced” in the form of $290 billion in interest savings – not an actual spending reduction, but a hope and a prayer that because rates are lower, the government will “save” money with rates continuing to be lower (something which immediately causes a #Ref! explosion for anyone not using government math), $130 billion in savings that would come from once again rejiggering the definition of ‘inflation’, as well as “savings” from not funding extra defense spending because the US is not engaged in a pro forma war. Like we said: surreal and idiotic, or in other words, no actual real cuts to spending. Yet even as the nation is gripped by the melodrama of fake spending cuts offset by the threat to tax millionaires more (all of whom will merely find more creative and effective ways to hide their wealth and income offshore), spending increases are all too real, such as last night’s order by Obama’s just issued an executive order to end the pay freeze for federal employees, which is the equivalent of a wage increase. A truly deserved rise in wages for a job well done by the most dysfunctional Congress America has ever seen.
Among the workers to receive a pay increase is Vice President Job Biden. As the Weekly Standard reports, citing disclosure forms, Biden made $225,521 last year and after the pay increase, he’ll now make $231,900 per year. More: “Members of Congress, from the House and Senate, also will receive a little bump, as their annual salary will go from $174,000 to 174,900. Leadership in Congress, including the speaker of the House, will likewise get an increase.” Somehow we have the feeling that Congress will be quite united behind this “order”, just as the Senate was very united yesterday in its decision to continue spying on America’s citizens.
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