Yesterday Big Government posted an article about part of the deal that allowed the payroll tax holiday to continue for the year. One way to offset the cost was to increase the amount of money federal employees pay toward their pensions by .08%. First of all, the concept is false. The money that will not be taken out of your paycheck this year was supposed to go toward the non-existent ‘Social Security Fund’–not the general fund. All the payroll tax holiday is doing is hastening the demise of Social Security.

Meanwhile, the article at Big Government quotes the union leader’s reaction:

 “Working class men and women who have dedicated their lives to serve their country should not be on the hook for solving a crisis they did not create,” American Federation of Government Employees National President John Gage said.

[…]

Continuing to attack federal employees’ pay and benefits doesn’t create new jobs and only adds to the pain and suffering many working class men and women are experiencing,” Gage said.

For the moment I am going to ignore the fact that federal workers make double what their counterparts in private industry make (USA Today 8/13/2010) and focus on exactly what the .08% means in actual dollars. If you, as a federal worker, were currently contributing $100 to your pension plan, you are now required to contribute $100.80. That small amount will save the government about $15 billion.

I don’t think 80 cents is an attack on working class men and women. If they are so unhappy with paying the 80 cents, maybe they should try to get a job in the private sector.