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Federal Government Workers Suck!

President Trump issued an executive order freezing federal worker pay for 2019.

See this news item, Trump issues executive order freezing federal workers' pay in 2019. To put this in the vernacular of our president would be to say, "You are not worthy of a raise — you suck!" Since it is a word he used in a speech on his trip to Iraq. It was his way of being "presidential." Today, I guess it is the American people who are no longer "suckers" for giving pay raises to government workers. 

I have been a government worker for most of my adult professional work life, 39 years out of 47 work years. I appreciated those raises that I had. They made a difference in the life of my family. Certainly it sends a message to federal workers about how they are valued, or not valued. It is but another play by Trump to his base who hates all forms of government, and its workers who they consider to be on the dole. 

What irritates me most about the action above is the false statement about the federal budget. "We must maintain efforts to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and Federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases," the president wrote. This is after the 2017 tax cuts given to the rich, which will give us an additional trillion dollars of debt for the past fiscal year, and succeeding years. Some would argue that the middle class also got tax cuts — but, did you know those expire in another seven years and the tax cuts for corporations and the rich have no expiration date? 

Back to federal workers, I just want you to know that I value your service. I've worked with many a dedicated federal employee over the years. Are there duds in the federal workforce — yes, just as there are duds working in the Army, or for the Boeing Company and other large corporations. 

I know it means little to many — but, thank you DHS staff currently working without pay! Thank you to all federal workers who are doing their part to serve our government. You will always be essential in my mind. 

Remember, "the worm will turn" eventually. 

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.