More Thoughts on the Freeze

A few Day Two thoughts on the big pay freeze announcement:

• Obviously, this was at least in part a reaction to polls showing that many Americans think federal employees are overpaid. Given that, how do you think members of the public would respond if they knew this freeze doesn't mean that all civilian federal employees will be paid the same in 2011 and 2012 as they were this year? I'm referring to the within-grade increases that many employees will be due over the next two years, even if there's no across-the-board raise. I'm not saying those increases aren't justified, just that most people aren't aware that they exist.
• A two-year freeze may look like a dramatic, even unprecedented step to people in government. But not surprisingly, some are saying it doesn't go far enough. At Slate, Annie Lowrey argues that if Obama really wanted to make a difference in the budget deficit and the economy, he would have cut federal wages.
• Some are questioning the timing of the announcement, wondering whether Obama was simply trying to get out in front of the issue before a meeting with congressional leaders today. But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs' explanation--that the president was under a deadline to take a position on what next year's raise should be--is accurate. Under the never-fully-followed 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, if the president doesn't want to accept the large annual increases the law typically provides, he must submit an alternative plan by Nov. 30. Of course, he's under no obligation to announce his position on the following year's raise in advance.
• It'll be interesting to see what price Obama pays politically among his own supporters for the decision. Labor leaders seemed genuinely blindsided by the announcement. They didn't hesitate to blast it, and have already geared up to fight it.