Obama should take 15 unpaid furlough days: Daley

Quote :

August 7, 2009

BY LISA DONOVAN Staff Reporter

President Obama — and every federal employee — should take 15 unpaid furlough days for the sake of the country, Mayor Daley suggested today.

They need to suck it up and feel the pain Americans have endured in the economic downtown that has seen jobs and wages slashed, he said.

“I hope every federal employee from the president all the way down takes 15 days without pay to turn that money back to taxpayers’ use, because they’re getting laid off, they’re getting cut back, there are no jobs out there,” Daley said Friday.

An animated Daley offered the advice during a press conference on the Northwest Side to announce $1.7 billion in projects around the city. The projects use money that comes from bonds and federal and city coffers, including tax increment financing districts.

Daley said road, library and sewer construction projects are necessary to keep a city running and, at these times, people employed.

But as he spoke about the projects, he reflected on what’s happening in city government: layoffs and furlough days. The mayor says he’s taking 15 unpaid days this year and believes every level of government — all the way up to the president might do the same to save taxpayer dollars.

“I believe that would have an enormous impact upon America,” Daley said. “In other words you’re telling the taxpayers that everybody’s suffering and you’re suffering. And government has to start squeezing and tightening in.”

So he's advocating that for all government employees, right? Many years ago, there was a stat that the average American was 3 paychecks from losing their house - wonder what that number is now?

I'm glad Daley is leading by example.

The whole idea of advocating that all federal employees should take 15 days off makes absolutely no sense to me. How is that going to help? All it would do is leave us with less tax revenue and less money flowing into the economy.

Ultimately, the whole idea of a stimulus is to get more money into the pockets of consumers so they will spend it and promote economic growth. IMHO, Daley's idea of a unpaid furlough of millions of federal employees would be a frickin' economic disaster.

I understand Daley's frustration, and it's admirable that he is willing to take a pay cut in order to show some symbolic support for his city employees who have been adversely impacted by the recession, but the suggestion of an unpaid furlough of all federal employees is shortsighted and foolish.

It'll save no money...they'll have to do overtime to make up for the lost time on the job (garbage removal), etc. Best thing would have been to make them work those days without pay.


Actually, maybe it doesn't make a difference...they don't work, and still get paid the rest of the year. (Fed and local gov't)!