When the Obama administration endorsed a two-year federal pay freeze, federal workers were stunned. The promise to make federal service “cool again” seemed at odds with a two-year drought in the wallet.

When the GOP-led House proposed extending the freeze for yet another year, federal workers — and especially federal unions — waxed wroth. ( If you are not a Groucho Marx fan, click here).

When the White House ended the freeze — over the objection of some House millionaire congressmen — many feds were still ticked. Recession notwithstanding, they were paying much higher health premiums with stagnant wages. The fact that the raise last year was 1 percent was considered little more than an insult by many.

This year, again, feds got a 1 percent raise. So that’s 2 percent (slightly more with compounding) in five years. So did anybody notice?

At a time when inflation is low (retirees got a 1.7 percent cost of living adjustment this month) a 1 percent raise is better than walking barefoot across hot coals. But only just.

Forty-nine dollar per barrel oil — meaning big savings at the pump — helps, a lot. Even though people from Wall Street to the Fed can’t decide whether high oil prices are better than low oil prices.

So are politicians who are doling out federal pay raises — at a rate of 1 percent per year — going to make this a permanent feature? Or is, given the times, 1 percent not so bad?

The economy is creating more jobs all the time. But many are not at the pay level of the pre-recession job market. Nor do the service industry jobs have the same promotion potential. Or pension benefits. For many, having a job in 2015 is not the same as having a job in 2005.

The question is does anybody out there care? Or have hopes that happy days will soon return? While inflation is low (the real fear of many is deflation) and oil is flowing, does it matter how much of a raise, if any, federal workers get?

The question maybe not so much does anybody care as, given the real world situation, should anybody care, and would it do any good if they did?

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID:

Compiled by Michael O’Connell

Clarification: Thursday’s NUF, about the origins of the Internal Revenue Service extending back to 1862, said that the Revenue Act of 1862 was repealed 10 years after it was enacted. In fact, Congress allowed the law to expire when it passed the Revenue Act of 1870.

A tip of the NUF cap to IRS employee Clyde Waltermate for keeping us honest. — M.O’C.

Source: Wikipedia

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