EDITORIAL: As Americans struggle, record raises for federal workers

Bidenomics has made life miserable for many American families struggling with higher prices for food and other staples. But while private-sector stiffs face challenges navigating the wreckage of the president’s policies, federal government employees will have it a bit easier in 2024.

Last month, the Office of Personnel Management published updated pay scales for federal employees. The adjustments reflect an August executive order signed by President Joe Biden promising generous pay hikes to federal workers in 2024. The 5.2 percent average raise will be the largest annual increase since 1980 under President Jimmy Carter.

Is it a coincidence that both Mr. Carter and Mr. Biden — unpopular leaders presiding over economies wrought by inflation and sluggish housing markets caused by high mortgage interest rates — sought to placate a key Democratic constituency during a presidential election year? Hardly.

For comparison, a survey conducted late last year by the Society of Human Resources Managers estimates that the average private-sector employee can expect a pay hike of 3.5 percent this year. Many will likely get nothing. Let’s remember that these are the workers who must generate the billions in tax revenue necessary to cover Mr. Biden’s benevolence.

This is not to say that those toiling for the federal government — who already enjoy comfortable pension benefits and ironclad job security that their counterparts in the private sector can only dream of — don’t deserve an occasional raise. They do. But the timing of these pay hikes further exposes the tone-deaf nature of this White House.

The national debt just roared past $34 trillion. Prices for goods and services remain elevated thanks to the administration’s lavish spending habits. More families have been forced to take on credit card debt as interest rates soar thanks to Mr. Biden’s policies.

The Heritage Foundation estimated last year that the average American household has lost the equivalent of $7,400 in annual income since Mr. Biden was sworn into office. “That is more than a month’s salary for many families and the equivalent of more than a 10 percent pay cut for the median household income,” EJ Antoni of the think tank told Fox Business, citing higher borrowing costs and lower real wages.

Yet Mr. Biden remains unapologetically committed to an economic agenda of lavish spending, borrowing and $1.7 trillion annual deficits. That he would now approve record raises for a favored special interest group is a microcosm of the bigger picture. It’s also just another indication that the president doesn’t have much concern for those who must pay the bills.