Questions about McCabe's firing

[Hazir]

You are conflating the general and the specific. Yes in general public sector pensions are ridiculously generous. Yes in general tightening them up would be better and more cost-effective for the taxpayer.

However that's not what has happened here. What has happened is that an individual - after he was asked how he voted in a secret ballot - has been persecuted to be uniquely and punitively punished by taking away his entitlement while leaving others untouched. Not only that but it has been done in a high profile punitive fashion designed to intimidate others into acting in the way those abusing their power want. Pour encourager les autres.

One has to agree.

It all smacks of an abuse of powers. I'm shocked Americans here see it as justified for the single reason than that they feel government pensions are too generous. I'm happy to live in a continent where the courts would not allow this kind of behaviour by an unhinged administration.

[wiggin]

You are conflating the general and the specific. Yes in general public sector pensions are ridiculously generous. Yes in general tightening them up would be better and more cost-effective for the taxpayer.

However that's not what has happened here. What has happened is that an individual - after he was asked how he voted in a secret ballot - has been persecuted to be uniquely and punitively punished by taking away his entitlement while leaving others untouched. Not only that but it has been done in a high profile punitive fashion designed to intimidate others into acting in the way those abusing their power want. Pour encourager les autres.

One has to agree.

It all smacks of an abuse of powers. I'm shocked Americans here see it as justified for the single reason than that they feel government pensions are too generous. I'm happy to live in a continent where the courts would not allow this kind of behaviour by an unhinged administration.

I want to be absolutely clear: I in no way condone the firing of McCabe (or anyone else) in a vindictive way that needlessly curtails their pensions. Furthermore, while I have not seen the substance of the investigation into McCabe's conduct and am not in a position to determine whether he had indeed engaged in problematic behavior, I am fairly certain that his firing was politically motivated and is all sorts of wrong. My only point was that people were specifically focusing on the pension question, when in reality McCabe's pension that had already vested was quite generous.

I'm upset about the behavior towards McCabe mostly because of the ramifications for ongoing presidential interference in the Justice Department and other elements of the civil service. The pettiness associated with his pension is, well, petty, but does not appear on the face of it to be a crushing blow to McCabe's financial security. (The ramifications for healthcare for him and his family are less clear to me and may indeed be huge problems.) Let's keep our eyes on the ball here, yes?

[Hazir]

I want to be absolutely clear: I in no way condone the firing of McCabe (or anyone else) in a vindictive way that needlessly curtails their pensions. Furthermore, while I have not seen the substance of the investigation into McCabe's conduct and am not in a position to determine whether he had indeed engaged in problematic behavior, I am fairly certain that his firing was politically motivated and is all sorts of wrong. My only point was that people were specifically focusing on the pension question, when in reality McCabe's pension that had already vested was quite generous.

I'm upset about the behavior towards McCabe mostly because of the ramifications for ongoing presidential interference in the Justice Department and other elements of the civil service. The pettiness associated with his pension is, well, petty, but does not appear on the face of it to be a crushing blow to McCabe's financial security. (The ramifications for healthcare for him and his family are less clear to me and may indeed be huge problems.) Let's keep our eyes on the ball here, yes?

I don't see how the matter of it being a crushing blow or not is relevant in any way. As a part of the absolutely breathtaking behavior of the Trump administration it's not a lesser element; it is a violation of basic principles of government and rule of law on a par with the other elements of this unsavory affair.