"Financial Self-Care" Email Advises City Employees Seeking Wage Increase to "Avoid Impulse Buys"
Council declines to raise payroll tax to fund future wage increases, but does decide—narrowly—to pay for mental health care at schools
By Erica C. Barnett
The office of Mayor Bruce Harrell, who has proposed giving thousands of city employees a ‘cost of living adjustment’ significantly below the rate of inflation, sent out an email to city workers this week containing tips and tricks for spending less money.
The email, titled "Financial Self-Care," informs employees that "Making small changes to your money mindset and habits can have an immediate impact on your financial picture." For example, it says, city workers could get rid of subscriptions that can add $12 to $30 to their monthly costs; consolidate their debts; and "pay yourself first – set aside money for emergency funds or long-term savings every paycheck before paying bills and spending.
"Pay yourself first" is a concept popularized by the "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" series of self-help books, which argues that people should put money toward investments before paying for rent, food, electric bills, and other immediate needs.
The email also advise workers—who are seeking an annual wage increase that at least keeps up with inflation, instead of a sub-inflationary increase that will amount to a significant annual pay cut—to start thinking about whether they really need the things they're buying. "Start defining wants and needs – Ask yourself: 'Is this a need or want?' with each purchase, to avoid impulse buys," the email says.
Harrell, who initially proposed a 1 percent wage increase at a time when inflation had recently topped 8 percent, has reportedly more than doubled that offer, but even a 2.5 percent increase represents a significant pay cut in a city where the cost of living is rising much faster than that.
"When we stop seeing financial self-care as a chore and start incorporating it as part of a routine, we become empowered to build a stronger future," the email concludes. "What steps can you take next?"
For many city workers, the answer is: Continue working for a wage increase that won't put them even further behind. Earlier this month, city employees held a series of "practice pickets” across the city.
On Tuesday morning, the city council voted 5-4 against two proposals that would increase the JumpStart payroll tax, paid by the city's largest companies, by a fraction of a percentage point to fund $40 million for future pay increases for city employees.
The council did approve a $20 million increase in the tax to pay for mental health care services at public schools, with Council President Debora Juarez joining Tammy Morales, Teresa Mosqueda, Lisa Herbold, and amendment sponsor Kshama Sawant to vote for the increase.
Dozens of students and former students showed up at a public hearing Monday night to testify in favor of the modest tax hike, noting the recent increase in diagnosed and undiagnosed mental illness and suicide attempts among public school students in Seattle. Before voting against the proposal, Councilmember Sara Nelson said it was important to sit down with "both sides" before passing any tax increase.
"Blaming the victim: A social psychological phenomenon in which individuals or groups attempt to cope with the bad things that have happened to others by assigning blame to the victim of the trauma or tragedy. Victim blaming serves to create psychological distance between the blamer and the victim to defend the blamer against feelings of responsibility for their failure to intervene."
When someone is overburdened and we say “what are you doing for self-care?” it disregards the systemic problems that created the hardship in the first place. It lets the people in charge of our systems off the hook, and puts the onus on the individual to manage the consequences of working in a broken system.
I think most HRs of many organizations are sending these kinds of emails regarding Financial Health more often in the last few years. Where I work, they offer a money checkup session. We all wish we could be paid more and keep up with inflation, but also be honest with ourselves and think are we also overspending.