Holiday Heist: How Juneteenth Became a $600M Gift to Government Workers

I’m not here to rain on Juneteenth’s parade

I’m old enough to remember the addition of several national holidays to the federal calendar. I’m not here to rain on Juneteenth’s parade; it’s a day of historical weight, marking the end of slavery in the U.S., and I’m all for recognizing it. But let’s talk straight: in the private sector, an extra day off is either a negotiated perk or swapped for another workday. Not so for federal and state employees. When Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, government workers got an extra paid day off—no strings attached. No one asked taxpayers if they were okay footing the bill for this feel-good gesture. The legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support (Senate: 100-0; House: 415-14), sailing through with minimal opposition. Biden signed it without a whisper about the cost. This top-down decision reeks of government overreach, bypassing the scrutiny any private business would face when adding a paid holiday.

Now, let’s crunch the numbers. The Congressional Budget Office pegged the cost of Juneteenth as a federal holiday at about $600 million annually, mostly from paying federal employees to stay home. With roughly 200 workdays in a year, that extra day off adds approximately 0.5% to the cost of government payroll. No budget cuts, no trade-offs—just a freebie tacked onto the federal deficit. The government could have swapped out another paid holiday to keep costs neutral, but that idea was never on the table. Instead, these costs bloat budgets while taxpayers are left holding the bag. Nobody in Congress or the White House asked, “Who’s paying for this?” or “What’s getting cut to make it happen?” It’s another unchecked expense, slipped into the national debt, already pushing $36 trillion. This isn’t just fiscal sloppiness—it’s a middle finger to the principle that government should live within its means.

And let’s not ignore the bigger picture: government workers are already overcompensated compared to their private-sector counterparts. Studies, like those from the Cato Institute, show federal employees earn higher salaries than similar roles in the private sector—often 10-20% more when factoring in skills and experience. Then there’s the gold-plated benefits: generous pensions, unmatched health plans, and near-impossible-to-lose job security. Private-sector workers face market discipline. Before Elon Musk took them on with DOGE, government workers skated through with protections that shield them from accountability. This extra holiday just piles on the disparity, giving them another perk most taxpayers can only dream of.

So, who’s investigating this? Nobody, as far as I can tell. The decision to add Juneteenth as a holiday sailed through with applause, not analysis. I’m all for celebrating freedom, but we need accountability. If the feds want to hand out paid holidays, they should offset the cost with cuts elsewhere or swap out an existing day off, not pile it onto the deficit. Government spending needs rigorous justification, and this is a prime example of why. The Biden Administration should have been held to account. Why do government workers get a free pay bump while taxpayers get stuck with the bill? Until we demand transparency and fiscal discipline, these “free” holidays will keep chipping away at our liberty, one deficit-funded day at a time.