It was doubtless a well-intentioned move, but President Barack Obama’s gesture last week of saying he would be returning 5 percent of his salary, or $20,000, to the Treasury as a way to express solidarity with federal employees who could see their pay reduced by the sequester is probably not having the intended effect.

Obama and other administration officials have stepped forward to offer givebacks of a part of their salaries to show support for federal workers who could be forced to take unpaid days off work or who could be furloughed because of sequestration, the across-the-board spending-reduction plan approved by Congress after it failed to produce a larger deficit-reduction agreement.

While debate over the impact of the sequester continues, Obama’s symbolic return of $20,000 to the Treasury raised a few eyebrows. It was even featured in a generally left-leaning weekend radio comedy show, which noted that with the $20,000 giveback, Obama will have to “get by” on a mere $380,000 salary, a rent-free mansion and unlimited use of a jumbo jet.

White House officials must have thought that the symbolism would have political value, but Obama will not notice the loss of $20,000, considering that his adjusted gross income was $790,000 in 2011. In some ways, the gesture could be seen as a PR slip.

The president earns a salary of $400,000 — and Obama earned about the same amount in 2011 from book sales.

And if the $20,000 poses a problem, Obama can fall back on savings. In 2010, the Obamas’ income was $1.7 million, down substantially from the $5.5 million of taxable income the Obamas reported in 2009.

Joining Obama last week in announcing that he will donate part of his salary because of concern over the impact of the sequester was Secretary of State John Kerry. The former Massachusetts senator, who will donate $9,175, or 5 percent of his $183,000 salary, to charity, reported a net worth of $184 million on his most recent financial disclosure form. He’s also married to Teresa Heinz Kerry, whose worth is reportedly more than $1 billion.

The giveback movement gained momentum last week and several other cabinet members, including Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, stepped forward to pledge to donate some of their pay. Again, the effort was probably well-intentioned and sincere, but it highlighted the fact that most of official Washington, D.C., lives in a world far removed from most of the rest of America.

For instance, Attorney General Eric Holder, who said he will give up his pay for however many days federal workers are furloughed because of the sequester, has an estimated worth of between $4 million and $8 million, based on recent financial disclosure reports.

The gestures by Obama, Kerry, Hagel and other administration officials are well-meaning, but the return of $10,000 or $20,000 is purely symbolic in terms of a financial sacrifice or as a way to express empathy with federal employees impacted by the sequester. To their credit, the Obamas and Kerrys are reportedly generous when it comes to regular charitable giving.

All things considered, it might have been better for Obama and the others to skip the 5 percent donations and other financial gestures of solidarity with federal employees and just work on negotiating a long-term deficit-reduction deal with Republicans in Congress that includes smarter spending cuts than the across-the-board sequester.