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Old 05-06-2011, 02:52 PM
 
12,905 posts, read 15,614,527 times
Reputation: 9393

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton56 View Post
Really? Those in the government who make $50,000 go to the private sector and make $250,000? Or if they're making $100,000, they can do private and make $500,000? If that's true, then it's totally amazing we have ANYONE working for the government! My kid is totally wasting his time with Uncle Sam. Too bad the private sector has yet to offer him more money than the government. Please let us know how to get on the ''five times'' deal, he will be thrilled!

Yeah, I haven't seen the "five times" but I've seen several retirees get at least what they were making. My mom just retired this past Friday and she has three offers from contractors for at least what she's making (high GS-14) yet she will have a lot less work/responsibility.

 
Old 05-06-2011, 03:02 PM
 
Location: Virginia
18,717 posts, read 31,015,993 times
Reputation: 42988
1. How come those dang government workers are always working and never have time to go out and have fun with me? Everyone in Nova is such a workaholic!

2. How come those dang government workers have such easy jobs? Nobody in Nova has ever worked a hard day in his life!

3. How come we don't have all the same services I had in Michigan, as well as the ones my friends had in California and New York and Jersey and Pennsylvania. Even though each one of those places had different services, we demand them all.

4. Hey, how come my taxes are going up? Where do they think we are--Michigan, or California or Jersey?

5. Dammit, why don't you people have the same taste that I do in urban design/restaurants/etc. The problem with Nova is everybody here has different ideas of what's good taste.

6. Dammit, why don't you people have different tastes in urban design/restaurants/etc. Everything is the same here. So bland, so vanilla.

7. The reason Nova sucks is there's no mass transit to Tysons or the Tech Corridor. Don't they know we need to cut down on people driving to work in those places?

8. The reason Nova sucks is they're building mass transit in Tysons Corner and the Tech Corridor. Don't they know people are trying to drive to work in those places?

9. The reason Nova sucks is all those other drivers don't take public transportation and clear out the road for my car.

10. How come life in Nova isn't like a tv sitcom? I've been here 3 weeks already, and my next door neighbor has not invited me to join the gang at his uncle's ski lodge. Not only that, but his blonde sister did not get drunk and then hop into bed with me! Man, Nova's unfriendly!

...and, for a bonus...

11. The reason Nova sucks is the laws are different from laws in my old state and you name your streets differently than they did in my old state and and food is different from the way it was in my old state and everything needs to be exactly the way it was in my old state. Also, the reason Nova sucks is that nothing is unique here. Everything just reminds me of the way it was in my old state.

Last edited by Caladium; 05-06-2011 at 03:12 PM..
 
Old 05-06-2011, 04:01 PM
 
2,688 posts, read 6,669,194 times
Reputation: 1291
ILD and Caladium, I think you both captured both the region and this board quite well !
 
Old 05-06-2011, 04:59 PM
 
505 posts, read 763,476 times
Reputation: 512
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristineVA View Post
Yeah, I haven't seen the "five times" but I've seen several retirees get at least what they were making. My mom just retired this past Friday and she has three offers from contractors for at least what she's making (high GS-14) yet she will have a lot less work/responsibility.
It works the other way too. I've known several people who took the "insourcing" route and are making the same or more as they were as contractors (plus better job security and benefits) and working less (no more business development or personnel management on their own time).
 
Old 05-06-2011, 05:12 PM
 
505 posts, read 763,476 times
Reputation: 512
Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton56 View Post
Really? Those in the government who make $50,000 go to the private sector and make $250,000? Or if they're making $100,000, they can do private and make $500,000? If that's true, then it's totally amazing we have ANYONE working for the government! My kid is totally wasting his time with Uncle Sam. Too bad the private sector has yet to offer him more money than the government. Please let us know how to get on the ''five times'' deal, he will be thrilled!
In fairness, there are a FEW people who are able to pull this off. Mostly very very high level hill staffers, well connected political appointees returning to the private sector, retiring 4 star military officers, and some higher level lawyers or finance people with specialized knowledge getting hired to help companies figure out how to get around regulations they wrote.

For the vast majority of workers without these backgrounds or a huge gold plated rolodex, the gov't and the private sector pay about the same around here. Otherwise, workers would see they could make much more on the other side of the fence and supply and demand would correct the market as everyone rushed to the higher paying jobs.
 
Old 05-06-2011, 05:22 PM
 
8,983 posts, read 21,114,952 times
Reputation: 3796
Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton56 View Post
I loved your post and gave you a rep point for it. One small thing, it's LOUDOUN county, two U's in the word. Thanks.
Take another look at #10 and you may pick up on the joke.
 
Old 05-06-2011, 05:33 PM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,425,821 times
Reputation: 4013
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristineVA View Post
Yeah, I haven't seen the "five times" but I've seen several retirees get at least what they were making. My mom just retired this past Friday and she has three offers from contractors for at least what she's making (high GS-14) yet she will have a lot less work/responsibility.
Well, the contractor gravy-train has slowed down some since even before Bush left office, but in the Beltway-Bandit heydays, we had projects on which every single non-clerical staffer was making more than the in-house project manager. That didn't sit so well with the client after a while. Things have definitely tightened up since, but there are certainly still good deals to be had.
 
Old 05-06-2011, 05:39 PM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,425,821 times
Reputation: 4013
Quote:
Originally Posted by khuntrevor View Post
Have you checked the salaries at UAL, lately?
Depends what you fly. If you're on an A320, you're making $125-$140 per hour. If it were a 747, you'd be in the $180-190 per hour range. Not sure how many military guys are pulling down those numbers.
 
Old 05-06-2011, 06:12 PM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,425,821 times
Reputation: 4013
Quote:
Originally Posted by shamrock847 View Post
In fairness, there are a FEW people who are able to pull this off. Mostly very very high level hill staffers, well connected political appointees returning to the private sector, retiring 4 star military officers, and some higher level lawyers or finance people with specialized knowledge getting hired to help companies figure out how to get around regulations they wrote.
Not quite as rarified air as all that, even at 5-to-1. You would indeed need to have some form of specialized skill or knowledge in most cases, but access alone can make you worth an awful lot. But it looks in any case as if the "people who are paid by the taxpayers to do virtually nothing, and have never, could never, and will never work in the private sector" myth is a unanimous bust.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shamrock847 View Post
For the vast majority of workers without these backgrounds or a huge gold plated rolodex, the gov't and the private sector pay about the same around here. Otherwise, workers would see they could make much more on the other side of the fence and supply and demand would correct the market as everyone rushed to the higher paying jobs.
The generality would seem pretty well documented. BLS and OPM do regular joint studies to assess private sector pay rates for work comparable to what is actually done in the federal sector in cities all across the country. They have generally shown a pay gap of 18-22% in favor of the private sector, a little higher lately. But the public sector has lost benefits at a slower rate than the private sector, and they enjoy the special challenge and supposed psychic income of performing public service, so the simple dollars-and-cents data may not tell the whole story.

There is however no reason at all for raping public sector workers simply because the higher-risk bets placed by those who chased the glitzy stock-option/profit-sharing rainbows of the private sector failed to cash in. You build your house of straw or sticks, the Big Bad Wolf might come along and blow it down. That's no reason to go burn down the house of the guy who chose to build with brick. Some folks in these parts need a refresher in what that notion of Personal Responsibility® really means.
 
Old 05-06-2011, 07:52 PM
 
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,691 posts, read 41,629,721 times
Reputation: 41324
Quote:
Originally Posted by IndiaLimaDelta View Post
This is MY particular list. Feel free to add yours!

1. "Real estate is over-priced here!" And it's corollary "Why can't I afford a SFH in Great Falls with my first job out of college?"
Are people out of line for wanting a safe place to live that is of a reasonable commute to where they work that is affordable?

Quote:
2. "People here are rude (or selfish or unfriendly, ad naseum)!"
What would you say if 85% of the people in one area insisted on cutting in line and cussing at you when you object, folks who ignore you when you make a simple wave, folks who blow past you at 90 mph on I-95?

Quote:
3. "I'm leaving here as soon as I get similar job elsewhere!"
If they make good on the threat why beat them up about it? I know how you feel about Newport News.

Quote:
4. "I left NoVA. Where I am now is a paradise in comparison!"
So, what is the problem if someone finds something that works for them better and they want to gloat a bit? Ya'll make it seem like no one can be happy after leaving NoVA. In the year since I left NoVA some things that have happened:

- My father passed away.
- A close friend in Alexandria was recently killed in a car accident.
- Seems like the sun does not like coming here often.
- Was unemployed from May-October.
- Didnt get a permanent FT job offer until Janurary and that job is going away in 2013.

Life happens whether in Louisville or NoVA.

Quote:
5. "I can't make friends here!"
When a lot of the people you encounter in a certain area end up being tools, you'll kinda get turned off of making friends. Also, like I said earlier NoVA folks are not outwardly friendly.

Quote:
7. "Why is everything being bulldozed, developed and turned into concrete and asphalt? You're ruining the the natural beauty of the area!"
Is it a crime to want some green space? Hampton Roads ain't all that different but still manages to have a little green space. Say what you want about KY, but it's natural beauty is one of its best features.

Quote:
8. "Why does everyone like McMansions? You should live in a walkable townhome!"

Translation: "I can't buy a big home. But I hate that you can."
I find that men in particular buy bigger things to make up for something else that is a little smaller. Have fun paying the utility bills.

Quote:
2. How come those dang government workers have such easy jobs? Nobody in Nova has ever worked a hard day in his life!
With some stories my mom has about DOD, I'm tempted to buy this.
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