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Federal workers have been awarded bigger average pay and benefit increases than private employees
for nine years in a row. The compensation gap between federal and private workers has doubled in the past decade.
Here's an idea whose time has come... Cut the federal deficit by cutting lavish federal salaries/benefits.
Cut deficit without cutting services? Start here
Quote:
You can start cutting government spending without cutting anyone's services or subsidies or monthly checks. Just bring the pay of federal workers into line with pay in the private sector.
A recent Heritage Foundation study found the average federal worker (excluding the uniformed military) makes $78,901 a year in wages and salary versus $50,111 for the average private sector worker. When you count generous health and pension benefits, the average total compensation of federal workers comes to $111,015 a year versus $60,078 in the private sector.
I'm fully on board with questioning some of the bennies of public servents, but one thing to keep in mind is that that government workers as a whole are probably more often in higher earning positions, as in a smaller percentage of them are probably fast food workers, laborers etc. and more are white collar careers.
PLEASE: before the economy went south all of my friends in the private sector made fun of me for being a federal worker--when they were all earning significantly more money than me. Now, federal workers are the scapegoats. The typical pension for anyone entering Federal service after 1989 is 1% of the average of the worker's "high 3" salaried years, multiplied by the number of years worked so; for an employee earning $81,000 (and I doubt that the average Federal salary is that high), who works 30 years, their pension would be approximately $24300 annually or, $2025 monthly. Granted, a lot of private businesses have done away with pensions in the last decade but $24,300 annually is hardly big money to live on. I and many of my co-workers have graduate or advanced degrees; I have friends in Sales, Finance, and other occupations with less education who still make more than I do. I also have friends who have been unemployed for quite awhile. When I made a decision to go into a Federal career, I understood (at that time) that I would be sacrificing earning more money in return for decent benefits and relative job security. Whereas a few years back people looked down on federal workers as being inept, lazy, or lacking talent (all untrue IMO) now federal workers are viewed with disdain because we are still employed, still have health and retirement benefits. I agree everyone needs to sacrifice when the economy is down and I do not believe Federal workers should be getting raises when our national debt is out of control. But, it's also not fair to chip away at worker's retirement or other benefits such as health care simply because the private job sector is suffering. It wasn't that long ago that most reputable companies in the private sector provided pensions for their workers; now because private sector companies have cut back, it's suddenly considered extravagent for the government to include a pension as a benefit.
Only the truly ignorant believe the biggest problem in government spending is the wages of it's workers, try looking at the numbers that represent the cost of our "defense" spending and government pork barrel projects. If we are to get an education one news article at a time then we can expect to remain ignorant.
Government workers, their salaries & benefits are the new bogey men of the right these days.
They have replaced the Welfare queen cheat driving around in her Cady and having babies on the tax payers dime. Now it's the overpaid government worker, retired early, living on a big pension, drinking foofoo cocktails on the beach.
But it's not far enough... Now if only we could be even more like China, where being employed by the government mean you are all 'dat on the social scale, mostly because you work in a place where it is expected for you to receive an extra "contribution" from your dear countrymen to assure their business will be done in a "complete and timely manor"?
Come on! Say you love where our country is going... you know you do!
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