Article

2012-01-31 Home Front: Culture Wars

Confirmed: Federal Workers Earn More Than Private Sector Counterparts

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by DarthVader 2012-01-31 10:51|| || Front Page|| [7 views ] Top

#1 Government-Leukaemia.

It (white blood cells/government) should be there just to stop nasties, but it spreads and metastasises, and over time kills what's it's there to protect.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2012-01-31 11:03|| 2012-01-31 11:03|| Front Page Top

#2 And they are far, far, less valuable. And far more arrogant.

Posted by newc 2012-01-31 12:27|| 2012-01-31 12:27|| Front Page Top

#3 A .5% raise in a 3 year stretch is not what I would call out of control.
The federal government workforce is mostly professionals and technical people (DOD excluded). As a federal engineer, I am somewhat underpaid in wages, but have a better defined benefit pension than many private sector people. Or so they say in the article.
What they don't mention is that CSRS pension hasn't accepted any new enrollees since 1984 and that since then FERS is the only federal worker pension that non postal service employees can get into.
FERS pays 1% per year of service on you high 3 year average salary. So after 30 years if you made $75,000 a year for your last 3 years, your yearly benefit would be $22,500 or $1,875 a month. So we have to pay into Social Security and have our own 401K fund that we pay into called the TSP. We have to put the 3 together to make enough to retire and not eat dog food.
CSRS employees work 30 years and retire at 80% of high 3 salary and don't have to pay SS out of their check.
You can be pissed off at the lazy, arrogant, stupid, icky federal employees all you want, but let's please get the facts straight. I've worked private sector and am currently in the public sector. I can easily move again if the need arises. A pay freeze until 2015 will have a lot of very hard to replace people heading for the door such as scientists and engineers. The truly overpaid derelicts will just dig in and survive, they have nowhere to go anyway. So I think the discussion needs to be tailored a little bit to address problem employees and waste, not everyone that happens to work for the government.
Just my two cents worth, but I work with a lot of capable, dedicated people.....and a few douche bags.

Posted by bigjim-CA 2012-01-31 19:55|| 2012-01-31 19:55|| Front Page Top

#4 I may paint with a large brush.

"...not everyone that happens to work for the government."

But oftentimes people in the government think all of us do. That's an issue.
Bureaucrats, paperwork, treading to float or floating to tread.

When I see things like federal employee unions, it gets me riled up.
I understand the tortoise and hare game, but I cannot appreciate the tortoise out-competing the market that is it's sole support.

Federal Employees, like all are of many different calibers and qualities. But lower pay and pensions must be accepted in exchange for job stability.

The bigger it gets, the smaller it's support base gets.

On a personal note, I have met few Federal Employees I have dis-liked. Very few.

Posted by newc 2012-01-31 20:17|| 2012-01-31 20:17|| Front Page Top

#5 have a better defined benefit pension than many private sector people
If you have any defined benefit pension to look forward to, you are way ahead of the vast majority of private sector workers, whose only defined benefit is Social Security. Defined benefit pensions in the private sector are going the way of the dodo, except for a few of the elite private employees, like CEO's.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2012-01-31 22:44|| 2012-01-31 22:44|| Front Page Top

#6 Few gov't workers paint the rest as lazy.
yes there are a buhch that aren't worth the sweat off your ballz, but most put in an honest ( and then some) day's work.
Spousal Unit is one of those; and while i do have a bias, she routinely travels on the weekends when she gets sent on out of town details (many not of her choosing)

Posted by USN, Ret. 2012-01-31 22:46|| 2012-01-31 22:46|| Front Page Top

00:13 JosephMendiola
00:06 Lonzo the Lesser4370
23:47 JosephMendiola
23:45 JosephMendiola
23:43 JosephMendiola
23:42 SteveS
23:33 JosephMendiola
23:25 trailing wife
23:15 rammer
23:15 JosephMendiola
23:11 JosephMendiola
22:57 rammer
22:46 USN, Ret.
22:45 rammer
22:44 Anguper Hupomosing9418
22:19 Frank G
22:05 Frank G
22:04 Frank G
22:01 Glenmore
21:51 Anonymoose
21:36 Anonymoose
21:36 dacama
21:34 Anonymoose
21:28 tipover