What recession? Fed workers rake it in

NY Post ^ | December 12, 2009 | DAVID SEIFMAN

[Scanian]

The old saying that the best job to have during a recession is in government turns out to be the truth -- as long it's the federal government.

The number of federal employees earning $100,000 or more a year jumped from 14 to 19 percent of the federal payroll during the recession, according to a report in USA Today.

During that same period, the private sector was shedding 7.3 million jobs. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more shot up from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009.

Before the recession, the Transportation Department reported only a single employee pulling in $170,000 or more. Now that agency has 1,690 workers at that lofty level.

[Recon Dad]

It all makes for a good stump speech, but I have seen no President in my life time reduce or even slow the size of government one iota.

The candidate that promises to reduce the Federal Government by 10% and eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy would win in a landslide.

[Vaduz]

Private sector was shedding 7.3 million jobs,and yet the msm still has it’s knee pads on for Obama.

[Bon mots]

King Doofus said he would not rest until all Americans had a job...
...then went off to play a round of golf and vacation in Hawaii again.

[Scanian]

Any reduction in government has to originate at the grass roots level.

Once a politician makes it to Washington, he/she is almost sure to catch Potomac fever and will become a problem to their voters regardless of good intentions or any promises made.

The town halls and tea parties are going to have to intensify considerably and become a permanent fixture in American politics in order to administer “therapy” to the Potomac fever-infected congresscritters. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck with what we have and worse, as will succeeding generations.

[Scanian]

From his perspective, why not?

Cloward-Piven works like a runaway freight train once momentum is established and Zippy definitely has his flunkies pouring on the coal as the loco-motive speeds toward the wreck he is hoping for.

So why not travel, give some narcissistic speeches to dumb foreigners, play some golf, and generally enjoy life while what he has set in motion reaches its destination, which is national ruin?

[MCCC]

This is not much different than the European model. Why do you think the Euros have such an incentve to promote the global warming paradigm? More government jobs!

[lowbridge]

bump

[gov_bean_ counter]

DOD... $150,000 or more shot up from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009

Primarily as a result of deployment to combat zone. Base salary has a 35% add on for post differential common with any oversees assignment and a 35% add on for danger pay. (This number possibly includes contract employees as well.)

[allmost]

Bump.

[allmost]

Another Bump.

[central_va]

How many of these new highly piad g-workers were from Chicago?

[Leisler]

No wonder these wars are dragging on. Good pay for contractors, their companies, union workers. Rank and experience for the officer corps.....all at less killed than an morning in WW II on some now forgotten landing beach.

[Leisler]

1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder: Nately died a wealthy man,

Yossarian. He had over sixty shares in the syndicate.

Yossarian: What difference does that make? He’s dead.

1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder: Then his family will get it.

Yossarian: He didn’t have time to have a family.

1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder: Then his parents will get it.

Yossarian: They don’t need it, they’re rich.

1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder: Then they’ll understand.

[ml/nj]

I think it's any government job, not just a job with the Federal government. This morning on the radio I heard that the NYC transit system is going to give raises to its workers and cut service. They're talking about thinning schedules and eliminating routes. Now it would seem to me that if fewer trains are operated, then fewer motormen are needed and less maintenance will need to be performed, but I didn't hear anything in The Great Bloomberg's plan about laying off any of those workers getting raises.

These truly are times that try men's souls.

ML/NJ

[cricket]

No better way to insure a ‘politics’ success than get a majority of population dependent on Government; be they ‘salaried’ or on food stamps. The Left knows well; the hands that ‘feeds’ does not get bitten - not hard, anyway.

[narses]

[cricket]

that would be ‘the hand that feeds. . .’

[Cicero]

It seems to me that here's the real nugget, the paragraph that deserves to be lingered over:

The average federal salary zoomed 6.6 percent to $71,206, compared to the $54,101 paid by state and local governments, a 3.9 percent increase. The private-sector average is $40,331.

[mom aka the evil dictator]

This must be high level management jobs, because us peons are not getting any raises. I make decent money especially considering the economy and the unemployment rate, but nothing like that. If the rest of the feds are like us they are doing away with peon jobs and expanding management jobs so that us peons can know how to do our jobs with less peons!