Posted on 09/21/2010 9:19:03 AM PDT by Poundstone
Recently circulated news stories charging that federal employees are grossly overpaid — allegedly earning more than twice their private industry counterparts — are based on “a flawed reading of statistical data,” according to Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.).
In a Sept. 15 speech, Kaufman disputed a USA Today article purporting that federal workers’ pay dramatically outstrips that of their private-sector counterparts. The newspaper’s analysis, which was based on Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data, concluded that, in 2009, federal employees received an average total compensation in pay and benefits of $123,049, while private sector workers made $61,051.
The newspaper’s analysis did not include military pay in its calculation of federal compensation, Kaufman said.
(Excerpt) Read more at fcw.com ...
Hearsay speculation on the part of the witless, a Senator from Delaware.
No more hearsay than those who delight in blasting federal employees and retirees.
Paying Federal employees to stay home and do NOTHING would leave the nation better off, but what sense would THAT make?
Figures don’t lie but liars sure as hell figure.
You can twist and bend anything and this guy demonstrated mastery.
horeshit
Jan 20, 2013:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
[pause]
“All executive branch ‘alphabet’ regulatory agencies are hereby dissolved.”
Why not make all government jobs military jobs then? Or have all government jobs paid at military scales.
Highly questionable "analysis". The Senator doesn't seem to have any published analysis behind his remarks.
Please point to independent reports indicating gov't workers are underpaid.
“•Benefits. Federal workers received average benefits worth $41,791 in 2009. Most of this was the government’s contribution to pensions. Employees contributed an additional $10,569.”
So the difference is essentially in the pensions. Good luck in geeing it 30 year down the line.
Kaufman’s days are numbered. A Biden toadie if there is ever one.
What exactly is the military’s civilian counterpart, so you can get a fair assessment on the pay grade?
“All executive branch ‘alphabet’ regulatory agencies are hereby dissolved.”
You Betcha!
I do know I haven't had a raise in 3 years and my company's 401(k) match stopped 2 years ago... but inflation continues to rise.
Appears me and others at my company are going a little backwards.
I’ll bet I know more federal employees than Da Senator.
Not all of them are overpaid, and some are arguably worth far more in the public sector. But a lot of them are absolutely positively overpaid.
LLS
If you added military risk scales for all government jobs, that gradual exit would turn into a stampede.
Then there’s the CEO thing ~ the government only has ONE CEO whereas the private sector has 7 million CEOs and not a one of their salaries or other income was included in the computation!
You probably have in mind pilots ~ military pilots are younger and less experienced than the guys flying 747s in the private sector, but not everybody gets to fly Heavy eh!~
Tagline
You do realize you just caused FDR to spin in his grave.
I count that as a good thing. That Commie SHOULDN'T rest quietly because of all the harm he brought on this nation.
I feel your pain.
2008 0%.
2009 0%.
2010 1.3% raise.
You make great pay in the military, it’s one of the greatest myths in the world.
Largely I think they’re overpaid, although it is a mixed bag. There are some tip-top defense, intelligence and judiciary folks who make perhaps 60% of what they could make in private-sector work, but they prefer serving their country.
But these buffoons are far less common in the military than in the government work force for the simple reason that unit effectiveness (and even survival in battle situations) depend on leadership which has earned respect.
You just did this.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2585223/posts
Here you go again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaEbX5ARBuw
BTW I hope you are retired. It is working hours on a weekday right now.
He gets overtime?....DAMN! I’m in the wrong agency.
That USA Today article also pointed out how over the last decade federal employee pay increases outpaced inflation by over 30%, compared to a mere 6% in the private sector. Kaufman does not address this troubling fact at all. And for good reason.
I worked for the Feds in two different organizations decades ago and left to double my pay. It’s easy to guess that parity has been reached quite a while ago based on all the gov’t folks who live in Columbia, MD.
Ooooh, I’m going to enjoy reading the responses to this thread. :)
But try comparing the salary and benefits of your typical corporal to their rank equivalent in the government work force. Most people in the government work force do not even have corporal level responsibilities.
As a federal civilian employee I feel that my compensation is low. Monday I got up put on full body armor in 107 degree heat & got on a helicopter, Flew from somewhere in Iraq to elsewhere in Iraq. Slept on a cot for the past two nights, eating food that some might call unappetizing while working 14 hours a day in heat varying from 104 to 111 degrees.
I am sorry you were conscripted against your will.
Interesting that he complains about the compatibility of jobs and then whines that the military was not included which would just complicate the problem of compatibility.
There may be some good reasons that government employees make more than the private sector on average, I just find it hard to believe that on average federal employees earning over twice the private sector can be justified.
Nope, I wouldn't be qualified to be President until 2017...
If I were running for the office of President [age currently prevents me] it’d be on an “Extreme Constitutionalist” platform, meaning:
a) No Department of Energy
b) No Department of Education
c) No Department of Agriculture
d) No NASA (some claim it necessary for defense, if so put it under the appropriate military branch)
e) No BATFE
f) No Air Force (fold them into the Army from whence they came: the Army Air Corp; or amend the Constitution to allow an Air Force — Marines are under the Navy which is Constitutionally authorized.)
g) Reduction in the Department of Transportation to little more than maintaining federal roads, rails & bridges.
h) No Department of Labor
i) No Environmental Protection Agency
j) No Center for Disease Control
k) No Medicare
l) No Medicaid
m) No Social Security
n) No Department of Health and Human Services
o) No Department of Housing and Urban Development
p) No Drug Enforcement Administration
q) No Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
r) No Bureau of Industry and Security
s) No FEMA
t) No Federal Communications Commission
u) No Federal Student Aid
v) No Food and Drug Administration
w) No Internal Revenue Service
x) No Securities and Exchange Commission
y) No Selective Service System
z) No Occupational Safety & Health Administration
That and I'd definitely try to get that rather stupid law prohibiting the Post-Office from making a profit repealed; if it *were* a for-profit organization then it could be used to reduce the amount of money needed by the government in taxes for operation. {The only problem I see is the possibility of someone trying to make it into a monopoly via "law and regulation;" but it already is for personal postage [IIRC].}
Well aside from the asinine comment, if you read my post you would have noticed that I am not military, I am a DOD civilian. The point you should have taken away is that some federal employees perform very difficult jobs under extreme conditions. The compensation is just not commensurate with the hours and hardships, but we do this anyway because it supports our soldiers. And by the way I am much closer to 60 than 50. I hope this helps you to understand Newbie.
I had very similar experiences last year in Afghanistan, where I was deployed as a federal civilian employee.
Some of the Neanderthals here at Free Republic just don’t get it.
Deja vu all over again, with the exception of the effort to conflate the military withe Department of Redundancy Department’s document documenters.
I’d say the good Senator is full of excrement.
“You make great pay in the military, it’s one of the greatest myths in the world.”
You forgot your sarc tag.
You are free to seek employment elsewhere.
I hope this helps you to understand Newbie.
***************
I understand. You take the job, then detail the extreme hardships over the internet while tying yourself to the military.
I fully understand.
“Some of the Neanderthals here at Free Republic just don’t get it.”
Damn’d rabble!
Nobody said that the military was overpaid. In fact they are underpaid.
The GS workers on the other hand are overpaid and under worked. Perhaps we could reverse that and pay the GS workers military salary and pay the military GS compensation.
>Deja vu all over again, with the exception of the effort to conflate the military withe Department of Redundancy Department’s document documenters.
Well, the founders never intended there to be a standing army {read active-duty component of the military}; there are some excellent non-political reasons *NOT* to have an active-duty military anyway. For example, standing-armies train to fight yesterday’s war (with yesterday’s tactics) and today’s equipment {unless you’re national guard where it’s yesterday’s equipment}. A good example of this would be the trench-warfare of WWI, America joined in and kicked ass precisely because it didn’t have an active-duty military that was trained in “conventional thinking” and was instead trained to deal with the “current realities” if that war.
So, and I realize that this is contrary to a lot of people on FR’s sentiments, I actually wouldn’t be opposed to a drastic reduction of funds for the military... or even the disbandment of the [federal] Army & Air Force. {The Navy is a slightly different matter, and the marines fall under the Navy; Constitutionally-speaking we could legitimately have an active-duty marine corp and Navy.}
>eating food that some might call unappetizing while working 14 hours a day in heat varying from 104 to 111 degrees.
When I was in Iraq I was lucky enough to have the night-shift, so the heat wasn’t bad; but the catwalks were FREEZING in Dec/Jan around 0200-0400 {I had a Detainee Ops assignment}. I actually found the breakfasts to be quite enjoyable; especially drenching the Hashbrowns with Louisiana hot-sauce.
>You make great pay in the military, it’s one of the greatest myths in the world.
*If* you’re overseas in a warzone! (That is, when the your pay is income-tax exempt.)
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