Posted on 12/21/2010 5:53:45 AM PST by Poundstone
(snip) Relative job security with generous benefits that extend into retirement has long been part of the appeal of working for the government. But an eight-hour day in a drab Independence Avenue office building can look like a supremely privileged lifestyle when Americans in the private sector are panicked and furious over what has happened to their own salaries, health coverage and 401 (k)s.
Add to that the growing view that the government has gotten too big and that deficits are going to swallow the economy, and you have all the makings of a backlash.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
EDITED Who are America's fastest-growing class of millionaires? They are police officers, firefighters, teachers and federal bureaucrats, who, unless things change drastically, will be paid something near their full salaries every year--until death--after retiring in their mid-50s....a retirement sum worth millions.
Based on a realistic 4% return, an $80,000 annual pension payout with full health benefits implies a large pot of money--$2 million, to be precise.
That $2 million also happens to be the implied booty of your average California policeman who retires at age 55........in Carlsbad, Cali, the average firefighter or police officer typically retires at age 55 and has 28 years of service w/ an annual city pension of $76,440 for life. SOURCE http://www.forbes.com/
NOTE Vallejo, CA firemen make 200K a year---not including benefits and perks PLUS the inevitable lifetime pensions and eternal Cadillac family benefits.
Yep - an old Marine Corps buddy retired at or before age 55 from the CHP; he and his wife spend much of the year traveling the world.
“Public Servants”? I agree that fire, police and utility emergency workers are public servants. People who sit in an office all day and push paper around are not public servants, they are on a government payroll. A major difference, which seems to elude the headline writer.
Ya know I could see paying cops well if they are in an area that’s crawling with criminal activity. But, Carlsbad CA??? Small well to do town??? No wonder CA is going broke.
I have one of these federal bureaucrats in my family, my daughter. She’s not a millionaire. She contributes to her own retirement. Pays through the nose for her health insurance. She works hard and is stressed out just like people who work in the private sector.
(New York) State put freeze on hiring, then added 51,464 people
And be sure to check out the price tag.
How about the thousands of public servants that work overseas for years on end, trying to stay one step ahead of the enemy?
I don’t have a problem with our military getting good retirement. Unless he was a high ranking officer, or he was in 30+ years, their monthly retirement isn’t all that high. It’s also possible they have been very frugal throughout the years. They can also hop military flights, at least you use to be able to do that. And traveling into some area’s of the world you can live pretty cheaply.
The truth is that some federal employees are grossly overpaid. Others are underpaid.
The trick is paring down the overpaid while retaining the underpaid.
A far easier road to take would be to cut the areas of the fed gov that do not have a valid reason to exist. (probably more than 50% of agencies have no Constitutional basis)
Then, when the fedgov public sector unions have been greatly reduced the pay situation can be normalized to the prevailing private sector rates for each job type.
Exactly. And that includes thousands of federal civilian workers deployed into combat zones. Just as I was last year in Afghanistan for eight months.
Probably about half of government employees actually do useful work. The others are just taking advantage of taxpayers and our country would be better off if their jobs were eliminated and they were forced to actually do something useful that benefits society.
What agency do you work for?
I can't wait until the Pubs have majorities in both Houses and the Presidency. We're going to slash your pensions....
My daughter could work for a private sector firm and make much more. She sticks with the government for stability reasons. She is a product of a military family getting bumped around a lot growing up. She treasures stability.
EXCERPT Police and firefighter pension funds are defying the law to keep embarrassing pension details under wraps. Bothrefused to supply the names and pension amounts of retirees when the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center requested it under the FOIA. So the think tank sued. The public has a clear right to the info....No doubt, cops and firefighters have been more than a little embarrassed by the spotlight.
Flagrant pension offenders: a NYPD cop collects a $58,000 tax-free NYPD disability pension -- at the same time he serves as deputy supt of the Port Authority Police Department, which pays another $198,500. An ex-FDNY Lt. who pockets $86,000 a year from his disability pension, even as he competes in triathlons.
SOURCE http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/blue_wall_of_obfuscation_mMQWHKKbMyoVkWhr3VzkiN
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REFERENCE A NJ state Senator was greeted with resistance and belligerence when he tried to get info from the State Investment Council which invests pension funds. The Senator mentioned “disturbing allegations that placement agents” manipulated pension investments in NY, New Mexico, and elsewhere.
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REFERENCE 8/29/07
Pals of Pension Head Got Fees
NY Post Correspondent
Hank Morris----top political consultant to former Democrat state Comptroller Alan Hevesi (who was ousted in disgrace)----is affiliated with a slew of companies - including several using the address of his East Hampton home and one in the British Virgin Islands - that received pension-fund fees and are the subject of an investigation. Hank Morris, a Democratic campaign strategist, listed the five firms on a report filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest nongovernmental regulator of U.S. securities firms. Four of the firms - Nosemote LLC, Pantigo Emerging LLC, PB Placement LLC and Purpose LLC - share Morris' East Hampton address.
Democrat Morris listed himself as the "sole member" of Nosemote, Pantigo Emerging and PB Placement, and said that Nosemote makes up half the members of Purpose. For the fifth firm, Athena Capitol Advisors Ltd., which has an address in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, Morris lists himself as a 50% owner, vice president and treasurer. According to Morris' filing, all the entities "act as intermediaries between money [managers] and institutional investors to facilitate introductions and resulting investments."
A source said the five Morris entities received placement fees from companies that won pension-fund business during Alan Hevesi's four years in office as state Comptroller. His office denied a request for a breakdown of fees paid to the individual firms. (NOTE: Hevesi and Morris were later indicted and convicted.)
SOURCE http://www.nypost.com/seven/08292007/news/regionalnews/more_hev_pal_firms_got_fees.htm
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TAXPAYERS MUST DEMAND Outside govt audits of pension investments to determine whether off-the-books accounts were accessed by insiders; whether pension funds were used in illegal schemes that might have integrated:
(1) money laundering,
(2) tax evasion (stolen money is taxable),
(3) violations of US banking and currency laws,
(4) conspiracy to commit wire fraud,
(5) commercial bribery in various financial schemes,
(6) secret offshore bank accounts,
(7) fraudulent and casual accounting practices,
(8) insiders w/ hidden interests in financial companies.
Did you not read Poundstone’s post???? He was deployed to Afghanistan for 8 months, and you DARE to call him a whiny overpaid, under worked federal employee????
Do you federal employee bashers not realize that there are many civilian DoD employees that deploy alongside the active duty force. There are thousands more that work hard to provide the active force the logistics they need.
Many DoD civilians are putting their lives on the line just like the military, and people like you think these federal employees are getting some sort of a free ride? Get a clue!
There are a lot of civilian government employees getting sent to combat zones. You guys that like to lob insults, should really know what you are talking about. I'm sure you are going on a personal anecdote or two, but is that all you have?
in the privacy of their paneled boardrooms you just know the people running these unions are absolutely freaking out!
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