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I am a DoD employee and I WELCOME SEQUESTRATION but doubt they have the intestinal fortitude to actually let it happen. I just want to see someone stand up to these clowns and say the spending must stop and the cuts must begin. It will be tough to lose 20% of pay for the next 6 months but not as bad for me as for others who have bigger families or more bills. And I consider myself fortunate to have a job the past few years when many did not.
But why are these myths about federal employee salaries and retirement perpetuated? We are just like everyone else but happen to be employed by the government. A mixture of society which, in my experience (at least in DoD), appears to be more conservative as a percentage, than the general population. Many of us support sequestration and spending cuts, and are ready to make the personal sacrifice.
Federal employees have not received a cost-of-living raise in the past 3 or 4 years. Federal employees salaries are supposed to be similar to private sector jobs but we continually lag behind for comparable positions and responsibilities. And we must try to pay competitively to attract some of the best and brightest. Otherwise we end up with more of the not so best and brightest. Many employees work 50-60 hours a week without complaint or extra pay. The DoD mission is self-rewarding - supporting all the brave young men and women defending this country and serving far from home fighting our enemies. There are other federal employees in other agencies working just as hard. Not all of course, and yes, it is difficult to get rid of the slackers. Is the federal government bloated? ABSOLUTELY. Much can be cut, including people, but it has to be done correctly (and start quickly). Sequestration is only for show - few in power in Washington want to cut spending, regardless of party.
By the way, ANY federal employee hired after 1984 is covered by a 401K and Social Security, with a small defined retirement benefit (the govt. contributes 1% of pay to an account). So, any federal employee that started after 1984 gets a small pension based on years of service and salary, draws from their 401K and gets social security. That’s it! Not bad but dependent on how well your 401K performs and whether social security survives, pretty much like everyone else these days. Those who were here before 1984 (fewer and fewer) still have a pretty sweet retirement but it will eventually go away all together.
Let the cuts begin!