Posted on 08/30/2010 6:15:33 AM PDT by Poundstone
As a retired federal government employee, I’m offended when I hear Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and a host of other conservative talk show hosts bash all levels of government employees. It seems the all-time favorite government employee to bash works for the Department of Motor Vehicles.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, federal government employees in 2008 earn an average of $67,691 compared to $60,046 in the private sector. This doesn’t count the benefits all federal government employees enjoy.
Not all federal government employees make as much as their private sector counterparts, but many do. For example, a registered nurse working for the Veterans Administration might make $74,460 compared to a nurse at a private hospital making $63,780. However, a federal government optometrist makes about $61,530 compared to an optometrist working in the private sectors who makes $106,665 salary.
What people like Limbaugh and Hannity probably don’t realize is that there are downsides to working for the federal government. Employees face severe restrictions and sanctions on many things everyone in the private sector take for granted. Congress alone determines federal employee salaries and benefits, not the marketplace. Employee organizations lobby Congress, but it’s unlawful for employees to strike if they don’t get what they want.
(Excerpt) Read more at northstarnational.com ...
Honestly I’d favor just an attrition policy (LOTS of Federal employees are retiring within 10 yrs) to reduce staffing. That, plus making benefits more in line with comparable private-sector jobs, and consolidating duties over time as people leave, is a reasonable idea because, as you say, it’s not that big a chunk.
It’s ENTITLEMENTS that cost so much money, and nobody has the b@lls to touch those.
FIRE 75% of Federal Employees, except uniformed military.
I might respect the remaining 25% a little bit then, but still a bunch of leeches.
Uniformed military risk their lives to defend us. Civilian employess of the military do not.
Give the money rescued from the leeches to the uniformed military, for medical care, pensions and family needs. Take care of and honor our Heroes, not the leeching zeros.
Ever tried doing business with a government agency ?
Consider the Defense Fuel Supply Administration in Alexandria, VA, for example.
Speaking English as a second language must be a primary consideration for being hired at this outfit. No one I talked to, in the course of 16 years, could speak or write past a 6th grade level.
All were tops in mailing out mind-numbing forms which would be returned for the slightest omission (are you a minority/female owned business, do you qualify for some special handout) etc.
Long waits or sleepy responses were standard. On one sale, we got paid in five months.
They didn’t care and they demonstrated this attitude over and over.
Public sector employees are similar to union thugs. Both take money that isn’t owed them. Both get jobs and KEEP them through thick and thin, no matter how incompetent. There are few if any public sector jobs or departments that couldn’t be more efficiently run by the private sector.
This adds credibility to claims of being understaffed, which means more people are needed which means the department will become 'more important', because the 'importance' of governement departments is based on size, not task.
Of course, that translates to a resume builder for the higher ups, and increases in grade (pay).
It is an inherent flaw in the system and a counterproductive one.
Correction: Both take money from sources that don’t earn it.
So, your letter carrier has you POd and you work for AlQaida ~ I can see how that could lead someone to hate federal government employees.
What...no enviros, social workers, clerks, social workers listed?
Get rid of the bulk of these four categories plus teachers and we would have a couple trillion savings right there.
Funny though, if you read the comments, it appears that author didn’t bother to get his facts straight.
The only question I have about these stats is:
Does the private sector number include the people who make $8.10 an hour at Wal-Mart? Those jobs don’t have a Federal analogue.
Don’t get me wrong, I basically agree but feel we should make an apples-to-apples comparison.
There are a few that certainly deserve our trust and respect.
The military for sure.
Also I would put the FBI and CIA and NSA at the top of the list too.
And there are individuals at many of the others that are worthy too. But by and large, there are still way too many that are a complete waste of time and money precisely because they are bureaucrats and nothing more than that.
As one federal recently told me. What used to take her 30 minutes in the corporate world now takes her 6 months working for the federal govt.
BTTT
Exactly.
that is an excellent point about how most jobs in the Government pay good wages, when compared to many sub standard jobs in the private sector. Of course, the bloated compensation packages in the financial sector would also skew the numbers in favor of private business.
80%????
You’re lucky to get 80% of employees working for a large corporation to be productive. While there are many good federal employees I’d question whether its anywhere close to 80%.
The 80% is how many I would cut.
I remember seeing Ghostbusters as a kid and getting a very foul taste in my mouth when the EPA guy showed up to close them down.
I would probably add the VA since they serve those who served.
It is hit or miss as to if given two identical jobs, the federal job pays more or less than the private sector job. However, in many cases, the private sector employee works more hours to get the higher pay. Even GS-15s have to "punch a clock" and are limited to working a maximum of 40 hours a week. Go find someone in charge of hundreds or perhaps a thousand people in the private sector and ask them if they work only 40 hours a week. Also, in the federal sector, anyone who is a high-level manager has a deputy in their structure. The days of vice presidents in the private sector having assistant vice presidents or managers in the private sector having assistant managers are long gone. Even dedicated administrators are long gone for many.
Super competent, motivated, federal employees are a rarity, because federal employees meeting those criteria are often recruited away to work higher potential jobs in the private sector.
People who desire safety and job security over personal ambition and financial success stay in the federal sector.
The only way to get private sector efficiencies in the public sector is to get rid of the white-collar public unions, and go to a pay for performance model.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.