Posted on 09/13/2009 2:51:59 PM PDT by Graybeard58
2009 has been unkind to millions of workers in America. Thanks to the recession spawned by the Chris Dodd Bear Market and the stock market crash precipitated by horrendous mortgage-lending practices promoted by Sen. Dodd and other Democrats and liberals in and out of Congress, unemployment is up to 9.7 percent, almost no one is hiring, pay freezes and cuts are the norm, and job insecurity continues to rise.
2010 isn't shaping up to be any great shakes, either. Economists say the recession should end next year, but they expect joblessness will be above 10 percent for most of the year, the recovery will be barely noticeable, and only the fortunate few will see a little extra in their paychecks.
Among the fortunate few, of course, are the 1.9 civilians drawing checks from the federal government, and as they are wont to do, they have been whining recently about the 2 percent raises they'll get Jan. 1. Their grumbling arises from President Obama's order last month that reduced their raises from 2.4 percent and will cost the average employee $6 a week.
It's tough to feel much sympathy for government employees. As the most recent wage data from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis shows, they earned on average almost $80,000 in 2008 compared with $49,935 for the nation's 108 million private-sector workers. When fringe benefits were included, federal employees' compensation averaged almost $120,000, twice the private-sector average. And few people on the planet enjoy greater job security because federal employees are hardly ever fired. Moreover, they needn't worry about layoffs because their service is deemed most essential when the economy is at its worst, and no one talks about reducing payroll when the economy is going great guns and the tax revenues are pouring in.
But just when you thought the federal payroll couldn't be bloated further, a survey of 35 federal agencies representing nearly 99 percent of the federal work force found the first phase of the Obama administration's grandiose plans for America will require 600,000 new hires over the next four years at a cost of $72 billion (at 2008 prices). This nearly one-third increase in the size of the federal work force will increase the number of dues-paying members for unions, which in turn will convert some of that cash into campaign contributions for Democratic candidates, and it will move the nation closer to the socialistic goal of having everyone work for or live off the government.
Ping to a Republican-American Editorial.
If you want on or off this list, let me know.
Guess they made a smart choice in career selection. Are they on SS when they retire or do they have their own plan? My SS gives me zilch increase because the cost of living has not increased. Right.
My son is a cop and he doesn’t pay social security. They have their own plan and it’s better than s.s. Some people are exempt. It should be optional for everybody if it is going to exist at all.
They have their own plan. Of course, there are those foresighted workers who get enough quarters in working under SS and enough years in at a gov't job so that they can collect both SS and a gov't pension. (There was some talk about doing something about that at one time, but I don't recall that anything ever happened.)
So, federal employees, how do you feel that the Democratic controlled congress let their own salaries increase?
I do not have the details but Congress passed a law some years ago to prevent that sort of double-dipping. They get some small portion of their Social Security earnings but not all.
Thanks for the ping Graybeard.
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