Why Federal Workers Deserve What They're Paid

The Washington Post ^ | February 3, 2010 | Joe Davidson

[Poundstone]

Excerpt: The budget answers critics, including Scott Brown, the newly elected Republican senator from Massachusetts, who say federal civilians earn much more than private-sector workers. There's a reason for that. Federal workers are better educated.

"The Federal Government hires lawyers to tackle corruption, security professionals to monitor our borders, doctors to care for our injured veterans, and world-class scientists to combat deadly diseases such as cancer," the budget says. "Because of these vital needs, the Federal Government hires a relatively highly educated workforce, resulting in higher average pay."

Consider these stats: Twenty percent of federal workers have a master's, professional or doctorate degree, compared with 13 percent in the private sector. Fifty-one percent of federal employees have a college degree of some sort, but only 35 percent do in the private sector.

Frankie and Flo may not be smarter than other folks, but they do have more schooling, and they get paid accordingly. They are also substantially older, and that contributes to higher pay -- 46 percent of federal employees are 50 or older, compared with 31 percent of private-sector workers.

Although the section doesn't say so, comparing overall federal and private-sector pay is misleading in another way, because Uncle Sam doesn't employ many people at the bottom of the wage scale the way industry does.

Job-for-job comparisons tell a completely different story. In fact, government figures indicate that federal employees are underpaid by 26 percent compared with their counterparts in similar position in the business world.

[TankerKC]

Good summary. I recently retired after 28 years in the military...the last 3.5 at the Pentagon. Over the years I saw many civil servants with very little education and limited skills attain very high grades. I recently worked with a HS grad who's only skill was pulling reports from an antiquated personnel system. She was a GS-13 when she retired...

[mad_as_he$$]

ROFLMAO!!!! The Federal goobermint is full of lazy half a$$ workers who wouldn’t last three months in the private sector.

As far as the education thing goes all’s you have to do is look at the financial reports form the goobermint where they are constantly WRONG on all projections. Some highly educated Federal employee cannot figure out that house selling is going to go down last December when we had the worst weather in decades all across the country? Please. Federal goobermint is spelled lazy, incompetent and useless.

Been to your lcoal Post office lately?

Been to the IRS office lately?

Been to the Social Security Administration lately?

Biggest bunch of incompetent f’ offs I have ever seen.

[Arrowhead1952]

The newest safeguard is that the IT folks have to name each computer now, and computers cannot be hooked onto the network without a name assigned by the administrators and tied to an IP number.

[muawiyah]

BTW, you have a choice on the "parking ticket" thing ~ give up federal highway subsidies and mail delivery. For the most part USPS uses "post roads" for its operations.

Also, the rest of the US Federal government doesn't pay property taxes either.

[TnGOP]

I can't disagree. I work in the maintenance department for the USPS. Most of the guys that work with me earn their money every day. A few don't. That few is a higher percentage than you will find elsewhere, precisely because of union rules and worthless managers that are too lazy to properly document misconduct.

We have mail handlers making (with a LOT of overtime) over 100k/year, driving a forklift. Others do unskilled (grunt) work, like hand loading packages into the sorting system. That pays over $20/hour, and could be done by college students for half that, like Fedex. I really get frustrated when I see the waste all around, and can't do a thing to stop the insanity.

[dalereed]

Your stink is so bad it came through my computer!

[muawiyah]

In the DC area a GS 13 isn’t all that high a grade.

[Non-Sequitur]

We all deserve what we are paid. But most of us in the private sector have had our salaries cut and our out-of-pocket costs for benefits increased and our raises cancelled. We feel the pain when our company decides its time to tighten the belt. In times of $1.5 trillion deficits there is no reason why government workers should sail on as if nothing is wrong. A reasonable across-the-board salary cut is not an insult and not an attack on government workers. It is a prudent measure in times of fiscal crisis.

[cotton]

'Our exact problem is the fact that these over educated asses are running our lives.'

Educated beyond their intellibence.

[muawiyah]

Look, for a couple of years I worked in USPS Headquarters Office of Consumer Affairs and I will assure you the general public wins the IDIOT AWARD hands down.

[TankerKC]

In the DC area a GS 13 isn’t all that high a grade.

That's grade inflation for you. True, what gets you a GS-5 in Kansas will get you a GS-11 in DC.

A GS-13 (step 8 or so) will get you around $110K. Not bad for a HS diploma and limited skills (as in the specific example I mentioned)

[TnGOP]

Even as a postal employee, I even hate to go to the Post Office. You’re on the money there. However, it’s not just the government sector. Have you tried to get good customer service from your cell provider, cable or satellite provider, phone company, or any other large business lately? Good luck. Customer service sucks everywhere, with a few exceptions. Small home owned businesses are usually the best, and I do business with them whenever possible.

[vbmoneyspender]

The USPS had a 7 billion dollar loss in the last fiscal year. Where did the money come from to fund that loss? I count borrowed money as a subsidy because the USPS couldn't get that kind of funding unless they were a monopoly that relies on the implicit good faith and credit of the United States.

Despite cost reductions against the fiscal 2009 plan of more than $6 billion and actions to grow revenue, the Postal Service (USPS) projects a net loss of more than $7 billion at fiscal year-end. The organization’s financial situation is compounded by its obligation to pay $5.4 billion to $5.8 billion annually to prefund retiree health benefits. This requirement, established in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, is an obligation that no other government agency has to pay.

[muawiyah]

I have an inkpen around here Franklin Roosevelt used to sign the first, last and only federal employee pay raise he ever approved.

ONLY!

Federal employees received pay cuts during the period the politicians thought the way to solve the Great Depression was to balance the budget.

I could not help but notice that Obama just bought into that idea.

CLUE: It didn't work last time, and it won't work this time either.

The primary problem is overproduction, deflation, recent acceleration in the rate of technological change, and theft.

There is no will to go after the thieves ~ otherwise there are a number of members of Congress whose carcases would be hanging from Cherry Trees around the Tidal Basin.

[jwalsh07]

Military comp.

[antisocial]

“The Federal Government hires lawyers to tackle corruption”

WE know how that is working out!

[muawiyah]

It's an $80 billion per year company, more or less. A less than 10% loan is pretty much within the range of such things.

BTW, if loans are subsidies then what's your mortgage?

[from occupied ga]

days working up detailed defense plans.

OK where's the relevance? Yes their brilliance in preventing 9/11 and their subsequent capture of bin Laden shows the utility of their efforts, but what about the other 2,599,999? And what about the employees of HUD and Education, and ATF and EPA? Not a single one of them would be missed.

[sitetest]

Dear TankerKC,

Thanks for the comments.

I met a few folks like your paper-filing GS-13 along the way.

And although a GS-13 is only a front-line supervisor in the government, in the Washington, DC area, a GS-13 still makes $89K - $115K per year. Not bad for a clerk!!

sitetest

[muawiyah]

No ~ not at all. What gets you a GS 13 in DC gets you a GS 13 in Kanasas City ~ the problem for the KCMO and KanKan people is that the same GS 13 job isn't located there ~ it's in DC.

Washington DC has the headquarters operations for the federal agencies and that's where the big dogs work.

Colonels go out for coffee at the Pentagon. They do other stuff in the field. Same grade. Same set of requirements. Same duties. Different manifestations.

Guy who can't get along with the Pentagon probably can't get along with the troops in his command either, so they all get rotated through the Pentagon.