Why I’m not attending any pity parties for furloughed federal workers

American Thinker ^ | 01/21/2019 | Thomas Lifson

[SeekAndFind]

Call me a hard-hearted, mean-spirited conservative if you will, but I am not bleeding from the heart over the plight of most of the furloughed federal workers. While I am certain that some of them have not bothered to accumulate savings, and thus are running out of money with which to pay important bills, the rest of us in the private sector have had to live with the possibility of our incomes being cut off for our entire careers. Moreover, federal employees, especially in the lower ranges of the income scale, make out like bandits compared to the rest of us with the same skills and responsibilities.

(source)

Kristin Tate elaborates in The Hill:

Federal workers receive pay that is 17 percent higher than private sector employees on average performing comparable work. That is on top of putting in 12 percent fewer hours. Furthermore, a Princeton University study found that when “taking differences in employee characteristics into account,” federal workers actually earn 34 percent more than comparable private sector workers.

They receive “cadillac” federal employees health benefits, 75 percent of which is subsidized. These plans includes medical plus vision and dental benefits. On top of that, federal retirees are eligible for covered health benefits at 57 years old, a rare luxury in the private sector. They also have generous pension plans and Social Security benefits. Such payments are three times higher than private sector 401(k) and Social Security benefits.

[metmom]

Non-essential are not poor people. I'm sure many have working spouses and/or family capable of helping them out.

Exactly.

People actually lose their jobs in the private sector. Who cries for them?

Not the media, htat's for sure.

[GoldenPup]

Call me a hard-hearted, mean-spirited conservative if you will.

You have lots and lots of company.

[GoldenPup]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

[JLAGRAYFOX]

The reason the American people could care less about the Furloughed Federal Government Workers is simply because the Fed Workers care very little about themselves. They could have ended this furlough on day one, but they, themselves chose to stand with Nutcase Democrats, Nanacy Pelosi & Chuck Schumer.

Fed workers...”Read My Lips”, POTUS, Trump is going to win and get his money to build Southern border walls or barriers. End of story. so...if you want to get back to being paid....I suggest you tell that already failed Speaker of the House, Democrat, Nancy Pelosi to end this partial government shutdown right now.

Otherwise prepare yourselves for two outcomes, a very long shutdown and, or, a major reduction in force of many thousands of unneeded Federal workers. Your choice, folks!!!

[treetopsandroofs]

The one furloughed federal employee I know personally is an archeology guy.

It can wait.

[Sequoyah101]

Never, not one shred of sympathy for GS or W schedule employees. Plan ahead. All of us in the private sector have had to and some did.

No GS has ever had a pay check bounce. I have. There is no back pay when the company goes belly up. You just gave up part of your life for nothing when that happens. Stock that was hoped for to build your retirement or supplement your pay? Worthless. It will never be worth one thin dime. You gambled and lost.

Sympathy for GS employees? None. They need to call nazi pelousy and plead their case to her. I will wish them good luck.

The longer this goes on the more we will wonder what we have a growing number of them for anyway.

I grew up in a GS household. It was back in the days when there was no prohibition against over time and Dad put in a lot of it. Then came the unions and social engineering starting back in the 60s. Back in the days before Clinton there were lots of temporary federal employees. You had to become permanent party to get the good deals and then the deal was not nearly as lush as it is now. There was an exchange of lowered wages for retirement and security. Not so much now. The pay is as good as the benefits were and the benefits are better.

[Presbyterian Reporter]

Now that the Shutdown has exceeded 20 days, the Trump administration can implement Reduction in Force rules and get rid of thousands of non-essential, non-working sluggards we taxpayers have been supporting for decades.

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Workforce Restructuring Reductions in Force
A furlough of more than 30 calendar days, or of more than 22 discontinuous workdays, is also a RIF action.

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/reductions-in-force/#url=Summary

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I feel your pain! It took less than that for me to leave my old church home.

And I still haven’t found another; they’re ALL infected with PC BS these days. :(

[Sequoyah101]

Once upon a time there were furloughs of federal employees who engaged in seasonal work. They were let go to fend for themselves and brought back when times got better. They were not guaranteed a thing other than maybe month-to-month.

Surely there is discussion in OMB about layoffs sometime.

This WILL get interesting before it is over unless Trump does some emergency act which I expect that he will but not until at least 60 days has passed.

[Presbyterian Reporter]

Now that the Shutdown has exceeded 20 days

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meant to say 30 days

[Diana in Wisconsin]

As a Veteran, I say, THANK YOU for all those you helped through the years. I just lost my doctor at our local VA. Loved her to the Moon and back, but it was time for her to take her well-earned retirement.

So far I’ve had great service through my VA; I hope that continues!

I worked through state and federal shut downs and I’ll back you up on the non-essentials loving their paid vacations. Not a ONE showed up to help out in any way, shape or form. :(

[joethedrummer]

I left. Kind of a shame, coulda retired this year had I stayed.

[PrincessB]

From an inside perspective...do most employees go home at a reasonable time/have a set schedule. A friend of mine who took a job with the government mentioned that salary-wise she wouldn’t make what she could in the private sector, but she’d be guaranteed her lunch hour and leave at 5:00 every day.

This article talks about monetary and salary benefits only, but not about total hours worked to get there.

[MayflowerMadam]

These people “own” their jobs, and it’s almost impossible for them to be let go. Normal people walk on eggshells daily wondering if today will be the day they’ll be axed. That’s no way to live 50 years of your life.

They’ll be paid, if not now, then later. Normal people are not. Paid vacations are cool.

Nobody agonized when coal miners and steel workers were thrown into destitution after Obama and Hillary kept their promises to shut them down.

No; I have no sympathy for these people — none at all!

[detective]

As a general rule, to make good money in the private sector you have to meet or exceed your goals.

If you don’t meet your goals you will eventually get demoted or replaced.

In the government you can make very good money at a job doing little or nothing with no pressure to perform.

You are set for life and will never be fired.

And they get a paid vacation during during a so called shut down. And they get to play the victim.

[woodbutcher1963]

My younger brother works for the Justice Department in the Federal Prison system. He is considered essential, although many other employees at The Big House are not. He says it is a joke because everyone knows they will get paid. Don’t worry the prisons guards are still keep any eye on the inmates.

FYI, I remember having a conversation with my brother back in 2009 during the great recession. He was complaining because he was not going to get a cost of living pay increase that year. I informed him that the recession was casing ME to take about a 50% CUT in pay that year.

He has been a Federal Government employee for 29 years. He has 6 weeks of vacation a year. He can fully retire next year after 30 years. He will be 52. Not a bad gig.

[woodbutcher1963]

costing NOT casing

[woodbutcher1963]

sorry should be CAUSING

[PGR88]

I know a couple federal workers.

They are responsible people, so missing one or two paychecks (especially as they will be paid back) isn’t going to hurt them.

They are ANGRY though. They are progressives, so they are full of cognitive dissonance. They believe in government, but hate the massive, soul-crushing bureaucracies they work for. They believe in government, but look down on the peasants outside of government. They believe in government, but are jealous of people who work outside of it, who seem to have much more fulfilling jobs and more control over their careers. They believe in government, but hate the politics, resent the affirmative action people put in over them and hate they taxes they must pay themselves

Now the shutdown has proven to them that for the last month, they are basically useless.

Their cognitive dissonance is getting rubbed raw.

[Mouton]

“There was an exchange of lowered wages for retirement and security. Not so much now. The pay is as good as the benefits were and the benefits are better.”

Exactly correct...been there done that and seen it change along the way. I had the “benefit” of having worked in the private sector beforehand, till 68. I am sure I’d be would be flabbergasted today with the adaptation of “locality and comparability pay”.