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.

[Slyfox]

The non essential workers loved these shutdowns.

They get to take an extended Christmas vacay. So big whoop.

[allwrong57]

they see us as second class citizens. I hope they have to go to work where you produce a result or get canned. I’m so aggravated every time I pay a bill now, at the top is “if you’re a furloughed fed worker, we’ll work with you on your payments” It makes me want to puke. If I was off a month and had no cash, the note I would get is “Pay your bill”!

[Delta 21]

Welcome to the party, folks!

Its a bitch being thrown down here with the rest of us , aint it?

[Bob434]

during obama’s term, seniors, disabled and veterans were denied Cost of Living Increases, while everyone in government, who make 10’s of 1000’s more than these groups of folks, got their cost of living increases every single year- As well, prices under obama rose significantly for practically everything- Gas prices were ridiculous- things like breads, cereals, etc rose dramatically- yet apparently there was ‘no cost of living increases’ for several years under obama’s term- Federal employees can’t have a double martini for their lunch for a few weeks? Cry me a river

[cranked]

“Why I’m not attending any pity parties for furloughed federal workers” = Ditto!

Worked for the government; been there, done that....not feeling their pain, at all.

[Future Snake Eater]

You realize one doesn’t cancel out the other?

I know it’s chic on FR to assume that everyone in the employ of any level of government is a scumsucking loser, but there are actually some good people trying to work and provide for their families. This lack of a paycheck due to Dems playing games against Trump is causing genuine hardship in places.

Have just a little bit of empathy, even if it hurts. If you feel so strongly about also wanting prayer for the victims of illegals, then you should bring it up with your pastor.

[Freee-dame]

About half of the furloughed federal employees, such as Air Traffic Controllers, are working with deferred compensation. Deferred compensation is an excellent expression, one we should all be using.

[yetidog]

Agencies have discretion in setting hours of work, schedules etc. so long as hey comply with employment law. Lot of agencies now use flextime, remote work sites etc. just as in the private sector.

[hattend]

Call me a hard-hearted, mean-spirited conservative

Okay, your a hard-hearted, mean-spirited asshole

signed,

A slave of the state, working for free.

[Go_Raiders]

I worked for local gov’t for my entire career. The chances of being furloughed for 5 to 14 days were about 20%/year.

The chances of being laid off at some point due to downsizing was much lower, but still foreseeable as a possibility. We were a single income family of four, in a high cost of living state, so my risk factor was about the same as a Federal Worker. That’s why I always had an emergency fund of $50K or more on hand, savings plus credit limit.

When I retired I had to go for 4 months without any income before getting a retroactive pension payment. Didn’t have to break a sweat because I had my emergency fund to tap.

The only thing this shutdown reveals is that we have grasshoppers running our government, not ants.

[TheTexasMom]

I am married to a furloughed federal employee. He wants the wall built. He is a conservative and we do not live in DC. He has been told he is forbidden to go to his office or contact any colleague during the shutdown.

He is a responsible former Yankee who is in the next to top tier of the chart at the top of this thread, meaning he makes less than comparable in private sector, so don’t cast aspersions my way.

Our health insurance benefits are deplorable.... File a claim and it is denied, thrown away, sent to another city , “we never got it”, or paid out after 11 months. So truly it is not all butterflies and rainbows his being a Fed employee.

He has a law degree, is a white male and believes that public service is a good and noble thing.

I believe in the private sector and capitalism and so things work out just fine.

[Jacquerie]

Meanwhile, no media empathy or coverage at all of the 40% or so of businesses destroyed and employees out of work in Panama City FL in the aftermath of October’s Hurricane Michael.

[central_va]

Who cries for them?

Nobody in DC that's for sure.

[central_va]

Why I gave up on “church” a log time ago.

[central_va]

Can’t the FedGov workers retrain to be software engineers or doctors? That is what the rest of America was told during the off shoring craze.

[central_va]

This lack of a paycheck due to Dems playing games against Trump is causing genuine hardship in places.

Sorry F them. They're almost ALL democrats.

[sauropod]

Most of what you wrote is an outright lie.

The situation is not at *all* as you describe.

[SeekAndFind]

We are all eager to read your take on the truth then. Feel free to counter the author of this article.

[sauropod]

I’m countering what *you* wrote.

I’ve personally known three govvies fired and it did not require “four” agencies to do so.

The “on average” canard relies on the general innumeracy of the public. While it is true that lower paid employees make more than their private counterparts, it is *not* true that white collar professionals are paid more. In fact, they are paid significantly less.

[SeekAndFind]

I just copied and pasted what the article said. The article said thusly:

” In some cases, it takes the effort from four different agencies to fire federal employees, and the process often takes years, even in simple cases. “

NOTE: It says IN SOME CASES ( not ALL CASES ).

And this is their source:

https://www.heritage.org/government-regulation/commentary/firing-bad-federal-employee-may-get-little-easier

Which in turn sourced their information from here:

https://www.rstreet.org/2015/05/15/it-really-is-nearly-impossible-to-fire-a-federal-employee/