Bush limits bureaucrats' annual salary increase to 3.1% (civil servants whine)

Look, the way government employees (and especially teachers) whine and complain it is no wonder people get irritated with them.

Nobody seriously wants to shoot government workers. Surely you know this. Interpret it as people really wanting to tell government workers (and especially teachers) to shut the heck up!

We are sick of their belly aching, complaints. They have it good. Not as good as some but way better than most. Were sick of paying for sniveling, whiny brats that spend more time focused on their pay and break time than the line of people waiting to get service. We are sick of watching government workers wait on four people an hour and then crying how overworked they are. No, I take that back. We not just sick of these types of governement workers, we would love to reach through that little hole in the glass, pull their head through, hold their ear up to that stupid little metal speaker and ask if they can hear anything. Then tell them, Next time try leaning into the microphone and speaking clearly. You know, the microphone. That is what it is for. When you see us straining to hear, it means you need to speak into the microphone.

Now, if you want to talk about the job government workers are doing, just ask any contractor how much more they charge for a government job than for any other job they bid. Not becuase they are ripping off the government, but because of the 18 to 30 pages of forms that coming spewing out a fax machine government workers call a "request for bid." This for some stupid thing that most people buy with a phone call. Or how about the schools now purchasing door locks for the classs rooms and paying two and three times what any private concern will pay for the exact same lock.

The biggest insult is when a government worker, even a competant one doing a good job - tries to sell garbage about how tough it is to be a government worker and how they need more pay. Only an idiot making $60,000 + per year would walk into a room of people lucky to be making $35,000 a year and start crying about not getting paid enough.

Give it a rest, please.

I'm not speaking of the raise they do or don't get. I feel the ones making a noise out of not getting the extra 1% raise are just doing it for political capital. What is irking me is the insta-villification and generalization of everyone who is a federal employee simply because you had a bad day at the DMV or the Social Security Office.

I spent 11 years in the Army and have seen dozens of civilian employees that busted their rear as hard as their military counterparts. I've also seen some pretty worthless pieces of crap that couldn't be fired without an act of congress. But I don't scorn the guys doing a good job simply because another sucks. And that is the attitude that comes up whenever a 'fed' story comes up.

When I was at Fort McNair in '92, there was an old guy that worked in the mailroom - he'd be there at 6:30 in the morning and leave at 4:00 every weekday. He drove a rusted out Malibu and wore the same general clothes. I don't remember what his grade was, but he certainly wasn't rich. He worked hard though, and I don't recall him bitching about much.

When I was in Haiti, the State Department guys would constantly have rocks thrown at them. I know they didn't get much COLA there (heck, given Haiti, they likely had money taken away - joke).

In Korea, the civilians I knew weren't allowed to live on post. I think they got paid fairly decently, but had pretty bad living conditions.

I don't think any of the people I mentioned above would bitch about the cut in the raise. I think they would likely be pissed that they are considered worthless by some, simply because they work for the government, when in fact, some of them work just as hard as the rest of us.

You know what, I will give that service at the public facilities has greatly improved over what it was. I actually do see public servants attmpting (and succeeding) to give good service.

Nevertheless, that anyone would bitch about a "cut in the raise" is exactly what I am talking about. Please tell these idiots to shut up. Those of us taking just plain old cuts DO NOT WANT TO HEAR IT!

Please, if you know any of these people, do me a tremendous favor and tell them to SHUT UP!

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