77,000 feds paid more than governors

The Washington Times ^ | 6/1/2011 | Stephen Dinan

[libertycause13]

"More than 77,000 federal government employees throughout the country — including computer operators, more than 5,000 air traffic controllers, 22 librarians and one interior designer — earned more than the governors of the states in which they work.

The findings, from a Congressional Research Service report requested by Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, were released at a time when public workers’ salaries and benefits are under scrutiny across the country as governments try to streamline...."

[CholeraJoe]

Don’t be so sure. I work for a health insurance company and see bills from VA facilities and from private hospitals. Typically services at VA facilities are charged at about 60% of private hospitals. For example an MRI of the spine at the VA is $850 and $1200 at the private hospital. A colonoscopy is about $900 at the VA and $1500 at the Gastro endoscopy suite downtown.

Usually the patients only wait a couple of days longer to get services at the VA than private sector.

[muawiyah]

The US Marines contracted out such field services as mess, tents, water, etc. for deployed units.

Kellogg Brown & Root had a unit specializing in this activity and hired many retired Marines.

Halliburton bought KBR, and there was no end to the negative propaganda spilling out of the loins of Democrat spokespersons.

With KBR doing the set up and take down and mess work the Marines were free to fight. Without KBR they had to take combat personnel and tranfer them to noncombat duty.

Basically, your idea might seem OK in theory but in practice it's total BS. The anti-American Democrats will never let it work.

Now I'll tell you what might work ~ that any Democrat caught complaining about the who's, whys, whatsis of the Marine messhall or temporary housing in tents be taken captive and used as slave labor in the Marine mess nearest whatever battlefield is of consequence at the time.

KP Forever!!!!!!

[Badabing Badablonde]

Yeah, what you said.

Today, I am on detail 1000 miles from my home, working late in my hotel room because deadlines don’t care if you’re on leave or on travel. I am paying for my own internet in the hotel room because no hotels with free internet were offering the government rate. Tomorrow is supposed to be my AWS day, but instead I will again be working in my hotel room, stopping just long enough to load up and fly home. Pay? I have been trying to move up into the next grade for 3 years, but hiring and promotion freezes have been in place for 2 years now. All of my friends who graduated with their MPAs with me are working for almost 25% more than I am making in their private sector jobs. I’m here because I like public policy, even though I was in the top of my field as a COBOL programmer in the 80s.

Jeez, how I wish I could just have one day to live as one of those fat, dumb, lazy, and happy feds.

[Monorprise]

I can’t help but wonder if the Feds standardize their pay scale across the federation ill-respective of the different costs of living, dollar value, or local demand situation.

Some very high cost areas like New York city and Washington D.C. probably contribute in no small part to the wages. To be honest for the most part the inflated pay is probably a combination of union-politician conspiring against the tax payer and ultimately the fact that Unlike the States the Feds don’t have to face fiscal reality(they can instead devalue everyone else’s wealth without telling em).

[Monorprise]

“”Absolutely no federal employee should be making that kind of money.”

What a dumbass statement. The man who put a bullet in Osama bin Laden’s head was a federal employee, and deserves more than a grateful nation could ever give him.”

The Feds need to pay local market rates. I accept the fact that many technical fields are going to demand more pay then most states are willing to pay their governors. But the Feds don’t need to be paying their employees more then the private sector.

Pay enough to have competent employees to meet your needs no more.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

More evidence that America does have a bureacratic ruling class. Not only do they make more, but they get all kinds of perks and don’t work that hard. And they force the rest of us to pay for it by taxes. Its the reason the only answer to our problems is to shrink government, fire government workers and completely get rid of departments.