New data was released today [August 2, 2006] by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on federal employee wages and benefits. The data for 2005 shows that compensation for the average federal civilian worker ($106,579) is now exactly double the average compensation in the U.S. private sector ($53,289). ...The federal pay advantage has been soaring in recent years. The ratio of average federal to average private compensation increased from 1.51 in 1990, to 1.68 in 2000, to 2.00 today.
Phenomenal.
Reminds me of a little pearl of Godly wisdom
...the last shall be first and the first shall be last...
Frankly, I find this OUTRAGEOUS.
In my experience it would make more sense if that figure was the other way around.
All thanks go to the Johnson Democrat in the White House and the unprincipled ghouls in Congress.
I am not sure this data is all that useful. Simply comparing average salaries of all employees doesn't tell you anything. There are a lot of low-paying private sector jobs that simply aren't represented in the federal government, for example, the Federal Government does not directly employ dishwashers, waiters, or lawn cutters (it generally contracts for these services, though I did occasionally wash dishes and cut grass in the Army, but that was not my job title). I better comparison would be one that compares salaries in similar jobs, such as a comparison between what a engineer for DoD (Full Disclosure: I am an avionics engineer for DoD) makes verses one from Lockheed or Boeing.
Also, let's not forget that government jobs aren't at will and don't tend to get downsized. Even when the government runs out of money--like the 1995 shutdown--the workers will get paid for the weeks they were furloughed, too.
Funny someone should mention Johnson. I remember before that time the civil service jobs paid less, but had good security and benifits. Let's also realize that $165,000 salary that "lawmakers" receive is only about 3% of what they really cost us.
Also, let's not forget that government jobs aren't at will and don't tend to get downsized.
Brian, that's just not true. I know a lot of folks that lost their government jobs when NAVAIR moved from Warminster, PA to Pax River NAS in Maryland. Granted, many of them signed on with government contractors, but they did lose their government jobs. Same thing happens every time a base gets closed. Some people are allowed to move, but many aren't (or don't want to) and have to find other employment.
Even when the government runs out of money--like the 1995 shutdown--the workers will get paid for the weeks they were furloughed, too.
This is a little misleading; in 1995 the government did not "run out of money", what happened was Congress failed to pass a budget to fund the various executive branch departments, but they certainly made sure to fund their own departments and staffs (no Congressmen was ever in danger of missing a paycheck). Why sense does it make for some $35K/yr government secretary or Yellowstone Park tour guide to pay the price because Congress can't get their act together.