Federal pay ahead of private industry

Recession is nutrient for bureaucrats, elixir for government growth

Originally Posted At USA Today
By Dennis Cauchon
March 6, 2010

These salary figures do not include the value of
health, pension and other benefits, which averaged
$40,785 per federal employee in 2008 vs. $9,882 per
private worker, according to the Bureau of Economic
Analysis.

Federal pay has become a hot political issue in recent
months because of concerns over the federal budget
deficit and recession-battered wages in the private
sector.

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., made federal pay an issue
in his successful campaign to fill Edward Kennedy's
seat and is fighting for a pay freeze.

The federal government spends about $125 billion
annually on compensation for about 2 million civilian
employees.

"The data flip the conventional wisdom on its head,"
says Cato Institute budget analyst Chris Edwards, a
critic of federal pay policy. "Federal workers make
substantially more than private workers, not less, in
addition to having a large advantage in benefits."

But National Treasury Employees Union President
Colleen Kelley says the comparison is faulty because
it "compares apples and oranges." Federal
accountants, for example, perform work that has more
complexity and requires more skill than accounting
work in the private sector, she says.

"When you look at the actual duties, you see that very few federal jobs align with those in the private
sector," she says. She says federal employees are paid
an average of 26% less than non-federal workers
doing comparable work.

Office of Personnel Management spokeswoman
Sedelta Verble, says higher pay also reflects the
longevity and older age of federal workers.

USA TODAY used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to
compare salaries in every federal job that had a
private-sector equivalent. For example, the federal
government's 57,000 registered nurses — working
for the Veterans Administration and elsewhere — were
paid an average of $74,460 a year, $10,680 more
than the average for private-sector nurses.

The BLS reports that 216 occupations covering 1.1
million federal workers exist in both the federal
government and the private sector. An additional 124
federal occupations covering 750,000 employees —
air-traffic controllers, tax collectors and others — did
not have direct equivalents, according to the BLS.

Federal jobs have more limited salary ranges than
private-sector jobs, some of which have million-
dollar payouts.

Key findings:

• Federal. The federal pay premium cut across all job
categories — white-collar, blue-collar, management,
professional, technical and low-skill. In all, 180 jobs
paid better average salaries in the federal
government; 36 paid better in the private sector.

•Private. The private sector paid more on average in a
select group of high-skill occupations, including
lawyers, veterinarians and airline pilots. The
government's 5,200 computer research scientists
made an average of $95,190, about $10,000 less
than the average in the corporate world.

•State and local. State government employees had an
average salary of $47,231 in 2008, about 5% less
than comparable jobs in the private sector. City and
county workers earned an average of $43,589, about
2% more than private workers in similar jobs. State
and local workers have higher total compensation
than private workers when the value of benefits is included.

Times247.com Poll

Public Opinion View Results

Recent News

UK says elderly are “wasting" too many bedrooms

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Source: Canada Free Press

In yet another outrageous piece of social engineering from the British government, pensioners will be encouraged to downsize to smaller properties allowing local government councils to rent their homes out as public housing and manage the tenancy.
Read Full Story

Federal Employee Gravy Train

Monday, January 30, 2012

Source: The Washington Times

Federal workers earn 16 percent more in total compensation — including wages and benefits — than comparable private-sector employees, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The key difference is in benefits, where federal workers average more than $20 per hour in compensation — 48 percent higher than the $13.60 in prorated hourly benefits in the private sector.
Read Full Story

Ind. Lawmakers: "Pee Test For Thee But Not For Me"

Friday, January 27, 2012

Source: Huffington Post

A member of the Indiana General Assembly withdrew his bill to create a pilot program for drug testing welfare applicants Friday after one of his colleagues amended the measure to require drug testing for lawmakers.
Read Full Story

America, arms-dealer to the world

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Source: Salon.com

Retired lieutenant colonel's take on the military-industrial complex: As a country, we seem to have a teenager’s fascination with military hardware, an addiction that’s driving us to bust our own national budgetary allowance. At the same time, we sell weapons the way teenage punks sell fireworks to younger kids: for profit and with little regard for how they might be used.
Read Full Story

Still Convinced Tax Increases Work?

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Source: CBSChicago.com

After largest tax increase in Illinois' history, the state still can't pay its bills. Only solution is to cut government spending says state comptroller.
Read Full Story

GOP Voters Split On Interventionism

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Source: The Washington Times

Nearly half of all Republican primary voters say it’s time the U.S. stops intervening in world affairs and focuses on domestic priorities instead, signaling a persistent rift that is playing out in the party’s presidential nomination battle.
Read Full Story

CNN Poll: Obama tied with Romney & Paul in November showdowns

Monday, January 16, 2012

Source: CNN

New CNN/ORC International Poll released Monday also indicates that Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas are running even with President Obama in possible showdown this November.
Read Full Story

Solid Majority Want ObamaCare Repealed

Monday, January 9, 2012

Source: Rasmussen Reports

Most voters still want to see the national health care law repealed and believe repeal of the controversial measure is likely.
Read Full Story

Obama Darling of the Military-Industrial Complex

Friday, January 13, 2012

Source: Raw Story

President Obama is leading the pack in donations from the defense industry: according to the Center for Responsive Politics, he’d taken in almost $112,000 from defense industry donors through December 2011, twice as much as Mitt Romney, the leading Republican recipient of defense-industry campaign contributions.
Read Full Story

How Much Abuse Will We Accept From Government?

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Source: Huffington Post

Jail inmate dies after deputies directly sprayed him and fogged his cell with pepper spray at least 8 times. Deputies then put him into a restraining chair, a controversial device that binds inmates at both wrists, both ankles, and across the chest, and then sprayed him at least two more times after he had been strapped to the chair. He was also stripped naked, and outfitted with a "spit mask," a hood designed to prevent inmates from spitting on jail personnel, which kept the pepper spray in close proximity to his nose and mouth, ensuring he would continue to inhale it for the full six hours he was in the restraint chair.
Read Full Story

Read All Recent News

Get in the Know Now
Get SSI Email Alerts

Social Networks

Action Center