Viewpoint


My name is Patrick M McCormick and I have created this blog as a platform for my political views as well as those of select contributors.

I believe that American Politicians have lost sight of their goal: To uphold the Constitution and protect the rights of the people of the United States. They argue and bicker on the floor of their respective houses, positioning themselves for the next election, while they accomplish very little business for the citizens of this country.

Meanwhile our economy is sliding downward. Millions of our precious jobs have have been exported overseas. Our social safety net and other public services are being cut. Our middle class is rapidly disappearing and the numbers of citizens existing below the poverty line is increasing dramatically.

I plan to examine the causes of these terrible changes to our American way of life. Your comments will help us all arrive at some important conclusions.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Federal Grasshoppers Fiddle While US Worker Ants Suffer

August 12, 2010
Federal workers earning double private sector workers
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

While the economy - with nearly 10 percent unemployment - is struggling to get on its feet, it seems like it's still a pretty good time to work for the federal government.

USA Today reports that on average, federal employees earn double what private sector workers make. In 2009, federal civil servants earned about $123,000 - that's the total of pay and benefits... compared to $61,000 for private workers. For nine years in a row, federal workers have been getting bigger pay and benefit increases than private employees... and the compensation gap between the two groups has grown from $30,000 10 years ago to almost $62,000 today.

Unions for public employees insist this is because most federal jobs require a high level of skill and education; and because the government contracts out many lower-paying jobs to the private sector. But a lot of people don't buy that argument. Critics say federal workers are overpaid. And Republicans in Congress want to cancel the 1.4 percent across-the-board pay hike for federal workers that Pres. Obama is calling for.

Consider this: federal compensation has grown nearly 37 percent since 2000... compared to less than nine percent for private sector employees. It's no wonder our government can't keep a lid on spending with statistics like this... the federal budget deficit just for the month of July was more than $165 billion. Meanwhile millions of Americans are losing or have lost their jobs, and millions of others have been forced to take a pay cut.

1 comment:

  1. Federal and other government employees are getting fat while the rest of US choke on debt. Since they are responsible for our affairs, I think their pay should be tied to the economy more directly. They can make more in good years and less in lean years. There is no reason for the excess. It is an insult to the rest of US. An across the board pay cut of 40 or so percent is in order.

    I resent the statement that they are such highly qualified workers that they deserve the high rate of pay. If they are so F-ing good, why is our economy in the dumpster.

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