Federal Employees: Are you Ready for the 5% Paycut/Tax Increase Next Year?

[zoony]

Lead pisser on libertarians?

that's just a hobby

[Redskins Diehard]

that's a separate argument.

On another note, I would take a 40% cut in pay IN A SECOND if it meant I could work 40-50 hour weeks,not spend 40 weeks out of the year travelling, and gain job security.

Spare us the martyr routine, it's unbecoming.

You've got it so rough. I don't know how you do it. I mean, all federal workers just work 40-50 hour weeks...and I have never had to travel anywhere with my work. Either clueless or dishonest....

[Popeman38]

Many large corporations still offer far more generous pensions as well as significantly higher pay. Particularly for professional and technical fields. Just take a look at pension and retirement packages offered to Exxon Mobil retirees as well as many other successful Fortune corporations. This is just one of thousands of examples of far superior private sector retirement packages/pensions/benefits. Not to mention routine five and six figure bonuses as well as stock options and numerous corporate perks. Many are also presently increasing compensation. Federal pay still lags private sector pay by approximately 20 to 30%, particularly in professional fields. Many of my private sector counterparts earn significantly higher salaries with large bonuses sometimes as much as 10 to 50% of salary with better and cheaper benefit packages. It is always easy to say how great we have it when you are comparing to the bottom of the barrel mismanaged corporations often pilfered by CEO thieves. Tell me what sacrifice towards the deficit corporate elite, hedge funds, Wall St., banks, and the wealthy upper 2% crust are making. Give me a break already. Federal retirement plans/pensions/benefits are mediocre to average at best. The federal government is quickly on its way to becoming an employer of last resort heading rapidly to the bottom.

Execs and top 2%? Seriously? Explain how all the Execs in the govt make so much in a down economy? You can't compare officers to regular employees just like you can't compare Sen and Congressmen to regular govt employees.

And hardly any private sector job (outside unions) offer pensions anymore.

[zoony]

You've got it so rough. I don't know how you do it. I mean, all federal workers just work 40-50 hour weeks...and I have never had to travel anywhere with my work. Either clueless or dishonest....

yah, because that's what I said. Speaking of clueless/dishonest.

...

[Popeman38]

You've got it so rough. I don't know how you do it. I mean, all federal workers just work 40-50 hour weeks...and I have never had to travel anywhere with my work. Either clueless or dishonest....

Quick, what percentage of civilian federal employees work 9-5?

Dollars to donuts its north of 75%.

[Redskins Diehard]

yah, because that's what I said. Speaking of clueless/dishonest.

...

Well I wonder what kind of employment you were referring to in the thread about Federal Employees and your dreams of short work weeks and no time away from your family...

---------- Post added May-17th-2011 at 03:41 PM ----------

Quick, what percentage of civilian federal employees work 9-5?

Dollars to donuts its north of 75%.

You find me your donut shop source and we can discuss it. Or are you pulling it out of your dollar store ass?

[deejaydana]

You're not going to find people in the private sector being sympathetic to public and federal workers who have job protections that aren't in any way attainable within the private space. This isn't sour grapes but gov't workers should also be more thankful...and less entitled. Flame away, i'm sure this post will open me up to fire.

[zoony]

You're not going to find people in the private sector being sympathetic to public and federal workers who have job protections that aren't in any way attainable within the private space. This isn't sour grapes but gov't workers should also be more thankful...and less entitled. Flame away, i'm sure this post will open me up to fire.

you inconsiderate ****!!!! You have it sooooo rough, don't you? Yah, because Federal workers don't work hard. Bigot. I hate you!!!!

[/jumps off bridge]

[JMS]

You're not going to find people in the private sector being sympathetic to public and federal workers who have job protections that aren't in any way attainable within the private space. This isn't sour grapes but gov't workers should also be more thankful...and less entitled. Flame away, i'm sure this post will open me up to fire.

:doh: You seem to want boot lickers in federal employment. People who will kiss your boot and be thankful they have a job...

You pass a 5% across the board cut in salaries and that's the kind of people you will get. Cause all the competent guys will get a job in the private sector and give you the finger on their way out... Oh and it's frankly not like their are a lot of those competent guys in federal employ now anyway.

The knee jerk quick solutions for all that ails us kills me. It's like we are back in the salem witch hunt days and everybody who potentially is different from the mob needs to be punished or burned at the stake.

[Fergasun]

The military folks have their own issues to deal with. There was something about fees being raised for health care... the comment thread (online site) was brutal, pretty much all of the military people were saying "I toiled 30 years in this career and was promised free health care for life!". Quite frankly there should be a huge asterisk next to any public/federal employment (* promises need not be kept; obligations need not be paid; employment terms subject to change)... guess I was just a bit naive when I signed up for the job (having been here for awhile now I'm fully aware of the downside).

FWIW, I work with a ton of folks who are 9-5 with little travel. I envy their jobs and its why I ask my boss for raises as much as possible (I got one a while ago without asking and when I was eligible again I asked for another one). The 50-year+ crowd counting down to retirement pisses me off to no end. Their max'd out to higher salaries than me and aren't hungry about the job anymore. There's at least 30% savings (in my workforce) that can be accounted for there. The other thing is the mentality of folks at my work-site... they assume money will keep coming simply because and don't try to innovate/improve... stale mindset. I don't think I'm going to be working for the Feds for much longer than 5 more years. In general however the Federal "man" seems much nicer than working for the private sector "man"... maybe I need to think more highly of myself as a "company asset".

[deejaydana]

:doh: You seem to want boot lickers in federal employment. People who will kiss your boot and be thankful they have a job...

You pass a 5% across the board cut in salaries and that's the kind of people you will get. Cause all the competent guys will get a job in the private sector and give you the finger on their way out... Oh and it's frankly not like their are a lot of those competent guys in federal employ now anyway.

The knee jerk quick solutions for all that ails us kills me. It's like we are back in the salem witch hunt days and everybody who potentially is different from the mob needs to be punished or burned at the stake.

wow, could you possibly be more dramatic with this post? Salem witch hunts? And you think a 5% cut will make people walk from their jobs? In this hiring environment? Don't know how to respond to this but it hardly would could as mature in my book.

[zoony]

You pass a 5% across the board cut in salaries and that's the kind of people you will get. Cause all the competent guys will get a job in the private sector and give you the finger on their way out... .

So your prediction is that most federal workers (at least the good ones) will be leaving for the private sector after next year? Really?

[skinfan2k]

Alot of those federal workers in the place I work are the smartest human beings in the US and they deserve that salary! of course there are skewed salaries, but alot of the work in certain govt agencies is specialized

[Fergasun]

There are ~ 2M federal workers and ~ 105M adults employed in America.

I think most current federal workers are going to retire soon, and those eligible to retire most likely will and then try to get jobs with the contractors.

In the defense sector I don't see much of a benefit of jumping to a defense contractor (maybe its just my area).

[SkinsHokieFan]

Many gov't contractors are adjusting bids by having 0 escalation from year 1 to year 2 to show "we know how you feel, we'll feel the pain"

Generally federal T&M contracts will see a 3-5 percent year by year escalation. Keeping year 2 at year 1 is a sign that the private sector, at least with federal contracts, will adjust

---------- Post added May-17th-2011 at 04:18 PM ----------

In the defense sector I don't see much of a benefit of jumping to a defense contractor (maybe its just my area).

My gf just got out of the navy a few weeks ago. She has 3 companies competing very hard for her services now, at a salary very close to mine. And I am damn well overpaid in my day job

[WALL-LE]

fed employees are highly overpaid anyway, stop complaining..

[SkinsHokieFan]

fed employees are highly overpaid anyway, stop complaining..

Actually I'd say in the DC area they are under paid.

But then again IMO any "professional" with 5 years experience making under 100k in the DC area is underpaid. This place is damn expensive

[twa]

. This place is damn expensive

I hear Dubai is getting more affordable

[RedskinsFan44]

The talking point that fed workers make more on average than private sector workers is a lie in that there are not many fed workers flipping burgers. I suspect that the fed pay going up faster than the average can likewise be explained by the disparity in the fortunes of educated and uneducated workers over the past few decades. I started out making much less than equivalent private sector jobs, over time you move up the ladder. I am sure I still make less than I could in the private sector, but like my job so I will stay.

[NoVaO]

So, a decision you made when it comes to your employment is grounds for taxpayers to fund your retirement? This happens in the private sector all the time. My health insurance went up like 12% this year. Does that mean I have the right to complain about a 12% tax hike after Obama promised his healthcare reform would cut my costs?

The government is broke. When the govt goes broke, the people it is paying tend to make less, just like everyone else that works. And please, don't bring up CEOs making millions. That is like me lumping you in with Sen and Congressmen making millions in a down economy.

Republicans always do this. Pass a huge tax cut and then claim the Government is broke. Wonder why we're broke?

Either way, I think the bigger problem federal employees are having is that they are being asked to take a hit -- something they already have done with pay freezes -- and the wealthiest people in this country have to sacrifice nothing. The very rich were the only people to see their income rise after the great great recession. The share they hold of this country's wealth continues to increase as it has been since 1980, while middle class incomes have remained stagnant. And yet they sacrifice nothing. They get to keep their tax cuts, which have been proven not to work time and time again.

So while this proposal isn't drastic in itself and most federal employees would grudgingly be fine with it, you have to understand how frustrating it is for the burden to be put on them and while there is no sacrifice coming from anywhere else.

[Thiebear]

The GOP only has the house, The peasants of the Gov't.

Nothing gets through the Senate or WH without Democrat controlled consent.

Nothing.

And the 5% addition for retirement for life is a good first baby step.

Everyone is going to need to kick'in a bit. Even if its below 250k.