Thread: OPM- Federal Salaries NOT overpaid.

rebuttal in less than 30 days!
Think there was some OT on that team or was it all EAS crunching the numbers (and lunch over their keyboards) on the weekends?

Originally Posted by James48843

OPM Statement on Federal Employee Pay

Recent Comparisons of Federal Pay to Private Sector are Unfair and Untrue

Monday, August 16, 2010

Washington, DC - Today, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management released the following statement from Director John Berry:

"Recent press stories regarding pay for Federal employees compared to private sector workers are unfair and untrue. Simply put, these stories have compared apples to oranges. Federal workers are not paid double the private sector. The Cato Institute and USA Today stories quoting Cato staff (and similar statements from the Heritage Foundation) look only at gross averages, including retail and restaurant service workers and other entry-level positions that reduce private sector average pay in comparison to the Federal average, which does not include many of these categories in its workforce.

The Federal workforce today is highly specialized. Thirty years ago, over 22% of our workforce was in blue collar jobs. Now that percentage has dropped by half while the percentage of IT and Health professionals has doubled. Data clearly show that many of these highly specialized workers - doctors, nurses, cybersecurity professionals - are paid less than their private sector counterparts and are making a significant sacrifice in pay to serve their neighbors.

The wages we pay are fair and the benefits we offer are good. But working for the Federal government is about more than money. People grow up dreaming about working for NASA, or the CIA, or becoming a park ranger, or cancer researcher. We should be applauding these hard-working civil servants - not mischaracterizing them.

It is also worth noting that in this time when so many American families are struggling to make ends meet, the President is committed to making sure the Federal government is spending the taxpayers' money wisely and carefully, and cutting costs wherever possible. Like households and businesses across the country, the Federal Government is tightening its belt. That’s why the President launched the Accountable Government Initiative and has pursued a variety of areas to cut waste and boost efficiency from contracting to improper payments, Federal real property, and unnecessary programs."

- John Berry,
Director,
United States Office of Personnel Management

I was with him up until

the President is committed to making sure the Federal government is spending the taxpayers' money wisely and carefully

This OPM stuff sells to some people inside the DC Beltway but the other side of the spin is gaining traction. Grade creep and promoting people who can get along without making waves, rather than reward competience, initiative and production, has contributed more than the spin of IT professionals sacrificing for their countrymen. While the previous law and comparisons gave federal employee friendly Representatives ammo for parity and raises, this new mood is going to quell that.

I get steamed by the way the federal retirees have joined companies doing business with the feds and it's become a revolving door as bad as Congress and lobbyists. Career feds retire and become executives of companies providing contractors to govt agencies and collect the bennies of company cars and high salaries. How about a custom Mercedes? Current employees read the fine print about how to leave the government and join firms that they've shoved contracts to. A gravy train in DC. No economic problem here. Housing on the rise.

Personally I don't get that. Don't get me wrong, I understand greed, but when I'm done I'm done.
0530- Me, truck and boat pulling out of the driveway.
1000- Meet my wife for brunch
1200- American Legion, 1 beer and sign the book
1400- Home to take care of some chores
1700- Dinner with the wife
1900- Chat with you all
2100- Some tube

Repeat Tuesday-Friday
Why in the heck would I go back to work after retirement.

hey! it's beer o'clock already!
nice schedule

Originally Posted by WorkFE

Personally I don't get that. Don't get me wrong, I understand greed, but when I'm done I'm done.
0530- Me, truck and boat pulling out of the driveway.
1000- Meet my wife for brunch
1200- American Legion, 1 beer and sign the book
1400- Home to take care of some chores
1700- Dinner with the wife
1900- Chat with you all
2100- Some tube

Repeat Tuesday-Friday
Why in the heck would I go back to work after retirement.

Its always beer o'clock somewhere.

Pay gap between government, private sector widens to 34 percent - FederalNewsRadio.com

Nice short article.

I know this goes across series deliniation. I'm currently 40% under all the contractors in my office. BUT, I get 2.5 weeks more vacation a year and my health benefits portion to pay is about 30% less.

I'd gladly give up 1 of my 5 weeks of vacation a year to get paid 6% more as I usually donate a week to a worthy person.

Anyway, I usually am considered a contractor by most of my peers since they say I work harder than most if not all government workers. And I'm proud of that!