Feeling the pinch? You must not be a government worker

From USA Today:

•Benefits. Federal workers received average benefits worth $41,791 in 2009. Most of this was the government's contribution to pensions. Employees contributed an additional $10,569.

•Pay. The average federal salary has grown 33% faster than inflation since 2000. USA TODAY reported in March that the federal government pays an average of 20% more than private firms for comparable occupations. The analysis did not consider differences in experience and education.

•Total compensation. Federal compensation has grown 36.9% since 2000 after adjusting for inflation, compared with 8.8% for private workers.


Bottom line: you and I get up and go to work each day and then when we get our paychecks a portion of our payroll taxes goes to pay people who do essentially the same jobs that we do only they have much better benefits and much higher paychecks thanks to you and I. Why?

Last week, President Obama ordered a freeze on bonuses for 2,900 political appointees. For the rest of the 2-million-person federal workforce, Obama asked for a 1.4% across-the-board pay hike in 2011, the smallest in more than a decade. Federal workers also would qualify for seniority pay hikes.

Congressional Republicans want to cancel the across-the-board increase in 2011, which would save $2.2 billion.

"Americans are fed up with public employee pay scales far exceeding that in the private sector," says Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the second-ranking Republican in the House.

Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., says a pay freeze would unfairly scapegoat federal workers without addressing real budget problems.

Unfairly scapegoat federal workers? Give me a break. There is no excuse for a federal employee to be paid $62,000 a year more than an employee in the private sector who is doing a comparable job. This is just another example of our government using the citizenry to enrich themselves.

In addition to a pay freeze, federal employees should take a significant pay cut. It is obscene for federal workers to get rich off the backs of taxpayers.

Cross posted at Pundit and Pundette with many thanks to Pundette for inviting me to guest post in her absence.