Federal Workers Snouts Bury Deeper Into Our Pockets

[AshevilleApp]

Bingo. My old man has been a civil engineer for the state of MT for close to 30 years, and makes probably a third or less of what he could if he had been in the private sector all those years.

Q: so why stay?

A: FEDERAL RETIREMENT

His old man works for the state. Stay on focus Z.

[Col Hogan]

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING:

I am a contractor working for the federal government who is about to lose his job...and may become a federal employee in the near future (is an already existing job, not a new one)...

NOW ONTO THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED POSTING:

I agree that federal employees should not receive a pay raise this year...the basic mood in this country really makes it difficult for ANYONE to argue that federal workers should get a raise...

Too many people are unemployed/underemployed...

And Obama is growing the federal government WAY TOO MUCH...so a 1.4% hike will cost far more this year than it would have in years past...

[93henfan]

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING:

I am a contractor working for the federal government who is about to lose his job...and may become a federal employee in the near future (is an already existing job, not a new one)...

NOW ONTO THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED POSTING:

I agree that federal employees should not receive a pay raise this year...the basic mood in this country really makes it difficult for ANYONE to argue that federal workers should get a raise...

Too many people are unemployed/underemployed...

And Obama is growing the federal government WAY TOO MUCH...so a 1.4% hike will cost far more this year than it would have in years past...

Well, if the Republicans do take away our raise, it's not like we're losing a whole helluva lot anyway.

[Col Hogan]

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING:

I am a contractor working for the federal government who is about to lose his job...and may become a federal employee in the near future (is an already existing job, not a new one)...

NOW ONTO THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED POSTING:

I agree that federal employees should not receive a pay raise this year...the basic mood in this country really makes it difficult for ANYONE to argue that federal workers should get a raise...

Too many people are unemployed/underemployed...

And Obama is growing the federal government WAY TOO MUCH...so a 1.4% hike will cost far more this year than it would have in years past...

Well, if the Republicans do take away our raise, it's not like we're losing a whole helluva lot anyway.

You (we?) would not gain any money...but could gain a little empathy for what is happening in the rest of the country...

I work with feds who are honest, hard working people...but have little real understanding of how hard some folks outside of their cacoon have it right now...

[TheDancinMonarch]

The CSRS gravy train you are likely thinking of was phased out in the mid-80s. Perhaps you should get a bit more informed about the topics you blindly rail against. Now I'll give you a few minutes to Google federal retirement so you can plan your retort.

CSRS still on the job. FERS started with new hires in 1984 (I think.) Anyone hired pefore then is still on the CSRS gravy train.

[Col Hogan]

The CSRS gravy train you are likely thinking of was phased out in the mid-80s. Perhaps you should get a bit more informed about the topics you blindly rail against. Now I'll give you a few minutes to Google federal retirement so you can plan your retort.

CSRS still on the job. FERS started with new hires in 1984 (I Think.) Anyone hired pefore then is still on the CSRS gravy train.

True statement...but those folks are fewer and fewer EACH day as they bail now...

[93henfan]

The CSRS gravy train you are likely thinking of was phased out in the mid-80s. Perhaps you should get a bit more informed about the topics you blindly rail against. Now I'll give you a few minutes to Google federal retirement so you can plan your retort.

CSRS still on the job. FERS started with new hires in 1984 (I think.) Anyone hired pefore then is still on the CSRS gravy train.

Well sure, but every employee hired since 1987 (23 years now) is FERS. Federal employees now have virtually the same 401K setup as any other company. Bashing us over our retirement is a bit silly, IMHO.

[93henfan]

You (we?) would not gain any money...but could gain a little empathy for what is happening in the rest of the country...

So we're supposed to have empathy for idiots that bash us incessantly? Where was their empathy ten years ago when the situation was flipped, when working for the government was considered a sacrifice? Hell, I remember when I was reading the application materials for all the major B-Schools I was applying for in '99 and they were talking about the one or two noble grads a year who would forego making the immediate $200K a year on Wall Street to go work for Uncle Sam for $50K a year, oh noble ones spreading the wisdom of the Ivies to the lowly federal government.

[GannonFan]

Facts is facts, ma'am.

I'm not a fan of an expanding government. In ANY area...

Neither am I, nor do I believe we should **** over the people working for it. Do you really begrudge me getting that whopping 1.4% raise in January?

Well, that 1.4% raise is about 1.4% more than people who are getting no raises this year. But isn't the 1.4% a little misleading - isn't it 1.4% on top of whatver step increase someone gets from just being employed one more year (the seniority increase)? My wife is a public teacher so we're doing just fine with her raises, but even if they go a zero percent raise this year her individual pay would increase a lot more than a normal raise just based on her salary schedule and her moving up one year on it. That's a nice little perk to the whole system, i.e. "we got no raise, but I'm still pulling in 5%-6% more than I did last year". Like I said, I'm not complaining - with her built in raises and 100% pension (thank you the PA 2.5 multiplier) she can retire after 30 years (age 53) with full salary and health care forever. She's my sugarmomma - I recommend getting one of those!

[93henfan]

Well, that 1.4% raise is about 1.4% more than people who are getting no raises this year. But isn't the 1.4% a little misleading - isn't it 1.4% on top of whatver step increase someone gets from just being employed one more year (the seniority increase)?

Depends on where you are on the pay scale. My next step increase isn't for three years. You get a step increase annually for your first three years at each grade, then every three years thereafter for a period, then it gets even longer. "Seniority raise" would be a misnomer, because they are far less frequent the more seniority you have. FWIW, just glancing at the scale, the typical step increase is about 3%.

[93henfan]

She's my sugarmomma - I recommend getting one of those!

Funny timing, because my wife decided to re-enter the workforce, after three years of stay-at-home mom duties, and was just offered a nice little chunk of change today to be A/R director at her last employer.

I'm already thinking of ways to spend her money, in the same fashion she's been spending mine.

[Col Hogan]

You (we?) would not gain any money...but could gain a little empathy for what is happening in the rest of the country...

So we're supposed to have empathy for idiots that bash us incessantly? Where was their empathy ten years ago when the situation was flipped, when working for the government was considered a sacrifice? Hell, I remember when I was reading the application materials for all the major B-Schools I was applying for in '99 and they were talking about the one or two noble grads a year who would forego making the immediate $200K a year on Wall Street to go work for Uncle Sam for $50K a year, oh noble ones spreading the wisdom of the Ivies to the lowly federal government.

Times are different, bro...you gotta let that crap go...

I understand why you feel that way, but let's face fact...if you don't get the 1.4% this year, you will be OK...

There are folks who deserve the hard times they are going through...but some are facing this hardship through no fault of their own...

Just a thought...

[93henfan]

Times are different, bro...you gotta let that crap go...

I understand why you feel that way, but let's face fact...if you don't get the 1.4% this year, you will be OK...

There are folks who deserve the hard times they are going through...but some are facing this hardship through no fault of their own...

Just a thought...

Yeah, times are tough. My dad lost his job of 40+ years with Playtex when it was outsourced to Malaysia. He lost a nice pension and got another job. It sucked. He doesn't bitch about how much I make though.

[Col Hogan]

Times are different, bro...you gotta let that crap go...

I understand why you feel that way, but let's face fact...if you don't get the 1.4% this year, you will be OK...

There are folks who deserve the hard times they are going through...but some are facing this hardship through no fault of their own...

Just a thought...

Yeah, times are tough. My dad lost his job of 40+ years with Playtex when it was outsourced to Malaysia. He lost a nice pension and got another job. It sucked. He doesn't bitch about how much I make though.

That's because he isn't part of the "entitled" generation...and you & I aren't big supporters of that either...

JMHO, but federal workers would gain more by giving up this years pay raise than they will gain if it goes through...

But that's just me...

[AZGrizFan]

Q: so why stay?

A: FEDERAL RETIREMENT

Federal retirement is the Thrift Savings Plan (i.e. 401K). You have a problem with 401Ks now? The CSRS gravy train you are likely thinking of was phased out in the mid-80s. Perhaps you should get a bit more informed about the topics you blindly rail against. Now I'll give you a few minutes to Google federal retirement so you can plan your retort.

Again, I DO when every single person I know has had their retirement plans stopped and their 401k matching stopped....but not the gov't? All I'm looking for is to see even the SLIGHTEST sign that the federal government understands what's going on out in the economy and doesn't blindly march along like buffalo over a cliff....or is that just too much to ask?

[93henfan]

Again, I DO when every single person I know has had their retirement plans stopped and their 401k matching stopped....but not the gov't? All I'm looking for is to see even the SLIGHTEST sign that the federal government understands what's going on out in the economy and doesn't blindly march along like buffalo over a cliff....or is that just too much to ask?

I understand what's going on out in the economy. Private sector is down. Public sector looks like the perfect whipping boy right now. Take your shots.

Were you taking shots when you were rolling around in your quarter million plus salary and obnoxious bonuses when your little slice of the economy was in a bubble? Did you sock away all that windfall for a rainy day while I was still plodding along with my 3% a year, now 1.4%, raises on a meager public salary?

We all make choices in life, and then we must deal with the choices we made. If we don't like them, make a different choice. If your wishes succeed and my job or Col's is eliminated, by golly we'll be out their looking for jobs like everyone else.

[OSBF]

Amazing to me how completely fucking ignorant people can be on what it means to be a public servant.

[houndawg]

swing and a miss.

As CEO of my organization, I make roughly 10x what the "entry level employee" makes. In the past 12 months, however, I have taken a 5% pay cut, voluntarily given up over $50,000 in bonuses/benefits and no longer have a 401k worth a **** (no matching)....

Meanwhile, Federal employees continue to get bonuses, raises, etc., all while doing 1/2 the work for twice the pay.

So how is it the federal employee's fault that the federal guvmint values their workforce more highly than the private sector does?

[GannonFan]

As CEO of my organization, I make roughly 10x what the "entry level employee" makes. In the past 12 months, however, I have taken a 5% pay cut, voluntarily given up over $50,000 in bonuses/benefits and no longer have a 401k worth a **** (no matching)....

Meanwhile, Federal employees continue to get bonuses, raises, etc., all while doing 1/2 the work for twice the pay.

So how is it the federal employee's fault that the federal guvmint values their workforce more highly than the private sector does?

Not their fault of course, that they work for an employer where things like profitability and sustainability are unknown concepts.

[AZGrizFan]

Again, I DO when every single person I know has had their retirement plans stopped and their 401k matching stopped....but not the gov't? All I'm looking for is to see even the SLIGHTEST sign that the federal government understands what's going on out in the economy and doesn't blindly march along like buffalo over a cliff....or is that just too much to ask?

I understand what's going on out in the economy. Private sector is down. Public sector looks like the perfect whipping boy right now. Take your shots.

Were you taking shots when you were rolling around in your quarter million plus salary and obnoxious bonuses when your little slice of the economy was in a bubble? Did you sock away all that windfall for a rainy day while I was still plodding along with my 3% a year, now 1.4%, raises on a meager public salary?

We all make choices in life, and then we must deal with the choices we made. If we don't like them, make a different choice. If your wishes succeed and my job or Col's is eliminated, by golly we'll be out their looking for jobs like everyone else.

Interesting take. I haven't had a raise bigger than 3% in 5 years. Talk about blindness...

And again, you (and GATW, now THERE'S some company you don't want to keep ) keep focusing on the micro...I'm talking about the MACRO. I don't begrudge YOU your pay, or your benefits. But if you don't see that it's this entitlement mindset of the government as a whole and government employees specifically that's caused such a disconnect between the public and private sector then there's no amount of logic or explanation I can use to change your mind.

All you altruistic motherfuckers who have willingly worked for years for the government for slave wages because you were planning on applying for your "martyr" boy scout badge are a piece of work. "Plodding along"...."meagher public salary"...boo-fucking-hoo...and this isn't about ME. And it ain't about YOU. For all I know you're bringing DOWN that average of $123,000/government employee...it's about the MINDSET of an out of touch government that continues blindly handing out raises and bonuses---of ANY amount---in a time where millions and millions of people are losing their jobs, losing benefits, taking pay cuts while the government is $1.5 trillion in debt (and climbing rapidly) and there's no end in sight to the spending.

You wanna begrudge me my salary? Fine. I'm a big boy, I can take it...I earn what I make...and I'm sure you do too. But when 2.5 million people ON AVERAGE make 2 X what their bretheren in the private sector make and YOU don't see a problem with that because somehow YOU could go out and make more but chose NOT to, then there's a problem with that.

[AZGrizFan]

And one more thing, 93: As I said earlier, ALL I'm looking for is a sign...some small indication that our government actually GETS it. But when the government workforce continues to GROW, when salaries continue to GROW, when benefits and bonus continue to be paid, in a time where EVERY OTHER ELEMENT OF THE ECONOMY IS SHRINKING, then THAT'S when I have a problem with government and it's mindset because it's obvious that they do NOT get it....and based on comments from most of the government workers here (Col Hogan being the notable exception), I'd say it's pretty obvious that YOU ALL don't get it either.

[89Hen]

My wife works for our county government and she's having to take a 3.5% cut by way of furloughs (sp?) this year. It's nice to have her get more leave, but we just started HS tuition so it's bad timing on the financial front.

[AZGrizFan]

My wife works for our county government and she's having to take a 3.5% cut by way of furloughs (sp?) this year. It's nice to have her get more leave, but we just started HS tuition so it's bad timing on the financial front.

And the difference is, states/counties/municipalities are required to balance their budgets. The Fed Gov't is not....it's all taken from Obama's magic money tree.

[houndawg]

And one more thing, 93: As I said earlier, ALL I'm looking for is a sign...some small indication that our government actually GETS it. But when the government workforce continues to GROW, when salaries continue to GROW, when benefits and bonus continue to be paid, in a time where EVERY OTHER ELEMENT OF THE ECONOMY IS SHRINKING, then THAT'S when I have a problem with government and it's mindset because it's obvious that they do NOT get it....and based on comments from most of the government workers here (Col Hogan being the notable exception), I'd say it's pretty obvious that YOU ALL don't get it either.

Cry me a river.

As soon as things get tough in the private sector, start whining about the government. So predictable.

Private sector needs to put away their crying towels and start competing. Personally, I think the troops are earning their pitiful 1.4% raise..

[AZGrizFan]

As CEO of my organization, I make roughly 10x what the "entry level employee" makes. In the past 12 months, however, I have taken a 5% pay cut, voluntarily given up over $50,000 in bonuses/benefits and no longer have a 401k worth a **** (no matching)....

Meanwhile, Federal employees continue to get bonuses, raises, etc., all while doing 1/2 the work for twice the pay.

So how is it the federal employee's fault that the federal guvmint values their workforce more highly than the private sector does?

If i had an endless supply of money I could "value" my workforce more highly too...