Federal Workers Overpaid?!

[classicman]

Ohhh Zen - I should sign that sockpuppet up RFN!

[classicman]

Federal workers earning double their private counterparts

At a time when workers' pay and benefits have stagnated, federal employees' average compensation has grown to more than double what private sector workers earn, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Federal workers have been awarded bigger average pay and benefit increases than private employees for nine years in a row. The compensation gap between federal and private workers has doubled in the past decade.

Federal civil servants earned average pay and benefits of $123,049 in 2009 while private workers made $61,051 in total compensation, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The data are the latest available.

The federal compensation advantage has grown from $30,415 in 2000 to $61,998 last year.

What the data show:
•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.

From USA Today

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by classicman

I know that the highest paid in the private sector make more than the highest paid public, but still. . . Once averaged out one would think the private sector would be twice that of the public. Not the other way around.

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

Are you talking about two people doing essentially identical jobs, or a disparate collection of workers?

Originally Posted by classicman

you have as much info as I.

My last post was in reference to my personal experience.

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

The calculation would be very different if apples were compared with apples, as Kelley pointed out in your quote. For one thing, the private sector includes the full spectrum of the economy, while government is primarily white collar, especially after outsourcing. When a big company outsources its janitorial staff, those employees are still in the private sector calculation. When a government entity does the same, those employees move from government to private sector, which increases the government salary average and decreases the private sector average.

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

From an article by the Reason Foundation (which popped up during a search of "public sector vs private sector wages"):

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

Overpaying by whose definition?

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Spud's, of course.

Okay, everyone, wheel out your pre-conceived misconceptions, trumpet them loudly, filter all other posts through the confirmation bias that has served you so well these past decades, ignore evidence to the contrary. Your flame war begins on post 17.

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

He's not the one I see complaining.

Originally Posted by classicman

Gotta love hearing a guy with a pension worth about twice my income bitch. :

Originally Posted by oldtimer

The most amusing thing re public vs private in US is the privates that rail the loudest about the publics are doing so because they are running for office . Guess what that makes them ??
Holy molars,Batman .
Surely,Shirley not wanabe public employees ?
How do you spell hypocrit ?? Republican !!

Originally Posted by classicman

Why aren't we all just public employees then. Everyone can have the same benefits, pension plans and income...?

Originally Posted by ZenGum

I'm glad you're starting to see the light, Komrade Klassikman.

Originally Posted by classicman

Federal workers earning double their private counterparts

From USA Today

Dead horse, dumbfuck. You were refuted right out of your little whine fest. You done yet? Someone getting a sucker you didn't get? Boo fucking hoo. Again. You know, typically YOUR philosophy would teach that if you WANT a sucker you go out and work hard and GET your sucker.

You sound like a bleeding heart liberal tit-sucker.

[glatt]

"The analysis did not consider differences in experience and education."

Then it is a worthless analysis.

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Dead horse, dumbfuck. You were refuted right out of your little whine fest. You done yet? Someone getting a sucker you didn't get? Boo fucking hoo. Again. You know, typically YOUR philosophy would teach that if you WANT a sucker you go out and work hard and GET your sucker.

You sound like a bleeding heart liberal tit-sucker.

A day without a classic link to articles/opinions criticizing Obama, Democrats in Congress, government programs, Muslims, Mexicans, etc. is a day without sunshine.

Facts be damned. Context be damned. The objective is to criticize in order to support pre-determined positions, not to be a critical thinker.