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Old 01-19-2011, 05:01 AM   #126
scottw
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but if you want to talk about federal workers...maybe we should just change the name from "public servants" to 'highly paid/compensated government professionals"
....similar situation...maybe the answer is even more tax money funding more studies creating more wealth to help pay for these highly paid government workers and their luxurious benefits as they accomplish what could never be accomplished in the private sector?


Federal workers earning double their private counterparts
Updated 8/13/2010 10:53 AM

By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

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.

•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.


Business Insider

WARNING: The Federal Employees Pension System Is Running An Even Bigger Deficit Than Social Security
Bruce Krasting | Oct. 21, 2010,

I don’t think there is anyone who looks at the issue of entitlements in the US who is not gravely concerned about the direction we are on. Economists of all stripes, damn near everyone in D.C. and a long list of academics have all highlighted the problems. But the same groups that are raising red flags are misleading us on when and how this problem will affect us. They say/think it is a tomorrow problem. Actually it is hitting us today.

I want to focus on the Federal Employees Retirement System (“FERS”). This is a retirement program for federal workers. The program is similar to Social Security in a number of ways.

-FERS collects money from government workers and their employer.

-The program pays benefits to eligible workers and their families.

-FERS has a trust fund. Currently there is $775b of Special Issue Treasury securities in the fund. This is equivalent to 6% of our total debt and is therefore a very big deal. FERS holds as much of our paper as do the Chinese and the Federal Reserve.

-FERS is running a cash flow deficit. This is a new phenomenon. FERS is converting itself into a defined contribution plan that will address some of the problems. However the cash drain experienced in 2010 will not be reversed in the foreseeable future. It will increase. Some numbers from OMB:

Read more: WARNING: The Federal Employees Pension System Is Running An Even Bigger Deficit Than Social Security

quick...somebody build a spaceship!!!

Last edited by scottw; 01-19-2011 at 05:20 AM..
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