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Government jobs are dull, underpaid, largely unrewarding, and people in them have to take shit from Ayn Rand acolytes like you every day for problems that are w

Government jobs are dull, underpaid, largely unrewarding, and people in them have to take shit from Ayn Rand acolytes like you every day for problems that are way above their pay grade. Assuring that the people who serve society don't spend their final years in poverty is the least we can do.

JoeAltmaier 10y ago
There's social security, retirement funds, and savings. Why does 'government job' mean anything special?
- rm_-rf_slash 10y ago
  Government jobs are often very low pay. Many government workers who are promised a pension are locked out of social security. If you are being paid so low that you cannot save for regular expenses, let alone retirement, then what are you going to do when you turn 65? Turn over and die immediately? Also, the reason you assure pension to government employees is because they tend to be stable and dependable workers over the long term. I bet you would lose your shit if government employees in your town had the turnover of a McDonald's. Higher turnover costs mean higher taxes and much worse/less dependable service.
  - JoeAltmaier 10y ago
    Sounds like a thousand other jobs. Any company would benefit from stable and dependable workers. Nobody else gets this special treatment. I'm unconvinced. I believe they get special treatment only because they are a large lobby group.
  - jazzyk 10y ago
    This is like the "Java is slow" myth that will never go away :-) In 2014 federal civilian workers had an average wage of $84,153, according the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis [1].5 By comparison, the average wage for the nation's 111 million private-sector workers was $56,350. In Las Vegas, the average salary and benefits package for firefighter union employees was $199,678 (in 2009, I think) [2]. The average salary alone was $128,026. Please also note that federal government pensions are in a league of its own - 80% of your last year salary - and there are stories in newspapers every year about, for example, street cops working overtime and making $120K+ in their last year. [1] http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=9&step=1#reqid=9&step=3&isuri=1&903=201 http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=9&step=1#reqid=9&... [2] http://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/30/cost-cutting-ideas-center-salaries/ http://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/30/cost-cutting-ideas-c...
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      If you compare like jobs rather than workforce averages without regard to distribution of kinds, you'll find different results. You are also wrong about federal pensions, they aren't as a rule 80% of your final year salary. The normal FERS formula is 0.01 * high-3 * years of service (full months of service less than a year count as fractional years). The "high-3" is the highest annual pay of any 3 consecutive years of service. To get 80% of the high-3 (which, with increasing salary, is still less than 80% of last service year) you'd have to have 80 years of service.
    - omilu 10y ago
      >>80% of your last year salary This was under the old retirement system called CSRS. If you entered service after 1987 you are under FERS where 20 years of service gets you 20% pension, and you get additional 1% for every additional year. So 40 years you get 40% pension, not great.

JoeAltmaier 10y ago

There's social security, retirement funds, and savings. Why does 'government job' mean anything special?

rm_-rf_slash 10y ago
Government jobs are often very low pay. Many government workers who are promised a pension are locked out of social security. If you are being paid so low that you cannot save for regular expenses, let alone retirement, then what are you going to do when you turn 65? Turn over and die immediately? Also, the reason you assure pension to government employees is because they tend to be stable and dependable workers over the long term. I bet you would lose your shit if government employees in your town had the turnover of a McDonald's. Higher turnover costs mean higher taxes and much worse/less dependable service.
- JoeAltmaier 10y ago
  Sounds like a thousand other jobs. Any company would benefit from stable and dependable workers. Nobody else gets this special treatment. I'm unconvinced. I believe they get special treatment only because they are a large lobby group.
- jazzyk 10y ago
  This is like the "Java is slow" myth that will never go away :-) In 2014 federal civilian workers had an average wage of $84,153, according the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis [1].5 By comparison, the average wage for the nation's 111 million private-sector workers was $56,350. In Las Vegas, the average salary and benefits package for firefighter union employees was $199,678 (in 2009, I think) [2]. The average salary alone was $128,026. Please also note that federal government pensions are in a league of its own - 80% of your last year salary - and there are stories in newspapers every year about, for example, street cops working overtime and making $120K+ in their last year. [1] http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=9&step=1#reqid=9&step=3&isuri=1&903=201 http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=9&step=1#reqid=9&... [2] http://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/30/cost-cutting-ideas-center-salaries/ http://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/30/cost-cutting-ideas-c...
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    If you compare like jobs rather than workforce averages without regard to distribution of kinds, you'll find different results. You are also wrong about federal pensions, they aren't as a rule 80% of your final year salary. The normal FERS formula is 0.01 * high-3 * years of service (full months of service less than a year count as fractional years). The "high-3" is the highest annual pay of any 3 consecutive years of service. To get 80% of the high-3 (which, with increasing salary, is still less than 80% of last service year) you'd have to have 80 years of service.
  - omilu 10y ago
    >>80% of your last year salary This was under the old retirement system called CSRS. If you entered service after 1987 you are under FERS where 20 years of service gets you 20% pension, and you get additional 1% for every additional year. So 40 years you get 40% pension, not great.