4 ms·

False. Government employees are paid poorly. (edit: and that's bad for the country: govt does a lot of important things - FDA, science support, health stuff -

by mhneu 9y ago

False. Government employees are paid poorly. (edit: and that's bad for the country: govt does a lot of important things - FDA, science support, health stuff - and good people are essential.) First, any senior skilled tech employee takes a big pay cut to work in government. Programmers, doctors, scientists, engineers. Second, the bulk of the federal workforce has been squeezed down on pay over the past 15 years. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/01/05/if-2017-posed-problems-for-feds-2018-could-be-worse-with-attacks-on-pay-benefits https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/01/05/... federal unions and their Democratic supporters point to data released by the Federal Salary Council. In 2016, the council, using Labor Department surveys, determined that federal employees are paid 34 percent less on average than private-sector counterparts — a finding in line with previous annual reports. Note that Republicans argue with the above quote, of course -- we know that Republicans argue in bad faith (aka they lie) on any issue relating to their main goal - tax cuts for the rich. See (amongst many stories) http://theweek.com/articles/766632/liar-paul-ryan http://theweek.com/articles/766632/liar-paul-ryan Paul Ryan cruised to national prominence on the realization that there was no longer any immediate penalty for a Republican lying constantly, about everything. (Donald Trump would later take advantage of this fact.)

rayiner 9y ago
Yes, professionals take big pay cuts to work for the federal government. The exact opposite is true for less skilled employees (the ones most likely to be lifers who draw a pension).
- mhneu 9y ago
  No, that's not right. Less skilled employees often get paid peanuts, and so it's hard for govt to retain people. Title 5 (GS) employees have gotten squeezed over past 15 years, so much so that agencies have tried to push people up the pay scale. But that is at best an incomplete solution; it distorts the GS levels and it cannot completely compensate for low pay. If you said that there are problems with federal recruitment, retention, and removal of poor employees, that would be a largely true statement. But a large number of fed employees are underpaid.
  - rayiner 9y ago
    Besides the fact that the CBO disagrees. Take an entry level job requiring a bachelors degree. That’ll be GS5 or 7. That’s $35-43k in Atlanta (a city right at the median cost of living index). That’s also right around the average starting salary for all majors (41,000). https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-10-05/hiring-starting-salaries-on-the-rise-for-college-graduates https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-10-05/hiring-start...

by mhneu 9y ago

rayiner 9y ago

Yes, professionals take big pay cuts to work for the federal government. The exact opposite is true for less skilled employees (the ones most likely to be lifers who draw a pension).

mhneu 9y ago
No, that's not right. Less skilled employees often get paid peanuts, and so it's hard for govt to retain people. Title 5 (GS) employees have gotten squeezed over past 15 years, so much so that agencies have tried to push people up the pay scale. But that is at best an incomplete solution; it distorts the GS levels and it cannot completely compensate for low pay. If you said that there are problems with federal recruitment, retention, and removal of poor employees, that would be a largely true statement. But a large number of fed employees are underpaid.
- rayiner 9y ago
  Besides the fact that the CBO disagrees. Take an entry level job requiring a bachelors degree. That’ll be GS5 or 7. That’s $35-43k in Atlanta (a city right at the median cost of living index). That’s also right around the average starting salary for all majors (41,000). https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-10-05/hiring-starting-salaries-on-the-rise-for-college-graduates https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-10-05/hiring-start...