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> This has nothing to do with it. Contractors cost notably more, so if the goal was economizing it’d be an obvious step to cut out the middlemen by hiring staff
by nobodyandproud 3y ago
> This has nothing to do with it. Contractors cost notably more, so if the goal was economizing it’d be an obvious step to cut out the middlemen by hiring staff directly.
It certainly has something to do with it.
The market rates for engineers was distorted because FAANG had a lot of money to throw around, so therefore hiring staff at government pay rates is quite difficult and is subject to the General Schedule (https://federalnewsnetwork.com/pay-benefits/2023/12/biden-finalizes-2024-federal-pay-raise-for-civilian-employees/?readmore=1 https://federalnewsnetwork.com/pay-benefits/2023/12/biden-fi...).
Contractors work from bills and projects, where the money is carved out; I agree it’s terribly inefficient.
The other issue is how difficult it is to get into government vs getting in as a contractor.
I tried the former many times without success; the latter? Easier than FAANG or finance.
- acdha 3y agoYes, the GS scale is a problem. My point was that it’s not a problem because we’re trying to save money – if that were the case, someone would notice that raising the cap to allow a $300k civil service job is cheaper than allowing the same job to be performed by a $500k contractor who takes home less and is replaced more frequently. Politics enters the picture because the pay cap is derived from the salaries for politicians rather than what expertise is valued at on the open market: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-administration/fact-sheets/maximum-gs-pay-limitations/ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-admi...
- nobodyandproud 3y agoYes, but “saving money” is your point and strawman; I never said anything about saving money, nor did I imply it. GS in general cannot grow when the market pay was distorted by both lack of tax funds; and when those driving market pay has a disproportionate amount of wealth to corner the labor market, in order to prevent the hiring of engineers by other industries.
- acdha 3y agoI think you misunderstood: I agree that lack of tax funds is a problem in other areas but in this specific case it isn’t because the same or greater amount of money is already being spent.