More federal workers' pay tops $150,000

[The Northerner]

The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

The fast-growing pay of federal employees has captured the attention of fiscally conservative Republicans who won control of the U.S. House of Representatives in last week's elections. Already, some lawmakers are planning to use the lame-duck session that starts Monday to challenge the president's plan to give a 1.4% across-the-board pay raise to 2.1 million federal workers.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who will head the panel overseeing federal pay, says he wants a pay freeze and prefers a 10% pay cut. "It's stunning when you see what's happened to federal compensation," he says. "Every metric shows we're heading in the wrong direction."

National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley counters that the proposed raise "is a modest amount and should be implemented" to help make salaries more comparable with those in the private sector.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-11-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm

[Roma]

1. "is a modest amount and should be implemented"

to help make salaries more comparable with those in the private sector?

What private sector are you talking about Colleen?

It used to be that government employees were willing to accept less pay in return for the security and benefits. Now they're thumbing their collective noses at us.

[SOS]

9. One slight problem....

It's a pack of right-wing lies.

Here are the real figures, not the ones promoted by some American Enterprise Institute press release.

Pay scales for federal workers in Cleveland OH:
http://www.opm.gov/oca/10tables/html/cle.asp

Pay starts at $21,129.

The pay scale for an Administrative Appeals judge:

http://www.opm.gov/oca/10tables/html/aaj.asp

Even the highest paid judge doesn't make $150K.

[Obamanaut]

13. Last number, last column - over $150,000. nt

[SOS]

17. True

but the impression created by these articles is that federal employees make $150K.
That is patently false.
Even the USA Today article points out that less than 4% of all federal workers make over $150K.
A VA medical doctor makes $175K, perfectly in line with the private sector.

[hfojvt]

27. you are wrong there

pay only starts at $21,000 if you are a GS-1. Almost nobody is a GS-1. I STARTED in 1985 as a GS-7, paying now $40,326 and after one year I was promoted to a GS-9, paying now $49,327 and I was promised two more promotions, up to a GS-12, paying now $71,533.

Excuse me for a second :banghead:

Did I mention that I quit that job in 1986? And that I now make $15,000 a year as a part-time janitor. At the time though, in 1985 I was only making $8.57 an hour as a GS-7 and then $10.45 an hour as a GS-9. Going by that, anybody wanna use the inflation calculator and see if they have kept up with official inflation?

Never mind, I already did. $8.57 in 1986 would be $17.08 today which would be $34,000 for a GS-7. And $10.45 in 1986 would be $20.83 today or about $41,000 for a GS-9. So government workers have more than kept up with inflation over the last 25 years. How many other workers can say that?

Step increases are generally automatic too, until you top out at step-10. The first five come every year and then it slows to 18 months or maybe 24. Thus along with a 1% raise, the employee is gonna go up a step from say GS-7.2 to GS-7.3. Which is already an increase of 3.2% even without a pay increase.

So, it may not be politically popular, especially not here, but I think a freeze in pay, especially at the top, where salaries are huge, is warranted.

Of course, I remember what Webb Hubbell wrote. He, if you remember took a fairly high ranking job in the justice department under President Clinton. His salary, in 1993, was $150,000. He wrote, in his book "Friends in High Places" that the $150,000 was less than he made working as a lawyer, but that with investments and his wife's salary, that they would be "okay" for a while. Okay. A man makes $150,000 and calls that just "okay". :wtf:

[Fearless]

32. +1

[Kingofalldems]

2. More RW talking points

This site is for Democrats.

[Peregrine Took]

14. My thoughts exactly. Morons on RW talk radio were blab blabbing about this

today trying to make "working stiffs" hate government employees and their unions.

[Peregrine Took]

15. moved message below

[hfojvt]

28. sometimes it might be nice

if Democrats knew how to counter RW talking points with facts. Or is that too much work?

[mediaman007]

3. Pay them more. Its about time for the pay scale to be rising!

If were going after anyone, it should be Wall Street. Their bonuses include money that should be in my portfolio. I'm taking less on my mutual fund, so the managers can live in mansions with moats.

[Kingofalldems]

4. Yep. Excellent post.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

5. I wish I made half that

oh wait .......

[mediaman007]

6. Perhaps the "trickle down" is here!

[jayfish]

7. I don't buy the numbers here but here's the real question.

Why is is "class warfare" when was ask the wealthy to do more, pay more taxes or cut their outrageous bonuses; but wanting to cut or freeze the pay of middle class workers is not?

[DevonRex]

8. Sure, after 25 years of service. nt

[SlimJimmy]

11. Bingo. That's something that is never discussed. A federal worker

with 25-30 years could easily be making that kind of money. But that is a far shot from most federal starting pay.

[blondeatlast]

10. This smacks of the newest RW fauxtrage. I'm fine with it; the best

should be serving the people, not Morgan Stanley and Wal-Mart.

[marmar]

12. +100

..... and as usual, the MSM is more than eager to feast at this buffet of bullshit.

[dkf]

20. Except our regulators have been asleep at the switch in all aspects.

I don't know what the problem is but some departments seem to be derelict.

[blondeatlast]

22. Specifically? nt

[dkf]

23. Minerals...ala BP, food ala salmonella in eggs, mining ala Massey

FDA ala huge recall of kids medicines at McNeill, banking ala massive document fraud, SEC ala fraudulent prospectus on MBS and possible insider trading when shorting, Labor ala illegal workers and illegal wages... The list goes on and on.

[pinboy3niner]

21. It's a war on public employees, unions and government

Recently there have been almost identical attacks on public workers at the local level:

Nearly 200 L.A. County employees took home more than 250K in compensation last year
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=141x38378

The Nation called it 'the new class war':

War on Public Workers
http://www.thenation.com/article/war-public-workers

Look for this to be featured as a major story on Fox and every RW talk radio show.

[sinkingfeeling]

24. I so agree.

[ProSense]

16. Republicans are hypocritical assholes. They have no

problem pushing that blowhard Chris Christie as a model public servant even though he's the worst offender when it comes to pilfering tax payers. He also has some people in his administration making more than $500,000 per year, which is $100,000 more than the President's salary.

Focus on curbing CEO pay instead of trying to score political points with hypocrisy. Bet these hypocrites are not will to cut their own salaries.

[Peregrine Took]

18. Anyone can apply to work for the government - its not a secret club. n/t

[blondeatlast]

19. OP, what's your opinion on the issue and the article? nt

[fifthoffive]

25. Interesting.

Must be workers outside the General Schedule. The GS salary table for 2010 I'm looking at starts at $19,071 and goes up to $145,290.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

29. They are. They are looking at SES and special rates for docs etc

[Kingofalldems]

30. Exactly-- Another lie by the right wing.

And yet it's posted as fact here on DU.

[SOS]

26. The US Navy has 160 admirals each making between $163,000 and $202,000.

The US Army has 302 generals making $168,000 to $204,000.

Think we'll hear any howls from the right to do some cost cutting on this?

[SoCalDem]

31. More federal workers are nearing their retirement age, and are at the top

of their income arc.

It's Boomer-Time, folks..

Should we be surprised that people who have worked 35-40 years at a job, would be paid more than someone 4-10 yrs on the job?

This is just a lame attempt to create more friction between people who should be noticing the multi-million dollar bonuses paid to millionaires who shuffle paper & scam people for a living.

Were there similar articles written, years ago about the MILLIONS of people making $3.00 an hour (when we all started out together)?