The Top Paid Federal Employees

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The comments of Maria Markham Thompson and others in this post are right on target. I am a retired state and local goverment employee and my son and husband are federal employees.
This issue has become political fodder and it is a disgusting reflection of how the average citizen is so quick (dumbed down) to make unwarranted conclusions based upon faulty statistics and skewed assumptions.
Although there may be Federal workers earning more than they are worth, I am just as sure that "good workers" far outweigh the not-so-good. This is true in any industry public or privae. I believe the econcomic downturn has made people too quick to negatively judge others. "do unto others"...

redretiree of VA 4:15PM March 24, 2011

And, apparently when I get fired up, I am not a very good typist. My apologies for the typos in my original post.

two cents of KS 1:03PM January 11, 2011

It is misleading to take an average rate of pay at an agency without also disclosing the job types, required education and licensing, the amount of responsibilty for the assignment- both in fiscal and human costs- that comprise the Agency's staffing.
That would allow for a rational comparison of a Federal employee's salaries and benefits to those of someone with the same level of responsibilty and capability in teh provate sector.
Let's not forget benefits. My sister, a corporate banker, was amazed that I, a fed, did not have some perq's that she considered common place. Some of them were minor, like free coffee service. a more significant item that completely suprised her is that federal employees pay a portion of the premiums for halth insurance coverage. To show the varience in our perspectives, I am thrilled that the USG pays more than half of my premium. My sister was outraged that my employer passed any of the premium expense on to the employee.
Oh, and speaking of high-end corporate jobs, if my sister were to take a job with a US regualtory agency responsible for overseeing her bank's activities, she would take a pay cut of 50 % in salary, and lose all bonus opportunities (often another 30-50 % of salary) as well as those perqs which she came to expect as normal.
I make a good living, and I invested in my own training and developmetn to get wehre I am. I earned a commission in the US Army, I worked for free as in intern on Capitol Hill, and waited tables to pay rent. I worked hard in a variety of jobs and distinguished myself with a good reputation. I got into a first rate graduate school and chose Public Adminstration over Business Adminstration, because I believe in public service. I am still paying off my student loans, which take up a significant portion of my "good living".
Please don't campare my job to any random average job out there- I have specialized capabilities which owuld garner a much higer salary in the private sector. By that equitable comparison, most federal workers are a real bargain.

two cents of KS 1:00PM January 11, 2011

The pay at all levels of government is low for people in the financial and legal units of government when compared with private sector folks who have comparable responsibilities based on operating revenues and expenses, capital budgets or investment portfolios or litigation complexity.
Even when we recruit the best and brightest, we don't keep them. They get a few years on their resume and off most of them go to the "big paycheck" in the private sector. This is particularly egregious when we're looking at the lower level staff at the SEC, FINRA and CTTC. You can't monitor Goldman or catch Madoff with these compensation levels:
OPPORTUNITY SEC69826
Attorney - Adviser -
Posted: Nov 04, 2010
Job Title: Attorney- Adviser
Office : Office of Market Supervision
Location: Washington, DC
Series & Grade: SK 12 –SK13 (that's 2 -3 yrs experience)
Salary Range: $81,225- $149,571
More typical is this entry level to 5 years of experience spot for an accountant:
12/8/2010 Accountant, GS-0510-7/9/11/12 (HM-DEU) Interior, Bureau of Reclamation CO-Denver [Includes Lakewood] $41,631.00+
How about a "secretary"
Job Title: Office Automation Assistant
Department: Department Of Defense
Agency: Defense Contract Audit Agency
Job Announcement Number: DDRSC-402725-11
SALARY RANGE: $24,518.00 - $35,657.00 /year
SERIES & GRADE: GS-0326-04/05
There are those of us who are dedicated to public service. For our pains, we give up a lot in income, working conditions, prestige, and even basic respect from our peers. And many of us pay for the CPE to keep our licenses without agency reimbursement. (The miniscule training budgets are another big failing in managing the government workforce.)
Compensation levels are usually lower at state and local government levels. Check it out -- the information is online and open for the public. Take the time to get the facts. Government pay is not competitive and long gone are the so-called "gold lined retirement plans" that were supposed to make up for lower pay during our working years. Current retirees may have better benefits, but changes are already in place for current government workers at all levels. New employees get 401K plans, but often without the employer matching.
And the pay problem is at the root of what's wrong education. Bright women and minorities have a wider range of career opportunities. This means that society can't get a surplus by making teaching the best of a limited set of options. Imagine what a school would be like if all of your female colleagues were all standing in classrooms this morning. And many of us would go, but not for a third to half of our present compensation.
We have horribly underpaid government workers in some our most critical places. Until we put our money where our mouths are, too much of the government workforce will be there drawn from people couldn't get better spots in the private sector or who want springboard upward.

Maria Markham Thompson, CPA, CFA of MD 11:13AM December 08, 2010

Hey,
Been in gov't over seven years. My government salary is no where near the avaerage quoted in this article. I started at &29k with a college degree and two years of grad school as a GS-06 in 2003. I'm just getting to GS-07 just over $41k. So, my friends with similar credentials who work in the private sector are up around or over $59k. So, show me the money.

Aldo of DC 10:29AM December 08, 2010

Federal retiree's COLAs (cost of living adjustments) are authorized by law based on the increase in the cost of livng as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistic(BLS). Whenever the cost of living increases, the Federal retiree's annuity increases.
Since 2008, the cost of living has decreased-- not increased. THat is why Federal retirees have not received a COLA

DeeCee of MD 5:31PM December 07, 2010

While I don't want to give this administration or Congress too much credit yet, there are things happening that are slightly beginning to right the wrongs of the past. However, there isn't enough being done in the right areas to make me believe that the taxpayer is not going to be hit next to pay for all the past's problems. This Gov't needs to do a top to bottom review of what can be done to save money. As an example, NASA needs to be privatized. They are not doing me any good and I don't want to go to the moon. Stop wasteful and redundant research. I don't care how ants procreate. Keep money here and help bail us out rather than fixing other countries woes. ALL of this and much more needed to happen years ago, but it's never too late. It just takes tough politicians to make tough decisions. We need to get the very core of what got us here today. Earmarks, corruption, spending billions overseas, wasteful programs etc. Will our president be that tough and can he and Congress really solve some of our probelms without over-taxing us. The real answer is yes, but it won't get doen without US pushing and complaining. You only have to look at what the TEA Party has done thus far to make a difference, now multiple that by millions. STOP standing on the side of Democrat or Republican and sound off for what's right for you and us and our future.

Mike of PA 1:05PM December 04, 2010

Wow! I wish that I made that so called Average pay, and so do the multitude of lower level government employees (people who actually do the work). So, come on and do the proper math! By including high to mid level pay to the average is not a "true" average that needs to be compared with private employment pay.

mm of HI 7:13PM December 03, 2010

As a federal worker for the DoD and now the VA, I find it amazing that President Obama wants to freeze my wages and locality pay, as well as not giving my husband ( a retired federal worker) a COLA increase, and still expects me to go spend my hard earned wages in this economy, while the US government wants to send $400 billion to the EU to save THEIR ecomony! Why not keep the $400B here in the US and use it to either reduce our deficit or pump it into the economy in terms of job creation? Our priorities as a country are misaligned and until politicians realise that the "average" isn't an average at all, we will continue to struggle with overspending, slow economic growth, and poor leadership.

Sue of NH 2:58PM December 03, 2010

It's amazing how everyone who's not in the Government workforce is quick to cut or freeze our wages and believe the politicians who'll sell anyone down the river to keep theirs. As for Ken of OH remarks of the quality of Gov't workers, in every workforce there are those who we wonder how they first got the job and how they seem to keep it. This is true regardless of "Private" or "Government" employers. As for making too much $, I'm sad to say that I must be one of those Gov't employees that are below the average. As a matter of fact, I'd like to make the average they all seem to be talking about! I'm retiring from Gov't service after close to 37 years as a firefighter and I know I've earned my wages. My first ten years were with the U.S. Forest Service and I still remember my first paycheck for two weeks work, a staggering $192.87 take home as a GS-3. My last 27 years have been with the Dept. of Defense "Navy" and compared to my "Private/Civilian/Non-Government" counterparts in the surrounding community, I make close to $24K less than an entry firefighter in my position and I work 144 hours every two weeks compared to their 104 hours for the same time period. They (DON) continue to cut our budget and staffing billets and still expect a high quality of service in return, which due to our professionalism we still deliver. We know the job market is rough in the "Private" sector, but it's pretty cushy from where I stand with regards to my profession. If the Gov't wants to cut the expense of operating, freeze the politicians wages and benefits, get rid of the National Health Care that being shoved down our throats with the added personnel needed to run it, get us out of the Middle East and let them take care of their own government, quit giving foreign aid to countries that will never pay us back and still burn our flag, outlaw lobbyists, and have everyone regardless of income pay a flat 10% tax on their gross earnings, that includes businesses.

DJP of CA 6:26PM December 02, 2010