Say goodbye to your transit subsidies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who want to gripe that transit subsidies are a handout are ignorantly - or purposely - missing the point.

Subsidizing fares on public transit is subsidizing public transit. If fewer people use public transit, fares have to go up for the people who do.

If you're some Grinch who thinks you shouldn't have to pay for something you don't use, I hate to break it to you but there are countless "handouts" you're receiving every day.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who want to gripe that transit subsidies are a handout are ignorantly - or purposely - missing the point.

Subsidizing fares on public transit is subsidizing public transit. If fewer people use public transit, fares have to go up for the people who do.

If you're some Grinch who thinks you shouldn't have to pay for something you don't use, I hate to break it to you but there are countless "handouts" you're receiving every day.

One other thing to consider: only ONE public transportation system in the entire world operates at a profit. That is the MTR, the private transportation corporation for Hong Kong. However, even this system has a "hidden" government subsidy: the MTR is given exclusive rights to develop the land on top of the Metro stations at land values far below arms' length market value. Therefore, the MTR is one of the largest landowners in Hong Kong and one of the largest owners of prime retail and office space. The MTR uses these real estates profits to subsidize the fares and keep their stations and trains immaculately clean. Additionally, 90% of Hong Kong residents use the MTR system daily.

No other transportation system in the world operates at a profit solely on fares. ALL require government subsidies.

[Anonymous]

Is this going to impact the tax-free status of transit subsidies to employees? I currently give my nanny a transportation subsidy every month tax-free, under the current IRS rules for fringe benefits. Does this mean that if I continue doing that, both she and I will have to pay taxes on it as if regular pay/income?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this going to impact the tax-free status of transit subsidies to employees? I currently give my nanny a transportation subsidy every month tax-free, under the current IRS rules for fringe benefits. Does this mean that if I continue doing that, both she and I will have to pay taxes on it as if regular pay/income?

99% of the country hates you for that statement alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the posters who think federal workers are overpaid and receive benefits that are excessive, there are many studies showing that when you do an apples to apples (education, skill level etc) comparison, the more educated federal worker is undercompensated compared to his/her private sector counterpart.
There is no doubt that lower level federal workers are paid more than their private sector counterparts but their presence in the federal civil service is shrinking. The federal govt. just does not need as many clerical workers as it once did.

One example I found is the benefits package for Exxon Mobil - a large private sector company which also seeks to hire an educated and highly skilled workforce and pays them well.
Exxon Mobil workers get a generous pension AND 401K and great paid vacation time and great health care benefits.

https://local.exxonmobil.com/Family-English/HR/Files/Benefit_flyer.pdf

The only area where government workers earn less than their counterparts in private industry is among those who hold advanced degrees. For those who hold 4-year college degrees, the pay is about the same but benefits are substantially higher among government workers, meaning that college grads do better with government work. The real discrepancy comes with high school grads, who earn significantly more and get substantially better benefits than their private sector counterparts.

So other than the minority who hold advanced degrees, government employees are overcompensated in comparison to private sector employees. But just watch....try to make an adjustment to bring things into parity, and the screaming will drown out a jet engine. Government employees are not entitled to superior compensation, particularly given how difficult it is to dump incompetent staff.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921

Why do you think private sector employees don’t deserve adequate compensation?

All you people going on about how your awful employers don’t provide decent benefits and it’s like you wear that as a badge of honor, to work for miserly employers.

Join a union and demand what you deserve. You’re the ones doing the work that creates wealth for your companies. Demand you get compensated for it like you should, whether that’s salary, good insurance, vacation days, and yes, transit subsidies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the posters who think federal workers are overpaid and receive benefits that are excessive, there are many studies showing that when you do an apples to apples (education, skill level etc) comparison, the more educated federal worker is undercompensated compared to his/her private sector counterpart.
There is no doubt that lower level federal workers are paid more than their private sector counterparts but their presence in the federal civil service is shrinking. The federal govt. just does not need as many clerical workers as it once did.

One example I found is the benefits package for Exxon Mobil - a large private sector company which also seeks to hire an educated and highly skilled workforce and pays them well.
Exxon Mobil workers get a generous pension AND 401K and great paid vacation time and great health care benefits.

https://local.exxonmobil.com/Family-English/HR/Files/Benefit_flyer.pdf

The only area where government workers earn less than their counterparts in private industry is among those who hold advanced degrees. For those who hold 4-year college degrees, the pay is about the same but benefits are substantially higher among government workers, meaning that college grads do better with government work. The real discrepancy comes with high school grads, who earn significantly more and get substantially better benefits than their private sector counterparts.

So other than the minority who hold advanced degrees, government employees are overcompensated in comparison to private sector employees. But just watch....try to make an adjustment to bring things into parity, and the screaming will drown out a jet engine. Government employees are not entitled to superior compensation, particularly given how difficult it is to dump incompetent staff.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921

Why do you think private sector employees don’t deserve adequate compensation?

All you people going on about how your awful employers don’t provide decent benefits and it’s like you wear that as a badge of honor, to work for miserly employers.

Join a union and demand what you deserve. You’re the ones doing the work that creates wealth for your companies. Demand you get compensated for it like you should, whether that’s salary, good insurance, vacation days, and yes, transit subsidies.

That's not how it works in the real world. I can't believe how entitled you government workers are! You just don't "demand" all sorts of expensive benefits and above-market salaries from your employer. That's such the liberal way: Gimme, gimme, gimme! Where is the money going to come from? It's not like government, where the "employer" simply goes deeper and deeper into trillions of debt. No....in the real world, the employer goes bankrupt. You can demand yourselves right out of employment altogether.

Plus, you're just assuming everyone would want to unionize. Again, you do not live in the real world. In the real world, if, for example, the admins get together to demand a raise from $60k to $70k with an extra week vacation, guess what? other admins will gladly step up and take the $60k.

Finally, we don't wear our less lofty salaries and benefits as a badge of honor! We are just pointing out that private sector employees, subject to MARKET FACTORS (and often their company's ability to pay more) should not be meeting the demands of public sector employees that exceeds their own compensation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good. Why should taxpayers subsidize people's commutes? I've been working for 30 years and no employer ever gave me money to get to work. That was just part of the cost of having a job.

You are an idiot. All those users of mass transit also contribute to road maintenance, so they subsidize *your* commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the posters who think federal workers are overpaid and receive benefits that are excessive, there are many studies showing that when you do an apples to apples (education, skill level etc) comparison, the more educated federal worker is undercompensated compared to his/her private sector counterpart.
There is no doubt that lower level federal workers are paid more than their private sector counterparts but their presence in the federal civil service is shrinking. The federal govt. just does not need as many clerical workers as it once did.

One example I found is the benefits package for Exxon Mobil - a large private sector company which also seeks to hire an educated and highly skilled workforce and pays them well.
Exxon Mobil workers get a generous pension AND 401K and great paid vacation time and great health care benefits.

https://local.exxonmobil.com/Family-English/HR/Files/Benefit_flyer.pdf

The only area where government workers earn less than their counterparts in private industry is among those who hold advanced degrees. For those who hold 4-year college degrees, the pay is about the same but benefits are substantially higher among government workers, meaning that college grads do better with government work. The real discrepancy comes with high school grads, who earn significantly more and get substantially better benefits than their private sector counterparts.

So other than the minority who hold advanced degrees, government employees are overcompensated in comparison to private sector employees. But just watch....try to make an adjustment to bring things into parity, and the screaming will drown out a jet engine. Government employees are not entitled to superior compensation, particularly given how difficult it is to dump incompetent staff.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921

Why do you think private sector employees don’t deserve adequate compensation?

All you people going on about how your awful employers don’t provide decent benefits and it’s like you wear that as a badge of honor, to work for miserly employers.

Join a union and demand what you deserve. You’re the ones doing the work that creates wealth for your companies. Demand you get compensated for it like you should, whether that’s salary, good insurance, vacation days, and yes, transit subsidies.

That's not how it works in the real world. I can't believe how entitled you government workers are! You just don't "demand" all sorts of expensive benefits and above-market salaries from your employer. That's such the liberal way: Gimme, gimme, gimme! Where is the money going to come from? It's not like government, where the "employer" simply goes deeper and deeper into trillions of debt. No....in the real world, the employer goes bankrupt. You can demand yourselves right out of employment altogether.

Plus, you're just assuming everyone would want to unionize. Again, you do not live in the real world. In the real world, if, for example, the admins get together to demand a raise from $60k to $70k with an extra week vacation, guess what? other admins will gladly step up and take the $60k.

Finally, we don't wear our less lofty salaries and benefits as a badge of honor! We are just pointing out that private sector employees, subject to MARKET FACTORS (and often their company's ability to pay more) should not be meeting the demands of public sector employees that exceeds their own compensation.

Unionize. That’s how you get decent benefits. That’s how we have a 40 hour week and overtime. Stop cowering to your fat cat ceos and try to elevate national standards for workers. Employers will always try to take advantage of workers who don’t stand up for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the posters who think federal workers are overpaid and receive benefits that are excessive, there are many studies showing that when you do an apples to apples (education, skill level etc) comparison, the more educated federal worker is undercompensated compared to his/her private sector counterpart.
There is no doubt that lower level federal workers are paid more than their private sector counterparts but their presence in the federal civil service is shrinking. The federal govt. just does not need as many clerical workers as it once did.

One example I found is the benefits package for Exxon Mobil - a large private sector company which also seeks to hire an educated and highly skilled workforce and pays them well.
Exxon Mobil workers get a generous pension AND 401K and great paid vacation time and great health care benefits.

https://local.exxonmobil.com/Family-English/HR/Files/Benefit_flyer.pdf

The only area where government workers earn less than their counterparts in private industry is among those who hold advanced degrees. For those who hold 4-year college degrees, the pay is about the same but benefits are substantially higher among government workers, meaning that college grads do better with government work. The real discrepancy comes with high school grads, who earn significantly more and get substantially better benefits than their private sector counterparts.

So other than the minority who hold advanced degrees, government employees are overcompensated in comparison to private sector employees. But just watch....try to make an adjustment to bring things into parity, and the screaming will drown out a jet engine. Government employees are not entitled to superior compensation, particularly given how difficult it is to dump incompetent staff.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921

Why do you think private sector employees don’t deserve adequate compensation?

All you people going on about how your awful employers don’t provide decent benefits and it’s like you wear that as a badge of honor, to work for miserly employers.

Join a union and demand what you deserve. You’re the ones doing the work that creates wealth for your companies. Demand you get compensated for it like you should, whether that’s salary, good insurance, vacation days, and yes, transit subsidies.

That's not how it works in the real world. I can't believe how entitled you government workers are! You just don't "demand" all sorts of expensive benefits and above-market salaries from your employer. That's such the liberal way: Gimme, gimme, gimme! Where is the money going to come from? It's not like government, where the "employer" simply goes deeper and deeper into trillions of debt. No....in the real world, the employer goes bankrupt. You can demand yourselves right out of employment altogether.

Plus, you're just assuming everyone would want to unionize. Again, you do not live in the real world. In the real world, if, for example, the admins get together to demand a raise from $60k to $70k with an extra week vacation, guess what? other admins will gladly step up and take the $60k.

Finally, we don't wear our less lofty salaries and benefits as a badge of honor! We are just pointing out that private sector employees, subject to MARKET FACTORS (and often their company's ability to pay more) should not be meeting the demands of public sector employees that exceeds their own compensation.

Unionize. That’s how you get decent benefits. That’s how we have a 40 hour week and overtime. Stop cowering to your fat cat ceos and try to elevate national standards for workers. Employers will always try to take advantage of workers who don’t stand up for themselves.

Fat cat CEO's? The majority of people work for small businesses. (That's also where the new job creation is also.) Liberals hate capitalism so much that they seem to think the private sector is made up of multi-millionaire CEOs earning a fortune.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tax bill eliminates the ability for employers to write off the transit and parking subsidies they give their employees. And without that incentive, you can pretty much guarantee that most employers will not hand them out.

I assume this will also worsen traffic as people start to drive instead of taking public transportation.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-gop-tax-bill-commuters-20171216-story.html

Did you people read this article? "Companies could still provide the parking and transit passes to employees, but they would no longer get the tax deduction. And employees who pay for their own transportation costs can still use pre-tax income."
If employers set up these ira type accounts employees are still paying with pre-tax income. That is ripping off everyone else. What's next? pre-tax lunch at work? Business clothes? This is all BS...

[youtube]

Are you really that stupid? Governments everywhere subsidize public transport because it reduces traffic congestion and pollution relative to having millions of extra cars on the road. Metro is expensive. It can cost 6.50 one way to go somewhere on Metro at peak time. Removing those subsidies will cause low and middle income people to use Metro a lot less and drive more.

This.

Fares only produce 27% of DC Metro revenue. The other 73% is from grants a subsidies directly to the metro budget. The government is the largest issuer of free passes, which most agencies mandate, regardless of the ability to deduct. Is anyone on here employed by a private, for profit employer who gives passes? ?

Yes, and I know plenty of other people whose private employers issue Metrochek benefits too. Just because the government is the largest issuer of free passes, doesn't mean it's the only issuer. Public transport subsidies are good public policy. Firms that even a little environmentally conscious, or who have a lot of young employees who prefer to spend there time in public transit surfing on their phones rather than driving tend to issue them. Maybe you should get out of your bubble and meet some of them.

Not one has come forward on this board. Not one who works for a for profit. Don’t sock puppet at this point.

My wife works for a massive for-profit company here in DC. She gets transit benefits to use on Metro, the various regional bus systems, MARC, VRE, Lyft Line/Uber Pool, or costs related to running or participating a car pool. She gets a set amount per month that she can spend in any manner she wants so long as it relates to using a form of shared transportation.

My mom husband does as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the posters who think federal workers are overpaid and receive benefits that are excessive, there are many studies showing that when you do an apples to apples (education, skill level etc) comparison, the more educated federal worker is undercompensated compared to his/her private sector counterpart.
There is no doubt that lower level federal workers are paid more than their private sector counterparts but their presence in the federal civil service is shrinking. The federal govt. just does not need as many clerical workers as it once did.

One example I found is the benefits package for Exxon Mobil - a large private sector company which also seeks to hire an educated and highly skilled workforce and pays them well.
Exxon Mobil workers get a generous pension AND 401K and great paid vacation time and great health care benefits.

https://local.exxonmobil.com/Family-English/HR/Files/Benefit_flyer.pdf

The only area where government workers earn less than their counterparts in private industry is among those who hold advanced degrees. For those who hold 4-year college degrees, the pay is about the same but benefits are substantially higher among government workers, meaning that college grads do better with government work. The real discrepancy comes with high school grads, who earn significantly more and get substantially better benefits than their private sector counterparts.

So other than the minority who hold advanced degrees, government employees are overcompensated in comparison to private sector employees. But just watch....try to make an adjustment to bring things into parity, and the screaming will drown out a jet engine. Government employees are not entitled to superior compensation, particularly given how difficult it is to dump incompetent staff.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921

The number of federal workers with just a high school diploma has fallen dramatically over the last twenty years while the number of federal workers with advanced degrees has doubled over the same period.
Even here though what the CBO study does not fully account for is that the work federal workers do is often more complex than the work a private sector counterpart might do. Many private sector workers without a college education might for example work in retail. In the federal govt. they might be responsible for maintaining our nuclear stockpile
Also, the federal workforce trends older than the private sector workforce and the higher wages might reflect this (seniority and experience).
I would also argue that it is not so much that federal workers are doing well and more than private sector workers have seen their wages stagnate especially workers on the low end of the income spectrum. There is less income inequality within the federal work force. The spread between the bottom quintile and the top quintile isn't as large. I would argue that rather than emulating what have been troubling trends in the private sector, perhaps it should be the other way around.
Around 25% of the federal workforce has a graduate or professional degree and I am sure a disproportionate number of these workers live and work in DC, MD and VA so there will indeed be loud protests on DCUM if James Sherk's fevered fantasies come true especially in concert with the tax bill which will negatively impact UMC families in high SALT areas.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/12/18/trump-labor-advisers-plan-for-cutting-federal-compensation-potentially-even-paid-holidays/?utm_term=.6a564f9bb3cb

As a follow up to this, former military make of 30% of the government workforce. A decent portion do not have college or advanced degrees. The civilian workforce within the government sees a value in that training and experience, and hires accordingly. Many private sector jobs do not do that. So if you support the military, I would be very careful when making an apples to apples comparison between private and government employees. I know a decent number of former military, now civilian, employees who are hurt by the assumption that their service isn’t worth anything beyond the military.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the posters who think federal workers are overpaid and receive benefits that are excessive, there are many studies showing that when you do an apples to apples (education, skill level etc) comparison, the more educated federal worker is undercompensated compared to his/her private sector counterpart.
There is no doubt that lower level federal workers are paid more than their private sector counterparts but their presence in the federal civil service is shrinking. The federal govt. just does not need as many clerical workers as it once did.

One example I found is the benefits package for Exxon Mobil - a large private sector company which also seeks to hire an educated and highly skilled workforce and pays them well.
Exxon Mobil workers get a generous pension AND 401K and great paid vacation time and great health care benefits.

https://local.exxonmobil.com/Family-English/HR/Files/Benefit_flyer.pdf

The only area where government workers earn less than their counterparts in private industry is among those who hold advanced degrees. For those who hold 4-year college degrees, the pay is about the same but benefits are substantially higher among government workers, meaning that college grads do better with government work. The real discrepancy comes with high school grads, who earn significantly more and get substantially better benefits than their private sector counterparts.

So other than the minority who hold advanced degrees, government employees are overcompensated in comparison to private sector employees. But just watch....try to make an adjustment to bring things into parity, and the screaming will drown out a jet engine. Government employees are not entitled to superior compensation, particularly given how difficult it is to dump incompetent staff.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921

Why do you think private sector employees don’t deserve adequate compensation?

All you people going on about how your awful employers don’t provide decent benefits and it’s like you wear that as a badge of honor, to work for miserly employers.

Join a union and demand what you deserve. You’re the ones doing the work that creates wealth for your companies. Demand you get compensated for it like you should, whether that’s salary, good insurance, vacation days, and yes, transit subsidies.

That's not how it works in the real world. I can't believe how entitled you government workers are! You just don't "demand" all sorts of expensive benefits and above-market salaries from your employer. That's such the liberal way: Gimme, gimme, gimme! Where is the money going to come from? It's not like government, where the "employer" simply goes deeper and deeper into trillions of debt. No....in the real world, the employer goes bankrupt. You can demand yourselves right out of employment altogether.

Plus, you're just assuming everyone would want to unionize. Again, you do not live in the real world. In the real world, if, for example, the admins get together to demand a raise from $60k to $70k with an extra week vacation, guess what? other admins will gladly step up and take the $60k.

Finally, we don't wear our less lofty salaries and benefits as a badge of honor! We are just pointing out that private sector employees, subject to MARKET FACTORS (and often their company's ability to pay more) should not be meeting the demands of public sector employees that exceeds their own compensation.

You might want to check the salary data. We can't get engineers into our agency without bonuses at GS-5 pay for people straight out of college. GS-5 step 10 is about 46k....

[Anonymous]

REMINDER: federal government employees PAY TAXES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I've heard that line about "pulling govt workers down to everyone else's level of misery." What you and other govt workers miss is that you are expecting (or demanding) that taxpayers provide their employees with more than they get themselves. (And yes, I get that you are a taxpayer too, but that's a completely illogical argument. I hope I don't have to explain why. It's exhausting.)

Yes. For example, when new federal employees got student loan forgiveness for taking a federal job. Meanwhile, those still looking for work and having trouble finding good jobs did not get it. Kind of ironic: get a job that enables you to afford to pay off your loan and you get loan forgiveness. Look for work, and no break.

Stop electing Republicans and you'll get some help. But we can't help you when you're intent on shooting yourself in the foot over and over again.

Because our country and all our states and localities have always been run by Republicans and those poor Democrats just haven't gotten a chance ... oh wait.

Huh? The economies of NY, CA, DC, NoVA, Seattle, Denver, and Boston are absolutely BOOMING. All are run by Dems. I'm not sure what your point is. Congress has been controlled by the GOP for nearly 8 years and they've done very little to help those who don't live in booming Democratic cities. So, if you "need help," either move to a Democratic city or elect more Democrats. But voting for the GOP will just make things more un-affordable for you.

IF WE elect more democrats, there will be more government jobs created, then we can all get a shot at those sweet deals.

Those "sweet deals" are actually earned parts of compensation packages. Do you also whine about military soldiers who get monthly housing stipends and fee-free Tricare coverage?

I thinks it’s great. No joke. I’d like a compensation package like federal employees, especially the health care.

Soldiers however, are only getting paid a small amount of salary on top of those benefits and some are risking their life. I don’t think they’re compensated enough quite frankly.

They get paid well for the job they do. My BIL's reenlistment bonus 18 months ago was nearly $80K tax free. His housing stipend pay for about 90% of his mortgage payment. He pays no PMI and they have an artificially low interest rate on their VA loan. Plus, his Tricare covers my sister and their two kids with zero dollars out-of-pocket for two complicated pregnancies. They have an extremely comfortable cradle-to-grave lifestyle.

Yes, they are sacrificing for their country. But I have friends who work for USAID who have been sexually assaulted while in rural areas. State Department members who miss the holidays with their family every year. Folks who work in DoD or Intel agencies that spend much of the year in hostile countries.

So it sickens me when I see people on DCUM bash "government workers." Many of us are legitimately sacrificing for the good of this country.

I’m not bashing. I’d like a job with good security and benefits. I already work holidays, overtime for no additional pay, go to scary neighborhoods for my employer, work with mentally unstable clients, have been threatened, have been sexually harassed on my job. You think jobs on the outside of the government have any different pitfalls?

All I can say to you is that I support your desire to get paid more for the hard work you do and to have safer working conditions. This is EXACTLY why workers formed labor unions. It would behoove you to consider organizing workers in your industry.

But tearing down "government workers" doesn't solve anything. In fact, it will end up making things worse for you.

I’m not tearing down govt workers. However, you wouldn’t do your job for free. I think it’s great that you and others find it meaningful. However, your salary and benefits are being paid by taxes, from me, and from other people, so there’s some interdependence. I’m glad you are compensated and hope you and others are good stewards of our resources.

Would you do your job for free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the posters who think federal workers are overpaid and receive benefits that are excessive, there are many studies showing that when you do an apples to apples (education, skill level etc) comparison, the more educated federal worker is undercompensated compared to his/her private sector counterpart.
There is no doubt that lower level federal workers are paid more than their private sector counterparts but their presence in the federal civil service is shrinking. The federal govt. just does not need as many clerical workers as it once did.

One example I found is the benefits package for Exxon Mobil - a large private sector company which also seeks to hire an educated and highly skilled workforce and pays them well.
Exxon Mobil workers get a generous pension AND 401K and great paid vacation time and great health care benefits.

https://local.exxonmobil.com/Family-English/HR/Files/Benefit_flyer.pdf

The only area where government workers earn less than their counterparts in private industry is among those who hold advanced degrees. For those who hold 4-year college degrees, the pay is about the same but benefits are substantially higher among government workers, meaning that college grads do better with government work. The real discrepancy comes with high school grads, who earn significantly more and get substantially better benefits than their private sector counterparts.

So other than the minority who hold advanced degrees, government employees are overcompensated in comparison to private sector employees. But just watch....try to make an adjustment to bring things into parity, and the screaming will drown out a jet engine. Government employees are not entitled to superior compensation, particularly given how difficult it is to dump incompetent staff.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921

The number of federal workers with just a high school diploma has fallen dramatically over the last twenty years while the number of federal workers with advanced degrees has doubled over the same period.
Even here though what the CBO study does not fully account for is that the work federal workers do is often more complex than the work a private sector counterpart might do. Many private sector workers without a college education might for example work in retail. In the federal govt. they might be responsible for maintaining our nuclear stockpile
Also, the federal workforce trends older than the private sector workforce and the higher wages might reflect this (seniority and experience).
I would also argue that it is not so much that federal workers are doing well and more than private sector workers have seen their wages stagnate especially workers on the low end of the income spectrum. There is less income inequality within the federal work force. The spread between the bottom quintile and the top quintile isn't as large. I would argue that rather than emulating what have been troubling trends in the private sector, perhaps it should be the other way around.
Around 25% of the federal workforce has a graduate or professional degree and I am sure a disproportionate number of these workers live and work in DC, MD and VA so there will indeed be loud protests on DCUM if James Sherk's fevered fantasies come true especially in concert with the tax bill which will negatively impact UMC families in high SALT areas.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/12/18/trump-labor-advisers-plan-for-cutting-federal-compensation-potentially-even-paid-holidays/?utm_term=.6a564f9bb3cb

As a follow up to this, former military make of 30% of the government workforce. A decent portion do not have college or advanced degrees. The civilian workforce within the government sees a value in that training and experience, and hires accordingly. Many private sector jobs do not do that. So if you support the military, I would be very careful when making an apples to apples comparison between private and government employees. I know a decent number of former military, now civilian, employees who are hurt by the assumption that their service isn’t worth anything beyond the military.

This. The same people that crow about “supporting the troops” then complain that they get paid too handsomely and have too good benefits once they get a post-military career. Talk about hypocritical.