Why are you against federal worker pay freeze?

[Anonymous]

Public workers have it good. A strong union, very little chance of job loss, great benefits. Private sector cant find jobs let alone a pay freeze yet Fedsworkers won't be asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy. What hypocrisy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public workers have it good. A strong union, very little chance of job loss, great benefits. Private sector cant find jobs let alone a pay freeze yet Fedsworkers won't be asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy. What hypocrisy.

I believe a pay freeze has been in force for the federal workforce for at least a year. At least my friend who is in the FAA hasn't had an increase due to across-the-board freeze.

http://www.myfederalretirement.com/public/569.cfm

So, what, exactly, are you prattling on about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public workers have it good. A strong union, very little chance of job loss, great benefits. Private sector cant find jobs let alone a pay freeze yet Fedsworkers won't be asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy. What hypocrisy.

I believe a pay freeze has been in force for the federal workforce for at least a year. At least my friend who is in the FAA hasn't had an increase due to across-the-board freeze.

http://www.myfederalretirement.com/public/569.cfm

So, what, exactly, are you prattling on about?

Not OP, but this is odd - I heard federal pay was frozen too, but my best friend who works for Congress just received a substantial raise. Hmmm. Regardless, I do think that many federal employees, especially Hill employees, get paid very little considering the grueling hours they work.

[Anonymous]

What union?

[Anonymous]

Actually, we have had a pay freeze for the past two years. And to respond to the OP's point, I took a 50% pay cut when o moved to the government and my benefits are worse than at my last job. Some federal employees may do better than their private sector counter-parts, but attorneys and other people with advanced degrees do not. Yet you need these people in the government. I investigate and prosecute cases of fraud, waste and abuse that costs the government tons of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public workers have it good. A strong union, very little chance of job loss, great benefits. Private sector cant find jobs let alone a pay freeze yet Fedsworkers won't be asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy. What hypocrisy.

I believe a pay freeze has been in force for the federal workforce for at least a year. At least my friend who is in the FAA hasn't had an increase due to across-the-board freeze.

http://www.myfederalretirement.com/public/569.cfm

So, what, exactly, are you prattling on about?

Not OP, but this is odd - I heard federal pay was frozen too, but my best friend who works for Congress just received a substantial raise. Hmmm. Regardless, I do think that many federal employees, especially Hill employees, get paid very little considering the grueling hours they work.

When Congress freezes federal pay, they only freeze the pay of the employees who work in the federal branch. Congressional employees are not covered by the freezes being discussed.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a federal worker, but the "federal employees have it good" line really cracks me up, considering that during the booms in the 90s and earlier this decade, there were tons of people deriding the feds for not being bold and brave private sector risk takers and therefore earning a lot less money.

Well, a cornerstone of my field (finance) is that higher returns cannot be achieved without undertaking higher risk, and after the go-go years where everyone thought they had a free lunch (houses appreciating as if by magic to use as an endless piggybank), the private sector is experiencing that downside risk.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are an idiot. I am a government attorney who works hard to be sure that you are not getting screwed by corporations. I work 50+ hour weeks and barely saw my family over the summer. At a firm, I could be making 3-4X what I am making now. I haven't had a raise in years and since healthcare premiums are going up for feds, I am essentially getting a pay decrease in 2012.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are an idiot. I am a government attorney who works hard to be sure that you are not getting screwed by corporations. I work 50+ hour weeks and barely saw my family over the summer. At a firm, I could be making 3-4X what I am making now. I haven't had a raise in years and since healthcare premiums are going up for feds, I am essentially getting a pay decrease in 2012.

No you work for the government because you have better hours and better job security. Be honest.

[Anonymous]

I am a federal worker who listens to friends talk about $50,000 sign on bonuses and $60,000 annual bonuses and recently no leave needed as long as they put in 4 hours at the office. Since I have to take vacation whenever my metro is late and pay for my Christmas lunch and my drinking water, I don't think I have it good. As pp said with health insurance increases we have earned less for the past two years. Employees above a certain grade do not have union protection. I am about to lose 2 weeks of vacation because i have been too busy to take it despite having to take it in 15 minute increments when life gets in the way,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public workers have it good. A strong union, very little chance of job loss, great benefits. Private sector cant find jobs let alone a pay freeze yet Fedsworkers won't be asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy. What hypocrisy.

No, you know who isn't being asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy? It's not the feds. It's the investment banks that, after throwing the entire country under the bus, were rewarded with huge bailouts and astronomical end-of-year bonuses while millions of people were losing their jobs and homes, who got trillions (not billions, that's peanuts that actually makes news) in interest free loans from the government that they then turned around and lent back to it at 6% (but of course, restructuring homeowners' loans has always been out of the question because who wants to reward bad judgment?), who are now more powerful than they were before the financial crisis, and who are now just laughing at you stupid Main Streeter that they've succeeded in turning against the only people left who aren't out to screw you.

I was just looking at the gift giving section of the Wall Street Journal a couple of days ago: $20,000 shark-shaped cuff links, anyone?

[Anonymous]

Pay freezes don't include step increases that most (not all) Feds get every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public workers have it good. A strong union, very little chance of job loss, great benefits. Private sector cant find jobs let alone a pay freeze yet Fedsworkers won't be asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy. What hypocrisy.

Not a Fed employee and I am not only in favor of a continued pay freeze, I think many govt. agencies could indiscriminately cut every third employee and the job could still be done. It seems to me, from DCUM, that women, in particular, only want to work for the Feds because they are "family friendkly" and they can take off whenever they feel like it, "work from home" while they run errands. The pay freeze should continue until unemployment is under 5% and the economy is rolling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public workers have it good. A strong union, very little chance of job loss, great benefits. Private sector cant find jobs let alone a pay freeze yet Fedsworkers won't be asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy. What hypocrisy.

No, you know who isn't being asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy? It's not the feds. It's the investment banks that, after throwing the entire country under the bus, were rewarded with huge bailouts and astronomical end-of-year bonuses while millions of people were losing their jobs and homes, who got trillions (not billions, that's peanuts that actually makes news) in interest free loans from the government that they then turned around and lent back to it at 6% (but of course, restructuring homeowners' loans has always been out of the question because who wants to reward bad judgment?), who are now more powerful than they were before the financial crisis, and who are now just laughing at you stupid Main Streeter that they've succeeded in turning against the only people left who aren't out to screw you.

I was just looking at the gift giving section of the Wall Street Journal a couple of days ago: $20,000 shark-shaped cuff links, anyone?

How dare Americans be able to spend their money on what they so please. The government should ban expensive goods and services. You work for the government not Goldman Sachs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public workers have it good. A strong union, very little chance of job loss, great benefits. Private sector cant find jobs let alone a pay freeze yet Fedsworkers won't be asked to sacrifice like the rest of the economy. What hypocrisy.

Not a Fed employee and I am not only in favor of a continued pay freeze, I think many govt. agencies could indiscriminately cut every third employee and the job could still be done. It seems to me, from DCUM, that women, in particular, only want to work for the Feds because they are "family friendkly" and they can take off whenever they feel like it, "work from home" while they run errands. The pay freeze should continue until unemployment is under 5% and the economy is rolling.

Maybe that is true that Fed employees want stability. But that stability is what allows the government to get those people at much lower prices. Those same women leave Big Law and take a paycut of 1/2 to 2/3 in order to have it. If you take away enough of the stability, the good people will say screw it I might as well work in the private sector. Unfortunately that means that we either pay more for Fed employees or get less competent people.

When economists talk about the "risk / reward" tradeoff, it means both sides of the tradeoff. You take big risks, you can make big profits. If you choose a low risk profession, you get lower pay. If you want to turn it into a "high risk / low pay" job, you'll just get a big fat mess.