When I found out how my town’s government works (town, school district), I flat out said that it was unfair. Eyes bugged out and those looks of contempt were clearly aimed at me.
But I often heard, back then, from government workers that we all had to “share the pain” as the economy was tanking. Yet, the only people sharing were those in the Private Sector. Thus, this hit a nerve when I came across this last night:
FLASHBACK: Psst! Rand Paul Was Right About Federal Pay. “So you have apples in that pay basket! When I heard that Rand Paul had claimed that average federal employee’s compensation (including benefits) was more than $120,000, I thought that can’t be true. Then I read Media Matters’ lengthy response to the claim.”
Plus this:
P.S.: When people are outraged at the $120,000 figure, I think, they aren’t making an implicit apples to oranges comparison. They’re making an apples to themselves comparison. They know what they do and what they’re making. They have a pretty good, rough idea of what federal employees do (some are highly skilled doctors, some are equal opportunity compliance facilitators). They know that they themselves have had to take pay freezes and cuts and endure waves of corporate downsizing while the federal government hasn’t been through anything like that. In fact, pay for individual federal workers has kept growing each year thanks to both cost-of living raises and “step” increases. The federal pay escalator kept on running right through the recesssion. Meanwhile, federal workers enjoy job security they can only dream of.
They know, in short, that as a result of this Great Divergence (sorry Tim!) they don’t make anything like $120,000, but they pay taxes to support the government workers who do—and they’re outraged. Oranges have nothing to do with it.
Except it’s just not the Federal Government. No, not the $120K but the fact that Government Workers at almost all levels are almost always insulated from the economic pains that the rest of us feel. Originally, they had less pay than their equivalent workers in the Private sector but got pretty good benefit packages to make up for that lesser money.
That stopped decades ago – not the bennies but the pay went up. Almost always a consistent amount higher pay bump than inflation.
Sidenote: don’t believe me? Wait until your Town / School Board / County / State / the Feds announce what their Cost of Living increases are now that Bidinflation is now over 10%. Is YOUR paycheck going to get the same bump they do?
And yes, I said that if we who are paying their salaries are on the cutting end of the paycheck, those to whom what as left of our paychecks should be willing to stay status quo. Don’t cut their wages / salaries but don’t up them as the unemployment rate went up in the Private sector while that in the Public sector was non-existent.
Man, was I called cold and black-hearted. The look of contempt turned into daggers!
But the reality is this – when employers customer base gets scuttled and the sales go down, so does the money for their employees. Either cuts in paychecks happen as employers trying to keep the companies afloat or they have to cut some employees as well. Sometimes both – been there, done that. That’s the marketplace.
So why should Government never suffer the same? I’ve watched this disconnect for years – and there’s little empathy from those workers because there’s almost never a downside for them.
You know, the feminists keep yammering about “Pay Inequality” between the sexes (which HAS to be untrue because the LGBTQRSTUV folks say that sex and gender are just made up social concepts, but I digress) which HAS to be fixed by Government.
The BIGGER Pay Inequality is NOT between men and women, but between us and our employees in the Government (with the latter having the much better deal).
Oh, by the way, riffing off the Feminist Pay Inequality gripe – this is now the Age of being anything you want. Tell your employer that you now identify as a man! Presto, you should get a pay raise in the next check, right? Problem solved!
(H/T: Instapundit)
