Wonder if Barney Franks’s Gonna Grandstand About This
A MISMANAGED, BANKRUPT ENTITY PAYING OUT BIG BONUSES WITH TAXPAYER DOLLARS:
Capitol Hill bonuses in 2008 were among the highest in years, according to LegiStorm, an organization that tracks payroll data. The average House aide earned 17% more in the fourth quarter of the year, when the bonuses were paid, than in previous quarters, according to the data. That was the highest jump in the eight years LegiStorm has compiled payroll information.
Emphasis added.
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It is tough working for the government, where you can’t get fired and you have secure benefits. The government union has never broken through on the pay side, so it is mandatory that “merit” be rewarded through “merit” bonuses.
That money is willingly provided by the taxpayers as one of the joyous donations from the tax system.
Bonuses in the private sector are paid from money stolen directly from the pockets of the unemployed, uninsured, battered consumer by unregulated, greed driven fat cats who have no shame.
We are living in glorious times when the President and his able band of Congresspeople are righting these wrongs and teaching our economic system a thing or two about the “visible hand.”
Comment by heliotrope — April 2, 2009 @ 9:23 am - April 2, 2009
Some say the USA is falling like Ancient Rome, but I think the better analogy is Mandarin China… all of the best jobs are in the bureaucracy, nothing can get done without the approval of the bureaucracy. The political class and the bureaucracy toast themselves lavishly while sucking the productive segment of society dry.
I did a random count of twenty friends and relatives in Michigan and realized full half of them were working for the state or local government. Granted, teachers are over-represented in my family, but still… that doesn’t seem sustainable. I checked some statistics, and it shows that about 10% of all jobs, statewide, are with state and local government. Which doesn’t seem too bad. (Although the statistics don’t include public colleges and universities.) The kicker is that while the average private sector worker in Michigan earns $41K per year, the average government employee makes $54K per year.
I checked elsewhere. In the high-tax, low-growth states of NY, MA, and CA, private sector salaries averaged about 45K while public sector employees averaged about $57K. In lower tax, higher growth states, there was a smaller discrepancy. Private employees averaged $36K while public employees got about $30K
Bureaucrats earn more than productive people, and they have gold-plated pensions, and are for all intents and purposes un-fire-able. This is bad.
Comment by V the K — April 2, 2009 @ 11:13 am - April 2, 2009
Fascinating, indeed, but how much longer do I have to be patient, waiting for their house of cards to come crashing down?
(Great site, all – I figured it was about time I stopped trolling and left you a comment to let you know how much I enjoy your work.)
Comment by Angie — April 2, 2009 @ 12:17 pm - April 2, 2009
The government union has never broken through on the pay side
helio – I don’t know if that’s true anymore. Hoping to find a gummint job myself, I registered at fedjobs.gov. A lot of the positions show pay ranges and they look competitive to me (and if you add government benefits and all that they probably pay better than the private sector).
John Derbyshire recommends that parents tell their kids to get a government job. I suspect that’s good advice.
Comment by SoCalRobert — April 2, 2009 @ 8:45 pm - April 2, 2009