Federal Work Pays
Overall, federal workers earned an average salary of $67,691…the average pay for the same mix of jobs in the private sector was $60,046 in 2008… These salary figures do not include the value of health, pension and other benefits, which averaged $40,785 per federal employee in 2008 vs. $9,882 per private worker.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, USA Today analysis.
It’s a growth industry.
I have an idea about where Obama can cut out some waste.
It gives a whole new meaning to the concept of overpaying.
Many of these people go to Washington to do good, and end up doing very well indeed!
Perhaps the extra money is hazard pay for putting up with all of the bureaucracy.
If the government pays so much more for economists, why are the economic policies so bad?
The pay differential is not surprising, given that the rate of union membership is so much higher in the public (~36%) vs private (~8%) sectors.
The pay is even higher for government workers when you divide total compensation by productivity. Government workers are largely in by nine, out by five, with numerous holidays and time off.
Given the bureaucratic inertia and the inability to get fired for anything other than gross incompetence, the pay is extremely high for the work that actually gets done.