[–] flyawayhigh 2 points 8 points 10 points (+10|-2) ago (edited ago)
Now for some REAL analysis. These are all from 2012. :)
CBO Offers Its Two Cents on Federal Pay
Comparing the Compensation of Federal and Private-Sector Employees
Comparing the Compensation of Federal and Private-Sector Employees PDF
We may notice that none of these reports -- including the first one which is critical -- come anywhere near this ridiculous 78 percent number.
I looked around online for someone attempting to discredit this report but I found the internet is overloaded with these pro-corporate organizations spamming similar misleading reports. I had to settle for the three links I posted above (for now).
Why is the internet full of such one-sided perspectives? The answer is easy. The money comes from:
A product tax on the things we the people purchase
A cost of governance based on the privatization of government services.
The pro-business types have virtually unlimited resources to fill the internet, while those who would disagree or discredit this are naturally disadvantaged.
While this vast network of "think-tanks" complain about the government taking our money to pay employees, they do it with money they take from us as consumers and tax payers!
Let's put this into perspective.
Federal government payroll is less than 10 percent of federal spending, and it is dropping. Over 90 percent of government spending goes to other things -- and a huge chunk of that goes to the same people who fund these reports. They will take massive amounts of government money, but GOD FORBID some people should actually make a living doing a job.
Federal government workers who are lower-skilled received more than similar private sector workers. As we go up the scale, the difference becomes less until it reverses. In other words, the curve for government workers is flatter than in the private sector. Distribution is more equitable.
As we should know, private sector pay has become more unequal over time -- not so much with government workers. Distribution of 'private' pay favors the high-paid and the standard of living for most people has barely budged since the "Reagan revolution."
Thanks to COLA laws, government workers have received better pay increases since the 1970's than private sector workers. In those days, government workers were paid far less.
We have all heard about the two trillion dollars lying around. This is plenty of money for those who would pursue increasing disparity to promote their ideology in these smart-sounding but deceptive articles.
Just a few immediate points I see without having to spend too much time here. :)
[–] FriedrichNietzsche 3 points 0 points 3 points (+3|-3) ago
Wish I could upvote twice. The blatant right wing think tank propaganda is astonishing.
They're so ready to accept anything they read from some random website with an official-sounding name and an article that confirms their biases