Number of Federal Employees Getting Automatic Grade Promotions Jumped 75 Percent in Past Three Years, with Raises of 10 Percent to 20 Percent in One Year
Government Employees — the True 1 Percent
March 6, 2012
Wayne Allyn Root - How did America become broke and insolvent? How did we build up an unimaginable $115 trillion in debt and unfunded liabilities? How did we allow the American Dream to become a nightmare?
All we need do is look at the primary demand the Eurozone and IMF are placing on hopelessly bankrupt Greece to get their new $170 Billion bailout — Greece has agreed to cut 150,000 government employees. Even Cuba’s leader Raul Castro recognizes government employees are at the root of economic destruction, as he is cutting over 2 million of them to save Cuba from bankruptcy.
The truth is that government employees are the true 1%. We have far too many of them (21 million), many of them are paid too much, and their union demands are straining taxpayers to the breaking point. [Note that the 21 million does not include the hidden workforce of government contractors.]
They have become a privileged class that expects to be treated superior to the taxpayers — the same folks who pay their salaries and pensions. But it is their obscene pensions that are the big problem moving forward for America.
You don’t believe me? Do the math.
I recently talked with a retired New York City toll taker. His salary averaged about $70,000 per year over 20 years. But in his last few years he worked loads of overtime and added in accumulated sick days to get his salary in those final years up to $150,000.
The truth is that government employees are the true 1%. We have far too many of them (21 million), many of them are paid too much, and their union demands are straining taxpayers to the breaking point. [Note that the 21 million does not include the hidden workforce of government contractors.]
They have become a privileged class that expects to be treated superior to the taxpayers — the same folks who pay their salaries and pensions. But it is their obscene pensions that are the big problem moving forward for America.
How would you like to retire with $6 million? $8 million? $10 million? All you have to do is become a government employee to hit the jackpot.
You don’t believe me? Do the math.
I recently talked with a retired New York City toll taker. His salary averaged about $70,000 per year over 20 years. But in his last few years he worked loads of overtime and added in accumulated sick days to get his salary in those final years up to $150,000.
More Feds Getting Lucrative ‘Career Ladder’ Promotions
March 19, 2012Federal Daily - Over the last few years, the number of feds getting automatic grade promotions -- also called "career ladder" promotions -- has jumped dramatically, reports Federal Times.
According to data gathered by the publication, more than 108,000 feds got such promotions last year, along with accompanying raises that provide salary boosts ranging from about 10 percent to 20 percent.
Thousands Get Guaranteed Promotions, Huge Raises
Congress froze the pay of federal employees, not including military, effective 2011, and which is still in effect for 2012 to date. However, the feds have found a way around this by giving bonuses and step increases with huge raises.March 19, 2012
Federal Times - The number of federal employees getting automatic grade promotions has skyrocketed, prompting experts to ask whether managers are abandoning their responsibilities to make personnel decisions.
The number of so-called "career ladder promotions" — which can boost an employee's pay by more than $10,000 a year, in some cases — jumped roughly 75 percent in the last three years, according to federal data. Last year, more than 108,000 employees received career ladder promotions, accounting for 35 percent of all promotions to a higher grade in the government last year. That's up from about 21 percent in 2008.
These promotions enable newly hired employees to quickly move up the ranks of the General Schedule and other personnel systems virtually automatically. Instead of advancing to the next step in their grade after a year on the job — which provides a roughly 3 percent increase — employees move up one or two entire grades. That gives them anywhere from a 10 percent to a 20 percent raise in one year.
Some employees receive career ladder promotions several years in a row as they advance to their full promotion level.
Last year — the first year of a freeze to federal pay scales — the raises accompanying career ladder promotions cost the government [taxpayers] between $634 million and $852 million, according to Federal Times calculations based on promotion statistics obtained from the Office of Personnel Management.
Career ladder promotions are intended to provide a path for employees who come in at the entry level to advance — without competition — as they learn new skills. Some federal personnel experts say it also has the effect of encouraging retention of young employees because their pay increases quickly.
Surveys show new feds' job satisfaction plunges after about three years, and the government fears that will make it tougher to hold on to these employees.
However, the use of career ladder promotions exploded in the post-recession period, while the private-sector job market remained extremely soft nationwide and the government was one of the few industries still hiring.
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