Federal Employees - Servants of the Hydra

The Federal Government

Bill Smith, Editor: Note the following excellent article by Kerby Anderson addressing the cost for Federal employees but does not address the associated cost of buildings, equipment, telecommunications, travel and associated expenses related to the positions of Federal employees. Some have identified the Federal Government as a snake. However, history has show us that the Federal Government has been more like the Hydra of Greek Mythology - "when each head cut off it grew two more — and its poisonous breath was so virulent even her tracks were deadly.[Wikipedia]  The Federal Government definitely has too many Department and Agencies and has indeed become poisonous to our economic well being.

While Federal employees are doing the job set forth for their positions. However, a multitude of the departments, agencies, offices at which these Federal employees work are NOT needed or at least should not be paid for by the public and thus should be abolished. While I am sure that most Federal employees and their families would vote to keep their jobs, we have a Big Government problem. We have Government agencies and Departments that could and should be eliminated.

Also, to avoid confusion, active duty military are not Federal Employees are not Federal employees that are discussed in Anderson's article. In fact, many of our military don't survive. Also, a majority of people serving in the military do not make the military a career thus there are no associated medical or retirement benefits. Also, there is another group of employees working for various Federal Government Agencies and paid for by the taxpayers. They are "Contract Employees" who are paid far more than Federal Employees. However, they work for short term contract periods with no future budgeted cost for long term benefit and associated retirement costs.

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Kerby Anderson, Point of View: At a time when workers in the private sector have faced tough economic times, federal employees in the public sector are doing better than ever. And I believe this might even become a campaign issue in the fall.

A recent analysis by USA Today discovered that the two million federal civilian employees earn an average of $67,691 a year. This is much higher than the $60,046 for comparable jobs in the private sector. Federal employees earn higher average salaries than their private counterparts in eight out of 10 occupations.

But the gap between the private sector and the public sector increases even more when you consider the various benefits packages provided for these two sectors. Federal employees enjoy benefits packages that are four times richer than those in the private sector. The difference is an average of $40,785 per federal employee versus $9,862 per private worker.

Federal employees also enjoy greater job security. Private companies are shedding employees. Those who found themselves unemployed are pounding the pavement trying to find a new job. This is not happening to federal employees who are rarely fired.

You may remember the incident in the Newark Airport back in January. When a Transportation Security Administration guard abandoned his post at the airport, a Chinese student slipped into the terminal’s secured area. This forced a six-hour shutdown of the entire terminal as passengers were re-screened through security.

The student will have to pay fines and perform community service. The TSA guard went back to week at the airport after a two-month paid administrative leave and unspecified disciplinary action.

Could this become a campaign issue? It was one of the issues that Scott Brown used effectively in his Senate campaign in Massachusetts. Talking about his concern with excessive pay and protections for federal workers resonated with voters. It is likely that we will see candidates using this issue again in the fall. I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.

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