Jobs in America

[nw_hunter]

As Private sector jobs and salaries in America shrink,the Government's grow. Do you see something wrong with this picture?


“Meticulous attention should be paid to the special relations and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the government.” So warned the union-friendly Franklin Roosevelt about the danger of public sector unionism. Some of us have ignored his counsel while others have simply chosen to look the other way. Regardless of your motivation all eyes should now be on public employee unions who continue to bleed American taxpayers dry.



Going beyond hourly wages, the Washington Examiner, reporting on data from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, finds that:

    As of 2008, the average federal salary was $119,982, compared with $59,909 for the average private sector employee. In other words, the average federal bureaucrat makes twice as much as the average working taxpayer. Add the value of benefits like health care and pensions, and the gap grows even bigger. The average federal employee’s benefits add $40,785 to his annual total compensation, whereas the average working taxpayer’s benefits increase his total compensation by only $9,881. In other words, federal workers are paid on average salaries that are twice as generous as those in the private sector, and they receive benefits that are four times greater.


The federal government does not create a traditional sellable product and thus produces no revenue outside of what it collects from taxpayers. As the size of the private sector wanes you would assume that the public sector, whose salaries are paid from private sector taxes, would be forced to contract. You’d be wrong. A new Gallup poll released May 3rd “reveals significantly more hiring within the federal government than in the private sector.” This continues a theme seen throughout the recession – despite the private sector shedding jobs at a rate not seen since the Great Depression, the government continued to hire.

The continued growth isn’t a huge surprise. A full one-third of President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package was aid to the public sector.

    “While the private sector has lost 7 million jobs, the number of public-sector jobs has risen. The number of federal government jobs has been increasing by 10,000 a month, and the percentage of federal employees earning over $100,000 has jumped to 19 percent during the recession.”


Eventually the private sector will simply be unable to foot the bill for public sector pay. Unfortunately, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the size of the federal government will be forced to get smaller.

[Dixie Dude]

I saw where the first quarter of this year, there are more Federal, state, and local government jobs than private sector jobs.  It can't continue or we go bankrupt.  If congress doesn't start slashing government spending, we will be bankrupt by the time O leaves office.  Taxes won't do it, it just stiffles people and business and keeps them from growing. 

[wreckhog]

The AVERAGE federal salary is $119k plus $41k in bennies??? Is this on the planet "Made This All Up"?

[Dixie Dude]

If you consider the top brass in the military, cabinet members, directors of various government bureau's, on down, it can very well average this high.  Remember a high percentage of private jobs are small businesses. 

[dukkillr]

Are you considering a government job? The federal government employs over 2,700,000 workers and hires hundreds of thousands each year to replace civil service workers that transfer to other federal government jobs, retire, or leave for other reasons. Average annual salary for full-time federal government jobs now exceeds $79,197. The U.S. Government is the largest employer in the United States, hiring about 2.0 percent of the nation's work force and the workforce is expanding significantly under the Obama administration. Federal government jobs can be found in every state and large metropolitan area, including overseas in over 200 countries. The average annual federal workers compensation in 2008, including pay plus benefits, was $119,982 compared to just $59,909 for the private sector according to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis.   

From http://federaljobs.net/

[wreckhog]

OP said As of 2008, the average federal salary was $119,982

[Dixie Dude]

Remember that is pay + benefits.  Benefits include health care, retirement pension, etc. 

[rsellers1]

As a federal employee let me make it perfectly clear that not all of us make anywhere near that amount of pay, more like the private sector or a little less in most cases.  Understand the high salaries come from the GS line of workers ie.  management, directors and the such.  Which if you want to look at it, the new NSPS system they started a couple of years ago and just recently decided to end is going to make the GS pay levels go up even more.  I for one agree that we need to control spending and on the local level we do, but when you get to DC you just get lost in the crap and yelled at if you want to save money.  Also find that a lot of the old timers love the spend mind set, and they want to pass that along to the new generation so nothing changes, well some of us refuse to listen to that and understand that this is yours and my money and it needs to be spent with care and purpose.  I know it sounds funny to have a conservative working for the government but there are a few of us around, and shoot we even work also LOL.

[SHOOTALL]

Lok at it another way When was the last Govt. lay off ?

[Sourdough]

I worked in DC for three years.  During that time I was sick at all the waste I saw.  We would go into a big open area and rip out the cubicals, along with their wiring and lighting systems.  We would then construct walls, and hang doors.  We would pull wiring, install outlets, and hang lights.  We installed suspended ceiling, and laid carpet.  The next week we would move to another area and do it all over again.

Then a year later, the supervison would change and would not like the seperate offices.  So back in we went and we would rip out all the walls, electrical, ceilings, lights, and throw everything in the dumpster.  Once we cleared it out and back to a big open area, a contractor would come in and install cubicales, along with electrical outlets and lighting.  For three years that is all I did, Ripout or construct, same areas over and over again.

The cost of all that material was stagering, and one year later it would all go in a dumpster.

[teamnelson]

"Nonfarm payrolls rose by 431,000 jobs, as private employment, a barometer of underlying labor market strength, climbed just 41,000, the Labor Department said on Friday 5 June 2010."

The 390,000 public sector jobs were primarily census bureau, which are temporary ... generate no product or revenue, and at best only help small business and private credit companies where the census workers spend their paychecks.

I currently receive one automated phone call every 2 days from the telemarketers hired by the US Census Bureau to violate my privacy, this after we filled out the form. So in sum ... we created a couple hundred thousand jobs using federal dollars to determine where else to spend federal dollars, all the while spending alot of federal dollars just to get the answers. Meanwhile there's no growth in the workforce to pay the taxes to generate the federal dollars in the first place. I'm beginning to think that Jo in Boca Raton is not so unique afterall.

[torpedoman]

the way it is suppose to work is that a guy works for a company and gets paid by the company and the government them steals 20% of what he made. this is a profit for the government who has absolutely nothing invested in the company or the worker .If the worker is making 50 thousand working for the government and they are stealing 20% of what he makes it is a loss for the government of 40,000 dollars, no one in washington seems to understand this relatively simple concept.

[Sourdough]

My wife and I were discussing the job situation last night.  She has finally realized just how bad things are down South.  (That's what we say when we are refering to the lower 48).  Her sisters are being, or have been laid off.  Her cousins are without work.  Her brother is being forced to retire.  One of my brothers was also forced to retire, another brother and his wife were both laid off, at the same time.  

We have been sort of insulated up here from what is going on down South.  Our largest employer here in Fairbanks is the Federal Government.  The second largest is the oil industry.  Third is State Government.  Then comes the Gold Mines, then city Government.  That takes care of 80 to 85% of the employment here in the Fairbanks region.  The majority of the rest are retired Government workers.  Fairbanks is a Mecca for Retired Military.  Seems half the GIs stationed here retire here, self and wife included.

So we have not really been hit like the rest of the country has.  In fact some of the Federal Agencies here are putting on new employees.  Usually transfers from the Lower 48.  That has finally sunk in with her.  She now says it's best not to be moving to the lower 48 for now.  We should stay here in Alaska.

The one thing that bothers us is that our young people are not staying here.  They can not find work.  The Federal Government has a program giving retired military preferance, so there goes most of the jobs.  State and City do the same.  The oil Industry and the big Gold Mines like to hire employees from outside the state.  At least half the employees at the Pogo Mine are from outside.  So our young people are not staying.  Most are going into the military.  Their parents were military so they are following their parents lead.  My oldest son is in the Navy, and the youngest has signed a contract with the Marines.

As for pay, the Federal Government sets the standard for pay here in Alaska.  Everyone else pays according to that pay scale.  And with 74% of Alaska in Federal Hands, the feds have a huge presence here in the Interior.  (Large numbers of BLM, Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife, and USGS).  We also have the highest number of airplanes and pilots per capata of any state. (More FAA people).  We also have four large military installations, two Army and two Air Force, with several smaller bases scattered around the state.

[Dixie Dude]

Newt Gingrich once said, that if we went to a flat tax and got rid of the 200,000 IRS workers, we could put them on the border as border patrol and guards.  Good trade off in my opinion.  

[Cabin4]

Socializam. Try and change it this November.

[SHOOTALL]

Cabin4 yep !

[gstewart44]

Newt Gingrich once said, that if we went to a flat tax and got rid of the 200,000 IRS workers, we could put them on the border as border patrol and guards.  Good trade off in my opinion.  

If Obumma has his way he will use 200000 IRS workers to "patrol" the people of the US to make sure they are buying and paying for Health Insurance.

[magooch]

I don't think you guys are getting it; under communism, everybody works for the government.  We're not quite there yet, but Osama and the Dumbycrats are working on it.

However, we must not overlook the one large factor that has made a huge number of private enterprise jobs disappear--at least for U.S. citizens.  That would be the jobs that are being filled by illegal invaders.

Government positions at all levels are sucking money faster than it can be printed and the only way to begin to slow it down is to require at least a 10 per cent cut across the board with little to no exceptions.  Even the military should not be exempt.

[Dixie Dude]

I also saw where 30 something percent of those over 65 are opting to continue working, thus not opening doors for younger people.  Between that and the illegals, it does make jobs scarse.  Homebuilding was driving the economy during the 90's and 2000's.  Now it is down to almost nothing.  This affects, concrete workers, framers, brickmasons, electricians, plumbers, roofers, painters, sheetrock workers, cabinet workers, landscaping people, street construction workers, utility workers.  So it affects thousands.  Snowballing, people aren't going to buy new homes if they can't get promotions from retiring people, or find new manufacturing jobs in lumbermills, gypsum mining, brickyards, wiring and plumbing manufacturers.  It is just a mess.

[bearmgc]

Additionally, many employed folks are finding out that they are being expected to "absorb" extra responsibilities, now that employers are avoiding hiring more fulltime workers that would require not only pay but health benefits. Many businesses, if hiring, are using only parttime workers, and not making any job a fulltime job. Many fulltime workers in healthcare are actually doing the work of 2 people. That increases the risk of employee injuries and patient falls.
Even if OBamacare becomes fully enacted, there will be no healthcare workers to take care of the sick. There is currently a serious shortage of nurses, and studies have found that dramatically fewer people are going to nursing school and choosing healthcare as a profession. And CNA's? None, zip, nadda. Currently studies show that of new CNA's, most don't stay past 3 years in the profession, and many don't last 1 year.

[teamnelson]

Currently studies show that of new CNA's, most don't stay past 3 years in the profession, and many don't last 1 year.

I can't say as I blame them, that was already tough work and its just getting harder.

[rockbilly]

Since the subject is "Jobs in America." How many jobs do you think would be available if we ran all the illegals out?

By some estimates it would take better than 85% off unemployment and reduce service cost (medical, educational, housing, etc.) to the illegals by near 80 billion a year. 

That ain't chicken feed boys!

[Dixie Dude]

Because of the shortage of doctors, nurses, and other health care people, health care will be rationed like in England.  If you ever noticed in socialist European countries, they have always had higher unemployment than the US until recently. 

[bearmgc]

Since the subject is "Jobs in America." How many jobs do you think would be available if we ran all the illegals out?

By some estimates it would take better than 85% off unemployment and reduce service cost (medical, educational, housing, etc.) to the illegals by near 80 billion a year.  

That ain't chicken feed boys!

I think that estimate is rather high. Many illegals are paid under the table and for less money than the basic wage. By hiring American workers, employers have obvious added costs. That is why illegal workers are used here.

As to the shortage of healthcare workers, one would think unemployed people would want to retrain into the healthcare field. But many see the obvious dangers of working in healthcare, among them the exposure to infectious agents, often unknown deadly infectious agents, since HIPPA laws forbid the disclosure of that information to healthcare workers like CNA's.

[teamnelson]

Since the subject is "Jobs in America." How many jobs do you think would be available if we ran all the illegals out?

By some estimates it would take better than 85% off unemployment and reduce service cost (medical, educational, housing, etc.) to the illegals by near 80 billion a year. 

That ain't chicken feed boys!

So are there Americans currently in the unemployment line (85%) willing to work the same jobs same hours in the same conditions for the same level of benefits without union representation and without unemployment insurance? Would you be proud of your child if after high school they did landscaping under the table for cash, and milked the state for benefits? You're not comparing apples to apples.

[wreckhog]

Aren't federal employees essentially communists? They work for the government. That is what commies do.

[SHOOTALL]

Illegals aren't the problem with Americans working . Its the free ride many enjoy. Head start, wealfare , affirmative action , and on and on . If these bribes for votes were not in place people would have to work.

[billy_56081]

I like how the aiders and abbetors of illegal alien use the old line "they only take the jobs Americans don't want". What a crock of lies to support their support of criminals. In Watonwan county human services office there is a woman working using her cousins identification. I bet there are a lot of Americans who would love to have that job.

[Dixie Dude]

The Federal Government is only supposed to provide the national defence and to "regulate commerce" between states, not within a state.  The railroads in the 1800's were built for national defence, the US highways and later the interstate highways were for national defence.  Government isn't supposed to MAKE people buy health insruance nor MAKE them do anything. 

[Cabin4]

There are 10's of thousands of US troops deployed to protect the boarder between north & south Korea. There are 10's of thousands of US troops deployed to protect the boarders in Iraq and Afganistan. There are 10's of thousands of US troops deployed to protect western Europe from the old eastern block countries. How many troops are deployed to protect USA boarders? Nearly none. How stupid.