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John Klossner

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For the cartoonist, federal pay debates pay frequent dividends

Federal employee pay -- or the lack of -- has been the subject of several cartoons in recent months. I have looked at it from the perspective of several communities:

The general public…

The public POV

The contractors…

The contractor POV

And management…

The management POV

As you can see, federal employee pay rates have been a rich vein of cartoon potential, and we still haven't approached it from the point of view of the international community, teens or domestic pets. I realize these are all playing off of the same note -- federal pay is low -- and that there is an argument for the other side. I'll keep my eye out for an opportunity to draw the denizens of Downton Abbey discussing procurement reform.

Posted on Feb 02, 2012 at 7:01 PM


Reader comments

Wed, Feb 8, 2012 Gary

Members of Congress (The house and Senate) are federal workers. Yes they are elected to office but just like political appointees they still are Federal Workers... Members of Congress definitely need a pay cut. Members of Congress should be required by law to have the same benefits and retirement package all Federal Employees are left with. Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats have failed in their duties for stewardship of this country. They should be subject to "PAY FOR PERFORMANCE" like the rest of the federal workforce. If they can't pass a budget then their pay needs to be stopped. I dont mind sacrificing for the greater good of the country... every little bit helps. But I beleive that those (Members of Congress) calling for the cutbacks and sacrifices should set the example and lead the way; cut their own pay and benefits, eliminate the perks, fly economy, no more free lunches, walk or take the subway, co-pay for their medical treatments, and follow the same rules they expect the rest of us to follow.

Mon, Feb 6, 2012

The problem is the government is bloated. There are many workers who do nothing most of the day. The difference between public and private industry is the private industry can just fire someone immediately while it takes a long time to fire public employees. I for one am busy at work, but you should look at it realistically. Many around me are not all that busy nor do they care to be. I am sure this is the case at any government agency; Fed/State/local.

Fri, Feb 3, 2012 senate Reno

If you can do my job, and I cannot do your job, you'd agree it's fair that you get higher pay than me, right? that is why doctors get more pay than nurses, and it's fair that way. Now for equal skilled workers, it used to be government employees get lower pay but much better benefits and job stability, that is fair too. But at the time when private sector employees are down by millions of jobs, and government employees are looking for pay hike, that is not fair! Can government jobs exist without private sector? Who pay for government jobs?

Fri, Feb 3, 2012

I would be okay with the freezes if it actually made any difference. It doesn't. They make it sound big in speeches and such, but in reality the money saved is negligible. It's like they're trying to fix the foundation by putting on a new roof. It's highly visible and gives the appearance of progress, but does little to solve the actual problem. Until they get the guts to cut the entitlements they are just wasting time (and money).

Fri, Feb 3, 2012 DC Fed DC

The biggest problem for us Feds is that the Republicans in Congress are using a broad brush stroke to paint all of us as overpaid. I believe they have stopped trying to say openly that we are underworked, but it is still implied. Since they are only interested in making PR points, they will continue this assault on us, instead of really trying to work with the President and fix the problems the country has. They should look at compensation for each of the Federal job series and compare that to the private sector. It should be done in 3 parts: basic compensation, compensation for health benefits and retirement benefits. Each of those could be compared to the private sector, but it would have to be done against an average of the largest, the middle and smallest companies or else it won't be accurate. Even with all of this, my main sticking point is: what do the comparison in the first place? There are 2 sectors and if they were supposed to be treated the same, there would only be 1 sector. The Republicans need to stop trying to make Federal sector equal to the private sector. It is like saying doctors are making too much money compared to emergency technicians and nurses. The comparison does not need to be made and the changes they are trying to do are not for the good of the country, it is for their own good.

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