Six-Figure Federal Salary Gravy Train

At a time when incomes are plunging for the private sector middle-class, More Federal Employees Get Six-Figure Salaries.

The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data.

Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months ? and that's before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.

Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boom time ? in pay and hiring ? during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector.

Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009, the most recent figure available.

When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000.

The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker's pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector.

How the $!!! can the department of transportation possibly justify 1,690 workers making in excess of $170,000?

The Federal Aviation Administration also has 1,700 workers making in excess of $170,000.

The Department of Transportation was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966. Now there are over 56,000 employees according to the Department of Transportation Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Highlights.

The fiscal insanity does not stop with numbers of employees and their salaries. One also needs to factor in pension benefits that private sector employees do not receive.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction.
Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Full story at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/12/six-figure-federal-salary-gravy-train.html