MY MAILMAN IS OVERPAID

MY MAILMAN IS OVERPAID!!

Everyday my fat lazy Mailman, referred to by some as a postal worker…a term that implies he works…does his best to not do his job.  If it is possible he will fold, spindle, and mutilate anything that does not easily fit in a mail box.  When the package is too big to be furiously stuffed into my mailbox he loves to pound…and I do mean pound…on my door.  Then with a sneer he says, “You have another oversized package”.  I guess maybe by using the U.S. Postal Service to get my packages I am in some way violating his personal rules on walking.

When I first saw him he reminded me of Santa Claus…Gray hair, beard…basically the shape of a bowling ball with feet…and stubby little arms.  Now he looks more like a very angry elf…Ugg…he is way over paid.

When President Obama said he was freezing Federal Civilian Pay I thought about fatso…serves his lazy bones right too.  But then…I wondered…Why was the Obama so quick to stick it to the Federal Worker…that is so unlike him.  Was he saying they are over paid?

The Republicans have been saying that for a long time..and it has nearly become one of those urban truths.  Government workers are massively overpaid. 

Just B Askin posted here that that is not true….So if they are not overpaid what is the truth?  I set off to do some digging….and this is what I have found.

I began at a place that many people trust…Fact Check.org.  Here is what they had to say:

• Senator-elect Rand Paul of Kentucky, for example, said recently: “The average federal employee makes $120,000 a year. The average private employee makes $60,000 a year." This has become a GOP talking point and the basis for the House Republicans’ call for a hiring freeze in the "Pledge to America." But it’s misleading.

• The analysis is based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and crudely done by dividing total compensation (salary and benefits) by the number of current federal civilian employees. Comparing such averages is quite misleading, for two reasons:

     o First, BEA says the figure is inflated by including compensation that is actually paid to benefit retirees, not just for current workers. The figure is at least several thousand dollars too high, by our calculations.

     o Second, the average federal civilian worker is better educated, more experienced and more likely to have management or professional responsibilities than the average private worker.

Do I think Rand Paul was wrong?  Yes…How wrong is he…I do not know.  I will accept, for now, the idea he is several thousand dollars too high…I will go so far as to say he is 10k to high…that would mean that the average Fed Employee is paid 110k..versus the average civilian worker being paid…for giggles…70k.  That is still a difference of 40k.

Now they throw in this crazy notion of Fed workers being better educated and experienced.  That is a very dubious claim.  For instance, to become a Federal Worker you take a Civil Service exam…Your score goes a long way to getting hired by the feds…But wait…before being hired there are many “perks” that can be added to get on with the Feds…these perks to your points include ethnicity, gender, military service, and disability.  So much for equal employment opportunity.

Now lets look at an example.  Jane and Jack apply for a job with the U.S. Postal Service.  Jane has worked for Fedex for 5 years…she is white…and under 30 years old.  Jack is fresh out of the military…He has a 10 percent disability connected with his military service…Jack is a Pacific Islander.

The first thing that happens is they are graded by a computer…Jack and Jane both score a 100 on the Civil Service Exam.  However, Jack gets 10 point for his service..and another 20 points for his disability.  Jack gets to move on to an interview…Jane doesn’t.

The point here is not that Jack does not deserve a boost up…the point is that the average Federal worker is not necessarily better qualified.  A federal worker is not graded on the profit they bring to the company…in fact…who knows how they grade them?

Factcheck.org goes on to repeat themselves to the point of making me sick. In fact they say “We calculate…” but never say how they calculate their numbers.  Factcheck.org should be called Fatchance.org….much like my Mailman.

So, what is the real truth?  We will probably never know.  I do know this…we have a deficit that is more money than I can imagine.  While private employment drops, Federal Employment has expanded.  If Federal workers are so darn good…they can do what I do…get a job that pays more money in the private sector…where you are expected to make a profit…not just spend money.

If you would like to know more about this, check out the article at: Are Federal Workers Overpaid

Want to know more about fatcheck.org?  Check out the “impartial” panel. Progressives are us.

I am now trying to figure out how to order a 200lb anvil..and have it delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.  Hope Santa enjoys lugging that puppy.