Draining the Government Employee Swamp

The “swamp” includes most government employees. Their priorities are driven by higher government spending on their wages, benefits and perks.

 

Federal government employees earn more than their private sector counterparts in all categories except for the highest paid professions.

 

The federal government employs about 2.2 million civilian workers—1.5 percent of the U.S. workforce—spread among more than 100 agencies in jobs that represent over 650 occupations. As a result, the government employs workers with a broad complement of talents, skills, and experience, and it competes with other government and private-sector employers for people who possess the mix of attributes needed to do the work of its agencies.

In fiscal year 2016, the government spent roughly $215 billion to compensate federal civilian employees. About two-thirds of that total was spent on civilian personnel working in the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Department of Homeland Security. Federal employees typically receive periodic increases in their wages on the basis of performance, longevity, and changes in private-sector pay. However, lawmakers eliminated annual across-the-board increases for most federal civilian workers in calendar years 2011, 2012, and 2013.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52637

 

Comments

 

Government employees often have obsolete software and lack other tools to increase their productivity.  Government at all levels needs to update equipment to save on expensive, unnecessary labor. Consultant and Contractor costs are often out of control and bids can be double what they should be.  Government employees have no incentive to save money. They are encouraged to spend their entire budgets to avoid having them cut.

 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader