12. December 2009 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

The number of federal employees making over $100,000 per year has exploded in the first 18 months of the recession, USA Today reports, sending the total percentage from 14 percent to 19 percent.

The highest-paid federal workers are seeing the largest increases: In the same period, the number of civil servants making over $150,000 jumped from 1,868 to 10,100. When the recession began, only one person at the Department of Transportation was making over $170,000. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees do.

The skyrocketing federal pay is systematic, reaching every level in every agency. Congress approved across-the-board raises of 3 percent in January 2008 and 3.9 percent in January 2009. President Obama has recommended 2 percent pay raises in January 2010, the smallest since 1975. Most federal employees get “steps” — pay increases based on length of service — that can run up to 1.5 percent per year.

Several laws have made it easier to raise federal workers’ salaries, particularly the National Security Pay Scale, which allows the Defense Department to award merit-based salary increases. And while many agencies prohibit employees from making more than the agency’s head, increases in bosses’ pay has allowed earnings to rise for everyone below.

Posted in Government Pensions, Federal Government, WakeUp America, President Obama, The Democratic Party, Politics | No Comments »

25. September 2009 by Democratic Party News - The News of the Democratic Party.

Many fireman, police, congressman, senators, mayors, city employees, and many other government employees get over $100,000 a year pensions for life, even $200,000 and more per year, plus medical coverage — from citizens’ taxes. A regular citizen would have to save up over $3 million dollars to earn enough interest to have a return like that. So these pensioners are millionaires and even better, it is very hard for them to lose the government pension. In other words, this means your taxes are their millions by paying these pensions.

The regular citizen can lose his millions in the stock market, real estatemarket, or be sued, and many other ways. But there are many more than 6.7 million households that are worth over 1 million when you consider the value of a lifetime pension at taxpayer expense.

More importantly, many of them never paid into Social Security.

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