Scapegoating Federal Workers – an American Prospect Fantasy

In the American Prospect, Paul Waldman writes at length about how conservatives are improperly attacking federal workers just because they are union members. It is not true, says Waldman, that federal workers make more than Americans who toil in private industry. It is just misinformation spread by the conservative media machine.
Waldman’s article and argument is so far off base that it is comical. First, let’s go to the facts that Waldman himself cites. Federal workers have an average pay of $81,258 while those in the private sector have average pay of $50,462. Waldman also agree that Federal workers have much higher benefits than those in the private sector. Again, these are not my statistics; these are the numbers that Waldman cites to show that federal and private sector workers make the essentially the same thing. Somebody ought to explain to Waldman that the number for the federal salaries is 60% higher than the one for those in private industry.
Waldman’s answer for the disparity essentially boils down to the fact that federal workers are unionized and private workers mostly are not. As Waldman puts it, “more important, this isn't about reducing the budget deficit; it's about attacking unions.” So those evil conservatives are just vilifying the federal workers as overpaid since the conservatives want to hurt the unions. In other words, Waldman takes the issue of whether or not America can afford the high cost of federal workers and changes it into whether or not unions can survive. Given that the overarching issue in government today is how to reduce costs to manageable levels, Waldman’s argument seems to come from another planet.
Waldman does have some other points. For example, Waldman points out the federal workers are a smaller percentage of the population today than they were during the Kennedy Administration. This is true, but the reason for the change is that the armed forces are now less than one-half as large as they were in the days of JFK. In other words, the lower percentage of federal workers in the workforce does not mean that the federal workers have gotten more efficient, just that the US has moved to a different defense posture.
Waldman also argues that federal workers are more skilled and better educated than private sector workers. Of course, he gives no proof for this assertion.
The truth is that the issue here is deficit reduction, not attacking unions. Waldman is a fool who is prepared to spout nonsense to support his views. Nevertheless, there does need to be a close look taken at the level of federal salaries and benefits. In addition, the staffing levels are also due for a critical review. In private industry, a periodic downturn and the profit motive force employers to get rid of the unnecessary and excessive employees. In government, there is no such thing as a down turn. The impetus to look for redundant or overpaid workers has to come from public pressure. Contrary to Waldman’s thesis, this is good for the country. An efficient government helps everyone.