Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   I don't get Date:   7/27/2017 12:02:51 PM

A lot of us wanted to serve our country.  The government used to have great benefits, a great retirement plan, and generous leave (sick and vacation).  that is no longer the case, as the benefits have eroded (really insurance costs continue to climb, deductibles have gone up, copays have gone up and they use some kind of weird tier system as what prescripion medicines they pay for and to what extent).  The retirement system has been changed and anyone who started work after 1980, is under it, which relies on a much smaller amount from the government, more on social security and whatever you manage to save in your TSP).  As far as I know, they haven't messed with the leave portion - yet. 

On the subject of salaries, it is really hard to compare industry salaries and govenrment salaries.  One thing I will say about that is there has been a big grade creep over a period of time.  I had 3 ladies who worked for me in one job that did nothing more than maintain records of things in and out of our office and they were grossly overpaid (and of course, they all thought they should have been promoted and paid more).  I also had about 6 more clerical contract support than I needed and I cut that down right away).  In addition to the grade creep, there is a lessening of authority given to those at the top of the pay scale (I'm talking career staff and not politicals) and if Congress had their way, everything would be decided at the Secretariat level).  And I do think that should be reduced and more authority pushed downward.  I have to say, I didn't feel underpaid or overpaid.  In DOD, with each increase in military spending, came a push to upgrade positions.  Then they started "pay banding" to do away with grades and steps, but all that meant at the end of the day, was that salairies were no longer subjected to the mandatory wait times between increases.  It was great if you were a top perfomer and got to the top of your pay band really quickly. (pay banding was like salary range on the outside). 

I would be the first person to tell you there is duplication of effort in DOD.  There was one office of 4 people, headed by a senior executive, whose sole mission was to produce a report that no one used - in fact they didn't even compile it but paid an outside company to do the work.  It was about a million a year.  One of my bosses tried to get that office disbanded, but do you think she could? No.  Reason? They didn't want to lose the budget line and the senior executive position that went with it.  And then there are the White House Fellows.  They come out of graduate school, get a promotion every year, and finally, they enter the executive service.  Now, mind you, they aren't assigned a job that supports the "executive" status, and in some cases they do the same job they were doing as a lessor grade.  But that is the system. (and BTW, that one cuts across Departments and is govenrment wide).  I mean, why should someone be a Senior Executive, unless they are in charge of something? 

I could write pages and pages of the ways govenment could actually do away with duplication and consolidate missions, just with my limited knowledge and it would save the govenrment millions of dollars.  Nothing like being on the inside to know where to look for the skelatons. but the "rice bowl" issues make change damn near impossible.