Election 2010: Teabaggin' the Ds & Rs

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

If you click the link, there's a nice chart that shows the number over $160k went from 2852 to 44898. Which is over 15x.

Also "worse" for $170k and $180k, both with over 21-fold increases.

is that just salary or does it include kick backs from Halliburton?

[Penske 2.0]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

1. Government employees are predominantly Dems.
2. People making six figures are more likely to (secretly) vote GOP.
3. You're welcome!

Thanks for nothing.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

If you click the link, there's a nice chart that shows the number over $160k went from 2852 to 44898. Which is over 15x.

Also "worse" for $170k and $180k, both with over 21-fold increases.

It doesn't tell you what or why (well, it gives a few examples, like VA docs - which strikes me as reflecting added needs due to Iraq and Afghanistan).

But if a central reason is the increased pay you get for being stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan or a select number of other hazardous locations, then the increase is understandable and (hopefully) temporary. If a big reason is moving people off contractor's payrolls and on to government payrolls, the high salaries may even save us money. Does it say anywhere in that article what the average raises are, either in general or by grade?

I know USA today has better journalistic standards than Fox, but I'd still like more information before deciding that the sky is falling.

[Cletus Miller]

Originally Posted by Penske 2.0

ssmh.

At least they don't get defined benefit plans any more.

Cook County has 553 employees making over $150k. Mostly doctors. 82000 federals making over $150k isn't surprising.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

If you click the link, there's a nice chart that shows the number over $160k went from 2852 to 44898. Which is over 15x.

Also "worse" for $170k and $180k, both with over 21-fold increases.

I'm not clear who's making more than $160K. GS-15, step 10, makes you $129,517 in salary. In the DC area, it makes you $155,500. I would guess that USA Today is using the value of benefits (in particular, medical insurance) to make those numbers bigger. (Insurance really is comp, but most people don't include the value of it in what they'd say they earn.)

Also, USA Today is playing a cute trick with its graph. It shows 82,000 workers making $150K, and 45,000 workers making $160K, e.g. I would bet that the latter are included in the former figure to make it more impressive, though most people looking at that sort of graph would read it differently.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I'm not clear who's making more than $160K. GS-15, step 10, makes you $129,517 in salary. In the DC area, it makes you $155,500. I would guess that USA Today is using the value of benefits (in particular, medical insurance) to make those numbers bigger. (Insurance really is comp, but most people don't include the value of it in what they'd say they earn.)

Also, USA Today is playing a cute trick with its graph. It shows 82,000 workers making $150K, and 45,000 workers making $160K, e.g. I would bet that the latter are included in the former figure to make it more impressive, though most people looking at that sort of graph would read it differently.

we had OT turned on and off, and 15s had trouble getting approval anytime. but maybe there are jobs where the 15s had it authorized?

[Cletus Miller]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

It doesn't tell you what or why. If a big reason is the increased pay you get for being stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan or a select number of other hazardous locations, then the increase is understandable and (hopefully) temporary. If a big reason is moving people off contractor's payrolls and on to government payrolls, the high salaries may even save us money. Does it say anywhere in that article what the average raises are, either in general or by grade?

I know USA today has better journalistic standards than Fox, but I'd still like more information before deciding that the sky is falling.

You know it doesn't. The one interesting point is this:

"Medical doctors at veterans hospitals, prisons and elsewhere earn an average of $179,500, up from $111,000 in 2005."

meaning that it is quite likely that federal-employed doctors went from few over $150k to the vast majority over $150k in 5 years. And 114,685 "health care professionals" spent some part of FY09 working for the VA (out of 304,099 total VA employees). So, it's reasonable speculation that several thousand of those $150k employees are medical doctors.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

You know it doesn't. The one interesting point is this:

"Medical doctors at veterans hospitals, prisons and elsewhere earn an average of $179,500, up from $111,000 in 2005."

meaning that it is quite likely that federal-employed doctors went from few over $150k to the vast majority over $150k in 5 years. And 114,685 "health care professionals" spent some part of FY09 working for the VA (out of 304,099 total VA employees). So, it's reasonable speculation that several thousand of those $150k employees are medical doctors.

There was also a big problem with a shortage of medical personnel in the military because of Iraq and Afghanistan. There have been all kinds of incentives to keep folks in longer, rather than just letting the ROTC docs rotate through, do their time and move on. There also have been stop-loss orders keeping some of them in.

The "and elsewhere" may include Iraq and Afghanistan, and you get extra pay for serving in a war zone.

[Penske 2.0]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

At least they don't get defined benefit plans any more.

Cook County has 553 employees making over $150k.

Does that count kickbacks, bribes and assorted other forms of graft?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Penske 2.0

Does that count kickbacks, bribes and assorted other forms of graft?

i invented this post

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

we had OT turned on and off, and 15s had trouble getting approval anytime. but maybe there are jobs where the 15s had it authorized?

I earn <$200K and don't get overtime, period. Then again I drive a Nissan and think Jennifer Granholm is fuckable so we know I'm not about optimizing.

[Cletus Miller]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

Also, USA Today is playing a cute trick with its graph. It shows 82,000 workers making $150K, and 45,000 workers making $160K, e.g. I would bet that the latter are included in the former figure to make it more impressive, though most people looking at that sort of graph would read it differently.

They clearly are inclusive, and I don't know why anyone would read it the way you suggest. In any event, if you back out the numbers, it would show basically the same number making over $180k as making between $160 and $170k (about 17000) and 37000 making between $150k and $160k--which is a lot fewer than the number making over $160k.

The SL and ST limits in 2004/05 were below $150k, they are now 179,700 with and 165,300 without a performance appraisal system. So, that's probably the bulk.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

I earn <$200K and don't get overtime, period. Then again I drive a Nissan and think Jennifer Granholm is fuckable so we know I'm not about optimizing.

Damn. How do you cover your mortgages on that?

And why don't they give you an American car?

And she's Canadian. Of course she is.

[LessinSF]

Originally Posted by Cletus Miller

ps: Are you sure that was debt panel coverage and not death panel coverage? I heard that Obama's first legislative goal of the next congress is to get cram the death panels down our throats.

We should be so lucky.

[Cletus Miller]

Originally Posted by LessinSF

We should be so lucky.

So lucky that he does? Or so lucky that the Rs go back to harping on that nonsense? Or both?