Uncle Sam Doesn’t Do Retail

Are you overpaid, overweight and exempt from taxes? Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says that\'s what some people are hearing in the on-going election year fig...

When you think of gigantic jillion-dollar operations with lots of employees, the Two Sam’s come to mind. That would be Uncle Sam, and Sam Walton. The latter is the late genius who changed retailing forever. He founded Wal-Mart. The rest is history.

In many communities, the federal government and/or Wal-Mart, is the largest employer.

Which leads to this question: What do Wal-Mart and the federal government have in common? Which federal agency most resembles Wal-Mart? Is it:

  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
  • The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
  • The Defense Department.
  • Department of Homeland Security.
  • The IRS.
  • The CIA.
  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
  • The Interior Department.
  • None of the above.

Unless I’m missing something (and it’s been known to happen) none of those federal agencies operates like the highly successful Wal-Mart chain. Or Sears. Or your favorite upscale bakery, drug store, shopping center or grocery store.

Uncle Sam doesn’t employ many (if any) parking lot attendants. Or elevator operators. Or people who sell auto parts. Or making or delivering ice cream. The government doesn’t have many (if any) people stocking produce, or selling clothing. Or flipping burgers.

Over the years the federal government has evolved from an army of clerks into an outfit where scientists greatly outnumber secretaries. Where there are more civilian astronauts than elevator operators. For many years following World War 2 many federal workers were hired right out of high school. Now the average age of new hires is in the low 30s, and the people hired have private sector work experience and a higher percentage have college diplomas or advanced degrees.

As the government has become more professional, the average grade (as in salary) has gone up dramatically.

The changing nature of government (it’s growing and prospering) and the stinking nature of the economy (with unemployment hovering at 10 percent) is part of the problem. And it’s one of the driving forces behind the growing number of news stories and opinion pieces about the overpaid, bloated federal workforce.

Portions of the media have reported that federal workers make a lot more than the average American. That’s almost certainly true because the average American (if he/she still has a job or had to take a pay cut) doesn’t make very much. But is that the point? Does that tell the whole story.

What about a job-by-job, city-by-city comparison?

On a job-for-job basis, OPM Director John Berry, says that federal workers on average earn 22 percent LESS than their private sector counterparts.

The battle of the dueling overpaid/am-not! statistics will continue at least through election day. It’s going to be a long, hot summer.

Overpaid, Overweight and Tax Exempt?

In addition to being overpaid, the public is now learning that federal workers don’t have to pay taxes? At least that’s what Marcia Bresson, a recently retired, Maryland-based fed heard recently on the road:

    “…I just came back from a brief trip to Florida. Driving up I-95 through South Carolina, I heard an AM radio talk show about weight loss surgery for some federal employees. One of the hosts commented ‘…what about paying for such surgery for the rest of us, the tax-paying, non-government employees who actually work!!!’

    “I had to turn off the show,” Bresson said. “It makes me wonder if there are those who think federal employees don’t pay taxes (answer YES), never mind the ‘actually work’ comment.”

It’s going to be a long summer.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com


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