So I have to ask. Most government workers are GS-5/GS-6 which starts at $30,000 to $35,000 a year. Do they fall under this accusation of government employees being overpaid or making more than their peers? Let's take a look at administrative assistant salaries. In the private sector the median salary is $38,000 per year with a starting salary of $30,000 to $33,000. In most cases if an AA wants to work for the government they will have to start at a GS-5 step one (usually can move to GS-6 in year two) which is $32,000, right on par with their peers in the private sector. Hell, the average starting salary for a senior budget analyst in the private sector is $68,000 - $70,000. Most budget analysts that work for the federal government are GS-12 which starts at $70,000. Again, on par with their counterparts in the private sector. I guess an argument can be made over the benefits package but that's the only argument I see for the actual average employee.
Now, if you want to level the same accusation against those in the Senior Executive Service (SES), I agree for the most part. But when the media and people get on this kick and outrage over federal employee salaries the only people they are really hurting are the actual average employees being page general schedule or wage grade that are "middle class" right along with most everyone else. The people who are actually overpaid do not feel the brunt of that negative press, alarmism, and the political posturing that ensues. The larger problem in my opinion is the size of the departments, the number of federal employees they employ, and how top heavy some of them seem to be organizationally.
