U.S. Pays $400 Million in Bonuses to Federal Employees
by PubliusFrom New Jersey’s Daily Record:
The Obama Administration handed out more than $400 million in awards to federal employees last year, up by more than $80 million from the prior year, according to new government data.
The biggest winners were air traffic controllers and top managers in Washington, a review of fiscal year 2009 salary reports from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management showed.
OPM’s data, obtained by the Asbury Park Press through a freedom of information request, account for 1.3 million employees, or about 65 percent of the federal civilian work force.
The $408 million given in awards excludes the departments of Defense and Treasury, security agencies such as the CIA and FBI, the White House, Congress and various independent commissions and agencies, such as the U.S. Postal Service.
The defense department paid $92.1 million in awards in 2008, the latest year available. Awards were given to 100,000 of its 687,000 employees.
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165 Comments
Meanwhile, those lucky enough to have a job in the private sector haven't had raises in two years, and some small businessmen have had to take pay cuts of 10-50%. It's as unsustainable as auto assembly workers being paid $50-70 per hour so cars can be sold to people making $10 per hour.
Well, when you own the printing presses, it's not like the money really matters.
Obama is a fool.
Wall street investment firms are vilified and persecuted by the government for taking taxpayer money, and then paying out their (contractually obligated) bonuses.
Government in turn pays out 400 million in bonuses, after taking taxpayer money.
Does anyone else see a bit of 'Do as I say, not as I do' here…….?
As I get ready to pay my quarterly estimated taxes, this was the last thing I wanted to see. Time for us 50% who pay taxes to go on strike. I am tired of pulling the wagon full of freeloaders.
I guess that's one way to buy votes. Just feed your own and keep the same corrupt stooges in place, so they can give out some more.
Exactly. I've not had a raise in 3 years, and in fact have gone backwards because our health insurance increased and our 401K match went away. When the tax cuts expire I will be making LESS money than I did 3 years ago.
These government workers work for US, if we aren't getting raises and bonuses, THEY shouldn't be getting raises and bonuses.
gotta keep that govt. employee voting block, remember bill clinton gave federal employees a 4% raise on his way out the white house door, arent liberals special
who thought it was a good idea to give the keys to the money printing press to a socialist criminal…
as are those who voted for him…and I say that having a kid and two daughter-in-law's who voted for the socialist….
52% of the voting public or so.
They are doing such a brilliant job. Worth every penny.
/
Isn't that special.
Sickening. I hope those government employees are saving some money, because a large number of them will need to be looking for employment in the private sector as soon as we can elect some rationale representatives.
Where's my bonus? I (we tax payers) own the government, shouldn't we get a bonus? Oh, yeah our bonus came on a flying unicorn, that showered us with hope and change.
BONUS. Ok, I don't understand, what would a government employee get a bonus for? Lifting the seat on the toilet, then putting it back down? Not making the long distance phone call to India back home to say Hi? what does a government employee get a bonus for and then they get it without our permission. What?
I'll never find a job those SOBs! They have to quit the spending. Opps… time for another party at the WH.
The places I apply at don't even offer benefits anymore much less a respectable salary that I used to get. And then the "I don't know if you'd be happy at this job because it might be a lower level than what you are used to". I don't care if it is lower! I may be over qualified but I CAN DO THE JOB AND WOULD DO A DAMN GOOD JOB! I don't know if anyone else is looking but I can't believe the number of government jobs that are posted everyday. Unfortunately, they aren't in my demographics.
Off topic:
RIP Jimmy Dean age 81…..
Sure, why not?
They are doing exactly what they are being paid to do, nothing of value, and they excel at it.
That's a result of our school system. They have been brainwashed.
If it were Jimmah Carter, there would be cause to celebrate……………
Great. Time for some more blood to shoot out of my eyes.
It is easy to hand out a big bonus if you are using Other Peoples Money………………
70% of government workers should be immediately fired. no more government workers UNTIL….they no longer have penions that taxpayers have to pay for and they no longer have health care that taxpayers have to pay for.
we have to use that obamacare that no one wanted….put government workeres on obamacare.
i worked all of my life with no pension…why am i paying for pensions for useless government workers?
All Hail To The Chief-of-Corruption aka NoBama. Remove the mask and it becomes are stark contrast to the rhetoric we hear. Say it ain't so Dems? Thanks and prepare thyself for the backlash.
Rest assured, it is coming. It will be done. Nothing will stop it. Out with these con jobs in Congress and then the ONE.
I would appreciate knowing which and why govt employees received a bonus. If it's for doing their job(questionable), there is no reason for a bonus. They are already paid more with better health benefits than their counterparts(taxpayers) in the private sector. Seems just another payola to the elitists, and we foot the bill. Hurry up Nov. Otherwise, the blood sucking parasites will have it all, and even the printing presses are running out of ink and paper. Time to shut off the machines for conservative maintenance.
You took the words right out of my mouth!! FIRED!!
Blood sucking bureaucrats.
And he wants $50 billion to bail out unions, etc… and… I though handing out bonus checks was one of those "evil" Wall Street tactics? Do as I say not as I do…
When asked… the increase in bonus and award spending will be Bush's fault.
I hear that, Majiic, LOLOL!
My head explodes every quarter of an hour….and that's when the TV's OFF!
This is perfect accompaniment to the news that most of the job gains have been in the federal government (or census workers!).
BP can’t pay their shareholders right now, but our Government can dish out $400mil to Federal Employees. Didn’t they just approve $400mil to (Hamas) Palestine too? Hmmm, $800mil in 2 weeks to 2 different “do-nothings”? And they call conservatives nuts? <sigh>
Worse than blood sucking bureacrats!! They are shoving this right in our faces…na nana na nana. Who cares if there is 10% unemployment or worse and people are losing their business's and the gulf is being destroyed. We must give bonuses to the zombies.
Those governent emlpoyess who do nothing but watch porn on their computers and play games! I came from the DC environment and if the public only knew what goes on there. Unbelievable.!!! I see smoke coming out of my ears.
Cowboy,
On most forums there is an inevitable discussion about civil revolt…literally…blood in the streets. More and more these days, from more and more normally reasonable folks. Know what the ONE THING NOBODY EVER SAYS IS?
TAX REVOLT. Soooo….we're less afraid of armed rebellion than we are the IRS? Wow. What does THAT say about us oh, so brave we'll take up weapons, but O.M.G. git that tax form in on time armchair warriors????
If even a million tax payers went on strike, put that money in escrow and withheld it from the gov't we would bring this country to it's knees and there is NO WAY THE SYSTEM COULD HANDLE US ALL IN COURTS OR JAILS.
Why are we more willing to talk about shooting than to risk doing that?
Okay, for this I will break my general rule that an issue is not important enough to amend the Constitution.
First, the salary of all elected and appointed federal employees shall not exceed 10% greater than the median national income.
Second, the salary of all other federal employees shall not exceed 10% greater than the median national salary of private employees for that position. For jobs that are federal monopolies, the salary shall not exceed 25% greater than the median national income.
(The reason for the 10% is to allow for local cost of living variations. The reason for the 25% is because some jobs are just that much more critical than being a congresscritter.)
You want a raise? Raise the national standard of living.
The several states would be advised to adopt similar constitutional provisions reflecting median state incomes and salaries.
Great!!! now if might include me in the loop by informing what they may have done to earn a bonus on top of their overpaid salaries. Id be interested.
The funny part is that all the big dog's inside the beltway get the big money. These are the descision makers close to mecca. The rank and file workers all get chump change becaust union rules say that it's better to give everybody a dime than give the real performers a dollar! Lest the ones who don't get anything file suit for some perceived (Didn't get the $$$) wrong.
aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggg – the Department of the Treasury gets a bonus?? Seriously?
Will timmy 2bit geitner pay his share of taxes on his bonus??
bernake deserves a bonus?
I could go on, but what for – it's pathetic -
Soon the host will be dead.
Will you citizens stop complaining and get back to work.
Someone's got to pay for all this.
Yeah, we're sinking into the abyss of 3rd world nation status. At least then we can acheive MFN status from ourselves.
+Hanzo+
I work my ass off so they can keep thier asses as large as possible.
Its just another form of wealth redistribution! …made even worse by the recession!
Actually, I think that was woodrow wilson.
Good point!!!!
I say pay our taxes into an escrow account until the debt is paid, budget is balanced, sociaIism is scraped off our shoes… eh, they'll just round us up and throw us into jail (like Germany did to the jews). When all the wealth creators are locked up (because we're evil), they will have accomplished their goal and will be able to go full sociaIism on us!
Why is it everyday this tone-deaf administration sticks a finger in my eye? In just 17 months they have done or proposed the following:
- bail out GM—repeatedly apologized to foreign countries for USA actions—state that USA is not Christian nation–turned its back on Great Britian and Israel—thrown hundreds of billions $'s more down the drain with Fanny and Freddie—bought off politicians to pass heathcare—refuse to enforce immigration laws and invite the corrupt Pres. of Mexico to publicly chastise the good people of AZ. on our soil—discussed nationalizing 401K accounts—ignored tradional wreath ceremony on Memorial Day—repeatedly lie to us.
Never mind, I forgot—it's Bush's fault.
It must be nice to sit on your arse, twiddling your thumbs, and getting a bonus!!
I went through High School ('03), rolling my eyes knowing that I was smarter than all the teachers there. I was a lot dumber then, too.
It really is disgusting that we let these people teach without ever having done anything else in their lives. My best teachers were those who had a career prior to teaching. And that's about 10% of teachers that are actually good at it.
I only have but one thumbs up to give….
You got that right. My concern is this latest spending spree by Dems may have already tipped the cart into eventual dollar collapse – especially when folks realize that Europe was fprced to clean up its act to some degree because of common currency while we continue to print the Monopoly money…..
No, he is a fool. If he were smarter, his machinations wouldn't be so obvious to us, these politicians now couldn't hold a candle to the brilliance of our first centuries leaders, Obama could not compete with the revolutionary genius of Hitler. It will be ugly but we will be ready.
Harry, Harry, Harry. You will have to go to the re-education camp. Don't you know that is hate speech to falsely incite the populace with spurious rumors that somebody has to pay for government largesse. You are clearly trying to incite and inevitable revolution with that false claim that sh*t must be paid for by someone, somewhere somehow. Now go to camp and be sure to grab a wheelbarrow of Obama bucks on your way out of the company store /sarc/
No wonder government employees like the stimulus. /S
That's precisely what those skunks are doing.
If the private sector employees got bonuses on the same standard of performance as the Federal employees, they would get double or triple the amount of their wages since they are actually HELPING the economy recover.
If those in elected office were held to the same standard as those in the private sector, they would be in prison.
And you understand this is not an exaggeration or hyperbole in any way.
LOL. I'll try.
They are dividing the nation in two. Those that have thier hands in our pockets and those of us that feel them fiddling around in our pockets.
How much of that $92M went to a Soldier, Sailor, Marine or Airman?
TS: "Know what the ONE THING NOBODY EVER SAYS IS? TAX REVOLT." "Why are we more willing to talk about shooting than to risk doing that?I can tell you why."
*
*
Every time I have mentioned that option, people always write to ask me how they could manage to hold back the taxes when they are automatically deducted from their paychecks.
Most people just don't know how to NOT pay their taxes.
Plus, they are worried that most people would not actually do it, and the ones who did would be a small enough number to fit into the jails.
Hey, Hanzo – nice to see you around again, pard!
photo ….. Good luck to you too! I thank God everyday for the wonderful, smart parents I had. As much as I miss them every day, I'm so glad they don't have to live in this hell because they worked so hard all their lives. They went through the depression and we are all (11 children) hardworking and really frugile. We are seamstresses, gardeners, etc….. in addition to having a full time job…. or at least I did. Glad my kids are grown and have great jobs so I only have to take care of myself.
Taxed Enough Already?
If returning bonuses that are paid to private corporate executives is OK, then after the next congress meets, how about we the people take back these bonuses!
Keep paying your taxes so the government worker (upper) class can continue the party on your dime.
Hey Tex,
Yeh….the auto deductions would be, by definition, out of that equation. What's left or owed at the end of the year could be the only amount W-2 workers could withhold. Self employed and/or companies could do more, like withholding sales tax, or if all the workers agreed, no more W-2 stuff. Take the money and matching employer funds and put it in escrow.
The second problem is really more to the issue. Who will really do it, risk it. And you're right. People would have to be at the end of their rope….and despite all the whinin, we're not Greece yet and given our faith in self-determination we never will be. I just don't see angry mobs here. Obama's already backin off so many hard line positions and congress is in such duck and cover mode till after elections, the "pushin" is over till next year. I don't know how you'd "guarrantee" how many folks would participate. Maybe it's an economic tipping point….when the burden gets to be too much, they have little else to lose.
I still find it surprising they will talk about armed rebellion before they talk tax revolt. The IRS has done it's job VERY WELL….if you're lookin for competence in gov't. NOBODY messes with them, lol!
Don't worry boys, just securing my base ya know….
I gotta be damn sure I bought enough … errr what I ment to say was..uhh.. let me make this perfectly clear…. uhhh We intend to be sure our base gets out and votes ..and uhh….. yeah that's what I meant in the first place… uhhh….Voting Present madam speaker uhh. oh darn that was … never mind… Did you get my tee time for tomorrow???
Excuse me while I go toss my lunch.
IF THIS DOESN'T GET YOU GOING NOTHING WILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNUc8nuo7HI
I bet that the more porn they watch, the bigger their bonus.
I bet most of them are political appointment positions
I haven't had a raise in 10 years.
EXACTLY!!!!! They deserve ALL the bonus cash!
Hmmm. The 100,000 DoD employees receiving $92.1 million dollars works out to $921 per employee. But, I am sure it is not equally divided. The higher salaried employees probably received more, while the lower salaried received less. It used to be that a bonus of between 1% to 5% of the base salary could be awarded for sustained outstanding performance. This would mean that 15% of the DoD employees are performing their duties in an outstanding manner constantly.
None. They are not eligible for bonuses. Only the civilian employees. However if a military member comes up with a cost saving improvement , they may be able to get some kind of cash award based upon the savings realized.
Honestly I'd pay them double if they got the damned job done like a private corporation would. The main problem with these bureaucratic lifers is pretty much the same problem you have with teachers union – you can't fire someone if your life depended on it. Much like crappy teachers, it pretty much takes them getting caught on camera with cocaine and a hooker, and even then you can still be Mayor
So sure, have bonuses, goals, promotions, salary raises, etc as long as a) its budgeted and failure to meet goals forfeits the budgets, b) its goal oriented, c) you can fire anyone on the spot.
And of course, the real problem is half the jobs they're doing is something the feds shouldn't be doing in the first place. And of course, that's not going to change anytime soon as federalized healthcare gets going. We have not yet begun to see the unholy rain of pork spending from that one, I assure you!
Quite frankly, I am no longer interested in talking.
If you have noticed, I haven't been around here as much as I used to, for the past six or eight weeks. The time to talk is just about past. It is time.
CL,
I have noticed sir.
You're not alone in your frustration, cowboy.
Just give us till Nov. If we fail then we've got little left to lose. I see the sharp edges rounding off a bit.
I am stocking up on MRE's and .30-06.
Probably the best commodities to invest in right now.
I was a carpenter. I Hate these scum bags sooooo much….
Doesn't matter. We let them by not paying attention. Never again will I ever turn MY back.
You're not alone in your frustration, cowboy.
Just give us till Nov. If we fail then we've got little left to lose.
What you said, TS. I'm only three or four hours from you.
I purchased a Quickbooks-Pro software package and have mailed it to the Whitehouse with complete instructions on how to balance a checkbook. I highlighted the parts that are relevant to budgeting and that, when the checkbook register goes BELOW $ 0.00 a RED line will appear… It will mean you HAVE NO MONEY and you must stop spending!
I really….. really, think our population of citizens have gone mad, at least in the government sector and those that just leech off the welfare system. There is no way on Gods green earth this can continue. How do these miscreants sleep at night?
Tone deaf? Obama watches the polls closely. If the people are against it, he figures he must be on the right track and doubles down.
BINGO!! Just explained one of the reasons behind the TEA party.
Robert Gibbs Is Asked About Obama's Connecticut Social Security Number http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Aahw3NT6E
Not frustrated.
Determined.
Just one of those angry semi-white guys that the Dept. of Homeland In-security has branded a potential threat risk.
Gotta luv our government, eh?
Nothing less than what we deserve for being complacent.
On the right track to where? If I understand you correctly, your point is that he hears well and is just antagonistic and vindictive towards the American people. If you are correct, then he can't lead us anywhere because we still have elections. I assert that he is so ideological that he ignores the people because he knows better. It explains the lies on big issues, like healthcare, Cap and Trade, etc; but that still doesn't explain small insults ie. returning the bust of Churchil. Because his big lies will only work if the people see him as trustworthy and possessing the country's best interest. And he can't achieve that if he constantly attacks basic American values and beliefs on a daily basis. It's as if he came here from another planet and decided to change everything; without any understanding of our culture and politics.
Actually I agree with you. I was just being a bit flip.
The progressives have an agenda. They don't care what the American people think of it because they are so much smarter than the average American who don't know what is good for them.
[...] Bonuses were handed out to 100,000 of the over 600,000 federal employees, including air traffic controllers and top Washington managers as the biggest recipients. [...]
On another note, 2009 is the year that many of the enlistment/re-enlistment bonuses for the US Military were eliminated or stopped.
At least we're paying bonuses to the administrators for doing all of the heavy lifting.
I thought they took you behind the woodshed and told you to back off. Glad you're back…..sure did miss your right on the mark comments.
[...] – 06/15/10 Published in June 15th, 2010 Posted by TMH in Financial, Politics, Taxation U.S. Pays $400 Million in Bonuses to Federal Employees (Hat Tip: Jean [...]
About time Federal employees took a haircut and balance their pay with the private sector wages, that are much lower.
No.
I have just been busy with my personal life, and summer work.
I even expanded my garden this year in honor of Obama. It is now officially my "Obama Garden". It is now almost two acres.
I have met many decent Patriots here.
I miss the interaction.
[...] Clearly No Sense Of Financial Urgency June 15, 2010 Posted by taoist in Corruption. Tags: Pork, The Economy, Waste trackback The economy, national debt…what of them? $400 million paid out in bonuses to Federal employees last year. [...]
Hey here Tex, good to hear from you. Hope all is well where the antelope roam and the skies are not cloudy all day. See ya' around Tex.
+Hanzo+
Thanks.
We're doing ok, and I hope the Hanzos are, too.
[...] Federal Government Pays $400 Million in Federal Employee Bonuses [...]
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