The Week in Comments: Raising pay, shutting down and contracting, contracting, contracting
The best in reader reaction to recent articles.
A roundup of some of the comments received this week in the GovExec.com Mailbag. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.
On Government revoking pay raises, top career officials claim
Pay Freeze is just that, suck it up SES just like the rest of us.
The real question is who receives pay raises twice a year? Once in January and then again in December??? It sounds like someone came up with a way to get a raise in December to avoid any possible pay freeze in January claiming it was from the previous year and couldn't be touched...wow now thats effective management.
Not only the SES positions should do their part but what about the 50K still under the perf-based pay system that were reportedly due to get increases this year. If the avg pay increase for all 50K were say $500 and none were given an increase, the savings would be $25 million. Perf-based pay people need to suffer (I mean do their part) just like the rest of the federal employees.
Sorry for the cliche'....What's good for the goose is good for the gander. This sounds like the rich keep getting richer. Pay freezes should be across the board, let's all share this burden forced upon us. I'm glad I have less than 5 years before I retire; I want to get out before they get rid of retirement pay.
On Union demands concessions in the event of a government shutdown
If the furloughed workers are granted administrative leave and are paid back pay when the budget is signed, what kind of compensation will the people who are forced to work get?
During the course of events, I would hope considerable consideration is given to the effect all this uncertainty is having on attracting and retaining good people. Along with the opportunity to serve my fellow veterans, I chose a career in public service in an effort to secure stable employment.
AFGE suggested members could help collect charitable donations from within the community for those who are furloughed, assist with maintenance work such as car repairs and help those adversely affected to apply for unemployment assistance. The labor group also recommended asking utility companies to give furloughed employees a temporary reprieve from paying their bills until the shutdown has ended "We have no idea how long this will go on for," Kauffman said. "And a lot of our members are lower-wage-grade workers."? Now the Civil Servants are to resort to begging? I used to be proud to admit that I was a Civil Servant. Now I am ashamed to admit it, and ashamed of the ways that our government is being run. It no longer cares for its people. It is more concerned for other countries and people abroad. We are supposed to fend for ourselves, while other countries are being taken care of with government loans that are not paid back, and charitable contributions while their leaders get fat off our money.
On Pentagon resists automatic suspension of indicted contractors
With a contractor lobbyist as the Deputy Secretary of Defense, there is no way that DoD is going to automatically suspend indicted contractors. What about those future stuck options? It is no secret that contractors run the Pengaton and why would they eat their own kind and suspend contractors?
I guess in legal terms, just because a company is indicted doesn't mean they are guilty. It is a chilling reality though, that we are so dependent upon contractors.
The finest government money can buy!
On Incentives grow for agencies to prevent and recover overpayments
I spent 20 years in the Air Force in various contracting management positions. The organizations I worked for didn't pay a contractor unless the work was performed according to the statement of work (SOW). How are contractors's getting paid for work that is imperfect or wasn't performed? When this happens, the agency and individuals in that agency responsible for making payments should be held accountable
If Congress would invest in the agencies who are custodians of entitlement spending, we could reduce improper payments. Budget cuts equal overpayments.
This delay really hurts the younger employees who would benefit most from the Roth option.
The only reason this is happening is so the government cannot have funds that they do not have access to like the safe G fund that they can take out of and have extra spending along with the higher taxes that are being assested on all working people.
IF this delay is indeed due to the software issues as defined by the TSP administrators, then we have another example of technology-driven inefficiency. The machines have apparently won, humans can no longer act until massive software code is prepared and verified (hopefully).
On SES pay system said to impede recruitment
As we say about SES jobs around here, you need someone smart enough to do it and dumb enough to take it.
I've never noticed a lack of interest in SES positions. Now a lack of competence - yes.
Enhance the SES position by lowering pay for GS14s and GS 15s. Reduce the deficit, imporve attractiveness of SES position and return government work to public service.
With impending Hiring and salary freezes, not really a big deal. If you have a job be happy, if you need more money, hit the streets and good luck, why with this rebounding economy jobs are all over the place for senior execs.
On Lawmaker targets Pentagon pay raises
This mechanism for this already exists. It's called a performance improvement plan (PIP).
I still have no problem with taking harsher actions against poor performers. Just start with everybody who is at least 5 months late on passing a budget.
Does Rep West have any idea of how many hoops and miles of red tape you have to go through to get rid of someone?!?
First problem with this bill...there are very few if any "poor performers" in government service. Supervisors are weak when it comes to disciplining workers. And when they do, the Union beats them down and the whole thing gets swept under the rug. Even with a good Supervisor, it takes years to make any headway with a "poor performer".
Does this bill include Senators & Congressman who are performing their jobs unsatisfactorily? They can't even pass the budget!
The manager gives his favorites good ratings whether they perform well or not. They get raises, bonuses, etc., new law or not. Nothing changes.
On Obama solicits ideas from federal workers for government reform
He's not paying us enough to do his job too.
Why not open this area to federal retirees and their suggestions? We can offer many ideas without any fear of action being taken against us. I would offer two areas for immediate savings. One would be to eliminate military retirement and change of command ceremonies. They are unnecessary and costly. Second I would reinstate the requirement for military retirees to wait six months before they could accept civil service positions to allow fair and open competitions.
There is a lot of Government waste in all agencies but punishing all Federal employees is not the way to go. We have more contractors than Federal Workers and it is time to start to cut back on a lot of the dead weight. No more co-ops, summer students and less contractors is a start.Also wasting time on mandatory classes that have nothing to do with your job.
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