Federal workers more financially secure than the taxpayers who pay them
By Karen Beseth / March 9, 2015
A new study by Gallup reports that federal workers are much more likely to say that they are thriving financially than the rest of us.
The findings are based on more than 80,000 interviews from February 2014 to February 2015, and Gallup concluded that “US federal workers have [an] edge in financial well-being over other workers.”
Only 34 percent of workers outside of the federal government say they are thriving financially, while 44 percent of federal workers report a strong sense of financial well–being, a full ten point difference. On the flip side, non-federal workers are much more likely to say they are struggling (42 percent) or suffering (24 percent) than federal workers, while only 17 percent of federal workers say they are suffering.
The findings cut across all income and education levels, and according to Gallup “for those who experience higher levels of financial well-being, they feel as if they can spend time and energy addressing other facets of well-being in their day-to-day lives, including their purpose, social, community and physical well-being.” In other words, working for the federal government brings benefits that extend beyond the financial realm and improve all aspects of life.
While most Americans want to see all of their fellow citizens thriving and doing well, to some it does seem unfair that the people paying the federal workers are worse off financially than their public servants. Investor’s Business Daily compares the situation to The Hunger Games, a popular book and movie series in which the people in the “Districts” struggle while residents of the “Capital” live the good life.
“Gallup says this “could mean good news.” Well, for federal workers it sure is. But it’s hardly good news for the rest of the country. What the survey shows is how our massive federal government has increasingly become a wealth transfer machine that takes money from working families and gives it to elites in and around Washington….
The U.S. is, in short, becoming a real-world version of the Hunger Games, where people living in far-flung impoverished districts toil for the benefit of an increasingly rich, corrupt and indifferent capital city.”
That hardly sounds like the vision our Founding Fathers had when they created the federal government.
This article was written by a contributor of Watchdog Arena, Franklin Center’s network of writers, bloggers, and citizen journalists.
I hope this survey does not include the deadbeats in congress.
DOLLAR BILL
Clinton gets $16M from taxpayers since leaving WH .
9:11am just wondering where this $16 M figure comes from?
He’s made a chunk from speaking and writing, not funded by taxpayers