Daedalus thinks that the U.S. Senate has done a good thing in giving military and civilian employees a 3.1% raise.
Actually, given that the inflation rate for the past 12 months has been 4.7%, the folks getting this "raise" will be bringing in paychecks with less buying power than they had a year ago.
One thing that abates my horror about the government employees' predicament is health care benefits.
Nationally, health care spending by employers is rising much much faster than the overall rate of inflation. Since most government employees, be they civilian or military, receive much better health coverage than most private sector employees, we have to take that into account when we think about their overall compensation packages.
Of course, I agree with Daedalus that the Senate did the right thing (for once) in denying itself a raise this year. Here's hoping the House will follow suit when the bills are reconciled.
Peace,
Tor
Categories: government, economy, health
Technorati tags: health care, Senate, inflation
