Obama's Federal Employees Are Living The High Life At Our Expense

[rtrusty]

10 Mind Blowing Facts Which Show How Members Of Congress And Federal Employees Are Living The High Life At Our Expense

If you were asked to guess, what area of the United States would you say has the highest average income? New York City? Los Angeles? Silicon Valley? Well, would you believe that it is actually the Washington D.C. area? Median household income in the region is $84,523, which is the highest in the nation. One of the biggest reasons for this are the huge salaries being pulled down by federal employees in the Washington D.C. area. According to the latest numbers, the average federal employee in the D.C. area brings in total compensation worth more than $126,000 a year. Of course members of Congress are even doing far better than that. Most of the members of Congress are millionaires, and somehow the vast majority of our politicians leave Washington D.C. far wealthier than when they arrived. So if you want to live the high life, you might want to move to the Washington D.C. area. Our "representatives" in Congress and the bureaucrats that work for the federal government are swimming in cash, and it is all at our expense.

Before you read the following facts, keep in mind that median household income in the United States has declined for three years in a row. While the bureaucrats in D.C. are living the high life, most of the rest of us are going through some really hard times.

Today, median household income in the United States is about $50,000 a year, and in most families both parents have to work or the bills will not get paid.

So it just does not seem right that the "average" federal worker in the Washington D.C. area is hauling down more than $126,000 a year in total compensation.

After all, are they not supposed to be "public servants"?

Instead, it feels like we are serving them. They get to drive around in their shiny new cars and they get to enjoy their shiny new McMansions in the D.C. suburbs while the rest of us pay for it.

Trust me, I have seen the beautiful suburbs in Maryland and in northern Virginia that seem to go on forever, and it is the U.S. taxpayers that are footing the bill. Spending by the federal government accounts for approximately one third of the GDP of the entire region.

According to the Washington Post, the Washington D.C. area has become a great place for those that enjoy "living the dream"....

Washingtonians now enjoy the highest median household income of any metropolitan area in the country, and five of the top 10 jurisdictions in America — Loudoun, Howard and Fairfax counties, and Falls Church and Fairfax City — are here, census data shows.

The signs of that wealth are on display all over, from the string of luxury boutiques such as Gucci and Tory Burch opening at Tysons Galleria to the $15 cocktails served over artisanal ice at the W Hotel in the District to the ever-larger houses rising off River Road in Potomac.

All of this wealth did not get created because the D.C. area is a great center for industry or finance.

Rather, all of these people are becoming very wealthy because of our big, fat bloated federal government.

The following are 10 mind blowing facts which show how members of Congress and federal employees are living the high life at our expense....

#1 When you total up all compensation (including health care and benefits), the average income for a federal worker in the Washington D.C. area last year was $126,369.

#2 In 2005, 7420 federal workers were making $150,000 or more per year. In 2010, a whopping 82,034 federal workers were making $150,000 or more per year. That is more than a tenfold increase in just five years.

#3 In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense had just nine civilians earning $170,000 or more. When Barack Obama took office, the U.S. Department of Defense had 214 civilians earning $170,000 or more. In June 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense had 994 civilians earning $170,000 or more.

#4 Last year, federal employees "earned" approximately 447 billion dollars in total compensation.

#5 According to a study by the Heritage Foundation, federal workers earn 30 to 40 percent more money on average than their counterparts in the private sector.

#6 Today, one out of every 12 people living in Washington D.C. is a lawyer. In New York City, only one out of every 123 residents is a lawyer.

#7 More than 50 percent of the members of the U.S. Congress are millionaires.

#8 The median wealth of a U.S. Senator in 2009 was 2.38 million dollars.

#9 Insider trading is perfectly legal for members of the U.S. Congress - and they refuse to pass a law that would change that.

#10 The percentage of millionaires in Congress is more than 50 times higher than the percentage of millionaires in the general population.

Meanwhile, most of the rest of America has been going through economic hell....

-The standard of living in the United States has fallen farther over the past three years than at any other time that has ever been recorded in U.S. history.

-According to the Federal Reserve, the combined net worth of American families has fallen by $5.5 trillion since 2007.

-Half of all American workers now earn $505 or less per week.

-According to Paul Osterman, a professor of economics at MIT, approximately 20 percent of all employed Americans are making $10.65 an hour or less.

While the average American family is deeply struggling to pay the mortgage and put food on the table, the bureaucrats in Washington D.C. are busy shopping for the latest cell phones and trying to figure out what brand of new car to buy next year.

Over the past couple of decades, the federal government has absolutely exploded in size, but this has not helped the poor. We now have more poor people in this country than ever before and over 2 million additional Americans slipped into poverty last year.

No, the reality is that the people that have reaped the rewards of a much larger federal government are the lawyers, the lobbyists and the bureaucrats.

This is the kind of thing that the American people should be protesting. Almost everybody in Congress is rich. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are living the high life. The lawyers, the lobbyists and the bureaucrats are having a field day.

Meanwhile, most of the rest of the country is deeply suffering.

It just doesn't seem right, does it?

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/10-mind-blowing-facts-which-show-how-members-of-congress-and-federal-employees-are-living-the-high-life-at-our-expense

[georgiaboy]

I didn't know members of Congress was Obama's federal employees.

[gymrat76541]

I agree with everything you said - EXCEPT - blaming Obama for everything!

Come on, YES, he is in charge, YES, the buck stops here, etc

Blaming Obama for a train wreck because he is the driver, when the cause is defictive tracks is stupid.

Government is out of control. Point blank - end of story.

[S. Allman]

Sounds like a lot of kickbacks, and looting going on to me.

[gordonia]

Why did you have to blame Obama. Take your politics somewhere else. This has been happening for hundreds of years.

[S. Allman]

Why did you have to blame Obama. Take your politics somewhere else. This has been happening for hundreds of years.

It has not been going on for hundreds of years. Are you blind, and cannot see how bad America has become since this Obama usurped the office of President? It has been bad ever since he came into the picture, and remains to get worse each day he remains in his illegal position.

[rtrusty]

I agree with everything you said - EXCEPT - blaming Obama for everything!

Come on, YES, he is in charge, YES, the buck stops here, etc

Blaming Obama for a train wreck because he is the driver, when the cause is defictive tracks is stupid.

Government is out of control. Point blank - end of story.

Did you not see how many people he hire at $170,000 a year once he came into office?

[Francie26]

I agree with everything you said - EXCEPT - blaming Obama for everything!

Come on, YES, he is in charge, YES, the buck stops here, etc

Blaming Obama for a train wreck because he is the driver, when the cause is defictive tracks is stupid.

Government is out of control. Point blank - end of story.

He is to blame. Deal with it.

[parmenio]

Any wonder why Obama Harry Reid and Pelosi support public sector jobs. That's why Obama goes around the country asking for more bail out money for his "job plan". The money he wants to give is not so much for the teachers , police and firemen/women but for the unions in the public sector that will turn around and dump millions back into his campaign.

Federal employees and public sector jobs that are supported by the unions make nearly twice as much as private sector jobs doing the same thing!

[yota691]

I agree with everything you said - EXCEPT - blaming Obama for everything!

Come on, YES, he is in charge, YES, the buck stops here, etc

Blaming Obama for a train wreck because he is the driver, when the cause is defictive tracks is stupid.

Government is out of control. Point blank - end of story.

He did say he was driving bus an us folks were stuck in the back. An yes Government is way out of control i do agree, but he spends like there no tommorow.

Why did you have to blame Obama. Take your politics somewhere else. This has been happening for hundreds of years.

Hundreds of years lol, this is what been happening for years, some folks are to lazy to work, they want hand outs, not hands up. An some folks live in the past, which in turns they will never have a future. Call me what you want.

Edited October 23, 2011 by yota691

[S. Allman]

People do you remember this Obama saying the Republicans ran the car into the ditch? This Obama has actually ran the car over the cliff.

[GinaG]

When the dollar fails to buy the things that we really need, like food. The US will get what London went through with the Euro. How can we not be upset with what our Government is doing and how much they are spending. That day will be a sad day for all the people in the good ole' US of A.

[shwngo]

The whole system is the problem but Obama is making things worse by manipulating the system to give his friends and supporters big contracts and big paying jobs.

Anyone who can't open there eye's and admit that Obama has made some huge mistakes should'nt even be aloud to vote.

Yes the system was broken when he went into office but people voted for him because he promised to change politics in DC, all he did was raise the debt problem. If people reseach him and what he has and hasn't done i don't see how they could vote for him again. Watching the mainstream media does not count as research either.

I still think he holds office illegally and that he is hiding everything about himself to protect his lies.. It's not Rep against Dem any more, it's the people against the government... We need HUGE changes in DC and throwing out the tax code is a good start, that will prevent them from hiding taxes. Some kind of flat tax adds transparency and thats what we need to keep these idiots from stealing from us anymore..