Federal

1. Federal civilian wages averaged $79,197 in 2008, more than 50% greater than that of the average private sector employee’s wages of $49,935.
2. Pay in the public sector climbed 53.7% from 2000 to 2008 for federal civilian workers while wages in the private sector rose just 28.5% over the same time period.
3. When wages and benefits are combined, federal civilian workers averaged $119,982 in 2008, twice the amount of $59,909 which workers in the private sector averaged for wages/benefits.
4. The difference in compensation between federal and private sector workers is $100 billion annually, which is taken from the private sector and paid to federal workers.
5. The value of benefits for federal civilian workers averaged $40,000/year, four times the value of benefits that the average private sector employee receives.
6. If the private sector were to provide its employees the same compensation and benefits that are provided to federal employees, the additional annual cost would be $7 trillion, or half of the Gross Domestic Product.
7. Only 12%of retirees from the private sector have defined benefit pensions to supplement Social Security. Their average annual pension is $13,083, and they are not eligible for full Social Security benefits until their late 60s.
8. The majority of public sector workers have pension plans that allow them to retire 10-25 years earlier with benefits many times the retirement payout that Social Security would provide.
9. The private sector lost some 5.2 million workers while government grew by 238,000 workers between July 2008 and July 2009.

State

1. In San Francisco, California, the prevalence of “spiking,” or boosting pension benefits via final work year promotions, has resulted in over half of the police and firefighters in the past decade earning pensions in excess of the wages they earned while actively working.
2. Colorado has proposed to free 3,100 inmates six months early and end the oversight of some parolees to save almost $19 million toward the state’s $318 million budget deficit.
3. Arizona legislators are considering selling their own headquarters, the state fairgrounds and some 30 other state-owned properties to meet their budget shortfall. They could make about $735 million on the combined sales but would then lease back the properties, costing $1.2 billion over the next 20 years.
4. In Florida, a police commander in Delray Beach retired at age 42 earning $90,000 a year. He now collects a pension of $65,000 and earns a salary from his new job at a nearby beach. There are at least 9,000 public employees and 200 elected officials double dipping in Florida.
5. Taxpayers support some hefty teacher salaries in Illinois. For example, one driver education teacher earns $170,000, and 94 others earn in excess of $100,000.
6. In New York, state agency workers collected more than $459 million in overtime, with one aide clocking in 2,455 extra hours, nearly tripling her base salary from $38,500 to $110,841.