I think that we need to pass a law requiring all government jobs to have the word "Royal" as part of the job title. The President should be called the "Royal Emperor" and the Congress critters should be called "Royal Congressmen" and "Royal Senators".

Source

Federal pay continues to rise; GOP eyes freeze

by Dennis Cauchon - Nov. 10, 2010 12:00 AM

USA Today

The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Barack Obama took office, a USA Today analysis finds.

The fast-growing pay of federal employees has captured the attention of fiscally conservative Republicans who won control of the House in last week's elections. Already, some lawmakers are planning to use the lame-duck session that starts Monday to challenge the president's plan to give a 1.4 percent across-the-board pay raise to 2.1 million workers.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who will head the panel overseeing federal pay, says he wants a pay freeze and prefers a 10 percent pay cut.

"It's stunning when you see what's happened to federal compensation," he says. "Every metric shows we're heading in the wrong direction."

National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley counters that the proposed raise "is a modest amount and should be implemented" to help make salaries more comparable with those in the private sector.

Federal salaries have grown robustly in recent years, according to a USA Today analysis of Office of Personnel Management data. Key findings:

• Governmentwide raises. Top-paid staff have increased in every department and agency. The Defense Department had nine civilians earning $170,000 or more in 2005, 214 when Obama took office and 994 in June.

• Longtime workers thrive. The biggest pay hikes have gone to employees who have been with the government for 15 to 24 years. Since 2005, average salaries for this group climbed 25 percent compared with a 9 percent inflation rate.

• Physicians rewarded. Medical doctors at veterans hospitals, prisons and elsewhere earn an average of $179,500, up from $111,000 in 2005.

Federal workers earning $150,000 or more make up 3.9 percent of the workforce, up from 0.4 percent in 2005.

Since 2000, federal pay and benefits have increased 3 percent annually above inflation compared with 0.8 percent for private workers, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Members of Congress earn $174,000, up from $141,300 in 2000, an increase below the rate of inflation.

Jessica Klement, government-affairs director at the Federal Managers Association, says the government's official pay analysis shows that federal workers earn less than private workers for comparable jobs. Still, she says, managers are willing to give up next year's raise: "If it will help the country bounce back, they're willing to make the sacrifice."