Pay Proposals

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry on Wednesday reacted to the latest attacks on federal pay, arguing that most federal employees are simply middle-class earners.

Berry's reaction comes as a report in USA Today claimed that the number of federal employees earning $150,000 or more per year has soared tenfold in the past five years and has doubled since President Obama took office. Top-paid staff members have increased in every department and agency, with the biggest pay hikes going to employees who have been with the government for 15 to 24 years, the article stated.

"The clear majority of high earners are highly specialized experts in their fields and many of them hold positions where lives are on the line," Berry said. "These include doctors who are treating our wounded veterans, scientists who are researching cures for diseases, and counterterrorism experts who are protecting the American people every day. And, in almost all cases, they earn less than their counterparts in the private sector."

USA Today's report came the same day as the president's bipartisan deficit panel issued draft recommendations on reducing the spiraling federal debt. Those recommendations included decreasing the federal workforce by 10 percent over the next five years and freezing bonuses and wage increases for civilian federal workers for three of those years.

As cuts -- or at least freezes -- to federal employee pay appear to be likely, it may be unsettling for federal IT workers to learn that Google is giving all of its employees a surprise $1,000 cash bonus and a 10 percent pay raise in 2011. Google is even paying the taxes on the $1,000 bonus so employees are able to keep the entire amount.

What's your reaction? Are you willing to do your part to reduce the federal debt, even as companies like Google offer generous pay raises and bonuses to employees?