Letter to the editor

In 1968, I was hired on to the federal government at an accelerated rate as a mathematician. I received $7,239. Today the same entry level is $27,474. If my starting salary is inflated by the official consumer price index factors over the years, that starting salary should be $35,500.

The various combinations of annual funding limits, special congressional limits and pork barrel politics have had the effect to reduce the government's overall federal spending on the backs of its own employees.

Currently the total of my losses due to my wages being underfunded (with raises less than the inflation rate) is $231,722.

If you look at the table below, you can see that federal wages kept up with inflation until the mid-1980s, when I was pretty well settled in my community, in debt and had children starting college. So changing careers was not an option.

Just think, if the federal wages had even kept up with inflation, I could have paid for my children's college (instead of them being in debt), paid off my house and been out of short-term debt.

Perhaps the current "aging workforce" problems would not exist had the government decided to increase wages just at the inflation rate.

James Hochstein
Naval Undersea Museum
Keyport, Wash.

Ending Calender YearGS RateActual SalarySalary 68 rateBase 68 Compound inflationCPI Annual Inflation rateSalary Scale(68)Scale (68) Initial + inflation InflatedLoss to InflationSalary Loss annualTotal Loss To date

1968	5.5	$7,239	$7,239	100%		$7,265	$7,265	0%	($26)	($26)
1969	7.2	$9,169	$8,691	106%	5.5%	$9,078	$9,577	-4%	($408)	($434)
1970	9.4	$10,836	$9,717	112%	5.7%	$10,718	$11,952	-10%	($1,116)	($1,550)
1971	11.2	$13,036	$11,197	116%	4.4%	$10,543	$12,274	6%	$762	($788)
1972	11.3	$14,197	$11,817	120%	3.2%	$10,883	$13,075	8%	$1,122	$333
1973	11.4	$16,138	$12,648	128%	6.2%	$11,223	$14,320	11%	$1,818	$2,151
1974		$17,029	$12,024	142%	11.0%	$11,223	$15,895	7%	$1,134	$3,285
1975	11.5	$18,423	$11,923	155%	9.1%	$11,563	$17,867	3%	$556	$3,841
1976	12.2	$21,123	$12,921	163%	5.8%	$12,580	$20,566	3%	$557	$4,398
1977	12.3	$23,341	$13,406	174%	6.5%	$12,986	$22,609	3%	$732	$5,130
1978	12.4	$25,397	$13,557	187%	7.6%	$13,392	$25,088	1%	$309	$5,438
1979		$27,172	$13,032	209%	11.3%	$13,392	$27,923	-3%	($751)	$4,687
1980	12.5	$30,543	$12,906	237%	13.5%	$13,798	$32,654	-7%	($2,111)	$2,576
1981		$32,013	$12,264	261%	10.3%	$13,798	$36,017	-13%	($4,004)	($1,428)
1982	12.6	$34,269	$12,362	277%	6.2%	$14,204	$39,376	-15%	($5,107)	($6,535)
1983		$34,464	$12,047	286%	3.2%	$14,204	$40,636	-18%	($6,172)	($12,707)
1984	12.7	$36,657	$12,285	298%	4.3%	$14,610	$43,595	-19%	($6,938)	($19,644)
1985		$37,000	$11,969	309%	3.6%	$14,610	$45,164	-22%	($8,164)	($27,808)
1986		$37,943	$12,045	315%	1.9%	$14,610	$46,022	-21%	($8,079)	($35,887)
1987	12.8	$40,169	$12,309	326%	3.6%	$15,016	$49,004	-22%	($8,835)	($44,722)
1988		$40,972	$12,060	340%	4.1%	$15,016	$51,013	-25%	($10,041)	($54,763)
1989		$42,651	$11,980	356%	4.8%	$15,016	$53,462	-25%	($10,811)	($65,574)
1990	12.9	$45,377	$12,092	375%	5.4%	$15,422	$57,872	-28%	($12,495)	($78,069)
1991		$47,237	$12,081	391%	4.2%	$15,422	$60,303	-28%	($13,066)	($91,135)
1992		$49,221	$12,221	403%	3.0%	$15,422	$62,112	-26%	($12,891)	($104,026)
1993	12.10	$51,042	$12,304	415%	3.0%	$15,730	$65,253	-28%	($14,211)	($118,237)
1994		$54,438	$12,790	426%	2.6%	$15,730	$66,949	-23%	($12,511)	($130,748)
1995		$56,555	$12,926	438%	2.8%	$15,730	$68,824	-22%	($12,269)	($143,017)
1996		$58,018	$12,887	450%	2.9%	$15,730	$70,820	-22%	($12,802)	($155,819)
1997		$59,451	$12,908	461%	2.3%	$15,730	$72,449	-22%	($12,998)	($168,817)
1998		$61,230	$13,085	468%	1.6%	$15,730	$73,608	-20%	($12,378)	($181,195)
1999		$63,489	$13,276	478%	2.2%	$15,730	$75,227	-18%	($11,738)	$192,933)
2000		$66,656	$13,585	491%	2.6%	$15,730	$77,183	-16%	($10,527)	($203,460)
2001		$69,237	$13,700	505%	3.0%	$15,730	$79,499	-15%	($10,262)	($213,722)
		$1,251,732	$414,251			$467,564	$1,465,454	Total Lost	($213,722)