[ATTILAGLIC]

What recession? Certainly not in Washington, D.C. which is undergoing a boom since Obama came to town---construction cranes all over town as new government buildings go up.

It's not just politicians but Federal workers in general are doing great. There are more Federal workers making six-figure salaries than ever before. Plus primo health benefits too. And Federal pensions are among the best you can find. All part of Dear Leader's wealth redistribution scheme. How are your family's finances doin'? Let the good times roll!

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40233691

Members of US Congress Get Richer Despite Sour Economy

Despite a long and deep recession, the collective personal wealth of congressional members increased by more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to a study released Wednesday by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The study also indicates that a significant number of members owned shares of major players in the health-care and financial-services sectors, which were the subject of major reform legislation during the period.

The findings—based on federal financial disclosure data released earlier this year—paint a wealthy bunch in Congress, with more than half of all members—261—were millionaires.

About one in five of those had average calculated wealth in 2009 of at least $10 million. Eight of the 261 were in the $100 million-plus range.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) ranked No. 1 in personal wealth—$303.5 million. (See related slideshow.)

In contrast, U.S. median household income dropped 3 percent to $50,221 between 2008 and 2009, the second straight decline, according to the Census Dept. In terms of millionaires, only about 1 percent of the overall population qualifies.

[flnastyax]

You seem to be confused about a couple of things. First off, DC is actually digging its way out of a construction shutdown caused by the economic meltdown. The cranes that are there are generally attached to abandoned projects.

Here's how the Washington Post described it in 2009:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...030403726.html
Not a single office building has been started in the District since October, a sign that the slowdown that began in the far-out suburbs has now reached prime city locations.

"Things are frozen. Nobody's doing anything," said Gerry Widdicombe, director of economic development for the city's Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District. It is the first time in nine years that there's been such a long period with no groundbreakings, according to the brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield.

The construction cranes that still thrust above the skyline belong to buildings financed before the money for commercial construction disappeared. A few small deals are still getting done, but they often require owners and investors to put more money into the project than before.

The construction slowdown is rippling through the region, where many depend on commercial development for work. Ambitious revitalization plans have stalled, and tax revenue is likely to dry up soon, too. On top of that, most of the pay increases that have pushed federal employees into the six-figure range were mostly instituted during the Bush administration.

From USA Today, we see that the Obama administration has shrunk pay raises to the lowest level since 1975 after Bush's generosity:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...salaries_N.htm
Key reasons for the boom in six-figure salaries:
• Pay hikes. Then-president Bush recommended — and Congress approved — across-the-board raises of 3% in January 2008 and 3.9% in January 2009. President Obama has recommended 2% pay raises in January 2010, the smallest since 1975. Most federal workers also get longevity pay hikes — called steps — that average 1.5% per year.

•New pay system. Congress created a new National Security Pay Scale for the Defense Department to reward merit, in addition to the across-the-board increases. The merit raises, which started in January 2008, were larger than expected and rewarded high-ranking employees. In October, Congress voted to end the new pay scale by 2012.

• Paycaps eased. Many top civil servants are prohibited from making more than an agency's leader. But if Congress lifts the boss' salary, others get raises, too. When the Federal Aviation Administration chief's salary rose, nearly 1,700 employees' had their salaries lifted above $170,000, too. Finally, if you actually read the CNBC article, you'll see that the wealth increase of Congressional members has had zero to do with their salaries and any hiring in Washington. It's all from their personal investments, though in their detail of top gainers, they note that many of their own figures are based on incomplete data, so all they can do is guess that someone's investments may have seen some growth while the stock market has been rallying during the Obama presidency.

[vioppyskype]

Here's how this is playing out at the state level:

Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/1...ng-in-six.html

State GOP staffers raking in six-figure salaries

After talking about trimming the state budget, top Republican leaders in the Florida Legislature have hired staffers with six-figure salaries.

In the House, incoming Speaker Dean Cannon has given salaries of at least $100,000 to 28 staffers. In the Senate, 33 will earn six figures under incoming President Mike Haridopolos.

Both leaders say the pay is justified for their skilled workers, yet the numbers stand out in a state where average wages are stagnating, 1 million Floridians can't find work and Republican Gov.-elect Rick Scott wants to eliminate up to 6,000 state jobs.


The payroll in the Senate president's administrative office exceeds $1.1 million -- about 25 percent more than the wages in the speaker's office across the hall in the Capitol. Haridopolos' chief of staff and general counsel, Stephen MacNamara, is the highest-paid legislative staffer and earns $175,008.


Still, Haridopolos has trimmed his own administrative office payroll by 12 percent in a year when state employees have endured the fifth consecutive year without a cost-of-living increase.

[Kemapreedasse]

It's not just politicians but Federal workers in general are doing great. There are more Federal workers making six-figure salaries than ever before. Plus primo health benefits too. And Federal pensions are among the best you can find. All part of Dear Leader's wealth redistribution scheme. How are your family's finances doin'? Let the good times roll!

USA Today did an analysis of federal workers' wages in March 2010. The most recent available data for that study was 2008 data. Guess who was NOT president then? Now, if you can come up with more recent data which supports your assertion, please do.