{"id":14811,"date":"2020-06-10T20:44:29","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T00:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=14811"},"modified":"2020-06-12T11:37:15","modified_gmt":"2020-06-12T15:37:15","slug":"have-i-always-been-hated-maybe-only-since-1984","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/10\/have-i-always-been-hated-maybe-only-since-1984\/","title":{"rendered":"Have I Always Been Hated? Maybe Only Since 1984"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

\u00a9 2014 Shelly \u0295\u2022\u1d25\u2022\u0294 . Licensed under CC-BY.<\/p><\/div>\n

People sometimes ask me: “Have you always been hated?”\u00a0 I’m not sure – I can’t vouch for my early years before I started writing.\u00a0\u00a0 But, despite my unceasing efforts to appease critics, my articles have provoked torrents of rage and loathing for more than a third of a century.<\/p>\n

After a Washington Post<\/em> columnist in 1984 reposted most of a bash on federal pensions I wrote for the Dallas Morning News<\/em>, he received hundreds of phone calls from furious government workers.\u00a0 My article’s attempts at wit utterly failed to mollify civil servants.\u00a0 Here’s a repost of that Post<\/em> column:<\/p>\nJPB_1984_WASHINGTON_Post_denunciations_from_govt_workers_mike_causey_column_out-1<\/a>\n

I returned to the topic of federal pensions in a Wall Street Journal<\/em> piece that came out on February 14, 1985.\u00a0 I was dating a federal employee at the time and that Valentine’s Day was so frosty that I didn’t even try to steal first base.\u00a0 Actually, for most of the Washington women I met in the 1980s, my articles were a surefire contraceptive. After they read what I wrote,….. not a chance.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some folks got riled by the line in this article: “public service was a refuge for <\/strong>unemployables.”<\/strong> But I was merely quoting a report by the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee that sought to explain Americans’ contempt for federal employees in the nineteenth century. And if you can’t trust congressional committees, who can you trust?!?<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

The Wall Street Journal<\/em>
\nThursday, February 14, 1985
\nTrim the Civil-Service Pension Bonanza
\nBy James Bovard<\/p>\n

Last week, Budget Director David Stockman launched a
\nwintry denunciation of military pensions as a “scandal . . .
\n[and an] outrage,” but federal civilian retirement programs
\ncost taxpayers even more than military pensions ($22 billion
\nvs. $18.3 billion), and are an even bigger unjustified burden
\non future generations.<\/p>\n

Federal retirees are an aristocracy among senior citizens.<\/strong>
\nCivil servants can retire with full benefits 10 years younger
\nthan private-sector workers, and their average pensions are 2
\n1\/2 times larger than Social Security benefits. The Civil
\nService Retirement System (CSRS) is the nation’s
\nthird-largest entitlement program. We spend more ($22 billion
\nin fiscal year 1984) on fewer than two million federal
\nretirees than we do on 20 million recipients of food stamps
\nand Aid to Families with Dependent Children. About 100,000
\nfederal retirees receive larger pensions than the current
\nsalary of their former job, and 325,000 receive more than
\ntheir final salaries.<\/p>\n

CSRS, from humble beginnings, has become one of the
\nsweetest subsidies short of sugar quotas. Around 1900, civil
\nservants began lobbying Congress for a pension program. But,
\nas the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee reported
\nin 1981, their efforts got nowhere because many Americans
\nwere convinced “public service was a refuge for <\/strong>
\nunemployables.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1920, Congress established the CSRS. The first pensions
\nwere small, and most non-Post Office Department employees
\ncould not retire before age 70. Pensions originally were
\ncreated as a management tool to humanely clear out employees
\ntoo old to do any productive work.<\/p>\n

In 1942 CSRS added a retirement option at age 55 with a
\nheavily reduced pension. Congress justified this generosity
\nbecause civil servants received comparatively low salaries.
\nAlso, there was a wage freeze on during the war, and generous
\npensions were a way to boost compensation without violating
\nwage guidelines.<\/p>\n

In 1962, Congress mandated that government and
\nprivate-sector salaries be comparable. But, though retirement
\nwas the most lucrative civil-service perk, Congress excluded
\npensions from the comparability formula. Also in 1962,
\nCongress added an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to
\nretirement benefits, making civil servants one of the first
\ngroups to receive full protection against inflation.<\/p>\n

In 1969, Congress revised the COLA formula to provide
\nincreases of inflation plus 1% each year. In 1976, after
\nwidespread public outcry, Congress abandoned the 1% bonus and
\nbegan giving retirees twice-a-year COLAs (Social Security and
\nall other entitlement programs were provided COLAs only once
\na year). Between 1969 and 1982, inflation increased 162%,
\nwhile federal pensions rose 301%.<\/p>\n

Congress was equally generous with the civil-service
\ndisability-retirement program. Nearly one in four current
\nretirees retired on disability. Up until 1980, CSRS required
\nonly that a worker show that he was unable to perform one
\nessential part of his current duties to receive total
\ndisability. Many such retirees receive more in disability
\nbenefits than their previous take-home pay.<\/p>\n

A woman received a disability pension after slamming her <\/strong>
\ncar door on her thumb in the office parking lot on the way to <\/strong>
\nwork. A postal clerk went on disability after an “unpleasant <\/strong>
\nrelationship” with a postmaster caused her gastrointestinal <\/strong>
\npains.<\/strong> A recent attorney’s ad in the Washington Post
\nencouraged government workers to apply for disability
\nretirement because of depression or anxiety. Don Devine,
\ndirector of the Office of Personnel Management, complains:
\n“We allow some employees to retire on disability who have <\/strong>
\nmuch less severe handicaps than many of those we encourage <\/strong>
\nthe agencies to hire.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new CSRS disability definition requires that “the
\nemployee be disabled not only from performing in his own
\nposition but also with respect to any vacant position to
\nwhich he might be reassigned at that grade level in that
\nagency and commuting area.” By contrast, Social Security
\ndisability requires that a recipient cannot do any kind of
\nwork for at least a year. CSRS disability retirees are
\nallowed to take other jobs as long as their earnings do not
\nexceed 80% of previous salary.<\/p>\n

Last year, Congress raised Social Security’s eventual
\nretirement age to 67, and raised eventual payroll taxes to
\n7.65%. Yet, civil servants pay only 7% of their salaries and
\ncan retire at age 55 with far better benefits. In 1983, the
\naverage CSRS annual benefit was $12,912 vs. an average annual
\nSocial Security benefit of $5,040.<\/p>\n

Civil servants also clean up by “double-dipping” and
\ncollecting Social Security. Social Security pays the largest
\nbenefits to those who work the shortest time. Civil servants
\ncan work a short period in the private sector and collect
\nalmost totally unearned Social Security benefits. Over 70% of
\nretired civil servants eventually receive Social Security. A
\nDepartment of Health and Human Services study estimated in
\n1980 that this double-dipping drove up Social Security taxes
\nfor private-sector workers by 6.4%.<\/p>\n

CSRS benefits also far surpass private pension benefits.
\nFewer than 40% of private-sector workers collect pensions
\nfrom their employers. Only 3% of private pensions have full
\nadjustment for inflation. CSRS benefits are based on the
\nthree highest-paid years, while private plans are almost
\nalways based on the five highest-paid years. According to the
\nEmployee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), civil-service
\nand military pensions (covering less than 5% of workers) paid
\nmore benefits in 1979 than all private pensions combined.<\/p>\n

CSRS has an unfunded liability of $512 billion that is
\nrising another $30 million each day. This adds out to roughly
\n$8,000 per U.S. family. But Rep. William Ford (D., Mich.),
\nchairman of the House Post Office and Civil Service
\nCommittee, terms this mammoth unfunded liability a “quibble”
\nand doubts whether it is “really significant or relevant in
\nany way.”<\/p>\n

When Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income
\nSecurity Act of 1974, CSRS was exempted from coverage. If
\nCSRS had to meet ERISA funding requirements, retirement costs
\nwould equal 85% of payroll. Private pension plans, including
\nemployer Social Security contributions, average about 17%,
\naccording to OPM.<\/p>\n

CSRS is a poor compensation system because it often costs
\ntaxpayers far more than it benefits civil servants. CSRS
\ncreates golden handcuffs that paralyze employee mobility. If
\nwe really think civil servants are worth that much (the
\npension equals 41% additional lifetime salary for career
\nretirees), we should give them the money now. As Mr. Devine
\nsays, “Putting so much into deferred compensation is killing
\nto the spirit.” It is also inequitable, since 62% of federal
\nemployees leave government without qualifying for a pension.<\/p>\n

Federal employee unions claim that current pensions are
\njustified because civil servants contributed to their own
\npensions. But since 1960, taxpayer contributions to CSRS have
\nsoared 2,667%, while civil servants’ contributions rose only
\n449%. About 86% of CSRS costs came from taxpayers last year.
\nA 55-year-old, 30-year service retiree has paid for only
\nabout 16% of his pension, counting interest.<\/p>\n

Unions also insist that tor. he federal government should set
\na model for the private sector This is the same argument <\/strong>
\nused to justify putting marble bathrooms in congressional <\/strong>
\noffice buildings<\/strong>. There is no sense in depressing
\nprivate-sector workers’ standards of living so that they can
\nbe edified by how nice Congress makes life for themselves and
\nfederal retirees.<\/p>\n

The Reagan administration favors changing the base for
\nretirement pay from the three-highest salary years to the
\nfive-highest and reducing benefits 6 2\/3% for every year
\nretired before age 62. Sen. Ted Stevens (R., Alaska) is
\npreparing legislation to control long-term retirement costs,
\nbut his likely proposals would produce few if any savings
\nuntil the next century.<\/p>\n

A just-published Congressional Research Service report
\nshows that there would be no additional costs from merging
\nCSRS with Social Security for existing federal employees.
\n(Federal employees hired after Jan. 1, 1984, are already
\npaying into both systems.) If all federal employees were
\ncovered by Social Security, employees could set up voluntary
\nthrift plans matched by contributions from CSRS. This would
\nprovide federal retirees a secure income without overly
\nencouraging early retirement or bankrupting the Treasury.
\nCongressmen would also have more incentive to read the Social
\nSecurity Board of Trustees’ annual reports.<\/p>\n

We must end the two-class system for retirees in America.<\/strong>
\nThere is no justice in raising taxes on private workers so
\nthat civil servants can retire younger and live better. The
\nCSRS is inefficient, inequitable and indefensible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People sometimes ask me: “Have you always been hated?”\u00a0 I’m not sure – I can’t vouch for my early years before I started writing.\u00a0\u00a0 But, despite my unceasing efforts to appease critics, my articles have provoked torrents of rage and loathing for more than a third of a century. After a Washington Post columnist in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2388,415,2385,2386,2384,985,509,2387,847],"class_list":["post-14811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-aristocracy","tag-boondoggle","tag-civil-service-retirement-system","tag-don-devine","tag-government-workers","tag-hate-mail","tag-humor","tag-privileged-class","tag-rage"],"yoast_head":"\nHave I Always Been Hated? Maybe Only Since 1984 - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/10\/have-i-always-been-hated-maybe-only-since-1984\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Have I Always Been Hated? Maybe Only Since 1984 - James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"People sometimes ask me: “Have you always been hated?”\u00a0 I’m not sure – I can’t vouch for my early years before I started writing.\u00a0\u00a0 But, despite my unceasing efforts to appease critics, my articles have provoked torrents of rage and loathing for more than a third of a century. 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The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \\\"the roving inspector general of the modern state\\\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \\\"one-man truth squad.\\\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \\\"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\\\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/jim.bovard\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jimbovard\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Have I Always Been Hated? 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The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \"the roving inspector general of the modern state\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \"one-man truth squad.\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","https:\/\/x.com\/jimbovard"],"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14811"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14831,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14811\/revisions\/14831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}