The Gold Standard

A gold standard is a guide used to judge all other items in a given category; it would appear that we are lacking a gold standard for government employees’ wages and benefits. One gets the impression that their wages are more related to political connections and a systems power structure. There is a segment of government that lends itself to could be used as a gold standard, and that is the military. When one considers that contributions that are made by this segment of the government it becomes clear that there are few government agencies that can match this group of employees. They are so dedicated that the even view themselves as being government issued equipment. Their prime objective is to protect and serve the country.

The pay scale for these dedicated employees is even below their counter parts in the private sector and they are considered to be on duty around the clock, and subject to deployment around the world at a moment’s notice. They can retire at half base pay after twenty years and seventy-five percent of base pay after thirty years. Their progression through the system is evaluated continually and they are expected to meet certain standards to maintain their position within the system. There are quotas within career fields that tend to make advancement very competitive as a career field becomes over loaded. Military personnel do not have the same freedoms as civilians or other government employees; they are even ignored when it comes to insuring the very same voting rights that they are defending for the rest of us. Too frequently they are given less consideration than the illegal immigrants among us, and yet they continue to carry out their duties with honor and respect. They have no union, nor can they take any action that would force the political system to give them the same consideration that many of our public employees receive routinely.

When one considers the remunerations given to the military as opposed to what is received by other agencies in the public sector, one may come to the conclusion that there exists an unjustified disparity in the compensation received. It should be of no surprise that many having served in the military are tired of listening to the rhetoric of politicians praising military personnel and yet continue to ignore the wage and benefit discrepancies between the military and civilian public sector. It is not being suggested that the military should be moved up above the other public agencies; rather, the public agencies should receive less than the military. This action would contribute to resolving a good portion of the Nations debt and serve to put things in their proper perspective. Too many in the public sector are beginning to view themselves as elitist; they no longer view themselves as being in the service of the people that have put them in office.

In establishing the military as a gold standard, it allows one to view the contributions made by the different government agencies, as well as the attitudes of those that are supposed to be serving the general public. The position presented here is not suggesting that there are no problems with our military or any other agencies, but it still affords a good standard for comparing compensation and attitudes of the various governmental agencies. One can only hope that the electorate will be more critical in their evaluation of the departments that have been established to serve the public. Regretfully, there are many in private sectors that underestimate the value of the training that many of our military personnel receive, and the ability to carry much of that training over to the private sector. For those of you that have served honorably in the military, regardless of how long you were in, consider the treatment you have received since you were discharged. The electorate will have to pay more attention to the future unfunded liabilities that are continually growing in all our governmental agencies, and the fact that the only thing that is there to cover the promised benefits is an IOU to cover the benefits of government employees. Get educated on the actions being employed by our representatives.

Charlie Allo