Federal employees give up notion of getting rich
Re: “Want to get rich? Work for the feds,” editorial, April 29
I had come to expect better from the Examiner than this misleading and inflammatory editorial, which is a deliberate and unethical misrepresentation of statistical data and calls into question the accuracy and legitimacy of anything I’ve ever read in this paper.
Why does the Examiner’s analysis contradict every other analysis I have ever read about federal pay and benefits? Why does it say the “average federal wage with benefits is $119,982” and a few sentences later talks about how much greater the rift would be if the value of other benefits is added?
You have some nerve implying that all federal workers are unproductive and don’t pay taxes. But the ultimate slap in the face is the headline itself. The Examiner apparently considers $119,982 (with all pay and benefits) to be “rich.” All these years, I thought it was just middle class.
Nobody works for the federal government to get rich. Being a federal employee is a decent living with job security, but we actually have to give up the notion of entrepreneurship.
Bill Spruce
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Immigration enforcement program undermines public safety
Re: “Secure Communities’ program efficiently identifies, removes convicted criminals,” April 28
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has come out blasting Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, saying it diverts law enforcement resources and undermines the mission of public safety. It is ironic to find John Morton, her assistant secretary, wasting his own time defending Secure Communities, an immigration enforcement program with similar effects that is metastasizing rapidly across the country.
By running the fingerprints of every arrestee against DHS databases before a conviction, Secure Communities turns any participating law enforcement agency into an extended arm of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. In Virginia, 78 percent of those identified for deportation — and 88 percent of those deported — are not hardened criminals, but community members charged with lower level offenses.
Three civil rights groups recently filed a federal lawsuit requesting more information on Secure Communities. It would behoove Mr. Morton to instruct his staff to expedite this request rather than pen misleading op-eds for him.
Carl Bergquist
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