This is an example of solid, factual reporting citing sources on all sides of the issue. Although the hook is the lower % raises for civilians than for non-combat military and the reaction of legislators in the DC area, where a lot of federal employees reside, it contains the broader picture of how the Administration tries to reverse legislation passed by the bi-partisan agreement of Congress in trying to put limits n private-sector outsourcing and the repeal of better retirement benefits for customs and border patrol officers in the Department of homeland security, as well as reducing eligibility for loan forgiveness in last year's College Cost Reduction Act for individuals with current loans who have opted to work in public ... More »

ho-hum account of President Bush reneging on provisions to protect family-wage government jobs and allow more contracting out.

Informative piece, though potentially problematic in the analysis. It's not obvious (to me) that there's a problem with differences in civilian vs. military pay increases. There's no comparative or projection data that shows that not increasing civilian wage more means worse government. It could very well be that civilian federal employees are already paid quite well, comparatively.