Why should Gov Workers not feel pain too?

[Doc Savage Fan]

He pulled it out of his ass...like most of his claims.

Public employees, at least the "working stiffs" who build and maintain our roads, bridges, irrigation systems, etc., get paid far less than they would doing similar work for the private sector...but they often have better pension plans and medical plans than the private sector.

"Forgive me for refuting talking points with actual data" , but government workers make about 5 percent more than private sector workers on average.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/02/working-in-america-public-vs-private-sector/

Working in America: Public vs. Private Sector

The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2009) show that government workers make about 5 percent more than private sector workers on average.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-04-federal-pay_N.htm

Federal pay ahead of private industry

Overall, federal workers earned an average salary of $67,691 in 2008 for occupations that exist both in government and the private sector, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The average pay for the same mix of jobs in the private sector was $60,046 in 2008, the most recent data available. Federal pay ahead of private industry.

These salary figures do not include the value of health, pension and other benefits, which averaged $40,785 per federal employee in 2008 vs. $9,882 per private worker, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

When you include benefits, government workers make about 55 percent more than private sector workers on average for occupations that exist both in government and the private sector.

 

[sunzt]

"Forgive me for refuting talking points with actual data" , but government workers make about 5 percent more than private sector workers on average.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/02/working-in-america-public-vs-private-sector/


http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-04-federal-pay_N.htm


When you include benefits, government workers make about 55 percent more than private sector workers on average for occupations that exist both in government and the private sector.

From your usatoday link you kindly omited:

But National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley says the comparison is faulty because it "compares apples and oranges." Federal accountants, for example, perform work that has more complexity and requires more skill than accounting work in the private sector, she says.

"When you look at the actual duties, you see that very few federal jobs align with those in the private sector," she says. She says federal employees are paid an average of 26% less than non-federal workers doing comparable work.

Office of Personnel Management spokeswoman Sedelta Verble, says higher pay also reflects the longevity and older age of federal workers.

...

•Private. The private sector paid more on average in a select group of high-skill occupations, including lawyers, veterinarians and airline pilots. The government's 5,200 computer research scientists made an average of $95,190, about $10,000 less than the average in the corporate world.

That's generally what i see too. The lower skilled occupations are paid higher than private, but the higher technical skills are paid lower than private.

Skilled technical professionals generally go to the private sector to make MORE money.

 

[Bowfinger]

That's generally what i see too. The lower skilled occupations are paid higher than private, but the higher technical skills are paid lower than private.

Skilled technical professionals generally go to the private sector to make MORE money.

That was certainly my experience, though it was many years ago. I was at the highest step of the highest IT pay band, yet when I left for the private sector I doubled my salary in less than three years. Benefits at that time were pretty comparable, though I do believe the private sector has cut some benefits faster than the public sector.

 

[unokitty]

The GAO's review of the CATO Institute's report found that the CATO Institute failed to account for education level, years experience, or any other job related factor in developing their report. The feds don't hire too many burger flippers.

The GAO's report noted that the Congressional Budget Office report on federal pay found:

Apples and oranges don't you think?

I cited a study on compensation that you are are attempting to compare to a government study on pay. Especially when you consider that " Most public employees have guaranteed pensions and retiree health coverage, both of which are increasingly rare in the private sector."

But we can test the hypothesis that Government workers are underpaid by examining Census Bureau data. In particular, lets look at some facts from the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

"According to the SIPP data, the average federal worker shifting to a private job actually accepts a small salary reduction of around 3 percent. Similarly, private sector workers who move to federal jobs don't take a pay cut. They get a first-year raise averaging 9 percent, well above the raise other workers get when they switch jobs within the private sector."

Obviously, you are free to believe that anything that doesn't support your preconceptions is, as you have stated, a 'lie.'

Me, I'll just stick with facts.

Uno

 

[IronWing]

Apples and oranges don't you think?

I cited a study on compensation that you are are attempting to compare to a government study on pay. Especially when you consider that " Most public employees have guaranteed pensions and retiree health coverage, both of which are increasingly rare in the private sector."

But we can test the hypothesis that Government workers are underpaid by examining Census Bureau data. In particular, lets look at some facts from the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

"According to the SIPP data, the average federal worker shifting to a private job actually accepts a small salary reduction of around 3 percent. Similarly, private sector workers who move to federal jobs don't take a pay cut. They get a first-year raise averaging 9 percent, well above the raise other workers get when they switch jobs within the private sector."

Obviously, you are free to believe that anything that doesn't support your preconceptions is, as you have stated, a 'lie.'

Me, I'll just stick with facts.

Uno

3% is sufficiently different from 100% that, yes, I will call the original statement quoted in your post above a lie.

 

[sunzt]

Apples and oranges don't you think?

I cited a study on compensation that you are are attempting to compare to a government study on pay. Especially when you consider that " Most public employees have guaranteed pensions and retiree health coverage, both of which are increasingly rare in the private sector."

But we can test the hypothesis that Government workers are underpaid by examining Census Bureau data. In particular, lets look at some facts from the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

"According to the SIPP data, the average federal worker shifting to a private job actually accepts a small salary reduction of around 3 percent. Similarly, private sector workers who move to federal jobs don't take a pay cut. They get a first-year raise averaging 9 percent, well above the raise other workers get when they switch jobs within the private sector."

Obviously, you are free to believe that anything that doesn't support your preconceptions is, as you have stated, a 'lie.'

Me, I'll just stick with facts.

Uno

Your study doesn't contradict what I'm saying. If you average all comparable, there are more lower skilled people in the private workforce (ie: more fry cooks, entry level accounting, administrative/secretarial) and I said lower skilled people in the gov tend to get higher salary than higher skilled professional jobs. Your study has 15,000 samples for Private to private moves which should average out, but only has 140 samples for federal to private moves? How do you know that those 140 samples were from an equal distribution of skill sets? What if they were primarily low skilled jobs that were higher paid to begin with? Maybe it's the agenda of the Heritage foundation (Conservatively biased obviously) to cherry pick the 140 sample size to make it look more palatable to their agenda?

More detailed studies by non-political think tanks back ups what I'm saying.

http://www.facethefactsusa.org/facts/federal-vs-private-sector-pay-where-gaps-are
sources include OPM, CBO, CRS

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/federal-pay-vs-private-sector-compensation/

Less-educated federal workers make a bit more than their private-sector counterparts and receive more generous benefits. Workers with a complete or incomplete college education or a master’s degree tend to make about the same amount, again with more generous benefits. But highly educated federal workers earn less than their peers in the private sector.

The Congressional Budget Office went further than some other studies in ensuring a comparison of apples to apples — controlling for a worker’s education, years of experience, occupation, neighborhood, age, sex, ethnicity and immigration status, among other characteristics.

Uno, it's good you believe in facts, but make sure you have all the facts and that the facts come from a reliable source.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Uno, it's good you believe in facts, but make sure you have all the facts and that the facts come from a reliable source.

Like National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley? See Post #77. LOL

 

[sunzt]

Like National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley? See Post #77. LOL

If it's supported by correct data, then why should it matter?

What if Rush Limbaugh said, black urban areas tend to have more crime. Data supports that.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

If it's supported by correct data, then why should it matter?

What if Rush Limbaugh said, black urban areas tend to have more crime. Data supports that.

Where's the data? Or am I supposed to take her word for it?

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

From your usatoday link you kindly omited:



That's generally what i see too. The lower skilled occupations are paid higher than private, but the higher technical skills are paid lower than private.

Skilled technical professionals generally go to the private sector to make MORE money.

The facts disagree....most all of the skilled technical professions make better money in goverment than the private sector.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-04-federal-pay_N.htm#chart

That's just salaries...when you include benefits, they make much more.

 

[Bowfinger]

[ ... ]
But we can test the hypothesis that Government workers are underpaid by examining Census Bureau data. In particular, lets look at some facts from the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

"According to the SIPP data, the average federal worker shifting to a private job actually accepts a small salary reduction of around 3 percent. Similarly, private sector workers who move to federal jobs don't take a pay cut. They get a first-year raise averaging 9 percent, well above the raise other workers get when they switch jobs within the private sector." ...

First, let me point out that you aren't linking to SIPP data, you're linking to a Heritage Foundation analysis of SIPP data. Given their partisan nature, that makes their analysis inherently suspect. That said, based on the info at your link, it looks like they made a very good attempt to eliminate variables and do a truly apples to apples comparison. This is a nice contrast to the simple-minded studies that consider only average salaries, producing meaningless apples to ostriches comparisons.

So, kudos to the Heritage Foundation. It's the best attempt I've seen to date. I do see four potential flaws in their methodology, however:

1. Their sample size is small. They only found 287 employees who switched from private to public or vice versa. Further, it's not a statistically random sample. This means there is greater potential for outliers to skew overall results.

2. They don't appear to account for differences in employer size. Large employers usually pay more.

3. They don't appear to account for differences in job location. The federal government tends to be located in larger cities with higher living costs. Private employers, in contrast, are in more diverse locations. One would expect salary differences when moving to a location with a materially higher or lower cost of living.

4. They don't appear to account for career choices, e.g., someone cutting back into a part-time job or moving to the country to start a vineyard. Given the small sample size, even a few such major career changes could significantly reduce the average private sector compensation.

Once again, these are potential flaws. It is possible the Heritage Foundation has accounted for them, somehow, or that some are too small to be material. Either way, I do find their results interesting, and once again infinitely better than the useless surveys considering only average wages.

 

[Ryan]

At my particular federal government agency they haven't really been allowed to hire out side of the agency in at least 10 years. The few exceptions are the internship programs and occasional contractor conversions. Most of the contractor conversions these days are for critical hires. Which are important because of the mixed contractor, civil servant workforce and continuing contractor cuts.

In addition, to save money, they've closed security gates to cut back on budget meani we have long lines to get in site.

And the really awesome budget cut was when they stopped taking out the garbage from the cubicles. We were all having to dump our own garbage cans into two communal ones that they would dump twice a week.

So I wouldn't say we've been left untouched.

I wouldn't call taking out your own trash anything difficult by any means. We de-scoped all of the custodial contracts in our MAJCOM to remove stuff like individually taking out the trash from each cubical, combined with stuff like vacuuming. To be honest, there should have been no reason this stuff wasn't done by office employees in the first place - it's an incredible waste of money (in comparison to how little effort is required to perform said tasks).

Our office rounds up the lowest ranking Airmen in each flight every Friday - they walk around and empty garbage/vacuum. Simple as that.

 

[Jimzz]

The facts disagree....most all of the skilled technical professions make better money in goverment than the private sector.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-04-federal-pay_N.htm#chart

That's just salaries...when you include benefits, they make much more.

Wow, you are using that flawed "report". After it came out they admitted they did not truly take into account location, job duties, etc... Most Fed Gov jobs are in areas that have much higher cost of living.

Take Private Job A in DC and compare it to Gov Job A in DC with the same job duties, most of the time the private pays better. The only time this is not true is on blue collar and lower level jobs. In higher skills and education jobs the Gov will pay less. We have people leaving all the time to take private jobs as the Fed Gov can’t pay enough to keep the good IT people.

My BiL is a private worker in the DC area, myself and his wife are in the Fed gov. He makes more than either of us and we have the same or more eduaction than him.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Wow, you are using that flawed "report". After it came out they admitted they did not truly take into account location, job duties, etc... Most Fed Gov jobs are in areas that have much higher cost of living.

Take Private Job A in DC and compare it to Gov Job A in DC with the same job duties, most of the time the private pays better. The only time this is not true is on blue collar and lower level jobs. In higher skills and education jobs the Gov will pay less. We have people leaving all the time to take private jobs as the Fed Gov can’t pay enough to keep the good IT people.

My BiL is a private worker in the DC area, myself and his wife are in the Fed gov. He makes more than either of us and we have the same or more eduaction than him.

Wow, you are using that flawed "logic" (anecdotal evidence).

Anyway, I cited a Bureau of Labor Statistics report. If you don't approve of their methodology, then I suggest you read the CBO study on this issue.


The CBO conducted a study to correct for most pertinent variables:

• Level of education,
• Years of work experience,
• Occupation,
• Employer's size,
• Geographic location (region of the country and urban or rural location), and
• Demographic characteristics (age, sex, race, ethnicity, marital status, immigration status, and citizenship).

This study shows that the vast majority of government workers are paid more than their counterparts in the private sector...the difference is actually quite significant when total compensation is compared.

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921

Overall, the federal government paid 2 percent more in total wages than it would have if average wages had been comparable with those in the private sector, after accounting for certain observable characteristics of workers.

On average, the benefits earned by federal civilian employees cost 48 percent more than the benefits earned by private-sector employees with certain similar observable characteristics.

 

[sunzt]

The facts disagree....most all of the skilled technical professions make better money in goverment than the private sector.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-04-federal-pay_N.htm#chart

That's just salaries...when you include benefits, they make much more.

That BLS link you/I provided disproved bolded.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

That BLS link you/I provided disproved bolded.

Bullshit....I copied from the BLS link below. Most skilled technical professions are paid much better than private industry (see bolded). Where are your facts?

Job
Federal
Private
Difference
Airline pilot, copilot, flight engineer
$93,690
$120,012
-$26,322

Broadcast technician
$90,310
$49,265
$41,045

Budget analyst
$73,140
$65,532
$7,608

Chemist
$98,060
$72,120
$25,940

Civil engineer
$85,970
$76,184
$9,786

Clergy
$70,460
$39,247
$31,213

Computer, information systems manager
$122,020
$115,705
$6,315

Computer support specialist
$45,830
$54,875
-$9,045

Cook
$38,400
$23,279
$15,121

Crane, tower operator
$54,900
$44,044
$10,856

Dental assistant
$36,170
$32,069
$4,101

Economist
$101,020
$91,065
$9,955

Editors
$42,210
$54,803
-$12,593

Electrical engineer
$86,400
$84,653
$1,747

Financial analysts
$87,400
$81,232
$6,168

Graphic designer
$70,820
$46,565
$24,255

Highway maintenance worker
$42,720
$31,376
$11,344

Janitor
$30,110
$24,188
$5,922

Landscape architects
$80,830
$58,380
$22,450

Laundry, dry-cleaning worker
$33,100
$19,945
$13,155

Lawyer
$123,660
$126,763
-$3,103

Librarian
$76,110
$63,284
$12,826

Locomotive engineer
$48,440
$63,125
-$14,685

Machinist
$51,530
$44,315
$7,215

Mechanical engineer
$88,690
$77,554
$11,136

Office clerk
$34,260
$29,863
$4,397

Optometrist
$61,530
$106,665
-$45,135

Paralegals
$60,340
$48,890
$11,450

Pest control worker
$48,670
$33,675
$14,995

Physicians, surgeons
$176,050
$177,102
-$1,052

Physician assistant
$77,770
$87,783
-$10,013

Procurement clerk
$40,640
$34,082
$6,558

Public relations manager
$132,410
$88,241
$44,169

Recreation worker
$43,630
$21,671
$21,959

Registered nurse
$74,460
$63,780
$10,680

Respiratory therapist
$46,740
$50,443
-$3,703

Secretary
$44,500
$33,829
$10,671

Sheet metal worker
$49,700
$43,725
$5,975

Statistician
$88,520
$78,065
$10,455

Surveyor
$78,710
$67,336
$11,374

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

[dabuddha]

Bullshit....I copied from the BLS link below. Most skilled technical professions are paid much better than private industry (see bolded). Where are your facts?

Job
Federal
Private
Difference
Airline pilot, copilot, flight engineer
$93,690
$120,012
-$26,322

Broadcast technician
$90,310
$49,265
$41,045

Budget analyst
$73,140
$65,532
$7,608

Chemist
$98,060
$72,120
$25,940

Civil engineer
$85,970
$76,184
$9,786

Clergy
$70,460
$39,247
$31,213

Computer, information systems manager
$122,020
$115,705
$6,315

Computer support specialist
$45,830
$54,875
-$9,045

Cook
$38,400
$23,279
$15,121

Crane, tower operator
$54,900
$44,044
$10,856

Dental assistant
$36,170
$32,069
$4,101

Economist
$101,020
$91,065
$9,955

Editors
$42,210
$54,803
-$12,593

Electrical engineer
$86,400
$84,653
$1,747

Financial analysts
$87,400
$81,232
$6,168

Graphic designer
$70,820
$46,565
$24,255

Highway maintenance worker
$42,720
$31,376
$11,344

Janitor
$30,110
$24,188
$5,922

Landscape architects
$80,830
$58,380
$22,450

Laundry, dry-cleaning worker
$33,100
$19,945
$13,155

Lawyer
$123,660
$126,763
-$3,103

Librarian
$76,110
$63,284
$12,826

Locomotive engineer
$48,440
$63,125
-$14,685

Machinist
$51,530
$44,315
$7,215

Mechanical engineer
$88,690
$77,554
$11,136

Office clerk
$34,260
$29,863
$4,397

Optometrist
$61,530
$106,665
-$45,135

Paralegals
$60,340
$48,890
$11,450

Pest control worker
$48,670
$33,675
$14,995

Physicians, surgeons
$176,050
$177,102
-$1,052

Physician assistant
$77,770
$87,783
-$10,013

Procurement clerk
$40,640
$34,082
$6,558

Public relations manager
$132,410
$88,241
$44,169

Recreation worker
$43,630
$21,671
$21,959

Registered nurse
$74,460
$63,780
$10,680

Respiratory therapist
$46,740
$50,443
-$3,703

Secretary
$44,500
$33,829
$10,671

Sheet metal worker
$49,700
$43,725
$5,975

Statistician
$88,520
$78,065
$10,455

Surveyor
$78,710
$67,336
$11,374

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Where are you getting your numbers from exactly? Cause looking at these two:

Computer, information systems manager
$122,020
$115,705
$6,315

Computer support specialist
$45,830
$54,875
-$9,045

shows me that the federal employee numbers are wrong. If those are based on the GS scale, what level and what step? What locations are these federal numbers from because pay does also depend on your locality.

 

[hal2kilo]

In addition, to save money, they've closed security gates to cut back on budget meani we have long lines to get in site.

And the really awesome budget cut was when they stopped taking out the garbage from the cubicles. We were all having to dump our own garbage cans into two communal ones that they would dump twice a week.

So I wouldn't say we've been left untouched.

Same thing at the facility I work at (I'm a contractor). They put out at a meeting today that starting April 26, they will be taking four day weekends (Fridays and Mondays) LWOP every other week until the end of the FY year.

 

[JTsyo]

The 'Agony' of 2.4% Federal Cuts

"If, as our president keeps claiming, “We’re all in this together” and the fat cats should go on a diet, why not start with federal employees?

Their compensation has in recent years increased much more rapidly than that of private-sector workers whom they now out-earn by more than 100 percent when all pensions and benefits are included. That’s right: your friendly neighborhood regulator gets paid double what the slobs producing goods and services the marketplace actually wants.

If President Obama is looking to share the pain Americans are feeling, maybe he could take a deep breath, grit his teeth and decide he can get by with only two staff calligraphers instead of the three he employs at a cost of some $300,000 a year. Maybe the White House doesn’t need to pay more than $100,000 to 226 of its 468 staffers. Even the presidential dog walker earns six figures."

Federal dog walker makes six figures a year? Most I ever made was $225 a month.

Then again, I was never a Democratic Party lackey.

Uno
Sentry Dog Handler
US Army 69-71

I'm sure when the economy rebounds and the private sector is booming, you'll be here calling for increases in public sector pay. Those that work in the public sector don't do as well during the good time and don't do as poor in the bad times. The stability of the job is one of the things that attracts people. Anyone have numbers between public and private over long periods of time?

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Where are you getting your numbers from exactly? Cause looking at these two:

Computer, information systems manager
$122,020
$115,705
$6,315

Computer support specialist
$45,830
$54,875
-$9,045

shows me that the federal employee numbers are wrong. If those are based on the GS scale, what level and what step? What locations are these federal numbers from because pay does also depend on your locality.

As I stated, I'm getting the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I also provided a link to the CBO study. I'm giving you the best facts available.

What facts have you presented to support your position? Nada.

 

[dabuddha]

As I stated, I'm getting the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I also provided a link to the CBO study. I'm giving you the best facts available.

What facts have you presented to support your position? Nada.

Sorry I should have elaborated. I'm a federal employee and a IT specialist (aka software developer). My group leaders/supervisors are Computer, Information system managers and I know for a fact that their pay isn't that high. In many agencies, a GS-12 has some managerial duties. GS-13s even more so (with many employees under them).

Now could you provide a similar analysis/comparison from back in the late 90s or another time when the economy was booming? BTW you might want to look at page 18 of that report. Granted I just skimmed over it but it looks like on average:

All Levels of Education 32.30 31.60 2

First number is federal employee average wages per hour in 2010
Second number is private sector average wages per hour in 2010
Third number is the percent difference.

All Levels of Education 52.50 45.40 16

Numbers for total compensation

This is when the economy was already well in the shitter.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Sorry I should have elaborated. I'm a federal employee and a IT specialist (aka software developer). My group leaders/supervisors are Computer, Information system managers and I know for a fact that their pay isn't that high. In many agencies, a GS-12 has some managerial duties. GS-13s even more so (with many employees under them).

Now could you provide a similar analysis/comparison from back in the late 90s or another time when the economy was booming? BTW you might want to look at page 18 of that report. Granted I just skimmed over it but it looks like on average:



First number is federal employee average wages per hour in 2010
Second number is private sector average wages per hour in 2010
Third number is the percent difference.

This is when the economy was already well in the shitter.

The BLS numbers are averages and don't adjust for geographical differences or other significant variables. The CBO report does a much better job in this regard. Perhaps the difference you're seeing is that the BLS number is the average for managers...not leaders/supervisors.

Here's an interesting study regarding historical trends.
http://www.nber.org/chapters/c7154.pdf

 

[piasabird]

There are probably a lot of government employees that get paid way more than on average because they live in places like DC. There all the federal buildings are in large cities. So it costs more to live in these places. I think if I was going to redesign how the government works I would move the capital to the center of the USA. or some isolated area like Montana, or Kansas. Find a place with nothing but cows. Then when you build locations for the FBI, NSA, CIA, PENTAGON, ETC., dont put them all in the same place. Spread them out in different states and dont locate them in the middle of large cities. With the computer age, no reason to have buildings close together. Maybe some of these headquartes could be split up even further. Regional rather than one giant headquarters.

Since a lot of people go to the capital for meetings with high level officials, if the capital was in a fairyl central location, it would cut down on travel expenses. Having a capital on the east coast made sense when we had 13 colonies, but it is not that practicle anymore.

 

[piasabird]

You should also looke at medical benefits and retirement benefits.

For instance I work at a community college and dont pay SS. So when I retire I can not get full SS. I did pay into SS before I started working here but since I will get a retirement plan (Half of which I payed into out of my own pocket), I can lose up to 2/3rd of my SS. It is a delemna. So I have to save even more money to make up the difference on my somewhat low paycheck. The main reason for this is the government does not want to pay our matching SS Funds that most employers are expected to pay.

 

[Ryan]

There are probably a lot of government employees that get paid way more than on average because they live in places like DC. There all the federal buildings are in large cities. So it costs more to live in these places. I think if I was going to redesign how the government works I would move the capital to the center of the USA. or some isolated area like Montana, or Kansas. Find a place with nothing but cows. Then when you build locations for the FBI, NSA, CIA, PENTAGON, ETC., dont put them all in the same place. Spread them out in different states and dont locate them in the middle of large cities. With the computer age, no reason to have buildings close together. Maybe some of these headquartes could be split up even further. Regional rather than one giant headquarters.

Since a lot of people go to the capital for meetings with high level officials, if the capital was in a fairyl central location, it would cut down on travel expenses. Having a capital on the east coast made sense when we had 13 colonies, but it is not that practicle anymore.

Please - just shut the hell up and stop making assumptions. I hate reading through your grade-school level tangents because they're never based in reality.

Do you not realize that the cost to do what you're proposing would cost hundreds of billions of dollars (moving Washington)? I would even feel safe guestimating over a trillion dollars.