How the GS System Fails Federal Workers and Everyone Else - Management Matters - Management - GovExec.com

https://www.govexec.com/excellence/management-matters/2019/02/how-gs-system-fails-federal-workers-and-everyone-else/155141/

"A core problem is that the Bureau of Labor Statistics no longer conducts surveys designed to report the prevailing market pay for specific jobs. At one time BLS did conduct a so-called benchmark survey, reporting market rates nationally and in each locality area, but it was terminated in the mid-1990s.  

That's when the problems started. No president has ever agreed to close the "pay gap" and there is no reason to believe that is going to change. Current BLS surveys were not planned for this purpose, and after trying for two decades, there is no reason to think complex statistical models will produce credible answers."

Cheers, and have an outstanding day

How to Attract and Retain the Best Public Employees | Editorials | newsadvance.com

https://www.newsadvance.com/opinion/editorials/how-to-attract-and-retain-the-best-public-employees/article_964a63d4-475f-11e9-bd4b-4f9077e1cac2.html

"The Virginia General Assembly, addressing the problem of low starting pay for state troopers, approved increasing their starting pay by nearly $8,100 as of July 1, 2017. Before, these young men and women answering the call to serve as members of the Virginia State Police had starting pay of only $36,207; the legislature's actions increased that to $44,290. It's still a pitifully low starting salary for a job where there's a danger each day you might be killed or injured in the line of duty, but it's certainly an improvement."

And the best paid feds live where?

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/mike-causey-federal-report/2019/02/and-the-best-paid-feds-live-where/

"So where do feds get the relatively big relatively bucks? Many would guess Washington, D.C., and its metro area which is headquarters for all but a handful of federal agencies and departments. While D.C. has the most high-grade employees of any locality, where does it stand in the salary pecking order? If you want to get more pay for doing the same job at the same grade level, where would you go? New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Houston, Dallas, or Huntsville, Alabama?"

General registrars will get higher salaries, but will have to wait on a new pay scale - Virginia Mercury

https://www.virginiamercury.com/2019/02/28/general-registrars-will-get-higher-salaries-but-will-have-to-wait-on-a-new-pay-scale/

Registrars in Virginia are promised a base pay that ranges from $46,468 a year up to $90,525 a year in localities with more than 200,000 people. That cutoff means only about a dozen localities in the state qualify to pay their registrars the highest state salary.

In localities with 150,000 to 200,000 people, the salary for registrars drops to $68,491 a year.

How much you really need to live comfortably in all 50 states | Fox Business

https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/the-average-living-wage-you-need-to-comfortably-live-in-all-50-states

"For the study, the personal finance website used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the 50/30/20 budgeting rule -- which allocates 50 percent of your income to necessities, 30 percent to discretionary expenses and 20 percent to savings -- to find out what the average "living wage" is in each state."