ABSTRACT
Any ambitious young person wanting to become wealthy early in his or her life should not plan to work for the federal government in the United States. The relatively low level of rewards offered to most public employees in the United States should be expected, given the low regard in which Americans hold government in general, and the federal government in particular. While public servants and some political leaders may be respected in many European and Asian (see Hood, Peters, and Lee 2003) societies, in the United States these officials are often considered necessary evils, and perhaps not even necessary. As a consequence of this general disdain for the public sector, pay and perquisites available to public officials are by no means commensurate with the responsibilities of those officials, and continues to fall behind the private sector. The Secretary of Defense, for example, manages the largest single organization in the world, public or private, but receives a salary of only $196,700, with relatively modest benefits when compared to managers in the private sector.
