IRS Wins Appeal to Enforce Education Requirement

Pay Raises vs. Inflation

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Salaries for the government's top jobs have not kept pace with inflation since 1970, as measured by the consumer price index, congressional auditors reported last week.

But a handful of the positions kept pace or showed increases when salaries were adjusted for inflation as measured by the gross domestic product, the report from the Government Accountability Office said.

Using CPI inflation adjustments, the GAO said pay dropped by 41 percent for Cabinet secretaries, by 34 percent for Supreme Court justices, by 20 percent for federal judges, and from 10 percent to 17 percent for members of the Senior Executive Service, depending on their pay plan.

When adjusted under the GDP, pay dropped by 27 percent for Cabinet officers, by 19 percent for Supreme Court justices and by 1 percent for federal judges and increased from 3 percent to 12 percent for SES members (depending on the pay rules), the GAO said.

The GAO made the calculations at the request of the House federal workforce subcommittee, which is looking at options for overhauling government pay systems.

The GAO survey examined 16 senior-level positions in the executive and judicial branches from 1970 to 2006. The survey used 1970 as a baseline because that was the last year major changes were made in pay scales for Cabinet secretaries and judges.

The CPI and GDP have different strengths and weaknesses in measuring inflation, the GAO said in explaining its methodology and decision to use the two indexes.

Stephen Barr's e-mail address isbarrs@washpost.com.