Reform Government Pay: Step Decreases

Longevity is the wrong characteristic to reward in the case of government workers.

In the private sector, workers are often compensated on the basis of performance. In government, workers are compensated primarily on the basis of credentials (the higher the degree, the higher the pay grade) and longevity.
Longevity is rewarded through the mechanism known as a “step increase.” Within a given pay grade, known as a GS level, there are steps. A GS-9, for instance, starts out at step one, then after a year receives an increase to step two, then after another year transitions to step three, and so on.
I think that the step increase is the opposite of what should happen. That is because I think that longevity is the wrong characteristic to reward in the case of government workers.

Read more: http://www.american.com/archive/2013/february/reform-government-pay-step-decreases