Original commenter is correct. This has little to do with salaries. The political power and money goes toward a government that sends tax dollars at high margins to contractors who don't even earn it in many cases. There's no major liability for malice so long as it affects taxpayers instead of those in power. The defense contractors continue to cut anything nonessential to their mission of turning tax dollars into profit for the people on top. And vicious circle continues.
Here's a nice write-up on the bribery and abuses of just one:
The others pull the same shit. The biggest trick is the revolving door of moving people back and forth into the private sector with them benefiting while taxpayers lose.
And note before any counterpoint that a non-corrupt system might pay better wages in the event you're right. Most of the wages are rigged to go up and to bullshit that benefits people I'm describing. That could easily go to better tech. For instance, the first time the private market started doing strong security was a small initiative by the U.S. government mandating it with purchases promised in return. Led to the strongest systems of the time that resisted NSA pentesting. Although NSA killed that (incompetence or malice), it could be done again with a different group.
Most people who got into gov. gigs know this but the upside always been a cushy retirement, sweet pension and a Cadillac health care plan in retirement.
"Unfunded government liabilities" are now always on the chopping block and those people that took those low paying jobs for a better long term payout in the end are now getting screwed, royally. Government jobs are no longer the sweet gig people think they are and I think they have to start being more competitive with the larger markets.
