patrick.net

If your mother in law is making in 2011 what a Senior Clerk Typist made in 2001, then she's right and you're wrong. If that's the case, then inflation has eaten about half of what she's gained by earning promotions. She has far less buying power than her peers of 2001 would have had in spite of (presumably) having attained that level of skill.

On the other hand: it's possible that inflation has been getting baked into promotion budgets on-the-sly. If that's the case, then Senior Clerk Typists would have been making about $45k in 2001 --that's about what $57k in 2011 dollars was worth back then.

I suspect the truth may be somewhere in-between and lost in the details. Her benefits might not have been eroding at the same pace as the rest of the worfkorce. In any event, there's really not really enough information to conclude whether or not I should be backing your outrage.

However: there's a somewhat nasty undertone to your post that suggests that working in the public sector morally or otherwise disqualifies someone from improving their earning potential. Public servants aren't indentured, which is the kind of arrangement you'd need to lock in wages at entry-level without inducing high turnover. I'm guessing your mother-in-law is at least forty. She's gained numerous promotions in the last ten years, which seems fast to go from entry-level to a senior position, even (especially?) for clerical work. That's likely the apex of her job ladder and she's now making about a median income in middle age (or later) for somewhat dated but basically skilled work. If so, her buying power will decline going forward without COLA. Relative cost-of-living for her area is left for us to guess --is this the Bay Area?

I'm trying to figure out how outraged I should be.

Clarence 13X says

“Ohh, I wasnt making anything…only about 35k”. So then I asked her well if you started at 35K and are now at 57K you have received a 22K increase in salary over the past 10 years. To which she negatively replied, “Ohh no, I had to apply for new roles within the city to get those increases!!!!”

I think it's what msilenus first suggested. A senior typist 10 years ago, probably made what she makes now, and that is what she meant.

You seem like someone who confuses envy (of some public workers for whatever reason) with legitimate criticism. I guess since you aren't a government worked it's impossible for you to have any empathy and understanding.