Federal Judges pleading poverty

The Economist reports how how Federal Judges have are by their own description becoming the poor-whites of the legal profession. Apparently their pay since 1969 has declined 24% in purchasing power; its hard to get by on $150K per year and with only $24k allowed for outside income. The Federal Courts news letter claims that over half of this purchasing power loss occurred in just the last seven years. To add insult to injury, top flight young law graduates make almost as much,; never mind that the average lawyer income in the United States is still only $82,000 (as of 1999). The supposed consequences of this miserly pay is an exodus of older judges and the influx of younger judges. For my money, having to wait years to find out whether you are in after nomination might have more to do with keeping private sector attorneys away from the federal bench than the low pay. The Economists comparisons of judges' pay to Congressional Staffers however is a little misleading as Congressional Staffers must work in Washington with a high costs of living, while the judge's $150K makes a pretty comfortable living in say North Dakota. Nebraska State Judges dont need to worry as the Legislature as steadily kept up judicial pay raises at a 3% annual clip, with generous funding infusions through increased filing fees for their retirement fund.