It USED to be that there was a benefit in being essential in that you were guaranteed the back pay. Now it's better to be non-essential because, as you point out, a furlough becomes a free vacation as long as you have enough in the bank to cover the bills for a few weeks or months.
I can't speak for state workers, but federa pensiosn are not huge these days. Once upon a time it was a full pension (though back in the day a federal worker did NOT get Social Security). Now, federal workers pay into social security and their pension plan. But the pension PLUS social security adds up to what the old pension was.
It's my observation that most federal jobs above entry level pay LESS than their commercial counterparts, though entry level workers at the federal level seem to make more than entry level workers in the private sector.
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