The Republican trick is to compare apples with oranges — the average wage of public employees with the average wage of all private-sector employees. But only 23 percent of private-sector employees have college degrees; 48 percent of government workers do. Teachers, social workers, public lawyers who bring companies to justice, government accountants who try to make sure money is spent as it should be - all need at least four years of college.
***Hang on Bobbo! No doubt they would in the private sector too... the problem is in the “public” sector they are ineffective. If student outcomes were stellar, if social workers improved home life, if ever, in the history of the USA, a public lawyer brought a company to justice, just once, and a govt accountant made sure (this is a hoot) that money was spent as it was supposed to be, then this class would not be a target. They missed Bernie Madoff for ten years, but got Martha Stewart for one disputed misstatement. Typical.***
Most public employees don’t have generous pensions. After a career with annual pay averaging less than $45,000, the typical newly-retired public employee receives a pension of $19,000 a year. Few would call that overly generous.
***Bobby, your playing with numbers. “Most?!” Maybe someone in backwoods Kentucky meter reader made that for ten years and went on to something else, collecting 19 grand thereafter for life, but not most. But you know where this is going to go... Uncle Sam will tax any govt pension above say $36,000 at 95%, when they do so on private workers incomes. The difference is as self-employed, I’ll still benefit by directing my profits into business expenses. There will be no escaping the tax on pensions.***
And most of that $19,000 isn’t even on taxpayers’ shoulders. While they’re working, most public employees contribute a portion of their salaries into their pension plans.
***Who pays govt workers salaries while they are working? Taxpayers, 100%. So the contribution govt workrs make out of “their” salary is 100% taxpayer paid. The pension is 100% taxpayer funded.***
The final Republican canard is that bargaining rights for public employees have caused state deficits to explode. In fact there’s no relationship between states whose employees have bargaining rights and states with big deficits.
*** A non-issue. Government workers throw elections one way or another. With or without bargaining rights, politicians who featherbed unions get elected and re-elected. If anything, this demonstrates the evil of house unions, something real labor abhors. (I am a B longshoreman, and have worked as a teamster, and my mother called me a wobbly... I’ve also busted a union house, so I know both sides. In a dispute between labor and management, trust labor.)***
Don’t get me wrong. When times are tough, public employees should have to make the same sacrifices as everyone else. And they are right now. Pay has been frozen for federal workers, and for many state workers across the country as well.
***Yes, it is a beginning, they will be cooked slowly, just as with their rules and regulations they made innovation and new job creation frozen across USA.
Robert Reich is a top left wing money man, a former Sec of the Treasury. He put forth the best argument the left has, and that should be scary to anyone who plans to depend on a govt pension, or social security. It sounds like they are throwing in the towel.
Hoarding gold, storing food, arming up... none of it will be as good as being self employed, to meet come what may.***
