[quote=teaboy]What is a fair and equitable rate of pay & benefits for public employees, compared with what people make in the private sector?
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The fair and equitable rate is the least amount the public can get away with. That means the lowest rate they could pay and still fill the positions.
Frankly, most public service stinks compared to the private sector.
And I have ZERO doubt that we could pay many public service positions much less and still fill them readily — with the same quality employee.
For example, I would offer no pension whatsoever to public employees and I’ve little doubt those positions would all be filled. If not, pay them a little more and it would still be cheaper.
It is astounding that we pay some people 96% of their highest salary/average of last three months for the rest of their lives. Madness.
People need to go back and read Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” you’ll work like your life depends on it when it does. The fact that we have 10% official unemployment, actual much higher, and we’re talking about admitting potentially 100 million unskilled workers (learn about chain migration rules) because there are “jobs Americans just won’t do” screams to anyone who can recognize that the emperor is naked that unemployment benefits and other “social safeguards” are just too cushy.
Jerry Doyle said it well the other night: if you give people 100 weeks of unemployment, most aren’t going to start looking for a job until week 99. If you give them 150 they’ll start looking in week 149.
Cut public pensions out of the picture. Offer rock bottom salaries. Start there, and only increase AS NECESSARY.
But if you’re paying people to sit on their arse and feeding them, don’t expect folks to line up around the corner.
The old adage is give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach him to fish, feed him for a lifetime. Well no one is going to bother learning to fish if they’re handing them out for free around the corner.
Obviously the 48% of tax filers who are net takers rather than payers have little disincentive to claim public employees, especially the sacred police, fire, and teacher groups, all deserve the absolute best. The rest of us who will soon be an irreversible minority who work as slaves to fund this largess are likely to be more practical.
