[quote=davelj][quote=CA renter]
Again, if one of the complainers thinks they can do a better job for less, by all means, sign up and volunteer to show them your skilz![/quote]
I bet if the SD police and fire departments announced they each had 10 entry-level positions open right now – at a rate of pay 10% below last year’s starting pay and with reduced benefits – there would be hundreds of qualified applicants more than happy to fill those positions.[/quote]
Agree 100%. As long as the economy stinks, people will line up for the govt jobs. That is a fact. What is also a fact is that when the economy starts to pick up, these “fair weather” employees will leave…see my post above.
Your opinion is that we have a budget problem because of the wages we pay. My opinion is that we have a budget problem because we are trying to support too many people who are not contributing to the system, especially illegal immigrants.
BTW, public servants pay exactly the same taxes that you do. Also, their incomes are an important component of the economy during lean times because public employees tend to turn right around and dump their paychecks right back into the private economy.
Additionally, many private sector employers reap a large portion of their income from govt contracts or purchases. The government can indeed help keep the economy above water during lean times.
You cannot have an efficient market if there is no law enforcement or public safety personnel; these public servants grease the skids for private enterprise. If everyone is focused on survival because “the system” cannot be trusted, then you will see a business and cultural environment overwhelmed by fraud and criminal behavior.
It seems like you believe that a country with little/no government interference and low/no taxes should be the most prosperous…and the most highly taxed nations would be the poorest. That is not borne out by the evidence (the pattern is evident — the poorest and least successful countries have low/no taxes, while the most successful and wealthiest countries have the highest taxes):
