[quote=davelj][quote=jpinpb] It’s not an easy job or I’d imagine many of you would be out there doing it, making all the supposed money you think they make, pension and all the benefits that go along w/it. Reality is you have no interest, even w/all the money and everything you think they are getting.[/quote]
Strawman argument alert. Based on the quality of the hamburgers I sometimes eat I could argue that a lot of folks making $10/hour in the fast food industry are overpaid. This doesn’t mean I think it’s “easy” or that I should have any interest in doing that job. My willingness to do someone else’s job has NOTHING to do with whether someone’s overpaid or whether or not the job is “easy.” Zero. “Overpaid” is a supply-and-demand issue combined with budgetary constraints. Whether or not I’m willing to do the job is an opportunity cost issue. I’m betting that most Piggs would be taking a pay cut – some rather large – to work a public safety job, thus they have no interest (excluding the issue of whether or not they have any interest in the content of the job itself). But this has NOTHING to do with whether or not these folks are over- or under-paid.[/quote]
If they make more than public servants, I’m sure many people would be lining up to do their jobs, too, at a 20% discount. Are they seeing these pay cuts yet?
Bottom line, anyone who has not seen a pay cut these past few years is probably overpaid (others would do their jobs for significantly less). Whether or not that money coming out of my pocket is going to a public employer or a private employer doesn’t matter — I’m still overpaying. Why don’t *they* take a pay cut then, since they have such an issue with overcompensation?
And no, it’s not at all about the “free market.” As you know, people are essentially forced to use banks in order to conduct business these days. I don’t have a choice WRT overpaying their employees/executives. And let’s not forget the public money (TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS) being spent to prop them up and maintain their bonuses/compensation during this “Greatest Recession Since the Great Depression.”
Bottom line, we are ALL forced to pay for things we don’t like. If I had to choose between paying bankers or public servants, the choice would be easy — public servants actually enhance our quality of life while bankers suck the blood out of the productive economy.
