We’ve rehashed this public vs. private thing multiple times on multiple threads. You keep wanting to change the conditions (can’t be commission-based, can’t work for yourself, etc.). Well, lots of public sector workers have done those jobs and can easily do them again. The point is that the people who migrate from the private sector to the public sector almost always do it for the benefits/security. That’s a fact, and that’s why public employers offer those benefits. They cannot afford to have the high turnover rates in the public sector like they do in the private sector for the reasons stated in my post above. They offer these perks to attract the most qualified candidates and to retain them during the “good times,” which includes any time the economy is doing well, not just during bubbles.
You and I will always disagree about who gets paid too much — you think public sector workers are overpaid, and I think that commission-based middlemen are overpaid — many of whom have very active lobbying groups that buy our politicians and use taxpayer money to pad their profits. They are no different from the public unions, so step off your high-horse. It’s doubtful either one of us is ever going to change our minds about this, so we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
Since this thread is about raises, I offered input regarding the public sector in response to more of the myth-based nonsense that thrives on the internet (public employees always get raises, even during the hard times — totally untrue, and that is a fact). Now, I’m going to stop the thread-jacking and let everyone else respond WRT the original question:
Did you get a raise this year, and if so, how much?
