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by abhikshah 5595 days ago
The table needs context. How much could the same person make in private industry for a similar job?
2 comments
JSig 5594 days ago
These people are supposed to be public servants. You would expect a special kind of person willing to make sacrifices for the greater good to take these jobs.

I would expect that pay and benefits should be pegged to the private sector. In some cases they could make more and some cases they could make less. But overall it should come close to private sector pay.

Average Compensation (2009)

Federal (123,049) State & Local (69,913) Private (61,051)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afe...

I'm not a big fan of public unions. It seems like there is nobody at the bargaining table on the side of the tax payer. Also, if people don't like the benefits that come with serving the public, they should not take the job. Like I said, it should take a special kind of person.

Here is a nice article on public unions

The Beholden State How public-sector unions broke California http://city-journal.org/2010/20_2_california-unions.html

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a5seo 5595 days ago
True, but you could also ask how much value they or their dept. add. What's their NPV as an employee?
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jonhendry 5595 days ago
There's a pernicious assumption hiding there that public employees by definition must not deserve or earn their pay, whereas private employees doing the same work and making the same amount do.
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a5seo 5594 days ago
Not really. It's completely fair for taxpayers to question the NPV of their employees (aka government workers).

Questioning it doesn't mean the NPV is negative. After all, private employers do this all the time. They decide a line of business provides an insufficient return on capital or doesn't fit the core, and they shut it down. Other times they find the NPV is awesome and pour on the investment. Since taxpayers are "the boss," this is completely appropriate.

If anything, the pernicious assumption runs precisely the opposite direction: that anyone who dare question the value to cost ratio of our bureaucratic overlords be attacked.

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