Different view of public employees

Different view of public employees

I just want to be sure I under- stand the Tea Party perspective on the effort to disband collective bargaining in the public sector. With that in mind, I ask my Republican friends to help me sort through all the yelling and sound bytes. If I hear their main points clearly, it is that the reason for our country’s economic problems are public school teachers, policemen, firemen and nurses. Not two unjust wars, unregulated Wall Street, unfair foreign trade agreements, tax breaks for the wealthy, Wall Street bail outs and CEO bonuses. Just want to be sure that, according to them, those issues are not part of the solution and should not be discussed right now. They feel, if I hear them correctly, when unions go down, the country will go up. The proven track record of when unions prosper, all prosper, is not to be part of the discussion.

Another point I would like for them to be clear about is the perception that public employees make more than the private sector. I want to be sure they stand by that. Because what might be considered is the adage: “Tell a lie long enough and it becomes believable.”

What I refer to is the often quoted 2009 Forbes study putting public sector wages 33 percent higher than private sector workers. With pensions added, it jumps to 42 percent. Pretty strong statistics in this battle. I want to be sure that my conservative friends understand those statistics and what they represent. That the study compares apples to oranges. It never makes a direct comparison to age and education. Both of which public workers are higher in and paid for by them outright or through bargaining. When that direct and relevant comparison is made, private workers come in at 4 percent higher.

It’s like me having lunch with a member each of the esteemed DeBartolo and Cafaro families. Can I say the average salary at the table is a multimillion dollar figure? Sure, but I’m the only one who would still be middle class. And if tea partiers have their way, I’d be stuck with the tab.

Susan Olive, Niles