THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 26, 1994 TAG: 9409240022
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Taxpayers could have saved $56 billion dollars and had their federal, state and local income taxes cut by almost 8 percent last year, if pensions for government workers were restricted to the level of private-sector pensions, Money magazine reports.
And most government retirees also get annual cost-of-living adjustments, which protect their pensions from inflation, which most private pension plans do not provide.
Add to this the job security of working in a sector of the economy that is mostly protected from economic downturns, lack of profits or competition that cause frequent layoffs in private enterprise. Health benefits, especially for federal employees, are also known to be, well, healthy.
Besides excellent benefits and job security, government wages are also highly competitive. The American Legislative Exchange Council found that compensation for public-sector employees in Virginia rose by about 80 percent during the 1980s, while private-sector employees' compensation increased by about 70 percent.
And nationwide, ALEC found public wages and salaries were, on average, 9.2 percent higher than private-sector employees' pay in 1991. In Virginia, state and local government workers received 5.4 percent greater compensation than private-sector workers in 1991.
The truism that government workers could make much more in the private sector applies only to a few officials at the very top. Money magazine found that the average private-sector worker made $28,907 in 1993, compared with $30,039 for the average state and local worker and $35,690 for federal employees.
We don't begrudge anyone what they earn, but most taxpayers toil in the private sector, contending with all the hazards of the marketplace. They have a right to wonder what is going on when their public servants are doing better than they are. by CNB