3 Reasons Why Public Sector Employees Are Killing the Economy
Description
As unemployment stubbornly sticks near 10 percent and any sort of economic recovery seems a long way off, think about this: The one part of the economy that's going gangbusters is government work. Indeed, since the Great Recession started in December 2007, over 8 million jobs have been lost in the private sector while the public sector has added at least 100,000 positions. It's time to recognize that public-sector employment is killing the economy for at least three reasons.
Transcript
3 Reasons Why Public Sector Employees Are Killing the Economy We’re twisting arms! We’re threatening people! As unemployment hovers around 10% in any sort of recovery seems to be forever in a day away, think about this. The one part of the economy that’s going gang busters during the great recession is government work. According to recovery.gov, most of the 595,00 jobs that have been created or saved by the stimulus package had been in the public sector with over two thirds going to education. But far from stimulating us into any sort of recovery, public sector employees are killing the economy for at least three reasons. Federal workers make about $8,000.00 more in straight salary than their counter parts in the private sector and they make about $30,000.00 more in health, pension and other fringe benefits. State local workers make comparable wages to private sector counterparts but they make significantly more when benefits are factored in. The private sector has cut over eight million jobs since the recession started in December of 2007. Over the same period, the public sector saw a net gain of at least 100,000 jobs. The private sector adjusts the changes and consumer demand by hiring and firing more people. The public sector just adds and adds workers because it’s not subject to the same sort of bottom line pressures. Take a look in California where the teachers union has spend more than $211 million over the past decade on elections. We’re twisting arms! We’re threatening people! That’s more than twice as much as the next biggest offender which was another union. As a result, 40% of government spending in California must by law go to education and in the past 10 years, taxpayer contributions to the state pension system have increased by 2000%, and that sort of explosive growth is just getting started. For the first time ever, a majority of union members are now in the public sector. That means they will be lobbying statehouses and legislators even more for the sorts of big mandatory raises and absolute job security that workers in the private sector can only dream of. Because the public sector gets its money from taxpayers, everything it gains means less money for the rest of us to invest, to pay workers, or to save. And with the federal government in most states already deeply in the red, it’s time to cut public sector payrolls and return more revenue to the private sector. That will generate more economic growth which will help in the recession sooner than paying higher taxes for these government salaries. For Reason TV, I’m Nick Gillespie.