Monday, December 29, 2008

Factoid of the Day

As usual, Random 10 comes up with a good one.

Consider this staggering comparison: State and local public employees comprise approximately 12 percent of the U.S. workforce and have an estimated $800 billion or more of unfunded pension liabilities (not counting other post-employment benefits). By comparison, employees in the private or corporate sector make up about 78 percent of the U.S. workforce with an estimated $450 billion of unfunded liabilities.

R-10's prediction regarding this is not cryptic.

My take?

Easy Street is a one-way street. The taxpayer gets to build it, but had little to do with naming it.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

My take? Public employees conceded on salaries in exchange for higher pension/health care benefits. Then conservatives come along and make political points about their "cadillac" benefits.

Dad29 said...

Except that "your take" is not true.

Go to BLS here: ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/eci.echistrynaics.txt

Note the following:

"Service providing industry" (Private payroll) range: 1Q06= 100.9, 3Q08= 109.5

"All Gov't State and Local" range: 1Q06= 100.5, 3Q08= 110.9

In other words, broadly measured, all State and local workers started a touch less than comparable private industry, and now earn MORE...

Nice try.

TerryN said...

Not forgetting that public sector employees don't have to produce anything for their Cadillac compensation.