Comments on: Working in America: Public vs. Private Sector

By: James

James — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:48:17 +0000

Strangely enough, people that work in the public sector don’t have the high degree of anxiety that private sector employees and management have. For a public sector worker if they take a while longer to do their job they don’t risk losing the customer because their customer base is supplied to them. Private sector managers and employess face the possibility of losing business to a competitor should they fail to perform on time. Therfore it is a useless comparison unless you lived in the U.S.S.R. In a free market or what we have here people can make choices about who their suppliers are. Unless the public worker is charged with competition for services and their job is on the line should they fail, why they make more money than the people that pay them sounds far fetched but exists. When there were far less public workers and they made on average 2/3 of what private sector employees made, their job guarantees made sense. So you accept something less but you are guaranteed a job until you don’t want it anymore.

By: lice treatment at home

lice treatment at home — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:54:13 +0000

I thought this quote was very fitting “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” – Thomas Jefferson

By: Study Finds Gov. Workers Cheaper Than Contractors, As Politicians Tout Cutting Their Ranks | BNewsworld

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:48:36 +0000

[...] on average than a private sector worker performing a similar services, according to an ABC News report. This may be because government workers are more likely to have benefit plans. About 20 percent of [...]

By: James Isbell

James Isbell — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:39:30 +0000

There are some pretty silly comments among the bloggers here about teachers working “harder and more hours then their private sector counterparts for less money” what a joke, based on fuzzy math. Remember, these teachers START OUT working about 8 months–not even nine. So, when you look at the low starting salary, remember you need to divide by 8 to get the monthly–then you say “hey, for a non technical degree, for someone just starting out, and benefits and none of that pesky social security–you know, the stuff they bleed from you, then go spend and loose–nah, they don’t worry about that do they. And every year it gets better AND–AND, they can work summers but don’t want to. Hey, I don’t blame em, it is a “great gig” but spare me the crap about how tough it is.

By: Nick

Nick — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:42:35 +0000

A teacher at Milwaukee Public Schools does not make 100,000 on average. That is totally wrong. I am a social studies teacher and made $48,000 last year. I have been doing the job for 5 years and am currently working on my master’s degree. I love my career choice but it is not easy by any means. Also, for people who say we have off in the summers for three months, we need it for our sanity. I am good at what I do and take pride in my job. Our governor is wrong. I can understand paying more for benefits, however, leave our union alone!

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:06:15 +0000

Let’s end this dribble. Let’s look at the real problem. It’s SECURITY vs. COMPENSATION. You cannot combine the two and that’s exactly what the Public employees have succeeded in doing. Teachers, you want 100,000.00 for teaching our future, fine, enable the voucher system. If the market place likes you and think you are worth 100,000.00 a year, you’ll get it’s. But you cannot have both. I own a small business, sure I can make a lot, but I don’t have security in these trying times. SECURITY vs. COMPENSATION….YOU can’t have both, and that is exactly what you public employee’s have gotten. END OF CONVERSATION

By: Carol

Carol — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 14:15:34 +0000

Please remember we are not private against public, or public against private fighting with each other over scraps and crumbs. We’re all in the same boat. We all have 5-digit salaries that aren’t keeping up. Some of us have 6-digit salaries (not me). If you want to get angry, compare us workers to how the really wealthy are doing–those with ludicrous 7 digit (and more) annual “incomes”. Direct your anger, if you have anger, there, not against one another, not over measly $5000 differences. The ubber wealthy would like us to fight amongst ourselves over the crumbs because it takes our attention away from their feasts.

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 05:32:36 +0000

I am in agreement with you John. I have been working for 27 years now. I am now and have been a homeowner for 20 years paying annual property taxes. A large portion going to fund the school system. I do not nor have I ever had a child.
Education should be handled by those with children and should be privatized. If the schools were all private and the teachers had to compete for these jobs, the quality of education would certainly be better. All studies show (you can search public vs. private sector education to find a multitude of reputable studies) private sector business of any sort allows competition and better results because people have to prove their worthiness to keep their job. Whereas public sector union workers are given tenure after a very short period of time and are not in jeopary of losing their jobs, therefore having no real motivation to grow as a worker. There is a town in Georgia who fired all the public sector union workers and hired private companies to do the city jobs – street repairs, park operations, etc. and they have found and can show more efficient, less costly and higher quality job performance.
Public sector union workers are all paid by our tax dollars. The majority of whom are unnecessary anyway. With the exception of law enforcement, first responders and a small portion of our government employees. Most areas of government should be privatized for all of the same reasons noted above.
I do feel for the public sector employee who hired on for the security and the promise of retirement after 20 years and a pension, health insurance for life. But this is my dollar. So I am not only paying for my own retirement and health insurance, but I am paying for yours.
One last note – the anger that is thrown at everyone from far left liberal to the far right conservative is disgusting. Everyone has an opinion. The only “real Right” we have as humans is to believe what we believe. Civility in life would certainly help move everything in a forward direction and a whole lot faster than it is now.

By: DPW

DPW — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 01:52:56 +0000

People took Government jobs for “job security”.. There is only “job security” when your employer can AFFORD your SALARY & BENEFITS! Since the Government is BROKE – “job security” goes out the door! You can’t keep employees you can’t afford!
Besides the fact that 90% of government employees HAVE NO SKILL SET and get paid for just showing up – try that in Private Employment! Government “Management” uses taxpayer dollars like their own personal check books! Fire all of them there are over 24 Million currently UNEMPLOYED most w/EXCELLENT Skillsets and actually have a WORK ETHIC to fill the GAP!

By: bchriste

bchriste — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:26:56 +0000

what is the gender breakdown for public employees? seems as tho republicans are attacking women on all fronts.