Dagen McDowell: US Could Save $340 Billion By Cutting Public Wages Down to Private Sector Pay Rates (Video)
Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, June 5, 2010, 6:29 PM
FOX News contributor Dagen McDowell says the US could save $340 Billion by cutting public wages back down to private sector pay rates:
“The pay and benefits for the public worker is a $1.45 compared to a dollar in the private sector. So there’s a 45% premium there… If you cut the pay and made it equal, the benefits and the pay with private sector workers, it would save about $340 billion. That’s enough to fill the budget holes in every state over the next two years, if we were just on the same playing field.”
According to Cato Institute: In June 2009, total compensation per hour was $39.66 in the public sector, which was 45 percent greater than the average $27.42 per hour in the private sector. The public sector advantage in average wages was 34 percent, while the advantage in benefits was a huge 70 percent… Average compensation in the private sector was $59,909 in 2008, including $50,028 in wages and $9,881 in benefits. Average compensation in the public sector was $67,812, including $52,051 in wages and $15,761 in benefits.
Public sector workers have a substantial pay advantage over private sector workers. (Cato)
Democrats last week voted to award government workers a $30 billion ten year raise.
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Published May 24, 2012 at 8:46 pm - 89 Comments
ck commented:
I love that woman.
Padre Steve commented:
You would think that Dagen’s point would be common sense! Thanks for posting this!
John Gargano commented:
Do it!
daryl commented:
Makes you wonder how the country has survived this all these years while civil service wages were being driven through the roof.
kansas commented:
Democrats. Gotta love em.
auntie em commented:
Back in the day, about 80% of Congress would be shot or hung for taking advantage of the people.
The branches of the government all stink today. They are all derelicts.
Sickofobama commented:
My wish is to see every Democrat that has voted for Obama’s radical agenda thrown into a blue collar prison for twenty years.
Long enough for them to not enjoy the fruits of their labor.
John Gargano commented:
First we had junk food devoid of nourishment and we thought it was so funny we all laughed about it.
Then we had junk bonds devoid of value and we bought them as we all laughed about it.
Then we had junk entertainment devoid of talent and we all thought it was so, out there.
Then we had junk art devoid of any aesthetic merit and we put it up on pedestals and everyone thought it was, like, really cool.
Then we had a junk education system – and even the kids laughed about it.
Then we had a junk judicial system and there was little we could do about it.
Now we have a junk government and it isn’t funny anymore is it?
When are we going to wake up and take notice of all the people that go into government only to feather their own nests as they totally abrogate their responsibilities to represent the people and be the custodians of our best interests?
$340 billion is a lot of money!
aro5o75 commented:
Public sector workers have a substantial pay advantage over private sector workers. (Cato)
—————————————–
Can you think of a better way to buy votes??
gus commented:
I agree. Maybe we can suggest this idea to AFSCME and OPIE.
CLN commented:
Good idea!
reliapundit commented:
SHE’S HOT.
ON IMUS TOO!
waxingpoetic commented:
This is the same flawed logic that Obummer has in regards to the USA. We are too wealthy compared to the rest of the world. Let’s lower our standards to theirs.
Why doesn’t the private sector increase wages and benefits. Maybe the CEO’s could get by on 4 million a year instead of 20 million and invest some of that capital in their workforce.
Lifting people up is better than bringing others down.
wanumba commented:
Did ya’ll see the deer in the headlights look from the “spending out of a recession” anchordude?
aro5o75 commented:
Obviously…’waxypoet’ has never run business.
The point here ‘waxy’ is’nt that the private sector is under paid–it’s that the public sector is RIPPING THE TAXPAYER OFF.
squeaky commented:
maybe wax is a public sector employee? public sector doesn’t have to “be better because we live here” because there is no competition. when you don’t have to go the extra mile…….
RLB commented:
I’m very fiscally conservative; but this is stupid. Chart compared state and local employee pay rates to the private sector. This was then twisted to be relevent to federal pay raises.
Steve commented:
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR POSTING GP!
We used it (with a Hat Tip) on today’s “Sunday Reads” on Common Cents…
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com
waxingpoetic commented:
Aro and squeaky: I did run a business, very successful as well. Mostly because I took care of my people and did them right. Sold it to some fool that thought it was all about him and he ran it into the ground in 18 months. My previous job was 25 years as a Federal employee. Yep, you’re right I was a public sector worker. I took those principles of taking care of your people with me when I opened my business, paid good wages and offered an excellent health care plan. Because of that I attracted high quality employees and my business grew. Greedy, power hungry bosses always screw their employees, I’ve seen it repeatedly. Paying public sector workers less isn’t neccessarily the panacea you think it is.
shibumi commented:
I know someone who works for the US government- VOA specifically. He brags that he has a job for life, there is no way that they can ever fire him, he has more money than he knows what to do with (is currently considering tearing down his house and building an earth friendly one), oh, and by the way, while the rest of the industry automates and trims down, VOA is still bloated and working like it’s the 1950′s.
CBDenver commented:
waxingpoetic — the issue isn’t about pay disparity between public and private workers. The issue is that the government is deeply in debt and does not have the money to pay the salaries of public workers. To reduce the deficit, public worker pay should be reduced. A fair way to determine to what level the reduction should be in to align public worker pay with private worker pay.
cubanbob commented:
Hey Waxy, call the cut a targeted tax hike.
Not only do federal salaries need to be trimmed back along with benefits and pensions but state and local government employes need to be trimmed back. Then 20% of that workforce needs to be terminated. From there a serious review needs to be done on spending by all agencies of all branches of government and at all levels to first fund what is the core essential services that must be done and then everything else must be on the chopping block at the point when expenditures above the core requirements equal the net tax receipts collected. And finally the civil service pensions need to be cancelled and reset to a realistic amount that is sustainable by the current tax receipts and is actuarially sound. If these suggestions were taken seriously by the congress and the state legislatures the savings would equal out the amount of borrowings currently being floated.
The questions is do we do this now or do we do it later when ever greater damage has been done to the economy and we run out of options when there will be no buyers for our debt? There is no other way out.
AuntieMadder commented:
waxingpoetic
June 5th, 2010 | 9:45 pm | #18
This is the same flawed logic that Obummer has in regards to the USA. We are too wealthy compared to the rest of the world. Let’s lower our standards to theirs.
No, this isn’t the same nor is it flawed logic. When Oilbama suggested that Americans are too wealthy and/or that the salaries of those at the top of corporations should be reduced, he was giving a nod to his dream of a socialist America. In his Utopia, government (which in his mind is him; HE is the government) owns, controls and runs all businesses.
When it comes to government employees, we are within our rights to set their wages. After all, government employees work for us, the taxpayers. We pay their wages via money taken from our wages in the form of taxes. It makes no sense, therefore, that we should pay them more than we, ourselves, earn.
For example, a receptionist at a state capitol shouldn’t earn any more than the receptionists for corporations who work the same number of hours or more (most likely more hours), receive the same number of incoming calls and visitors for the same number of bosses, while simultaneously performing the same or similar office tasks. The salaries of corporate receptionists many times are barely enough to support the receptionist, let alone the receptionist’s family, yet they’re currently helping to finance a better living wage (a “livin’ large” wage, in some cases) for the state capitol receptionists and their families. In essence, they’re paying their employees very well to do the same job they do for less pay.
Now, take that case for corporate vs. govt receptionists across the spectrum of identical and similar positions. The same can be said about corporate project managers vs govt project managers, corporate mail room clerks vs govt mail room clerks…administrative assistants, office clerks, researchers, middle management, upper management…all positions at each rung from top to bottom. We should not be paying our employees more than we’re paid to do the same job.
Rose commented:
Dagan is DELICIOUSLY intelligent!
I LOVE IT!
NORMAL WAGES for SUB-PAR PERFORMANCE!
It’s a START!!!