Are Wisconsin’s Public Employees Overpaid?

[WillowTree]

LOL, here comes the ATTACKS against Walker.

Walker gins up ‘crisis’ to reward cronies

now who didn't SEE THIS COMING.

Next up, actual violence. When that happens that Mubarak comparison will be realized - astroturfed activists are the same as the Muslim Brotherhood. Except Walker isn't a dictator, but these union drones might just be on the level of your average Eqyptian thug.

I hope they find union jobs in the Middle East.

As someone pointed out on Fox New, The Number One Source for News in America, this isn't like Egypt, it's more like Greece. True True True.. The sugar tit is drying up.

 

[kaz]

Are Public Employees Overpaid?

All government employees in this country are overpaid

 

[Bfgrn]

Good for Walker. He made an OFFER, the little greedy "public service employees" TURNED IT DOWN. NO MORE negotiating with the greedy bunch and their UNIONS.

now they can go and throw their little tantrums. I don't think the American people are in a mood for this, but hey, SHOW them what you are all made of.

His offer was NOTHING...it was in simple language...I am busting your union...

Show some proof of that. Show where he has said that the unions will go away.

The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) concluded that the state would end the year with a surplus, so there is no need for a budget repair bill. Walker disputes those numbers, so he has submitted a budget repair bill that would strip collective bargaining rights from most state workers. Walker has excluded employees whose unions endorsed him in the 2010 election.

Typically, changes to bargaining rights would mean a change to state statutes.

Instead, Walker is using his unnecessary budget repair bill to drive a stake through the heart of Wisconsin’s social contract that has maintained stable labor relations with public employee unions for decades. Walker is trying to severely limit the rights of public employees in addition to requesting that they make wage and benefits concessions. But Walker’s demand for public employees to pick up more of their expenses would have a negative effect on the state’s economy by decreasing wages of middle-class workers; weakening their purchasing power at local businesses, putting more than 9,000 private sector jobs in jeopardy; and reducing property taxes statewide by an estimated $46 million, according to a recent study.

Walker’s Renewed War on Workers

 

[NYcarbineer]

Are Public Employees Overpaid?

All government employees in this country are overpaid

Roughly how much lower should the base pay of a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army be?

Ballpark figure...

 

[NYcarbineer]

You cannot get blood out of a stone. There is nothing to offer. Hard times, recession, no money... Americans are suffering. Welcome to America, Union Workers.

I still say it's the way Walker went about this. He claims he needs to do something before June. Well why not just an across-the-board freeze on OTHER spending as well, except for emergency services, until June? But I don't see him asking for sacrifices anywhere else. I could be wrong on that, and I'll have to listen to more back and forth as the day progresses.

The taxpayers have already sacrificed. Why not the government employees? I see a good reason to phase in reforms. Currently the priorities have been set to cause no immediate harm to first responders while sustaining other parts of government.

Where's the taxpayer sacrifice in the last 10 years? 20 years? 30 years?

 

[trobinett]

Yep.

ALL public employee's are over paid, and under worked.

You should hear them complain when they have to ACTUALLY work, its like comedy central.

 

[LilOlLady]

average salary of teacher; --$46,390
average salary of governor;----$115,000 in 2001.
who is over paid for the work they do?

 

[boedicca]

average salary of teacher; --$46,390
average salary of governor;----$115,000 in 2001.
who is over paid for the work they do?

Who has more responsibility?

 

[Stephanie]

wow, $46,000 for only working 9 months out the year.

sounds rough

 

[Intense]

Wisconsin Teacher Salaries in Context
By Dan Collins on February 19th, 2011

On average, including benefits, Wisconsin teachers earn about $78k per year. I’m going to leave aside the “for nine months work” part of this, because I think it’s been hammered enough. The average household income in Wisconsin is about $52k per year. So, teachers earn about 1.5 times the average household income in Wisconsin when you factor in the benefits, and many of those households are two-income households.

Leaving the issue of benefits out of the equation, teacher salaries in and of themselves average about what the average Wisconsin family earns, even though many of those have more than one wage earner. A two-teacher family employed in Wisconsin public schools (and it’s not uncommon), is pulling in double what the average Wisconsin family does, and about treble if you include the benefits disparity.

When Wisconsinites see that, and consider whether schools are successfully teaching their children what they need to make the most of their lives and careers, they’re not really very happy with the “sick out” stuff, and they’re even less happy about it when they consider what tenure means and how difficult it is to get rid of incompetents and loons within the system. Democratic State Senators playing hooky as well, causing disruptions for families who perhaps already committed to travel plans for the now-delayed summer vacation in order to buy time for OfA, the DNC, AFL-CIO, SEIU and various socialist orgs to bus in their people really doesn’t play well, either, particularly in a time of inflation.

WEAC, the Wisconsin Educational Association Council, published the non-personal contact information of all the State Senators but one (pdf). That in itself, as well as the home addresses of the Senators, isn’t that big a deal, as it’s probably all public information. But take a look at the page. Right above the pdf link there’s this graphic:

Wisconsin Teacher Salaries in Context | POWIP

 

[whitehall]

Public sector workers are paid by the taxpayers. Teachers have a benefits package that might seem excessive to factory workers who are lucky enough to have a job. Public sector unions need to understand whom they work for and be reasonable enough to acknowlege that times are tough and they need to give up some benefits or be out of a job.

 

[kaz]

Are Public Employees Overpaid?

All government employees in this country are overpaid

Roughly how much lower should the base pay of a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army be?

Ballpark figure...

I always enjoy stupid liberal tricks. Yeah, by "government employee" I was referring first to the military. You knew that of course, which is why it's a stupid liberal trick. I know some young, bright eyed liberal would say this. I didn't specify because I knew it would amuse me. I was right.

So since you went with the obvious, I'll give the obvious correction. All government bureaucrats in this country are overpaid. Probably no one more then government teachers.

 

[Old Rocks]

every states' employees are overpaid. people aren't in the mood for being sympathetic to well paid teachers whining about being well paid, with vacations and summers off and a phat benny package. teachers can speak for themselves, they don't need to be exploited by the union. fire the crummy teachers, bag the union, everybody's a winner except the teacher duds and the union leaders. this has nothing to do with egypt or bahrain, i wish it did.

Hmmm...... I am a millwright in a steel mill. I more than doubled what was listed as the average wage for a teacher in Wisconsin last year. And from what I have seen of teachers, I did not put in as many hours as most of them do. Also, I did not have to put up with brats reflecting know nothing attitudes like yours.

 

[Old Rocks]

Public sector workers are paid by the taxpayers. Teachers have a benefits package that might seem excessive to factory workers who are lucky enough to have a job. Public sector unions need to understand whom they work for and be reasonable enough to acknowlege that times are tough and they need to give up some benefits or be out of a job.

Well, this old millwright in a steel mill is working full time, and doubles the wages of those teachers. Also, the only place their benefits exceeds mine is the pension part.

However, the union has allready said it is ready to consider pay and benefit cuts. What they will not consider is denial of their collective bargaining rights. Walkers refusal to even talk to them about that clearly shows this is just about breaking unions, has nothing to do with the budget.

 

[Old Rocks]

Wisconsin Teacher Salaries in Context
By Dan Collins on February 19th, 2011

On average, including benefits, Wisconsin teachers earn about $78k per year. I’m going to leave aside the “for nine months work” part of this, because I think it’s been hammered enough. The average household income in Wisconsin is about $52k per year. So, teachers earn about 1.5 times the average household income in Wisconsin when you factor in the benefits, and many of those households are two-income households.

Leaving the issue of benefits out of the equation, teacher salaries in and of themselves average about what the average Wisconsin family earns, even though many of those have more than one wage earner. A two-teacher family employed in Wisconsin public schools (and it’s not uncommon), is pulling in double what the average Wisconsin family does, and about treble if you include the benefits disparity.

When Wisconsinites see that, and consider whether schools are successfully teaching their children what they need to make the most of their lives and careers, they’re not really very happy with the “sick out” stuff, and they’re even less happy about it when they consider what tenure means and how difficult it is to get rid of incompetents and loons within the system. Democratic State Senators playing hooky as well, causing disruptions for families who perhaps already committed to travel plans for the now-delayed summer vacation in order to buy time for OfA, the DNC, AFL-CIO, SEIU and various socialist orgs to bus in their people really doesn’t play well, either, particularly in a time of inflation.

WEAC, the Wisconsin Educational Association Council, published the non-personal contact information of all the State Senators but one (pdf). That in itself, as well as the home addresses of the Senators, isn’t that big a deal, as it’s probably all public information. But take a look at the page. Right above the pdf link there’s this graphic:

Wisconsin Teacher Salaries in Context | POWIP

Do I detect the smell of dishonesty here? Does that pay quoted for the average household include benefits also? How about the education neccessary to get the job? Does the average 'household' have to have a college degree?

 

[Charles_Main]

Are Public Employees Overpaid?

Governor Walker has said that the labor changes are necessary because Wisconsin’s local and state employees haven’t made the same sacrifices during the Great Recession as private sector workers.

Walker glossed over the fact that state employees had eight unpaid furlough days in 2009 and 2010, which saved the state $121 million, and their wages have been flat for years.

He also forgot to mention that when he was Milwaukee County executive, members of the largest county employee union took 26 unpaid furlough days in 2010, or one unpaid day off for every two-week pay period—a 10% pay cut. They’ll have 26 unpaid days off this year, too, as a result of Walker’s final county budget. (The employees at the Shepherd Express, a private sector company, did not have any wage decreases or forced furlough days.)

So is Walker correct when he says that public employees are making more than their counterparts in the private sector?

The short answer is no, according to a new study by the national nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which found that Wisconsin’s state and local employees earn 4.8% less per hour in total compensation than their peers in the private sector. That number jumps to 25% for college-educated employees. EPI found that, on average, Wisconsin’s public employees with a bachelor’s degree earn $61,668 in total compensation; their peers working for private employers earn $82,134 in wages and benefits.

And although Gov. Scott Walker is earning $144,423 as a public sector employee with “some college” education, his pay package is not typical. Public sector employees who attended college but did not earn a diploma earn an average $46,707 in wages and benefits, while those in the private sector earn 7% more, or $50,324, EPI found.


Extra Cost of Cutting Wages: Killing Jobs

Although Walker took office promising to focus on job creation like a laser beam, he has not explained how many jobs this budget bill would create.

In fact, a new study by the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future (IWF) found that cutting public sector employees’ pay to the degree demanded by Walker would be a disaster for the state’s economy. In fact, about $1 billion of public employee wages would be lost each year:

* State workers would lose $429 million of disposable income

* Local employees would lose $335 million of disposable income

* School district employees would lose $230 million of disposable income


“Public sector workers are moderate-income people who spend the vast majority of their income on consumer goods—unlike rich households who save the bulk of their wealth,” wrote Jack Norman, the study’s author.

Since that $1 billion would not be spent—and recirculated—in businesses throughout Wisconsin, the study projected that 9,900 private sector jobs would be lost.

“State leaders cannot make up for the loss in consumer purchasing power by an equivalent amount of tax cuts,” Norman wrote. “That would worsen the deficit and cancel out any savings created by cuts to public sector compensation.”

And what about the ripple effect on local governments? IWF’s Norman calculated that $46 million of property tax revenue would be lost because of the wage cutbacks and depressed economic activity. Dane County would be hit the hardest and lose $14 million in property taxes; Milwaukee County would lose $6 million in property taxes.

Walker’s Renewed War on Workers

"Teachers are givers in a world dominated by takers, and they're also sharers. This collaborative instinct makes our profession unlike any other."
Barbara Keshishian

The Issue is not about how much they are paid.

The fight right now is over Pensions and Health Care.

As it stands right now. For every 1 Dollar the workers pay into their Pension the State of WIS pays in 57 Dollars. That is a fairytale Sweet heart deal. Nobody in the private sector sees anything like that in their pensions. The Governor wants to lower the Matching rate to something more in line with the Private Sector.

They are also being asked to start paying a modest % of their Health insurance costs. A % which would still be lower than the Average Private Sector worker pays. By a Lot.

The only reason Collective Bargaining came up at all, is because with Collective Bargaing it is impossible to get the Union to make any concessions. Period.

That is what is at the core of this Fight. Public Sector Union Employees wanting the WIS tax payer, and by extension all US taxpayers, to continue to fund 100% of their Health care, and match each dollar they put away in their Pensions with 57 Government dollars.

In a word this is about greed. Not the Greed of some cooperation or Greedy white Banker. This is about the Greed of the Unions, and their employees.

Straight up.

Not that I expect any Card carrying Liberal Democrat to ever admit to it.

However any rational, reasonable human being who actually looks at what the Government is asking for out of the Union, and compares it to the Private Sector, would have to conclude the Union and it's Members are being irrationally Greedy, and blatantly willfully ignorant of the State and Nations Fiscal Situation.

They simply do not see it. They helped Kill the Golden Goose. It's Gone, It is bleeding 1.6 Trillion dollars a year, and their Fairytale Benefits are a thing of the past.

 

[Old Rocks]

They have offered to negociate on that issue. However, Walker will have none of that because the whole fracas is about union busting, and nothing else. The budget issue is just the excuse being used.

 

[Bfgrn]

Wisconsin Teacher Salaries in Context
By Dan Collins on February 19th, 2011

On average, including benefits, Wisconsin teachers earn about $78k per year. I’m going to leave aside the “for nine months work” part of this, because I think it’s been hammered enough. The average household income in Wisconsin is about $52k per year. So, teachers earn about 1.5 times the average household income in Wisconsin when you factor in the benefits, and many of those households are two-income households.

Leaving the issue of benefits out of the equation, teacher salaries in and of themselves average about what the average Wisconsin family earns, even though many of those have more than one wage earner. A two-teacher family employed in Wisconsin public schools (and it’s not uncommon), is pulling in double what the average Wisconsin family does, and about treble if you include the benefits disparity.

When Wisconsinites see that, and consider whether schools are successfully teaching their children what they need to make the most of their lives and careers, they’re not really very happy with the “sick out” stuff, and they’re even less happy about it when they consider what tenure means and how difficult it is to get rid of incompetents and loons within the system. Democratic State Senators playing hooky as well, causing disruptions for families who perhaps already committed to travel plans for the now-delayed summer vacation in order to buy time for OfA, the DNC, AFL-CIO, SEIU and various socialist orgs to bus in their people really doesn’t play well, either, particularly in a time of inflation.

WEAC, the Wisconsin Educational Association Council, published the non-personal contact information of all the State Senators but one (pdf). That in itself, as well as the home addresses of the Senators, isn’t that big a deal, as it’s probably all public information. But take a look at the page. Right above the pdf link there’s this graphic:

Wisconsin Teacher Salaries in Context | POWIP

Who is Dan Collins?

 

[Charles_Main]

They have offered to negociate on that issue. However, Walker will have none of that because the whole fracas is about union busting, and nothing else. The budget issue is just the excuse being used.

That is a crock of shit and you know it. This Governor was just elected by a large Majority of Running on a platform of Ba lacing the WIS budget. The Budget issue is not just some Excuse, you infantile Liberal loon, It is the Issue that got the Man Elected.

Um actually the Reason he says he is doing this, is there is not time left to Negotiate. It is either this Deal, or A very Large Lay off.

The State is out of Money.

What part of that do you people fail to grasp. Or are you just hoping Obama will Cut the State another 3 Billion dollar check so they can keep paying all the Bills while they Renegotiate and end up getting a deal that does not come close to fixing the problem.

This is simple Math people. We are out of Cash!

 

[edthecynic]

Wisconsin Teacher Salaries in Context
By Dan Collins on February 19th, 2011

On average, including benefits, Wisconsin teachers earn about $78k per year. I’m going to leave aside the “for nine months work” part of this, because I think it’s been hammered enough.

A load of crap, but at least it's not as big a load of crap as other members of the CON$ervative Brotherhood were claiming, namely $89,500. But it's still crapola!

http://teacherportal.com/salary/Wisconsin-teacher-salary
Starting Salary: $25,222
Average Salary: $46,390