Want a raise? Work for government

Add comment January 6th, 2009

Every day you read about a private-sector business that is struggling so it lays off staff, freezes wages, eliminates pension plans, etc. But then you read how a taxpayer-financed entity hands out pay raises and says there’s no way they can trim payroll or expenses.

Sure some folks deserve a raise, but do they deserve it at percentages higher than what the averages are? For example, should government workers get a 4 percent raise when the rest of us are getting 2 percent raises — if we get anything at all?

Is it sour grapes because we aren’t getting the same kind of raises or are we justified in our outrage in how our tax dollars are spent?

Despite all the talk about how this tax rate is going down or that rate is going down, people are paying more in property taxes. That’s because assessments keep going up. It’s a game that we taxpayers lose.

Taxpayers can’t afford to pay more forever. We’ve all had to make sacrifices in the last couple of years because of the economy. Shouldn’t government workers share in that sacrifice?