Stop Picking on State Workers

October 06, 2009

Why is it that when some state legislators see a budget deficit, their first impulse is to cut public services and workers’ benefits?

Maybe they’re fooled by the myths. The ones that say there are too many state employees, they are grossly overpaid and they enjoy lavish perks and benefits.

Given these plentiful, yet patently false, notions, perhaps the knee-jerk reactions of misguided lawmakers aren’t surprising.

The fact is they know it isn’t true. Yet they persist.

Charles Ballard, a professor of economics at Michigan State University, wanted to get to the bottom of the idea of the “fat cat” state worker, so he conducted a study. Focused mainly on Michigan’s state employees, the findings speak volumes about public service workers in general and turn time-worn stereotypes on their heads.

Ballard’s study proved something AFSCME members have always known is true: When compared to workers of the same educational level, state workers earn less than their private sector counterparts. State workers pay higher-than-average costs for health care. They perform the critical public services that keep the nation moving forward. And when state budgets are tight, it’s the wallets of state workers that take a hit in the form of furloughs and pay cuts.

Before state legislators wield the budget-balancing ax, perhaps they should look at the facts, not the fables.