The new class warfare: Private vs. public worker

[Liberal_in_LA]

The new class warfare: Private vs. public worker
August 5, 2010 | 4:30 am
Class warfare in America used to mean rich versus poor.

Now, that age-old social conflict is taking a back seat to a new one: private sector versus public sector.

Many private-sector workers have long considered it their civic duty to question how the public sector spends their tax dollars, of course. But nothing could have prepared them for the Los Angeles Times’ revelations last month of the absurdly monstrous salaries of Bell city officials.

If we’ve reached the tipping point in the political battle nationwide to rein-in pay and benefits for public-sector workers, credit Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo, the $800,000-a-year man.

To be sure, pressure to restrict public-sector compensation has been building for years. Millions of private-sector workers have seen their benefits slashed by corporate America while many state and local governments have gotten more generous with their own workers -- at taxpayers’ expense.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2010/08/public-pensions-private-sector-bell-city-class-warfare.html


State workers should be screaming bloody murder as they did when furloughs were imposed last year. But public resentment at their compensation, including what analysts describe as "pension envy," has reined them in and muted their protests.

"Most Americans believe that federal employees and other government employees are paid more than comparable private-sector employees," said pollster Scott Rasmussen. "When we've asked about 10 percent pay cuts for public employees, people have overwhelmingly supported that."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6733DY20100804?type=domesticNews