Why government workers are fairly paid

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by whell

On the other hand, businesses have a choice of raising prices or increasing efficiencies to keep costs down, or some combination of both, in a competitive market. In the public sector, we can opt to print money, raise taxes or go deeper in debt, but the choice of managing to increase efficiencies and / or do away with redundant services or agencies is almost never considered or acted upon.

Raising prices to keep costs down? That's a new one on me.

Efficiently managing a particular government agency/enterprise vs. the existence of redundant services/agencies are really two separate issues IMHO. The former is an internal issue (that of agency/enterprise), the latter a political issue. Blaming government workers who work in seemingly redundant agencies is missing the point IMHO (point being that it's Congress' fault, not the agencies or workers therein). Similarly, Congress unnecessarily supported building redundant F-35 engines by private sector firms (Pratt&Whitney, GE/Rolls Royce). How efficient was that?

And if the private sector is so damn efficient, why are all the government subsidies necessary for Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Ag, etc.? The GOP doesn't seem to be all that hot about shit-canning these unnecessary expenditures, just picking on their latest boogeyman (the public sector worker). It just the latest in a long line (Blacks, Gays, Muslims, Immigrants, etc.) in the GOP politics of resentment. Once they alienate everybody, they'll simply become the party of angry rednecks (see recent post on brainstorm proclamation by a GOP politician from SC).