Public pay and pensions too generous

At some point, the trough will be empty--

Ohio public pay called too generous | www.daytondailynews.com: "State employees in Ohio receive $9.89 per hour more in wages and benefits than their private-sector counterparts, according to a report released Thursday by a conservative watchdog group. This disparity is larger than in 44 other states, according to the report from Washington D.C.-based Citizens Against Government Waste. It gives Ohio the grade of “F” compared to other states. A major driver of this difference, according to report authors, is generous public sector pensions: “Taxpayers in every state are struggling to grasp the sheer magnitude that state and local government unfunded pension liabilities are having on programs and services,” it states. In Ohio, the conditions the report illustrates have long been the focus of attention. On Wednesday Gov. John Kasich signed a major overhaul of Ohio’s five public sector pension systems that will cost workers billions, require them to work longer, reduce cost-of-living adjustments and make the programs solvent . . . Nationally, the report authors say state governments pay on average 6.2 percent more per hour in wages and benefits than the private sector in these fields. Utah has the lowest disparity, with state workers there earning an average $28.70 versus $24.74 in the private sector."

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