April 26, 2011
This point should have been raised in an NYT article that discussed efforts by state and local governments to reduce their pension obligations. At present, state and local employees get somewhat lower compensation (including pension and health care benefits) than workers in the private sector with comparable education and experience. If pensions are cut back then the penalty for public sector workers will get larger. In the short-run most public employees will probably remain at their jobs even with pay cuts, however in the longer term economic theory predicts that governments that pay below market rates will have difficulty getting and keeping good workers.
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