Well, well, well…look who wrote a letter and it wasn’t crazy and it got published
More than just public workers are suffering in this downturn
State workers are unhappy about the pay cuts proposed in Gov. Markell’s budget plan. They argue that they already work for less money than people in the private sector, and they do this because they receive the benefits, retirement and stability that government jobs offer. It seemed like a fair economic trade, but now they believe the fairness has gone out of that equation.
AdvertisementMy heart goes out to my friends who work in the public sector, but they seem to feel they are being targeted to shoulder all of the burden in this recession. They forget that 1,100 workers at the Newark Chrysler plant are jobless. Those folks started to shoulder this burden back in 2008. Private-sector jobs have been disappearing at Bank of America, General Motors, DuPont, and most other major employers in
Delaware. And yes, those workers were paid on a higher scale than government employees, but they are not being paid on any scale at present.Delaware state law requires that we have a balanced budget. Gov. Markell is seeking ways to achieve that as state revenues drop at unprecedented rates – $721 million in shortfalls buys a whole lot of pain. State employees should be assured that, once the economy returns to whatever normal will be in the future, they can make up lost ground. The idea of making the pay cuts proportional to income should be part of the equation. If employees prefer unpaid time off, that should be considered, along with the reduced services that will result from shorter workweeks. But taking a position that no cuts are acceptable simply isn’t realistic. We are all carrying this burden, public and private sectors alike.
Rebecca Young
Newark
Thanks for the heads-up DV. I have many friends who work in government and this is a dreadful time for them. But, as you know from personal experience, they are not alone and there are a lot of folks who are much worse off. That is reality today. Fairness demands that the pain be spread as evenly as possible.
And teachers are my heros, the future of the nation, and probably overworked and underpaid. I personally don’t have the patience to deal with children, so I marvel at anyone who choses to teach. But teachers have to step up and take their share of this burden. They are not exempt because they are wonderful. I know a lot of wonderful people who are hurting right now.
Great letter, Rebecca. You’ve expressed exactly how I feel. When the State pay cut was announced I felt terrible for State workers (still do) but then I realized they were just climbing into the boat with the rest of us.
Who is taking the position that “no cuts are acceptable?” This is a red herring. State workers got zero pay raises when times were reasonably good and cutting their salaries now will bring them back to wage rates that prevailed five or six years ago.
a wage is better than no wage.
Feel free to test the market though, that’s what capitalism is all about…if you don’t like it…move
I feel bad for the state workers, I really do. I’m sort of in the same boat. I’m taking a 4% pay cut, but at least I get to take days off. I just hope everyone knows that we’re all in this together, we can’t separate the economy from our lives and there is a lot of pain in our future. I hope we’ll all remember who’s responsible for the problems we have now and try to hold them accountable.