Public Versus Private? Or, Workers Versus Plutocrats

Corporate Profits are at historic levels. Yet, many corporations pay an effective tax rate of zero.

Although profits are up, workers are not sharing in the bounty of their productivity. Unemployment still remains near double digits.

Executives are pulling in ludicrous pay, especially when compared to everyday workers.

Public sector workers total compensation as a share of state expenditures has declined over time. Workers, whether public or private, have been sacrificing. As their stagnating compensation clearly shows.

Public workers are highly educated. Nearly 60%, versus 30% for the private sector.

And, when actually compared for education and experience, public workers earn less. By bashing public workers, we are allowing the private sector to push down wages for all workers.

Productivity - output per unit of input - has climbed steadily. Workers are doing more. But they are not being rewarded. Compensation in the private and public sector has stagnated.

In every educational-attainment category, Wisconsin public workers earn less than their private sector counterparts.
The "it's the government and public workers fault" diversion we've witnessed over the past few years has been an elaborate mirage perpetrated by the creditors and financiers who've absconded so much of our nation's wealth over the past few decades.

This is a classic from the conservative playbook - keeping Democrats fighting amongst themselves (public v private worker), while also delivering blows to the foundation of democratic policies and politics (unions). What do you know, everyone forgets that the uber rich are robbing us all blind. And now we're getting policies that are destroying our government and its institutions that help the majority of citizens. Instead, we're giving corporate tax breaks, downsizing regulatory agencies, privatizing our public educational system, and selling off public goods and services.

For those who still haven't heard, supply-side economics is a failure. Tax breaks do not pay for themselves. Raising taxes on the rich by 2% will not trigger Armageddon. The tax-cutting frenzy (specifically for the wealthy) over the past 40 years is the reason for our deficits and crumbling infrastructure. We don't have a spending problem, we have a revenue problem.

If we're looking for ways to fund the programs we all appreciate and the infrastructure we all depend on regularly, maybe we should be going where the money is - the CEOs and their corporations.