You obviously are not an analyst

Reader comment on: NYT on Public Sector Pay

Submitted by Chris (United States), Feb 18, 2011 02:15

Would you complain that the average income Wall Street bankers dwarfs that of the average American? Of course not. But your premise is just as ridiculous. I have yet to see a peer reviewed economic study that has concluded that, after accounting for education, experience, hours worked, and benefits, that public sector employees earn more than private sector employees do - they conclude just the opposite.

The reason is much the same as those Wall Street bankers - public employees aren't popping out plastic molded parts. The proportion of bachelor degrees and advanced degrees among the public sector is much higher than among the private sector. The fact that they have higher average pay is meaningless when the jobs aren't even comparable. When compared to equivalent jobs in the private sector, compensating for education, experience, hours worked, and benefits, public sector employees still end up earning less than their peers. The difference isn't huge when you factor in the hours and benefits, on average, it is around 3.7% less than their private sector counterparts.

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