Why California is Bankrupt

[futurebeachbum]

Interesting article at CIV FI (Sustainable Financing for Civilization) called "Why California is Bankrupt"

Some analysis (with caveats) in this case comparing compensation of public and private employes. Also some links to a lot of related material.

From the article (emphasis is mine):

Over the past year several attempts have been made here to evaluate just how much public sector employees make in total compensation. The most comprehensive of these was ?Public Employee Compensation,? published on Oct. 24th, 2010. In that post, which as of this writing has attracted 44 comments from very informed readers, it appears fairly well-settled that the average total compensation for a state or local worker in California is about $100K per year, and the average total compensation for a private sector worker in California is slightly under $60K per year.

The Tota Cost of Compensation includes the costs associated with retirement and benefits, etc...

Interestingly, while state employees make a lot of compensation, local (ie: city) employees make a lot more. They examine several cites.

The rates of pay that state employees enjoy, on average, is lower than the rates paid to local employees. This is particularly true with respect to local public safety jobs in law enforcement and firefighting. In the post ?The Price of Public Safety,? which looked at compensation data for employees of the city of Costa Mesa, a total compensation analysis indicated their firefighters collected an average total annual compensation of $202K, and their police officers collected an average total annual compensation of $197K. In the post ?California Firefighter Compensation,? which looked at compensation for firefighters working for the city of Sacramento, a total compensation analysis indicated the average total annual compensation for these firefighters was $180K per year.

Later in the article, the numbers for the City of El Segundo are even higher.

I wonder how these disparities compare to other states.

 

[scooterbug44]

Could you link the article please!

Do they compare apples and apples?

I get frustrated whenever they do these comparisons because they seem to just lump jobs together and compare them instead of doing a (IMO more equal) side by side comparison.

For example - public school teacher vs. private school teacher.

I find it hard to believe that firefighters and policeman are making $200K a year.

 

[30ashopper]

Could you link the article please!

Do they compare apples and apples?

I get frustrated whenever they do these comparisons because they seem to just lump jobs together and compare them instead of doing a (IMO more equal) side by side comparison.

For example - public school teacher vs. private school teacher.

I find it hard to believe that firefighters and policeman are making $200K a year.

That wouldn't surpirse me for California. The unions own local governments.

 

[futurebeachbum]

Could you link the article please!

Oops. Forgot the link.

It is there now.

 

[poppy]

Sounds like the private sector worker in california is getting screwed by their employer. It's time to demand a raise since corporations are sitting on a record amount of cash achieved partially through reducing the labor force and benefits while demanding increased production from those who were left.

 

[Bob Wells]

National average I read recently was .75 per thousand in government employee compensation versus .35 per thousand for Florida. If I can find the link I will post.

 

[hkem1]

El Segundo Public Safety Project - El Segundo Firefighters Association - El Segundo Police Officers Association - Union contracts with excessive pay are bankrupting the City of El Segundo, California and other cities. Firefighter and police unions ex

 

[30ashopper]

TALLAHASSEE ? Even as state leaders cut back on education and hike taxes and fees on residents, there's one area they won't touch: state employee benefits.

Florida's 127,000 state workers still enjoy free or inexpensive health care, rich retirement benefits and perks, such as free college tuition and ready access to financial planners.

The costs for these programs have grown in recent years. But taxpayers -- not state workers -- have paid the tab.

An example is health care. Most state employees pay $50 a month for individual premiums or $180 for a family plan, an amount that hasn't changed since 2006. The state's contribution, meanwhile, is scheduled to rise in May to $473 for an individual or $1,004 for a family ? a 35 percent increase from 2006.

The deal is even better for 26,063 state workers who pay nothing toward their health care premiums, according to a Sun Sentinel analysis of employee data provided by the Department of Management Services, which handles personnel matters.

Those figures do not include the Legislature's 1,700 employees, who also get free health care.

In all, taxpayers paid $1.19 billion for employee health care last year, a 15 percent increase from two years prior. Employee contributions declined slightly during that time, to $154 million.

Another mushrooming expense: retirement benefits.

The state's contribution to workers in the Florida Retirement System is virtually unmatched in the private sector, at 9 to 19 percent of each worker's salary. The bill for taxpayers has almost doubled in five years, to $1.1 billion. Employees don't contribute anything.

...

Even as Florida's leaders cut back on education and hike taxes and fees on residents, there's one area they won't touch: state employee benefits. - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

 

[Bob]

i say attack all state and local workers pay/benefits. they caused the bad economy and the state can break contractual agreements at will

 

[30ashopper]

i say attack all state and local workers pay/benefits. they caused the bad economy and the state can break contractual agreements at will

I think in our time of crisis, in this new era of austerity, everyone has to have some skin in the game.