The New Elite: Public Servants Become Public Masters

Why layoff policemen, firemen or teachers first? Why indeed!

In case you haven’t noticed, America is broke…..really broke. Not only do we not have anymore of our own money, but we are fast running out of China’s and Japan’s money as well.   As we continue to pile more and more debt on the backs of our great grandchildren, there are those who want us to continue deeper down the rabbit hole.

We are dealing with a government, from the federal all the way down to cities/towns, committed to trickle down ruination. Like crack addicts looking for their next fix, our representatives (a term I use loosely) will not stop the spending on their own; they need to be removed from the addiction. Translation: separate them from the money (or more bluntly, vote them out!).  But politicians have willing allies in this collective downfall: public servants. The politicians and the public servants share a symbiotic relationship, one that is not favorable to the people both groups are sworn to serve, the public.

The latest crisis (never let one go to waste) we have to deal with is one that we are told will affect our firemen, policemen, and teachers.  President Obama is calling for another $50 billion dollars in deficit spending to ‘save’ (translation: bailout and reward poor behavior) troubled States and municipalities.  If this money is not thrown at the crisis, cities and states will be forced to lay off thousands, if not millions of Obama’s union buddies.  President Obama made it a point to mention this measure was to ensure that we did not layoff vital public servants such as firemen, policemen, or teachers. In his ‘never let a crisis go to waste’ mentality, President Obama made this proclamation late on a Saturday, when no one was watching.  As if you can ‘sneak’ $50 billion dollars past the America people without them noticing (not in this climate).

But why the firemen, policemen, or teachers?  Why not the librarian, the part-time city clerk, or the street sweeper?  Because those cuts will not scare us enough to open our wallets! Politicians are so transparent you can see the ‘lack of a spine’ on almost any given issue.  Worse yet are the willing participants who immediately write letters to the editor or appear before the city council/school board (often at the urging of the very groups that would rather see us go bankrupt than give up one precious taxpayer penny), in support of reckless behavior that has jeopardized the stability of our nation and our communities. In the name of compassion, we have placed a yolk of financial servitude around the necks of the very people we profess to be helping. Compassion without discipline is merely the actions of an irrational do-gooder, and sometimes the uninformed do-gooder is their own worst enemy. 

We hear tired old mantras  - “It’s for the kids,  It’s a tough job, they deserve a million dollars, It’s only $30.00 more a year –  per household, It’s for the kids (that one deserved repeating).”  There is no shame and no exaggeration that won’t be exploited.  In a time when most people have not only not seen raises (including cost of living), but salary and benefit reductions, many public servants feel that are entitled to keep feeding from the taxpayer trough, and even demand that more and more be added.  

The problem with public servant salaries and unfunded liabilities (healthcare and retirement funds) has been at epidemic levels for decades, but the matter only seems to garner our attention during a bad economy.  Additionally, past attempts to bring our financial relationship with public employees into proper prospective has been met with a full-frontal attack by the unions that represent them.  One only needs to look at every major city in America, or the chaos in Greece, to know that public employees are only concerned about their own self-interest.

The relationship between unions/public servants and the tax payer reminds me of the old fable ‘The Scorpion and the Frog.’ In the story the scorpion convinces a frog to take him across the river.  At first the frog refuses, fearing he would be stung. But reluctantly the frog agrees, only after the scorpion promises not to sting the frog, proclaiming that the sting would doom them both. You know the rest.  Half-way across the river the scorpion stings the frog.  When ask why, the scorpion replied – “I’m a scorpion; it’s my nature.”   Both sink beneath the water.  Like the fable ‘The Scorpion (unions/public servant) and the Frog (the tax payer),’ the unions seem all too willing to sting the tax payer, knowing full well that it will spell doom for the both of them. And when asked why, unions reply “We are a union; it’s in our nature.”  

In his 2009 book Plunder, Steven Greenhut, did an outstanding job at detailing how the mutually beneficial relationship between our elected officials and our public servants is not beneficial to the taxpayers who have to pick up the tab. Mr. Greenhut illustrates how public servants are the new elite, and how their compensation packages are unsustainable. Public servants are no longer the servants.  We have made them the masters.

When these deals were first negotiated, they seemed balanced. Public employees would earn lower salaries than those working in the private sector, but the trade off were that public employees would receive a somewhat better retirement and more days off. Now, public employees get higher average pay than those in the private sector, much better benefits, and many more days off. The selfishness of many public servants (and the unions that represent them) is perverted, and shows a willful lack of understanding as to the collective crisis we all share. We are stealing from future generations and we don’t care.  The questions is not how much longer will it take before we are like Greece, but how much like Greece are we already.

Live Free or Die

Reference articles:

Public employees living larger than ever as economy struggles

Public Pension Cuts, Once Unthinkable, Now On The Table

Even in Europe: Millions in the public sector to pay more for pension

For feds, more get 6-figure salaries

Why the fireman?

Budget Crisis, States Take Aim at Pension Costs

Government employees now take higher salaries than private workers