$13k=pension for private sector worker in NY state
$27k=pension for public sector worker in NY state
Pensions will push states to declare bankruptcy. Illinois is the worst and I am surprised any business will do business with them since they are so far behind in paying its bills.
Public sector jobs are different than private sector jobs. Looking at things as if they're the same just gives you crappy numbers. They often require more training, better education and suffer more from high turnover. That private sector number has every grocery store bagger and gas pump attendant in it too.
For almost every category of worker, that same level of training and education pays less and has worse benefits, retirement included in the public sector.
For example, registered nurses working for the government received $74,460 per year while in the private sector, the number is $63,780.
The same study found some occupations where the private sector paid more (airline pilots, lawyers).
There is a nice table there with a breakdown by occupation.
So it seems like the issue is a bit more complicated than the headlines would suggest. Imagine that.
You have to also breakdown experience, etc. People with the experience of many of those federal workers make significantly more in the private sector.
This feels like an innumerate reporter making comparisons without a statistician telling them what they really mean.
Hiring a more educated or experienced person for a job in which their education or experience doesn't lead them to be more productive in that particular position is just inefficiency. On the other hand if their experience leads them to be more efficient in their job then it would make sense to pay them more.
I can totally agree with you that you have to be pretty careful when drawing conclusions from these sorts of studies.
Personally I would be pleasantly surprised to read an accurate study that showed that the government was more efficient with its payroll than the private sector. I'm not going to hold my breath though.