The June 5 and 6 series, “Top public salaries,” regarding public employee pay, puts the finger on why people are upset with same. Using the pay gap figures given therein, that the top 10 percent of public employees’ pay is 4.24 times the lowest 10 percent, and 8.75 times in the private sector, you have this picture:
Assuming the top 10 percent of each group earns $200,000, the bottom 10 percent of private workers earn $22,857, while the bottom 10 percent of public employees earns $47,170. This is bad enough, but stir in benefits and employment “risk,” as well as all the other “risks” in private industry, and it is not hard to see why the “non-public employee” public is rightfully upset.
Greg Lucas
Vancouver
