I don't think there is much disagreement with the idea that if you say something enough--whether it's true or not--people begin to believe it. "Death panels" anyone?
I am sick of hearing that public employees are doing better than their private sector counterparts. That argument only works if you are lazy with your math!
If you compute the average compensation for an employee in the public sector, and do the same for the private sector, the public sector employee has a higher average compensation. And when Bill Gates walks into a restaurant, on average everyone in the place becomes a millionaire!
The problem with comparing the averages is that you're comparing apples to oranges. E.J. Dionne's column in today's "Washington Post" nailed this. The problem is that the public sector has many more people in positions requiring advanced education: teachers, nurses, lawyers in the DA's offices, etc. In Wisconsin, 60% of public employees have at least a bachelor's degree vs 20% of private sector workers. The appropriate comparison is to see how someone with a particular level of education fares in the public sector vs the same person's worth to the private sector.
Here's the link to Dionne's column: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2011/02/wisconsin_dueling_statistics_a.html
There are links to 2 charts at the end of his column. I found that I had to "copy and paste" the URL's into my browser to get to them. I'll make it easier for you. Here are the links to the charts:
NY Times chart (wages only) : http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/02/19/us/19union_graphic.html?ref=us
Economic Policy Institute chart (wages + benefits): http://www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/wisconsin_public_servants_already_face_a_compensation_penalty/
Final note: If I were in charge of the union operation in Wisconsin, I would buy every bit of billboard space and TV time I could get my hands on so that every voter in the state sees the EPI chart as many times as possible.
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