Rick Green's Eye

Courant columnist Rick Green is a keen observer of very obscure, though important facts. In a recent blog posting he dusts off and shines a spotlight on an issue that must be resolved if Connecticut ever has a hope of containing runaway tax spending. He quotes DonKlepper-Smith, Governor Rell's economist:
There is a long-standing, red-herring argument that has been backed by symphony orchestra string sections about how poorly public sector employees are paid. In fact one is led to believe that to work in the government sector is to be doing the altruistic "public service" akin to feeding the poor in starving nations.

The bare and ugly truth is that the salaries, benefits, time-off, government perks, and pensions over time far exceed the economics of the private sector for the vast majority of Americans. Government itself, as a self-regulating and self-serving consumer of tax dollars has long been an economic pig wearing lipstick.

The size of government needs to be trimmed and the obscene excesses of compensation need to be brought under control.

Two decades ago, this problem was identified and swept under the rug. The prediction at that time was that government serving government spending would first collapse the free market economy and then finally implode it's own.

We are nearing the time of that implosion. The free market economy is bare and staggering.