Newspaper questions 'benefit envy' in public sector

From a recent editorial in The Pottstown Mercury:

THORNS to public employees — and that includes teachers and police — who continue to think they are deserving of the generous benefit packages they get on the taxpayers' dime. The "benefit envy" generated by public employee perquisites is at the heart of the protests in Wisconsin and discontent throughout the nation. The Associated Press characterizes the divide as a national issue that has "set off resentment in a time when economic doldrums have left practically everyone tightening their belts." Health-care packages in particular remain at the heart of stalled public employee contract negotiations, as employees argue against benefit reductions that if accepted would still leave them with plans superior to those in the private sector. The costs and promise in public employee pensions are among the factors driving fiscal crises in state and municipal governments. And the situation is certain to get worse before it gets better in the wake of Gov Tom Corbett's budget proposal that puts a funding squeeze on local school districts and municipalities. Local taxpayers are not going to welcome a tax hike if they see teachers and other public employees with better benefit plans than the private sector. No one is winning this battle; something has to give.