Quote Originally Posted by Dreadnaught View Post
They don't pay taxes there?

They do pay taxes here, it's not even an issue. Though on principle, I do see how state workers not paying taxes may be a bit of a funky idea. If state workers don't pay taxes, it really just reinforces the perception that state workers are an elite, protected class of people.

Similarly, a lot of the people who want to make the state workforce more "normal" are also interested in letting state employees compete in a more normal labor market so that they can receive better pay for better work. Instead of wallowing around in slightly lower salary jobs-for-life that happen to also come with pensions-for-life.
Dread you completely, absolutely, missed his point. He wasn't making any here or there comparisons. He's pointing out the fundamental weirdness *at a systems level* of government providing the paycheck and simultaneously taking part of it away as taxes. It would make more sense *and be more efficient* to just have the government jobs not be taxed, while paying less. Same result, fewer steps. It's an observation which I'm sure has occurred to most of us at one point or other.