Coase Colored Glasses

Monday, October 10, 2005

All Gov't Employees Are Overpaid!

I think that all those who work for Uncle Sam are way over paid! Prof. Simmons' remarks today got me thinking about this a lot. Let's look a key issue.

Incentives:

I don't know of any gov't employee who has efficiency running through his veins. They don't do it. Why? They don't have too. There is no incentive to gain a profit, so there is no incentive to work hard and reach those unreachable goals (which is accomplished in the private sector all the time). Fear lurks under the desks and in the coffee mugs of those gov't employees. The guy in charge of helping the homeless on the street of a growing metropolis fears the idea of getting all the homeless off the street. When this is done, he will be the one who will be homeless looking for a job. When all the hungry children are feed. When crime has disappeared. When all the orphans have homes. When all the drugs are gone. Need I go on? When unemployed are now employed. When workers have their crazy demands met.

By making gov't run efficiently, people will lose their jobs and feelings will be hurt. People typically value their jobs and are working not so efficient to keep that job. Or they will just blow out of proportion reality and the severity of the problem.

3 Comments:

At 12:26 PM, Blogger randytsimmons said...

What the data actually show is that people are overpaid for the jobs they do. Comparable jobs in the private sector pay less. The serious question to ask is what institutional arrangement would fix the problem? ANd is it really a problem that we get less government than we pay for? Do you really want government to be efficient?

 
At 10:09 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So under spencers guidlines for healthy education we should all be at applied techknology collages. Learning a trade and not learning to think.

 
At 10:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

J. Alexander,

If you don't mind I would like to ask a question. Those who work for big brother in the Welfare department do not generate wealth, they spend it. If they desired higher wages, what would be your solution?

 

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