Letter: Gap between public and private sectors can't be sustained - SalemNews.com, Salem, MA

To the editor: After reading David Mondi's letter of Tuesday, April 5 ('Town employees do plenty to earn their pay and benefits'), I had to respond. I am all for people making as much money and receiving as many benefits as possible. What Mr. Mondi doesn't seem to realize is that government workers are in no way connected to the real economy. The question is not if people deserve the money and benefits, it's how to pay them. The gap between private workers and public workers is getting wider and wider all the time. This trend cannot be sustained. At least some our municipal departments are smart enough to see the writing on the wall. We in the private sector are always living in mortal fear of losing our jobs, of pay cuts, of having to pay 70 percent of our health insurance, of losing sick days (if we have any), and of losing holidays and vacation days. Forget about our receiving cost-of-living increases. Many in the private workforce have contracts that were bargained for in good faith, but cannot be funded in a depression. Many private companies have been forced out of business, leaving their employees with no pensions at all. We are not guaranteed pensions or raises by contract. If employers' phones do not ring, we have no work and go home. A large portion of our industrial and commercial customer base (60 percent) has left Massachusetts. Proof of this can be seen in the dramatic reduction in the revenues available to finance government. The cost of doing business — including their tax burden — is too high. If we can share in the good times, we must be willing to share in the hard times. We in the private sector have absolutely no guarantees. Al Allain