Government workers can sacrifice a bit, too

Joseph Liberty, Henderson

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | 2:02 a.m.

After reading the Saturday story by David McGrath Schwartz in the Las Vegas Sun, “Lawmakers aim to blunt state worker pay cuts,” I am both angry and appalled by the whining and greed of state employees, teachers and their unions, and by the self-serving comments by the Nevada Faculty Alliance lobbyist, Jim Richardson, and Lynn Warne, president of the Nevada State Education Association.

If the buzz word is “sacrifice,” then let’s talk about the large number of unemployed; the homeless and those who have become homeless because they can no longer afford their mortgage payments; the businesses that are failing because of the recession; the lack of adequate care for the retirees who can afford only Medicare; and the lack of consideration by members of the Legislature for the majority of the people who vote them into office.

The real solution to the funding problem is not to raise taxes but to delete health care funding for retired state and city workers, and let them use Medicare just like the people who pay their salaries. And, while we are at it, let’s calculate retirement pay on the same basis as in the private sector.

These two options would give the state and city governments the needed funding to adequately pay for the professional help and balance their respective budgets. And, guess what, sacrifice would then be equal.