I earn more in the private sector. There is really no limit to how far I can go. In government, only City of Wheeling employees can get bonuses but most government employees trade off potential (ambition, hard work, success) in return for safe and steady paychecks, benefits and job security.

From my previous posts, you should know that when I say "public employees", I am referring to city, county and state employees, public unions and federal bureucrats. I don't think anyone with common sense would equate City of Wheeling firemen and Ohio County schoolteachers with FBI agents of CIA case officers. Both groups work for government but the latter group will not be out walking a picket line anytime soon.

Of course, that is not the ONLY reason I called you a moron. Your previous posts have convinced me that you watch too much Oprah when your hubby is in Columbus or wherever, Monday-Friday.

Interesting that you have such low esteem for public employees of all kinds. Get turned down for a job on the public side did ya?! Didn't have the qualifications or just weren't quite good enough?

I can only guess that your friends went to school to become teachers because they could not handle the math and science necessary to do something productive-or they had a relative to help get them in to a cushy job. Teachers generally come from the bottom 10% of college graduates. If they were qualified, they would be coding software, designing buildings, building bridges or producing chemical products.

People generally go into the humanities to hide. Affirmative action and BS won't get you through the hard sciences. You actually have to KNOW something in the sciences, unlike the humanities, where you have to know SOMEONE.

My dear Ellis, that is Bulls h i t and you know it. I have several friends who are school teachers. They went to college to become school teachers. They didn't go to b-school and unable to find a job, opt to become school teachers.

Ellis further whined, "The best and brightest don't go into public employment."

So you're saying that all public employees such as firefighters, police, FBI, CIA, school teachers, EMT's, professors, generals, soldiers, health department doctors and nurses, etc, etc, are all second rate at their jobs? How can YOU be that ignorant?!

Let's face the facts. Most people working in the public sector are there because they could not get work in the private sector.

There is a trade-off for everything. For example, let's say you can find a job at $15 per hour. This job is 10 minutes from your house. Now, you can also find a job for $20 per hour. This second job requires a 1.5 hour commute. Yes, you are earning $10,000 per year more at the 2nd job but when you add up the extra 700 hours per year in travel time, stress and gas, is it worth it?

The same principle applies here. Public workers trade off higher wages in return for good benefits, retirement packages, less work hours, lack of accountability and better job security.

If they don't like teaching or working for the state, let them find comparable private sector employment, if they can.

The best and brightest don't go into public employment.

If you wish to eliminate this "perk" (which unfortunately for some State agencies has already been done with what should have been anticipated results), you will need to sweeten the package by increasing wages.

Of course, many who do not understand what it means to work for the State of WV will simply knee-jerk against this too.