The state and local employee unions complain they aren’t treated fairly (see item 1 above), but our economic wizard EJ Antoni has just analyzed the latest data on how much MORE government workers are paid than comparable private sector worker.

The cost of a state or local government employee is 41.7% higher than a private sector employee. Wages and salaries are 24.4% higher for these government workers than their private sector counterparts, but the big difference is benefits, which are a whopping 83.0% higher for public sector workers.