Wouldn’t It be Nice?

In the Circus Minimus playing beneath the Gold Dome in Trenton, one center-ring attraction is the squabble over unused sick day payouts for public employees. Lump sum payouts that are bringing many city and town budgets to their knees. Forcing layoffs of police, firemen and teachers and borrowing millions just to pay ransom to those on the sick day payout gravy train. The squabble is over whether to cut the farce out completely, use ‘em or loose ‘em, or to keep the free handout of taxpayers money but put a cap on the total payout. The Governor wants the former, Democrats in the Legislature the latter. The Democrats are sustained by Public Union money and must serve the Unions’ interest above all others. So their insistence on keeping the swill flowing is understandable.  But I would offer another compromise. Keep the payouts for unused sick days for public workers, but extend it also to all private sector workers as well. Private workers taxes pay for public workers perks. So how about raising taxes on public workers to subsidize the same perk for private workers? Just put a surcharge on the taxes of all who are receiving payoffs for unused sick days and use the revenue to provide the same perk for the rest of us.  It’s only fair.