I don’t know what the end-game looks like, but it’s clear that we’re over-paying:
It so happens the most powerful interest groups in California’s state and local governments are the public-sector unions, which are designed to push for higher-compensation levels and oppose private-sector-style cutbacks and efficiencies (e.g., outsourcing).
“By any metric that you look at, you’re going to find that the average compensation for public employees (in California) is two-to-three times as much as the average compensation of the people who pay for these salaries. It’s shocking, actually,” said Mark Bucher, president of the free-market-oriented California Policy Center in Orange County.
via Salary Info Shows Strength of Union Muscle – Reason.com.