Public sector should help fix problems

“Boehner’s offer doesn’t add up. The math does not work.” This is what President Obama says of the Republicans’ latest offer to avert going over the fiscal cliff. What doesn’t add up is $1.2 trillion minus $160 billion (make the upper 2 percent pay their share) minus 0 dollars the Democrats have offered up as concessions to date equals a balanced budget. Our government wants to demonize the private sector and take no responsibility for the public sector. The private sector didn’t cause this mess; however, they want us to make the sacrifices necessary to crawl out of it.

How about the public sector making some contribution to the problem? Not one of our government officials even brings up cutting public sector pensions to get remotely close to our Social Security benefits. Let’s start by making their retirement start at 65 like the rest of ours do. How about putting caps on the amount the public sector can get as pension benefits like we have in Social Security?

I’m quite sure there is plenty of fluff that can be cut from public sector benefits that would put them in the same boat as we in the private sector. I wonder why our government leaves their own out of the solution. I’m sure they are a part of the problem.

Paul Frost

Palatine