Bob CollinsThe Big Picture blog is wading into the public employees controversy in Wisconsin by jumping into the data about how much public employees are paid in Wisconsin compared to their counterparts around the country (click for larger image).
“Lo and behold, it appears we might lay blame for the crisis at the feet of Wisconsin’s Teacher Assistants, who are pulling down, on average (not median), $240 more than the $24,280 being paid to their counterparts in other states,” the blog notes wryly.
For the record, however, the BLS numbers don’t tell the entire story, since they only provide particulars on wages, not on total compensation, which of course includes benefits. The numbers also don’t reflect the geographic differences in cost of living.
MPR’s Tim Nelson takes the numbers a step further, comparing Wisconsin to its border states. Even then, Wisconsin is behind its upper Midwest neighbors in most every category.
