re: #678 Aceofwhat?

cool. lots of common ground there. i don’t want to muck it up by nitpicking.

so just one quick clarification - can we agree that while plenty of private employees might be ‘overpaid’ by whatever standard you and i would create, at least their pay is not directly funded by our taxes? i think that’s an important distinction. if you think that Campbell overpays their executives, you can always buy Progresso soup, or whatever…

minor point-

I agree the distinction is meaningful. I only mention private employees because, in my observation, the same forces that lead government employers (weak managers, fear of change, etc…) to overpay apply to private employers as well. But you are right, private employers are subject to market discipline that sometimes tempers that. In other cases (mortgage bankers, derivative traders, et al), not so much.

And I entirely agree that since they are dealing with our money, governmental agencies ought to be frugal and efficient.