Cadillac pay in the land of Lincoln

Article Highlights

  • Is pay for private and public workers in Illinois about even? Andrew Biggs examines the latest data

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  • Private sector worker in Illinois would have to up 401K contribution from 4 to 40% of salary to equal public sector pension

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  • Are Illinois public employees overpaid compared to private sector workers? The key is benefits

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Apparently some quotes I provided for a news story on public sector pay in Illinois have caused some concern there, where pay and benefits for government workers is a live political issue. I haven’t analyzed Illinois specifically–and as my study with Jason Richwine on Ohio pay shows, these things can get complicated–but my guestimate to the reporter was that it’s very likely that Illinois public employees receive a pay premium over similar private sector workers.

Read the full article on American.com

Andrew G. Biggs is a resident scholar at AEI

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About the Author

 

Andrew G.
Biggs
  • Andrew G. Biggs is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. Prior to joining AEI he was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA's policy research efforts and led the agency's participation in the Social Security Trustees working group. In 2005 he worked on Social Security reform at the National Economic Council and in 2001 was on the staff of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Andrew’s work at AEI focuses on Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and comparisons of public and private sector compensation. His work has appeared in academic publications as well as outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post, and he has testified before Congress on numerous occasions. He holds a Bachelors degree from the Queen's University of Belfast, Masters degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.

  • Phone: 202-862-5841
    Email: andrew.biggs@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Veronika Polakova
    Phone: 202-862-4880
    Email: veronika.polakova@aei.org

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