"Fat Cat" Public Employees? Hardly

With the economy continuing to worsen and state and municipal budgets nearing the breaking point, some pundits and politicians on the right are trying to deflect attention from the roots of the crisis and towards the public sector, with the aim of implementing sweeping cuts. But according to professors Max Wolff and Richard Wolff, this campaign is not only incorrect in its assertions, but cutting public spending will be ultimately detrimental to the economy, our infrastructure and to society:

"State and local employees provide vital services to all. Our education, transport, protection, courts and civic participation rely on public-sector workers. Over 85 percent of Americans are educated in public institutions, from first grade through university. Our police, fire, courts, social workers and clerks keep all of us and our property secure. Our roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, trains, buses and security are public-sector work. Our diversity and our veterans are well represented among our public-sector workers. Cutting the public sector will worsen the economic crisis while deepening many social problems."