Wis. Public Workers' Pay Isn't So Hot

Don't call the Wisconsin public employees greedy—despite generous benefits, they actually earn 4.8% less than comparable private sector workers, reports the Wisconsin State Journal. Public sector workers have higher salaries than average because their jobs require more education than average, too: in fact, a typical Wisconsin public employee with a bachelor's degree earns less than $62,000 a year, compared to more than $82,000 in the private sector.

Many trade private sector cash for public sector benefits and stability—precisely what "Walker is trying to take away," grouses one public employee. Proposed cuts have turned out protesters, counter-protesters, Tea Partiers, and others to the statehouse for five consecutive days, with numbers reaching 70,000 yesterday. "I just think these people are so entitled," one pro-cutback woman tells the Wall Street Journal. "Who do they think is paying for all this?" (More Wisconsin stories.)