does not mean that this need ought to be publicly subsidized....
Last night reading Leigh's post on Santa Cruz bus drivers vs. "Marxist Mike, " Rotkin, I thought of making a reply based on a set of similiar thoughts.
Santa Cruz bus drivers , "who start out making about $34,000 annually, earn more than $50,000 after six years. Many argue those wages mean little given the costs of medical insurance, " from Leigh's snipe http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20051003/021900.html at Mike Rotkin yesterday.
A public official, whatever his or her ideological bent, whether left reformist like Rotkin, centrist or rightist, has to attempt to balance multiple conflicting interests, from greedy land developers that add to the housing stock (desperately needed in Santa Cruz, fought by MIMBY's like Leigh) , blue and white collar public sector workers who in my view in this case of the bus drivers there, have a narrow, sectoral, selfish, "protect my salary and benefits consciousness, at the expense of other public sector workers fighting for more of a small pie, or private sector workers making far less, w/ no benefits" in a city with a very inadequate tax base...tourism, no factories to speak of, get a job on the Mall downtown in retail make $7 an hr. if you lucky. Those Santa Cruz bus drivers doing some quick and dirty math, assuming these are gross $#'ers, not net, for starting pay, make $16.35 an hr. Denver bus drivers (I was told one day temping there, moving furniture, $8 an hr. by the RTD permanent employee who I worked for) employed by RTD start at $14.00 an hr. But, a good third if not up to half of the bus drivers iin Denver, in my observation are "independent contractors, " employed from as far away as Memphis and NYC, that start at $11.00 an hr. I'm not saying screw those Santa Cruz bus drivers, cut their pay and benefits(!), everyone that lives and works in Santa Cruz in the bottom 2/3rds should make more, just that, finally, again, Leigh's pov on this doesn't take into acct. any of the budgetary realities confronting Rotkin or other public officials on the Left.
-- Michael Pugliese