Budget-balancing pragmatism

This is in response to the Aug. 23 op-ed piece by Byron York. Mr. York made the point that federal employees make substantially more than workers in the private sector. He indicated that one step in balancing the budget would be to reduce the amount of salary and benefits paid to federal workers. His argument is flawed.

First, the figures used by the Heritage Foundation and cited by Mr. York relied on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In contrast, figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compares individuals who perform similar jobs, show that federal workers earn 22 percent less, not more, than their counterparts in the private sector.

Second, 51 percent of the federal work force has a college degree. In contrast 35 percent of the individuals in the private work force have college degrees. Isn't it logical then that the federal work force would have a higher average salary?

Third, even if every federal employee was fired and no salaries or wages were paid by the federal government, the federal budget would be reduced by less than 10 percent. A freeze of federal pay would reduce next year's budget by only one-tenth of 1 percent.

Therefore, those of us who would balance the budget need to be sufficiently honest and pragmatic enough to realize that in order to balance this budget we must raise taxes.

JOHN R. PIEPHO, Cape Girardeau