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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 4, 2009

Regarding "Public payroll becomes unfair load" (Our Opinion, June 28) and "Step into their uniform" (Letters, July 1): We all have the ability to choose our occupation. We know what the compensation, hazards and risks will be.

The reality is that compensation practices have changed (401k versus pension, employees shouldering a larger portion of health care, etc.). Yet government compensation practices have not. What a government employee may not make now in gross salary is often more than made up for in benefits, lifetime pension and stable employment.

In the past year my employer stopped contributing to my 401k, stopped contributing a portion of long-term disability, vision and dental insurance, increased my portion of health insurance by $200 per month and cut salaries by 7 percent. With the exception of actual layoffs, are government employees ever exposed to this kind of volatility in compensation?

Government, at all levels, needs to wake up and join the rest of us in the real world.

DAVID HOFFMAN

Tampa

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