Eliot Seide, director of the state employees’ union AFSCME Council 5, had a compelling op-ed in the Star Tribune (Saturday, Feb. 20). In Public Employees Keep Things Afloat, Seide was responding to an earlier Katherine Kersten column that called the public sector an anchor sinking Minnesota.
Far from Kersen’s portrayal, Seide points out that the average AFSCME member’s wage is $38,000 per year. He wrote, “Top economists on the left and right agree that investing in vital public services is one of the best ways to save and create jobs. They know that every dollar invested in public services grows the economy by $1.41 — and that helps put all Americans back to work.”