A column about history, culture, policy, and things in between.
Only in government could such a notion as the stockpiling of unused sick days in a taxpayer-funded "bank", with the value of these "days" to be paid out upon retirement, be even seriously debated, much less firmly established as legitimate operating practice.
Stop for a minute and think about this. All of us get sick. And when we do, we should not have to fear for our livelihood regardless of who we work for. But that is where the similarity ends. Employers in the private sector pay for employees to have a modest number of sick days each year, but the strong expectation is that only a few will actually be used. And they certainly do not allow their employees to "bank" their unused days, accumulating their significant worth year after year, to be paid out upon their retirement. Under such an absurd system, the employee gets paid twice for the same day of work: the day he/she came to work, and the days they didn't take off as a sick day. Further, they are wrongly incentivized to come in and work on days they have no business doing so, both for their sake and the sake of their fellow associates.
The reason private employers don't do this is because, A.) It doesn't make any sense, and B.) They can't afford it. If they can't afford such largesse for their own employees, then why should government be able to offer it to theirs? The worm is beginning to turn, and sooner or later politicians will have to accept the reality that what the private sector cannot afford, the public sector cannot afford and should not offer.
It's not about politics anymore; it's about the fact that such programs are simply no longer fiscally sustainable.
Ted Kanavas and a few others are to be commended for their stance on this issue. We need to openly call on ALL politicians to renounce such silly and out-dated programs. There are two simple reasons for this. First, it's the right thing to do. And second, if they can't bring themselves to discontinue such ludicrous, self-serving programs as this, what makes you think they will be able or willing to tackle the REALLY tough issues that lie ahead.
As Wisconsin begins to wrestle with a defecit measured in the BILLIONS, we need to be able to make the easy decisions quickly.
This decision is a no brainer, no matter how "sick" it may make some people in Madison.
