One thing that would help with public employees is to drastically reduce their number. Do that by contracting out every possible government service. Yeah, police probably have to be public employees, but most of the other jobs can be outsourced to private companies. And often are around the country.
Many advantages:
1. It can be done for less cost. The evidence is overwhelming.
2. Contracting out would gut the public employee labor union monopoly, which usually is the most powerful force in electing their city and county bosses!
3. Contracting out makes it easier to dismiss both individual misfits and entire “departments” for performing below standards.
4. Contracting out would largely eliminate the bane of taxpayers — unfunded pension, workers’ comp, disability and retiree healthcare liabilities.
It’s a win-win-win-win approach — unless you are a “public servant.”
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23240