State's insurance plan still generous
The standoff in Madison on collective-bargaining rights largely has overshadowed that state employees effectively will be taking a significant pay cut under Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair bill. But by any measure, as Walker has noted and most state employees acknowledge, the state will continue to provide rich health-insurance benefits compared with the private sector, where nearly 40% of employers don't offer health benefits at all. (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 2/28)