Bob Walsh, the head of the National Education Association of Rhode Island teachers union, perfectly illustrates the problem with so much insider thinking in the Ocean State with this comment:

Perspective: If you supported the extra $600 per week that unemployed workers received during the pandemic but are critical of a $3000 stipend (less than $40/week) for those who spent the last 80 weeks working during the pandemic you need to think hard about your values.

The government stepped in to help people who were thrown out of work, often because the government forbade their employers from opening.  Walsh thinks that entitles government employees who were never forced to stop working and who may even have had an easier time at work, inasmuch as their offices closed down at times without stopping the paychecks, they were able to work from home, and/or their clients’ access to their offices was severely restricted.

So, government workers are insulated from the effects of economic challenges, and still they want an added “equity” benefit mirroring help that was offered to those who suffered.