Can the State or Cities or School Districts Operate Like the Private Sector?

Before I begin, let me state clearly that I don't have an answer for this question. Like a lot of Wisconsinites, I was watching Governor Scott Walker's 5 pm press conference on Fri., Feb. 18. While I was listening to what he had to say, I thought about what I'd learned earlier in the day about collective bargaining and I suddenly wanted to know:

Why can't the state or cities or villages or school districts adopt policies that allow them to act more like private sector businesses? The entities I just listed do have non-union employees, and they are held to many of the same benefit arrangements as employees in the private sector; well-defined salary ranges, insurance plans at certain costs, weeks of vacation to correspond with years of service, etc.

For example, what if the state (and I use that example because of the budget repair bill, but cities, villages, or school districts can be substituted) developed salary structures and benefit levels similar to that of private companies and those were the only ranges and packages available? State officials would conduct fair market value studies - and make them public - of positions to determine salary ranges, shop around for the best value in health insurance, and make a chart of vacation earned depending on years of service.

All the protections guaranteed to private sector employees under the laws currently on the books would be extended to public employees, and so on.

Of course I realize that a public body's ability to offer these salaries and benefit packages is largely determined by budget, but there, again, private sector employees have their salaries frozen, companies stop matching 401 (k) contributions, etc. because of how a company earns (or not). 

Which, of course, brings up another question we could address in a separate column and that is how government and schools are funded.

Anyway, I really want to know what Muskego Patch readers think about this issue because I don't know whether it's even feasible or how to think about it if it is.