re: If you have kids starting to search for college/career... what is left worth pursuing?

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My issue with touting the total package and then valuing it is that what I care about is the money in my pocket. Pensions are fantastic. If it's offered, I'm not turning down a pension. But it's a benefit. Tout it as a benefit. Don't give me shite about the fringes when I ask for more pay. It happens all too often. Whether or not it's a good deal is beside the point.

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You are SPOT on here...it is absolutely a tool used to "negotiate" pay raises that management utilizes to leverage employees asking for more salary. I have used it myself many times...with my employees as well as on the unions side when negotiating with other employer organizations when its time to sign a new labor agreement. This is the reason ALL employees should consider their entire compensation package instead of just their salary...so they do not hand the leverage of benefits to the entity they are negotiating with. When a business takes on a new employee they include ALL costs associated with that employees production as one cost. The employee earns every penny of those costs, if they do not they will not be employed long no matter how benevolent the employer. Management thinks in terms of costs while labor thinks in terms of salary or wages. Management already has a decided advantage in any negotiation with labor, labor willingly handing management yet another source of leverage is a bad idea.