California: Union dominance out in the open

Orange County Register (CA) ^ | July 9, 2009 | Jon Coupal

[Oldeconomybuyer]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, California public employees are the highest-paid in all 50 states. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office in Sacramento has rated California the most generous in pension benefits for its employees. These guaranteed pensions are costing taxpayers more each year. The current bill is approaching $5 billion a year.

Government workers still on the job have wonderful security – state employment actually grew in 2008 over the previous year, while the state's overall unemployment rate currently stands at 11.5 percent.

Despite the economy and California's crushing tax burden, government employee unions push for even more taxes – one union is advocating more than $40 billion in new levies. Their agents in the Legislature, who depend so heavily on union campaign contributions, slavishly pursue the union agenda of higher taxes to guarantee job security and escalating compensation for their benefactors.

If there is any silver lining to the current budget crisis, it is that public-employee union dominance over California politics is garnering a lot more public scrutiny. More and more is being written about the undue influence of government unions and the unrealistic compensation packages they are able to extract from state and local governments.

This scrutiny is long overdue.

[FlyVet]

This can’t be true. Only capitalists are greedy.

[EagleUSA]

If there is any silver lining to the current budget crisis, it is that public-employee union dominance over California politics is garnering a lot more public scrutiny. More and more is being written about the undue influence of government unions and the unrealistic compensation packages they are able to extract from state and local governments.
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Hey, what is wrong with a little “community organizing” in Taxifornia??? (/sarcasm)

[mbs6]

Frequently when I’m visiting with family and friends who are not from California, I get the following question: “What’s wrong with California? What is the cause of your financial woes?” My answer is always the same: “The unions freaking OWN the state.” Next question.

[Regulator]

Every day I see Mercedes-Benz's, big SUV's, and other luxury cars with the Cal fire fighter emblem on the license plate. I also noticed a rather large number of them parked in front of expensive homes in the hills above me.

Slowly, you start to get the game: the taxing class - a new "nobility" - has it made in the shade here. A captive market for their "services" (like denying building permits).

All they have to do is import an impoverished class to vote for them - and they pay themselves to administer the welfare state which brings the votes. Handsomely.

And those of us in the middle who produce the real wealth? We pay endlessly. And get nothing.

[Spok]

Time after time we have seen unions drive companies into bankruptcy in defense of their ‘principles’, it’s always been a cost they were willing to pay. Now, it’s local governments they’ll force out of business. How do they think that’s going to work out?

[Achilles Heel]

And those of us in the middle who produce the real wealth? We pay endlessly. And get nothing.

Only recourse is wait to sell a home and leave. Why give away earned dollars to these greedy govt employees.