One Of America's Worst Blunders: Allowing Public Workers To Unionize

Forbes ^ | September 3, 2015 | George Leef

[Cheerio]

Yet another DemonRAT blunder!!

[Buckeye McFrog]

Not a blunder. A deliberate Kennedy strategy to deliver permanent hegemony to the Dems. Teddy’s immigration “reforms” came in at around the same time.

[golux]

Government employees used to get less money but more job security and maybe a stable retirement on the low-end.
Now they get:

- The most money
- The most vacation days
- The most benefits (child care, health...)
- The easiest and fattest retirement packages
- The best medical packages
- Almost complete immunity from accountability - it is IMPOSSIBLE to fire them
- AND ALL THE VOTES.

Look how we scrimp and save so they can have more of our tax dollars to put into their national ad campaigns telling us to give MORE! MORE! MORE!

And oh how they SERVE!

THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I remember when sort of Republican Governor Bob Ray did this in Iowa. Now, spend 20 years in state employment and collect 70 percent of your top salary for ever.
Genius.

[rjsimmon]

Several California cities have already gone bankrupt and more are teetering on the brink,

What exactly happens when a city goes bankrupt? Do they lose the mayors house? Do the police have to turn in their cruisers?

[stephenjohnbanker]

To a union member, the owner of a business is your enemy. To a public employee union member, the American taxpayer is your enemy.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

They dig a trench around the city about 10 ft below the deepest underground structures. Then they cut through and lift the entire city up as one giant unit. Then they move it to a deserted island chosen by the highest bidder who gets to have his way with the property and the inhabitants.

[WayneS]

One Of America's Worst Blunders: Allowing Public Workers To Unionize

Agreed.

[familyop]

"Yet another DemonRAT blunder!!"

Democrat, Republican and quite intentional. The local Republican Party is comprised of government employees and local service business interests protected by those local government employees from competition (with regulations, fees, etc.).

Heavy Hitters: Top All-Time Donors, 1989-2014
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php
American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees $60,949,129 [Democrat] 81% [Republican] 1%”

Leviathan (Uncle Sam employs more people than you think)
National Review ^ | 02/03/2011 | Iain Murray
"...nearly 40 million Americans employed in some way by government."

Look at the size of that beast. That's the reason for socialism prevailing regarding Republican campaigns now.

[Regulator]

It’s an Executive Order that allowed this.

Any “Republican” President could rescind it.

Have they?

[publius911]

One Of America's Worst Blunders: Allowing Public Workers To Unionize

It's hard to follow the thread of this blunder, but here is the opinion of FDR in 1937...

FDR Opposition to Federal Workers Unions

It is most educational to read the entire letter from FDR.

[fishtank]

The union thug-mobiles agree.

[rjsimmon]

They dig a trench around the city about 10 ft below the deepest underground structures. Then they cut through and lift the entire city up as one giant unit. Then they move it to a deserted island chosen by the highest bidder who gets to have his way with the property and the inhabitants.

Maybe that is what happened to Atlantis?

[sphinx]

Government employees used to get less money but more job security and maybe a stable retirement on the low-end. Now they get....

I think that is correct, but I would love to see a graph or a table charting public vs. private sector total compensation since, say, WWII. I imagine its out there if one knows where to look, and I figure someone here might.

[familyop]

"What exactly happens when a city goes bankrupt? Do they lose the mayors house? Do the police have to turn in their cruisers?"

The city must cut spending by cutting salaries of managers, pensions, etc. Those who receive big cash flow from debt/revenues will cheerlead with false information, claiming that they're doing great in hopes of getting a better deal for repayment.

But eventually, the moves for more debt fail. Taxes and fees can only go so high. Money of real value doesn't grow on trees. People who pay fees and taxes move on. Banks don't stay in business by holding worthless properties and paying taxes on those properties. They usually don't pay property taxes, until a held property sells. If enough properties with high taxes don't sell for a very long time, the game is over.

The game should be over nationwide before long. We're looking for a series of market crashes that will pop the debt bubble. Big government cannot sustain its bigness without sustainable revenues from a large manufacturing base on U.S. soil to afford a large taxpayer base.

[familyop]

To simplify the answer, see the zombie government employees and laid off government employees of Greece. Imagine Greece without nations to shovel more debt to it. That’s us in the near future.

Yay!

[vette6387]

“What exactly happens when a city goes bankrupt? Do they lose the mayors house? Do the police have to turn in their cruisers? “

Well, in the case of Stockton, CA although a federal judge gave them the “authority” to give their unions a haircut, they didn’t, they just screwed all their bondholders. So now, when they need money, they will not have any resources for it. But what the hell, all “our beloved city employees” have been taken care of ( for the moment). California cities generally “devote” 75 to 80% of their tax incomes to cops and ffs.(doughnut munchers and those who eat till they’re sleepy and sleep till they’re hungry). I see our ff’s shopping in the most expensive market in town for food “for the house.”But when you’re making $200k a year to sit on your ass, you need good food, right?

[DaveA37]

As a County Commissioner and member of the counties negotiating committee, I highly and totally agree, public employees should NOT be unionized. Gov. Walker took care of part of the problem when Act 10 was implemented. The problem still exists in that non-management law enforcement personnel are still unionized. Our negotiations begin in two weeks.

[vette6387]

“The problem still exists in that non-management law enforcement personnel are still unionized. Our negotiations begin in two weeks.”

I applauded Wisconsin for what they did for their schools, but as you rightly point out, the real crux of the union problem lies with the ‘public safety” employees. They are the big hogs at the trough and they will fight tooth and nail to keep what they thing “they’ve earned.”