Mich Dem. Whitmer Shows Unions & Obama More Important Than Her State

December 11, 2012 | Filed Under Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Detroit, Economy/Finances, Elections, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Michigan, Pensions, Progressives, Public Employees Unions, Right To Work, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, the State’s Senate Democratic Leader, is now pleading for President Obama to trample on Michigan’s state sovereignty and control the state from Washington DC. This is an odd request for someone that thinks she should be Michigan’s next Governor.

During most of American history, state politicians have been keen to safeguard their own power in their state. We even fought a whole civil war in part over the idea of states’ rights, after all. Oh, but not Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer. No, for Whitmer, allowing unions and President Obama to control Michigan is far more important than allowing the people of Michigan and their representatives to control the state.

Whitmer, you see, is trying to get President Obama to withhold federal funds from Michigan merely because Republicans and worker’s rights advocates have succeeded in passing right-to-work-style legislation in the current lame-duck session.

Whitmer is calling the right-to-work law “petty and vindictive politics.” That’s how losers talk, we all know. So, she wants King Obama to take action.
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Supporting Wisconsin’s Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch

May 29, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, GOP, Government, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Republicans, Scott Walker, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston, Wisconsin | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Many of you are aware of the recall election being held in Wisconsin. There, leftists and union thugs throughout the state are trying to oust the only recently elected Republican Governor, Scott Walker. But something many don’t realize is that Walker’s Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch, is also under recall in this needless and expensive re-do of the 2010 elections.

Kleefisch is the Republican Lt. Gov that entered office alongside Gov. Walker and she, too, is a target of these leftists. She hasn’t gotten the same publicity nation wide as Walker, of course, but she is just as deserving of our support and help. After all, the program that Walker and Kleefisch instituted has already saved Wisconsin $1 billion! Seems like a duo worth saving to me.

Despite what the pair have saved the state in budget dollars, estimates have varied on what this foolish recall election will cost, a recall effort that even liberal newspapers in Wisconsin oppose, but some are saying it will cost the donating mood, click on the image below and help Kleefisch out with the expenses that these liberals are forcing upon her, won’t you?

Recently Lt. Gov. Kleefisch was in Chicago and spoke a few words at the Tax Day Tea Party. (Video captured by MarathonPundit)

Too Many Republican Congressmen Giving Unions Free Tax Dollars

May 29, 2012 | Filed Under Aaron Schock, Adam Kinzinger, Anti-Americanism, Bobby Schilling, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Crony Capitalism, Economy/Finances, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Jobs, Joe Walsh, Liberals, Pensions, Peter Roskam, PLA, Randy Hultgren, Regulation, Robert Dold, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

For such a blue state, Illinois has some rather good Republicans in Congress, but on one issue many of them consistently fail. That is in their unfortunate support for Big Labor. The issue of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) is a perfect example of this penchant to support issues dear to the hearts of Big Labor.

Unions love PLAs because the rule forces government construction projects to be conducted under union rules, to pay union pay scales to workers as well as pension payments to the union plans, and requires all work to be controlled by union bosses even if the companies hired to do the work are non-union. With PLAs unions feel they have the best of both worlds because they can still benefit from free government money even when they aren’t hired to do the work. In short, PLAs are a sop to unions.

The main problem with PLAs is that they drive up the costs of government building contracts from word go. This costs us all money and in this era when we need to be cutting back the skyrocketing costs of government adding rules that drive up costs before the first foundation is dug is madness. Worse it is unfair to the largest number of construction companies that aren’t union members as they are forced as a condition of getting the work to pay unions thousands out of their pockets even as they’ll never benefit from union pensions or other programs.

Sadly, too many Illinois Republican Congressmen have been consistently in favor of allowing unions this free government handout. It is probably not a huge surprise that even Republicans in deep blue Illinois might end up bowing to the needs of greedy Big Labor initiatives. But it is not a healthy support regardless.
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FAIL: Obama Ad Attacks Romney for Bain Bought Company That Laid People Off… But Romney DIDN’T Work There Then!

May 14, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Ethics, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, President, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Barack Obama released a new video ad featuring former workers of GST Steel of Kansas City who lost their jobs because of Mitt Romney’s work at Bain Capital — at least according to Obama that’s why they lost their jobs. Unfortunately for team Obama, the truth seems to argue against his campaign lies.

The ad is full of lament about GST workers having lost their jobs, sympathy that is most certainly warranted. But the ad goes on to call Romney an “economic vampire” over the layoffs. Union member Jack Cobb, one of the workers in the ad, says for instance, “It was like a vampire. They came in and sucked the life out of us.”

The ad goes on to blame Mitt Romney and Bain Capital for that vampirism.

WARNING: This Obama ad is filled with lies!

But there are quite a few problems with all these hoary claims of the evils of Bain Capital. First of all is the fact that every voice in this video is that of a union thug. Most especially a man noted as the lead union negotiator, David Foster. Does anyone think a unionista will tell the truth about what went on with a company they spent decades extorting?
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More Pension Truths and Why You Should be Very Angry

January 16, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Government, Corruption, Larry Sand, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions | Comments Off

-By Larry Sand

How much is that sweet retired teacher who lives down the street draining from your bank account? As the public employee pension mess worsens in California, little Rhode Island shows a way out.

In last week’s post, I focused on “air time,” a little known scheme in California and 20 other states that allows teachers and other public employees to pad their pensions at taxpayers’ expense. Also, not very well known is just how many of Joe and Jill Taxpayer’s tax dollars are going into the pockets of retired teachers.

In California, teachers contribute 8 percent of their pay to their retirement system. Where do the rest of the contributions come from? The current rates include 8.25 percent from the teacher’s employer and 2 percent from the state. But wait a minute. Who is the teacher’s employer? It’s the school district. In Los Angeles, for example, most school district money comes from the state, some from the federal government and the rest is local revenue. Hence, the employer’s contribution is all really the taxpayer’s burden, as the state, city and feds generate no money on their own. So it would be much more honest to say that 10.25 percent comes from the taxpayer.

Let’s look at the taxpayer’s responsibility another way. Sandy, a teacher I know, worked for 24 years in CA and retired at age 61. The amount of money she contributed into the system at retirement (including interest accrued along the way) was about $150,000. Sandy started collecting a pension of about $40,000 year (plus a yearly 2 percent COLA increase) for life. Whatever interest this money accrues over the next few years, Sandy’s contribution will have evaporated in about four years. So, at age 65 she will start living off other people’s money – whatever the “employer” (i.e. taxpayers) kicked in, whatever the “government” (i.e. taxpayers) kicked in and whatever is left, the taxpayers will have to fork over.
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Visitors from Outer Space and Their Strange Ideas About Education Reform

December 30, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Children, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Larry Sand, Liberals, Los Angeles, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions | Comments Off

-By Larry Sand

There are those among us who think that teachers unions, collective bargaining and peer assistance review are the way to a better education for kids. They look like earthlings, but in fact are extraterrestrials.

As the year draws to a close, newspapers, magazines and blogs are filled with best of and worst of lists that deal with everything imaginable. The Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force got on the bandwagon early and posted Best and Worst in American Education, 2011 in November. All solid stuff. Can a reformer not be happy about the Parent Trigger being raked over the coals, yet surviving, or that many of Michelle Rhee’s reforms are still in place despite leaving her post as D.C. Schools Chancellor after a major push from the American Federation of Teachers? On the worst list, the Task Force includes the Atlanta teacher cheating scandal and the union-orchestrated overturn of Ohio’s recent anti-collective bargaining law.

Then lo and behold, we received a dispatch from Planet Ravitch on December 23rd. (Most people are not aware that shortly after astronomers ruled that Pluto was not a planet in 2006, a new planet would be identified. And it is inhabited!) The people who live on this celestial body (named after Diane Ravitch, a former reformer who turned into a champion of the failing status quo) are afflicted with a dyslexic-like condition: they have the entire education reform picture exactly backwards. The way to true reform is to hold their ideas up to a mirror with the resulting image revealing the best way to proceed.
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Defeat of OH Issue 2 Means $1,468 More Per Taxpayer By 2015

November 8, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Ohio, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Republicans, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Matt Mayer of the Buckeye Institute has done the math on what a defeat of Issue 2 will cost Ohio’s taxpayers. Turns out it will cost taxpayers $1,468 more a year by 2015.

Mayer made a simple calculation by taking the $8 billion tax hike that a defeat of Issue 2 will usher in by 2015 and dividing that by the 5,448, 500 state tax returns filed in Ohio. He also took the initial $1.4 billion tax hike that will result if the unions win on Tuesday and found that each taxpayer will be stuck with an immediate $257 more in taxes next year.

The annual savings we calculated from SB5 once all contracts are negotiated would be nearly $1.4 billion per year (for details, see www.buckeyeinstitute.org/getthefacts).

In 2007, Ohio had 5,448,500 [tax] returns filed, so that would equate to a “tax” of $257 per return… That is [merely] the savings from SB5 enactment.

An additional wrinkle is that Big Labor/Democrats have essentially gone all in on higher taxes; meaning, if SB5 is repealed, that removes one option to reducing local government costs, which leaves two options–program/staff cuts and/or raising taxes… For example, Ohio’s 613 school districts currently project a collective deficit by 2015 of [approximately $8 billion]…

[Thus, without] SB5, taxes will have to go up … [at least] $8 billion just for [Ohio's] 613 school districts by 2015, which is $1,468 per return.

So, Ohio, you have a choice. Vote Issue 2 down and stick yourself with needlessly higher taxes and give unions the ability to stick it to you further, or give your legislature — not union bosses — the power to control your state’s budget like they should.
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Unions Continue to Swindle the Public

November 8, 2011 | Filed Under Illinois, Larry Sand, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Teachers Unions, Unions | Comments Off

-By Larry Sand

Unions are still treacherous, but with a generous helping of legislative malfeasance, their tactics are more subtle.

“On the Waterfront” portrayed union power at its rawest. In the 1950s, the unions typically got their way with nothing less than brute force. But today the tactics are different. In “Pretty Boy Floyd,” Woody Guthrie sang, “Some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen.” The unions are well entrenched in the “fountain pen” camp and recently, Illinois has been in their crosshairs.

In September, the Chicago Tribune broke a story about Dennis Gannon, a former sanitation worker who became a president of the Chicago Federation of Labor. He went back to work for the city for one day, then took a leave of absence and was legally allowed to collect a $158,000 pension, about five times the average sanitation worker.
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Ohio, Vote YES on Issue 2

November 2, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Ohio, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Scott Walker, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

A few days ago the Cincinnati Enquirer came out in support of Issue 2, which will enact Senate Bill 5 — a reformation of how the Buckeye State deals with government unions.

For decades, Ohio has been on an unsustainable path of rapidly increasing public-sector benefits. SB 5 would give the people we choose to manage our money, our safety and our schools greater flexibility in benefits and work rules for public employees, bringing them closer in line with what comparable workers receive in the private sector. That could relieve the pressure to raise taxes and thus help, not hurt, middle-class Ohioans.

This is an important bill not just for Ohio, but for the whole country. What Ohio is trying to do (and what Governor Walker of Wisconsin has already done) is to take away the power of un-elected union bosses from determining how the state’s budget will be spent. Ohio is trying to take back the reins of making policy, allocating tax money, and making rules for employment from the union thugs that now have control over it all.

This new rule that states such as Ohio and Wisconsin are struggling to pass is not a war against the middle class, nor even necessarily a war against the idea of unions themselves. It is a move toward fiscal responsibility and the democratic process.

These new reforms must pass now or our states will necessarily go bankrupt for all the unfunded liabilities and unfair goodies handed out to government union members.

Pass issue 2, Ohio.
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Pelosi: Boeing Plant Should Unionize or be Shut Down

November 1, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Free Trade, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, Nancy Pelosi, NLRB, Pensions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The now thankfully former Speaker of the House Nancy “San Fran Nan” Pelosi said in a recent interview that a Boeing plant in South Carolina should either unionize or be shut down by the iron fist of government. So much for America being the land of the free, eh?

Pelosi appeared on CNBC with hostette Maria Bartiromo. Bartiromo asked about the famed Boeing plant being harassed by Obama’s union-sold National Labor Relations Board.

“Do you think it’s right that Boeing has to close down that plant in South Carolina because it’s non union?” Bartiromo asked. “Yes” insisted the former Speaker.

A flat out “yes.” No equivocation.

Lachlan Markay notes that the workers at the Boeing plant in question overwhelmingly voted not to join a union.
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Wisc.: Walker’s Union Reforms Are Working! (A Lesson for Illinois)

October 28, 2011 | Filed Under Americans For Prosperity, Budget, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Pensions, President, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Republicans, Scott Walker, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston, Wisconsin | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Governor Scott Walker was the worst devil the unions could imagine. They targeted him and Wisconsin’s Republicans mercilessly earlier this year. Fortunately, the unions and their Democrat handmaidens lost most of these battles.

But now some results are being seem from the efforts to curtail the un-democratic, unearned power of Wisconsin’s government employee unions. A new effort by the MacIver Institute and Americans for Prosperity is showing the world where these policies have succeeded in making things better in Wisconsin.

This is a lesson for Illinois and every other blue state. We can fix our problems, too. But it means defeating entrenched, un-American union power and their bought and paid for Democrats.
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Union’s Battle Against Ohio Heats Up

October 25, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Jobs, Liberals, Ohio, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

On November 8, Ohioans will go to the polls to vote on a series of ballot initiatives, among them Issue 2.

A yes vote will support Governor Kasich’s collective bargaining reform (SB 5) to become law. A no vote would return power to the bloated, thieving unions to do hat they have always done: steal from the taxpayers. (I wonder if you can tell which side I am on, here? Ha, ha)

Unions have rolled into Ohio with millions of dollars for anti-issue 2 advertising, donations to politicians, and the usual corrupt bargaining behind the scenes that unions generally employ. Sadly, it looks like their big money has persuaded too many Ohioans to back the unions as polling shows Issue 2 is losing with voters.
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Union Organizers Work 1 Day As Teachers, Get $100K+ in State Pensions

October 24, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 5 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Two union organizers that represent the Illinois Federation of Teachers were able to secure millions in state pensions by working one day as a teacher here in Illinois. This outrageous abuse of the state pension system is exactly why government unions should not be allowed to exist.

The Chicago Tribune has the story of Steven Preckwinkle and David Piccioli who took advantage of a loophole to enrich themselves off the backs of the taxpayers written into law just for them by pliant Democrat politicians.

The crony legislation enabled the unionistas to quickly get state teaching certificates, work one day as a substitute teacher, then count their years as union operatives to qualify them for pension benefits from the state.
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Reform Illinois Pensions Now!

October 19, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Government, Ill. County, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pat Quinn, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Springfield must reform pensions now or our children will pay.

According to Illinois Is Broke, “The 30-second spots, in English and Spanish, will begin airing on Tuesday, October 18th and are scheduled to run through the veto sessions, which begin October 25th. The television campaign will be supplemented with a billboard, print and radio campaign, timed to coincide with the legislative sessions. In addition to nightly newscasts, the spots will run during sporting events, and programming such as 60 Minutes.”

Connect with Illinis is Broke on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IllinoisIsBroke

Follow them on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/IllinoisIsBroke
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Bad News For Illinois Teachers: Illinois is Broke and You Might Not Get Your Pension!

October 12, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pat Quinn, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

The unions and the Democrats are lying to you, teachers.

In Illinois we have a $140 billion retirement pension deficit for teachers, folks. Don’t let the unions lie to you all the way until you decide to retire only to find out you lost everything.

And you police, firemen, and other state employees… don’t think you are better off than the teachers. You aren’t.

Abuse: Union Leaders Pull Down Millions in Public Pensions in Illinois

October 9, 2011 | Filed Under Adam Andrzejewski, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, For The Good Of Illinois, Franklin Deleno Roosevelt, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Andrew Thomason of the Illinois Statehouse News agency has a pair of stores on the criminal syndicate that is unions in the Land of Lincoln this week that have to be seen to be believed. In fact, these stories and the ones like them we’ve seen for the past several months in Illinois are proof positive that unions should be illegal for government employees.

In one story, Thomason reports the tale of Michael Johnson, a corrupt teacher out to milk the taxpayers dry by collecting $209,379.43 in pension benefits while at the same time also collected $324,785 from a separate Illinois pension fund. And so far this crook has already collected $1.1 million of our tax dollars on top of the $198,105 a year he makes for “part-time work” for the school district.

This is called double dipping. Johnson was able to do this because he worked at one job in Illinois education, “retired” from it, then took a second job in the same field. This means he gets two pensions to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, likely totaling up to millions by the time he dies. All paid for by the taxpayers of Illinois.
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Ill. GOP House Leader Tom Cross: Reforming Chicago and Cook Co. Pension Boards‏

October 7, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Tom Cross, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From Illinois GOP House Leader Tom Cross…

In a speech at the City Club of Chicago this afternoon, Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross announced that he filed a bill that will help give more accountability to taxpayers by reconstituting the City of Chicago and Cook County pension boards. The bill, which will be sponsored by Senator Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) in the Senate, will also require pension boards statewide to refer any suspected fraud to the local authorities.

“Recent media reports have unveiled abuses in the Chicago Pension systems that were not reported to the proper authorities for punishment or investigation. We believe these matters should have and still should be reported to law enforcement. We mandate that in our bill,” said Cross. “We also believe the pension boards in the City of Chicago and Cook County need a fresh start—that’s why we are seeking reconstitution.”
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Chicago: Union Members Collect Millions in Tax $$ With Sweetheart Pension Deal

September 22, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Chicago, Cook County, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Now this is the sort of corruption we are used to seeing in Illinois, eh? This week the Chicago Tribune and WGN TV has found up to 23 retired union operatives that are collecting millions in taxpayer dollars because they had pals in government tweak the state’s pensions laws to favor them.

These former government workers that were government union members got pliant politicians to alter the pensions laws to say that their pension remuneration would be calculated not on the lower pay they received when they retired from government, but from the much higher salary they received when they worked as union operatives. These folks worked as union bosses at the same time as working on the clock for government.

The “luck” of former union boss and Dept. of Streets and Sanitation worker Thomas Villanova is a typical example. Villanova last worked full-time for the city in 1989 and made $40,000-a-year. But he was also a union big wig making $198,000 annually upon his retirement in 2008 at age 56. His city pension, it appears, was calculated on the union salary of $198,000 instead of his real salary of $40,000 — itself obviously a no-show job in the first place.

Villanova stands to make millions off the taxpayers.
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Unions Display Hatred in Union Derangement Syndrome

June 30, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Ohio, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

My Friend Maggie Thurber has a great piece chronicling the hate that unions in Ohio display for those voters that stand against the absurd riches that government employees have wrung out of the taxpayers in the Buckeye State.

Pointing out that union supporters are “dripping with ‘hate’ and derision toward people who see a problem and are trying to fix it,” Thurber does a great job of identifying the flawed logic in this union member’s argument on why the focus on the “opulent” benefits and pay scales of government workers is wrong on their opinion.

One point that Thurber makes is spot on. While it is true that many people are sick and tire of these union thugs ripping off the taxpayers, the unions are not the only entities at fault here.
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Conn. Unions Have Trouble Reading Hand Writing on Wall

June 27, 2011 | Filed Under AFSCME, Budget, Connecticut, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, SEIU, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Cities, counties and states (not to mention the federal gov’t) all across the country are overspent, out of cash, and deeply in the red. One reality that has been hitting all these government entities has been a series of tough negotiations with government employee unions. Unions are loathe to take cuts, certainly, but the reality is that in many cases it’s either cuts or layoffs. More and more unions are realizing this and taking the cuts to avoid losing jobs. The foolish government employees in Connecticut seem to be insensible to reality, though.

Strangely enough, even the government union bosses in Connecticut understood the pickle they were in. Union bigwigs negotiated cuts with the Democrat controlled state legislature and Democrat Governor Daniel Malloy. They did this with the understanding that none of their rank and file would lose their job.

Unfortunately for the unions, many of the members seem too foolish to “get” it. They voted the concessions down. Now Governor Malloy is saying he has little choice but to get rid of thousands of workers.

Nice move, fellows.
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Wisc. Teachers Protest Working an 8-Hour Work Day

June 27, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston, Wisconsin | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Green Bay TV reported on June 21 that the teachers union in Green Bay, Wisconsin is incensed that the school district is demanding that teachers work an extra half hour a day, making their hours a set 8-hour day, or a 40-hour work week. In turn, this absurd ire displayed by teachers is incensing local Green Bay residents.

“They need to be the professionals that they are supposed to be. They sound like a bunch of idiots and they look like a bunch of idiots, they make the rest of us look bad,” said a listener to the Vicki McKenna Show.

Naturally the teachers union president assumes all you Green Bayers are stupid, that you don’t understand the issues, and says that she won’t listen to her critics, anyway.
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Contrary to Claim, White House Did Control GM’s Daily Business And Cut Workers Pay?

June 24, 2011 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Detroit, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Policy, President, Regulation, Taxes, UAW, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

When Barack Obama threw millions of our tax dollars at General Motors to “save it,” the administration claimed that it would not involve itself in the “day-to-day management” of the venerable car company. New emails obtained by The Daily Caller, however, casts doubt on this claim.

In fact, as Matthew Boyle reports, the emails “reveal that Treasury officials were involved in decision-making that led to more than 20,000 non-union workers losing their pensions.”

It turns out that Treasurer Secretary Timothy Geithner pressured GM, widely derided as Government Motors, to cut the pensions for the salaried, non-union employees at Delphi, a company owned by GM.
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Cal. Union Launches Effort to Recruit Republican Candidates

June 14, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, California, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Nanny State, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Republicans, SEIU, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is a novel approach. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the largest government employee unions in the nation, has decided that they’ve had enough of all those darn Republicans that are… well… acting like Republicans. So, the union has lighted on a new way to be rid of all those darn Republican-like Republicans. They are going to sponsor their own Republican candidates in upcoming elections in the land of fruits and nuts.

The SEIU has created a new “Republican” political action committee (PAC) meant to recruit purported moderate Republicans to run for office to replace the Republicans now sitting in Sacramento. SEIU is calling this PAC the “Golden California Committee.”

The name of their PAC reminds me of the phrase, “don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.” This golden shower that the SEIU is trying to pull off doesn’t fool anyone. The SEIU has no interest in helping Republicans. They have but one goal, to implement laws and government regulations that give to government employee unions payoffs, higher salaries, and outrageous benefits and pensions that exceed anything that the general public will ever see. They know that the only way to do this is to control government from both sides of the aisle.
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Illinois Pension Reform One Step Closer‏

May 27, 2011 | Filed Under Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

This week, State Treasurer Dan Rutherford drew a line in the sand. Dismissing shortsighted calls for more borrowing, he pledged to warn would-be lenders against extending more credit to Illinois’s spendthrift state government. I spoke with Rutherford about his stand; listen in.

Much of the state’s borrowing in recent years has been for government employee pensions costs – which are climbing annually. But this pattern of borrowing for pensions could someday halt if a pension reform proposal succeeds in Springfield.

Pension reform language was just posted at the statehouse. Collin Hitt read the bill and offers up his review here. Simply put, a vote for pension reform will brighten this state’s future – a vote against it will push Illinois further into economic decline.
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N.J. Courts Not Interested in Democracy

May 26, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Children, Chris Christie, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Judges, Labor Law, Liberals, New Jersey, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Taxes, Teachers Unions, The Law, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Most Americans are under the mistaken assumption that we as voters can elect someone to make changes in our government. Whether the government of our city, county, state or that in Washington DC we voters have this romantic idea that we can affect change by electing people to office that will make those changes. The New Jersey Supreme Court, however, has disabused us all of those absurd notions.

Governor Chris Christie was elected to office for one reason, to solve New Jersey’s budget mess. He’s not Mr. Nice guy. He’s not the prettiest face in New Jersey politics. He wasn’t even the state’s most beloved public figure. He ran on fixing the budget and the people hired him to do just that.

But now, even though he was able to get certain budget changes through both houses of his state legislature, even though he has kept his shoulder to the grindstone doing the very job that the people hired him to do, even as he was on the verge of succeeding, the courts have stepped in and torpedoed the effort.
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Pension Debate Heats Up – Tell Your Lawmaker to Fix Illinois’ Pensions NOW!‏

May 20, 2011 | Filed Under Americans For Prosperity, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Lawmakers continue to debate pension reforms for current state employees and a decision will be made soon – this year’s legislative session is scheduled to end on May 31st.

This may be our last chance to have our voices heard. Click here NOW to tell your lawmaker it’s time to enact substantive reforms of the state employee pension system that directly affect current state employees.

Illinois’ fiscal problems can no longer be ignored. Illinois is spending beyond its means and has ignored countless unpaid bills! Moreover, the fact that we have no real plan for dealing with these fiscal problems have made our state one of the least attractive places for doing business.

The website 24/7 Wall St. took a look at the pension systems of every state in America and created a top 10 list of states where pensions are running out of money. Sadly, Illinois is second on that list with a $126 billion pension liability.

Take action now to return our great state to fiscal sanity. Click here to tell your lawmaker to fix Illinois’ pensions now.

For more information on pension reform go to: http://fixillinoispensionsnow.com/.

Thank you for your continued support and activism.

Sincerely,

Joe Calomino
State Director
Americans for Prosperity-Illinois

Ill. Policy Institute: One Week’s Lost Pay for Pensions‏

May 19, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Chicago, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

I returned from maternity leave just in time to take part in the epic debate over public pension reform. Get the teachers’ pension costs will top General State Aid education spending this year unless we act now.

To date the working model for pension reform has been House Bill 149, introduced by House GOP Leader Tom Cross. The language in that legislation is being modified and likely will be placed on Senate Bill 512, a shell bill assigned for hearing in tomorrow’s House Personnel and Pensions Committee.

Given Illinois’s worst-in-the-nation unfunded liability and “blue state” politics, what unfolds over the coming days will be a bellwether for the rest of the country. Has your legislator heard from you? (Click here to find your state legislator)
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Democrats FINALLY Talking of Cutting Back Govt Employee Pensions

May 17, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston, Washington D.C. | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Washington Post had a recent piece saying that it looks like Washington is finally coming to the stark realization that the benefits and pensions of federal workers are wildly over promised and even Democrats are finally contemplating cuts in federal pensions.

The GOP has already targeted these pensions by proposing that federal workers contribute more toward their own pension benefits. As the Post slantedly puts it, this policy plan would “effectively impose an immediate 5 percent pay cut on more than 2 million federal employees”

Of course, it would not be cutting their pay at all, sadly. It would merely be deferring until retirement when they get the cash. Sure their pay should be cut — heck thousands need to be simply fired outright — but there is no pay cut being proposed.
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Employee Levels Fall But New York’s Fringe Benefits and Pensions Costs Soar

May 13, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, New York, New York City, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, SEIU, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Pensions are the single biggest problem that every state, county and city in the Union face and New York City is no different. It is so bad that even as New York City has seen the numbers of its government employees fall, its costs in fringe benefits and pensions have still continued to soar. (Download the 2012 Budget Summary)

The latest budget info released by the Big Apple is a horror story of budget woes with pension costs leading the pack.

Marc Cenedella has done the heavy reading and his report is discouraging, to say the least.
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Defusing the Illinois Pension Bomb, One Letter at a Time‏

May 13, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Chicago, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, SEIU, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

How to reform the public employee pension system is the most crucial question facing Illinois today. The state has an $86 billion unfunded pension liability, and a recent study by the Pew Center ranked Illinois’s pensions as the worst funded in the nation. Bold action is needed to balance the state’s pension funds while keeping Illinois from falling deeper into an economic death spiral.

The public employee pension system is unsustainable. It must be fixed. We need your help now.

As you read this, a pension reform bill is being debated Springfield: HB149. This bill would begin to create equity government workers and the taxpayers who fund their salaries. Legislators on both sides of the aisle are coming together, and with your help, we believe we have a chance at passing one of the most important reforms in Illinois history. That’s why I’m asking you to write to your local newspaper in support of reforming the pension system.

Writing a letter to the editor is an easy way to reach thousands of your neighbors on this important issue.
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Tags: Publius+Forum, Warner+Todd+Huston, Illinois+Policy+Institute