Top Worst State Budgets: Unions Have Put EVERY State’s Budget In The Hole

April 5, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Labor Law, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

When you or I overspend our family budget and end up not being able to pay our bills a few things happen, all of them bad. At best we do without luxury items, at worst a bank comes and takes our cars away, our homes away, or, worse yet, we go hungry. When government unions spend government budgets into a black hole of trouble what happens? Apparently the citizens are expected to lose more of their own money for the comfort of government union members and to assist big spending Democrat politicians to keep indulging a wild bacchanalia of spending.

The worst mess that states are in is because government unions have been handed luxurious and unsustainable pensions and healthcare plans by those very Democrat politicians that unions have paid off to do so. Again all at the expense of the suffering taxpayers.

Maddeningly, these city, county, and state workers end up making far more than the poor citizens forced to pay for those government union member’s high living and comfortable retirement benefits while the citizens do without.
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Ohio Senator Brown: Card Check is Dead

March 25, 2011 | Filed Under Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, EFCA, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Labor Law, Liberals, Ohio, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Senate, Unions, Warner Todd Huston, Washington D.C. | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Hill newspaper has an interesting quote from Ohio Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown. He says the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), of the Card Check bill is a dead issue in the senate this year.

Senator Brown was being interviewed on WVIZ radio in Ohio when he was asked what he thought about the success of the EFCA in the Senate for the 112th Congressional session. “It’s not going to happen now,” the senator said.

If this is true then Big Labor should be extremely upset with President Obama and the Democrat leadership in congress. Will they take out their anger by withholding their enthusiastic support of Democrats in 2012?

One would think that this singular failure of the Democrats to get Big Labor’s most wished for legislation passed would be a deal breaker for labor. After all, labor has spent over $400 million in the last few years on getting Democrats elected and it seems that all that money went for no benefit to them. Labor’s loss of power has grown commensurately with its expenditure on Democrats, anyway.

Like old dogs that cant learn new tricks, though, it is likely that they will double down and try to pump more money than ever into the pockets of pliant Democrats. Like a beaten wife they keep coming back, it seems.
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Corruption and Political Intrigue in Government Employee Pensions

March 17, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Business, California, Cities, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Financial Reform, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Los Angeles, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Los Angeles Times has a disheartening report about the graft, corruption, and nest-feathering infesting the administration of California’s government employees pension fund, CalPers (California Public Employees’ Retirement System). It reports that subordinates were pressured into investing in to firms run by political buddies and that one of the former CalPERS administrators was “lucky” enough to have been handed a high paying new job in one of those politically connected firms after he left the government agency.

Some of these officials now under investigation are also accused of falsifying documents to further their schemes of self-enrichment at the expense of the people, accepting large gifts that went unreported, and earning millions in “placement agent fees.”
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Government Employee Unions Undemocratic, Unfair, Unsustainable

March 1, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Scott Walker, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston, Wisconsin | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

A lot has been said about the thuggish behavior of these teachers in Wisconsin and other union toughs across the country who have been caught on tape calling people Hitler and dictators, and attacking peaceful Tea Partiers. The behavior of union supporters has been ignorant to say the least. But as we’ve focused on the behavior of these ignoramuses, we’ve also neglected to explain just why their unions are illicit in the first place.

To start with we should remind everyone that government employees have not always been allowed to unionize. Collective bargaining for pubic employees only started in 1958 after New York Mayor Robert Wagner signed what came to be called “the Little Wagner Act” allowing city workers to unionize. In fact, collective bargaining itself was only legalized even in the private sector in 1935 when Wagner’s own father, New York Senator Robert Wagner, sponsored the National Labor Relations Act, or the Wagner Act. Nationally, collective bargaining for government employees began in 1962 when President John Kennedy signed Executive Order 10988 allowing federal employees to unionize and gain collective bargaining.
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Video: Stop Obama and His Union Bosses!

February 25, 2011 | Filed Under Banks, Barack Obama, Campaign Finance, Capitalism, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Financial Reform, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Pensions, President, Public Employees Unions, Republicans, RNC, SEIU, Senate, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Courtesy of the Republican National Committee…

This is exactly right. While every state is drowning in debt, Barack Obama and the billions that unions have spent on him and his Democrat Party is being put toward thwarting the will of the voters and to making the state’s and the federal government’s debt far, far worse.
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Wisc. Union Thug: ‘First They Take Away Unions, Then They Take Away The Jews…’??? Unions Want Legalized Theft, Plain and Simple

February 20, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Children, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Republicans, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston, Wisconsin | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Every so-called teacher in Wisconsin needs to be removed from the classroom and should not be allowed to return until she can prove that she’s become educated enough to understand that no politician in Wisconsin is “just like Hitler.”

These thugs latest claim is that “it’s not about the money” but the facts speak pretty clearly that it is all about the money. The union thugs want more of yours, Wisconsin, and your Republican legislators are telling them that the wallet is empty.

This has become ground zero for the fight against the thievery that public employee unions have perpetrated against the people for 50 years. This is day one in the fight to end the abuse.

… and make no mistake about it, folks. The unions are in a war against YOU, the taxpayer. They think YOU are the enemy. YOU are their target. YOU are their sugar daddy. Tell them you’ve had enough of their abuse.
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Teachers Union Thugs Comparing People to Hitler, Shutting Down Schools, Losing Their Argument

February 17, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston, Wisconsin | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

One cannot be a leftist without being a hypocrite. It really is just that simple. The last several days in Wisconsin has again born that truism out, too, as teachers union thugs in the Badger State have indulged every manner of behavior that they have constantly condemned the right for engaging in — even as no one on the right has actually done the things the left charges them with doing.

With the protests that swept down upon the State Capitol in Madison we are seeing the sort of behavior that is the antithesis of democracy. These teacher thugs are flooding into the capitol disrupting the state senate chambers, these teacher thugs are sporting signs with Governor Walker depicted as Hitler, these teacher thugs are attempting to thwart the will of the voters that put a Republican Governor into office to do exactly what he is trying to do, these teacher thugs are even making a pig sty out of the capitol grounds with piles and piles of garbage.
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Quinn’s Pension Mess

January 27, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From John Bambenek…

Last night the Governor’s office confirmed what many have suspected, that the Illinois pension systems are the subject of an SEC investigation. You can read the Wall Street Journal article on the subject.

With our pensions systems not only falling below 50% funding, but selling assets to keep the lights on, this is disturbing news. The best guess estimate I have is that the pension debt for the state alone is around $140 to $150 BILLION dollars. And despite the massive tax hike, no real work has been done to stabilize these funds. At this rate, they will be insolvent and unable to pay benefits by 2015.

Like many of you, I was appalled at the job-killing tax hikes that were passed in the final hours of the last legislative session. What was worse is that not only was spending not cut, they actually expanding state spending. The so-called “spending caps” are illusory at best for two reasons: it does not limit spending out of “special funds” and the spending caps are set higher than even the most optimistic estimates of the revenue that we will have.
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In 2011 Public Employees Unions Must Be Targeted for Elimination

January 5, 2011 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Campaign Finance, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Free Trade, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, President, Public Employees Unions, Senate, Socialism, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

One of the biggest recurring themes in union reporting these days is music to the ears of any fiscally responsible American. It seems almost weekly that we are seeing stories that recount the ire being directed at public employee unions. Let us hope that this reporting is the first ripples of an anti-union tidal wave that will sweep public employee unions from our governments drowning in union-created red ink.

One of the latest is an editorial out of Wisconsin by the Lakeland Times’ Gregg Walker. Walker kicked off his piece with exactly the sort of sentiment that we should hope will lead to an end to public employee unions.
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Tim Pawlenty: Government Unions vs. Taxpayers

December 14, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Republicans, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty penned a great op ed in the Wall Street Journal that takes public employee unions to task for their greed and their destructive nature. I’ve said many times that public employee unions are antithetical to good government and should be outlawed. Pawlenty agrees that they make good governing impossible.

Public employees have not always had the luxury of unions. The idea that government employees should be allowed to enter into collective bargaining didn’t exist prior to 1958. The fact is, we will never be able to fix our public pension problems until we go back to a pre-1958 stance on public employee unions. They should be eliminated completely.

Now I don’t usually post whole articles. But this one is too good to just excerpt. I hope WSJ can excuse me…
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Chicago Cops/Firemen Retire as Millionaires

December 3, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Chicago, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Police, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

There really is no excuse for any public servant to retire with a pension worth $1.3 million dollars of the people’s tax money. None. But that is precisely what happens in the City of Chicago according to Chicago’s Civic Committee.

Crain’s Greg Hinz reports that the Civic Commission sent an email blast out to its members late last week reporting that the typical Chicago Fireman who retires after 20 years of service will make $1.3 million in pension benefits. Cops make a bit less at $1.2 million.

These public servants can also retire at age 50, almost two decades earlier than the rest of us. This means that these retired city officers can potentially live one third of their lives or more on the public dime. After 20 measly years’ service.

Now, I certainly realize that cops have a high stress job. I also realize that both policemen and firemen can be called upon to put their personal safety, even their lives, on the line (though by no means do all of them do so). But these pensions are an impossible corruption of our system. No one deserves such luxury on the backs of the poor taxpayer.
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Lame Duck Threat to Bailout Union Pensions

December 2, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Pensions, President, Public Employees Unions, Senate, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Connie Hair has an informative piece at Human Events about what Democrats are hoping to do in the next few weeks in this lame duck session by pushing another big union bailout.

In October, Sen. Tom Harkin (D, Iowa) heard witnesses advancing the “Guaranteed Retirement Account” (GRA) idea authored by left-wing activist and purported “labor economist” Theresa Guilarducci.

As an aside, Guilarducci being called an “economist” is an hilarious conceit. She is nothing of the kind but is merely a big labor activist disguising herself as an “economist.”

Anyway, the Democrats would love to slip this budget busting nonsense past the American people in this zombie congress. Here is how Hair defines the policy:
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Carnival Shell Game with Illinois State Pensions

November 17, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Chris Lauzen, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Republicans, Senate, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the office of State Senator Chris Lauzen (25th District)…

On November 4, 2010, all State Senators were called to Springfield ostensibly to vote on a $4B proposal to pay into state employee pension plans. The Democrat leadership had a political caucus off-site, but no vote was taken on the important fiscal matter, nor any other substantive issue.

Last year I believed Governor Quinn’s promise that he would spend approximately $3.5 Billion in borrowed funds wisely and, incredibly (for me), I voted “yes” to give him broad borrowing and spending authority. Unfortunately, that promise was broken and nearly all of that debt was used to pay for public employee pension deposits, while our schools languished and social service agencies were decimated.

Fool me once, shame on you – - fool me twice shame on me.

The Best and Worst State Debt Disasters

October 30, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Forbes created an interactive map where Americans can find out what sort of mess their state is in. All you need do is roll your mouse cursor over your state and get the good … or horrible… news.

Forbes finds that the best state is Utah. The debt per capita in the Beehive State is just $447 with an unfunded pension cost of $7,272. Utah is rated by Moody’s at Aaa and has an S&P rating of AAA.

Unsurprisingly the worst state is Illinois. Illinois is a disaster for sure. Illinois’s debt per capita is $1,877 and it’s unfunded pension obligations stands at $17,230. Moody’s rates the state an A1 and its S&P rating is AA-.
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Gov. Quinn Pays Off Union for Votes… Again

October 26, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Capitalism, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois State Government, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago Association of African American Transporters told Governor Pat Quinn that they’d mount a no-to-Quinn campaign if he didn’t pay the back bills owed them by the state. And now, despite the fact that other vendors are still not getting paid and the State is practically bankrupt, the CAAAT has suddenly found all its past bills paid by Quinn’s government.

It sure is pretty convenient that this union miraculously found its bills paid by Quinn just when they threatened to mount a campaign against his reelection, isn’t it?
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Illinois is in First Place

October 25, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Liberals, Pensions, Tea Party, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Palatine Tea Party…

(Palatine, Illinois) – Illinois currently is in first place for state pension funds that will run out of money in 2018. Starting in 2019 the annual shortage in Illinois is projected to be $13.6 billion. That is a projected 32 percent of the state’s revenue going to fill a pension hole.1

Illinois is just 8 years away from exhausting its pension fund and creating a yearly multi billion dollar shortage, according to data from Joshua Ruah an associate professor of finance at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

The Lies States Peddle on Pension ‘Savings’

October 8, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Pensions are fast becoming the time bomb that will destroy the financial well being of our state budgets. Because public employee unions have been allowed to outrageously grow their retirement benefits by supplying billions in campaign donations to compliant politicians, most state pension plans are deeply in the hole.

Many states have at last begun to realize that the golden goose (or as we call them, the taxpayers) was long ago killed by this self-serving triangle of unions, bought and paid for politicians, and similarly bought and paid for courts that implement union demands.

So states have begun to employ some fancy accounting tricks to fool the voters into thinking they’ve begun to address the problem. One is called an “actuarial trick.” But this head-fake is starting to get real actuaries worried that the sleight-of-hand trick is making matters worse by hiding rather than fixing the mess America’s states are rushing headlong into.
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Unions Struggling to Get Members to Rally Behind Dems

September 18, 2010 | Filed Under AFL-CIO, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Labor Law, Liberals, Pensions, President, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

When voters are not enthused even unions find it harder to get their supporters to rally to an election and this is one of the worst years for Democrats on record. Unions are finding their efforts hard slogging just like the rest of the Democrat Party is. It’s so bad even The New York Times is reporting the Union’s woes.

As we’ve repeatedly talked about here, The Times reports that Big Labor is pumping millions into the Democrat’s pockets in hopes of fighting off the conservative Tea Party enthusiasm out there this election year. Apparently, though, unions are finding that, like other Democrat constituencies, their members are not “feeling particularly enthusiastic about the party.”

Unions have been bitterly disappointed by Obama. When they voted for him only 2 years ago they thought that they had won the battle for all the freebies and payoffs that they’d ever want. But they’ve been frustrated by key losses — such as an inability to get cap and trade, green initiatives, and their most desired legislation the Employee Free Trade Act (EFCA).
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NJ Gov. Chris Christie Humbles Another Union Hack

September 10, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Capitalism, Children, Chris Christie, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Elections, Financial Reform, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, New Jersey, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Republicans, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Members of Oregon’s State Employee Unions Get 5% Pay Raises… as Taxpayers Lose Jobs!

September 3, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Oregon, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Unbelievable. In Oregon the reg’lar folks are losing their jobs right and left. And the bad luck for those actually paying the bills, the taxpayers, gets even worse because Oregon’s politicians have made sure that the state’s public employees unions get an automatic 5% pay raise starting this Wednesday!

5 percent pay increase for state union employees begins Wednesday

SALEM (AP) — A step pay increase of nearly 5 percent for Oregon state workers represented by unions goes into effect Wednesday.
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The Arrogance of The Public Employee Union Member

August 31, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

In a recent story detailing the efforts of 3,000 postal employee union members marching against USPS management in Detroit, one quote by a union member stuck me as wholly emblematic of the arrogance of government employee union members and it shows the disconnect between the real world and the cushy world of government workers.

As the 3,000 postal workers marched against proposed cuts in the U.S. Post office, tucked at the bottom of the Detroit Free Press piece was a quote by post office employee Kim Sauceda, of Tallevast, Florida.

“People have gone from being very confident and sure that this is a lifetime career to now not being so sure.”

Notice how this government employee imagined that her position with the USPS is supposed to be a never ending, permanent job? This shocking sense of entitlement does not exist outside of public employees unions.
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State Pensions are Unsustainable, Taxpayers Left with Huge Bill

August 30, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, SEIU, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Once again Bill Zettler has a great piece on the mess that is public employee pensions in Illinois. He makes an extremely relevant point asking the question of why the taxpayers are stuck paying off government worker’s pensions to the tune of billions while the employees themselves only have to pay a measly 8% contribution to their own funds?

In the private sector, Zettler points out, pension contributions by the workers rarely dip below 11% but these government workers are asked to contribute a scant 8% for theirs leaving the taxpayers on the hook for most of the rest of the payouts.

Why is that? Well it’s because pliant politicians that have pockets full of public employee union members donations have fixed the contributions at the low 8% level.

This needs to change.
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Unions Destroy Calif. Pension Reform Bill

August 21, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, California, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Like most bills, the legislation meant to reform California’s failing public pension system started out stronger than it ended up. But unlike most bills the final bill has been so gutted, so defanged, that it leaves the pension system in a worse mess than it was when the bill was introduced. Not surprisingly unions are the culprits.

One of the things that the bill was supposed to stop was the practice of “pension spiking.” This is the practice of government workers getting a sudden raise in position, salary and benefits just as they are about to retire. This sudden raise, often instituted only weeks or months before retirement, allows the employee to retire at a higher pension rate than they would have with their last, normal salary.
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Now Democrats Want Another $34 Billion to Bailout Teamsters Pension

August 21, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Pensions, President, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

When will Obama’s gifts to unions (at the expense of the taxpayers) ever end? On the heels of a $26.1 billion teacher union bailout, now Democrats are attempting to get Congress to give $34 billion of the taxpayer’s money to the Teamsters because that union has mishandled its pension funds.

Senators Robert Casey (D., Pa.) and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.) are now pushing the bill that will bailout the Teamsters pension fund by altering the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. which currently charges insurance rates to the funds it helps to solvency. Under new rules the help the PBGC offers troubled pension funds will now just end up coming out of federal funds.

As Kevin D. Williamson of National Review informs us, as the PBGC law stands now the obligations that PBGC takes on to help “orphan pensions” are not obligations of the U.S. government. “Casey-Pomeroy would reverse that,” Williamson tells us, “mandating that “‘obligations of the corporation that are financed by the [fifth fund] shall be obligations of the United States.’” Yep, another gigantic bailout.
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Obama’s Union Bailout: A Good Crisis Going to Waste

August 20, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Children, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Nancy Pelosi, Pensions, Politicians, Public Employees Unions, Stimulus, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Even the New York Times can’t ignore the fact that Obama’s latest union bailout cash isn’t going to help anyone keep their jobs, and The New York Times is really good at ignoring things that make Democrats look bad.

A few weeks ago Nancy Pelosi called the House of Representatives back into a special session because there was a crisis in education, don’t you know. It was a crisis that she didn’t want to go to waste, naturally. As Speaker of the House she had the power — one likely to evaporate with the 2010 elections — to help Barack Obama give his union pals another $26.1 billion of the taxpayer’s money and she couldn’t resist the urge to fill pockets with other’s people’s money at least one more time.

Early in August, Pelosi triumphantly announced on her Twitter feed, “I will be calling the House back into session early next week to save teachers’ jobs and help seniors & children.”

We’re helping old people, it’s for the children, we are saving teacher’s jobs. It’s a crisis that we can’t ignore, darn it! Yes, Rahm, it’s also a crisis that we can’t let go to waste.
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Even The Brits Realize Pensions Are Too High

August 16, 2010 | Filed Under Britain, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Europe, Free Trade, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Long ago the British stopped being a capitalist country and adopted instead a quasi-socialist system. But even they are beginning to realize that people cannot retire at 65 (or even younger) and live in luxury for another 20 or so years afterward all on the public dime. This month the Cameron government took another small and politically difficult step toward addressing the mounting pension crisis in England.

News of the newest fix to the British pension system is being sold to the public by the media as an alarming “25% cut in benefits” for pensioners. But the fact is that these pensions were too high for a long time and this new scheme was inevitable due to the falling number of workers, the rising number of retirees, and the longer life spans that retirees now enjoy — a situation nearly every western nation is confronting.
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Pensions That Exceed Base Pay, Blame Unions

August 12, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

For the New York Daily News Eileen Norcross and Todd Zywicki penned a piece taking public employees pensions to task for being “too rich for America’s blood.” Of course, they rightly blame unions and compliant politicians for the disaster.

The do, however, give the actual public employees a pass. On one hand you might think that the employees are practically innocent, but you can;t avoid the simple truth that they allowed their unions to run amuck. In fact, the members insisted that the unions grab all they could whether it was good for the nation or not.

The writers focus on cops and firemen and still deny that these workers had any part in the mess. But as public servants, cops and firemen especially should have realized that they were going badly off track and were not serving the public but raping them.
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Outrageous Pensions Turning Ill. Teachers into Millionaires

August 10, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Over at Champion News Bill Zettler has been doing a fantastic job of following and chronicling the completely out of control pensions of Illinois public employees and this week he asks why Governor Quinn wants to raise taxes just to make millionaires of retiring teachers.

Zettler found two teachers that will be making in excess of a million dollars in pension payouts.

Check out this obscene total:
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Looks Like I’ll Be on Fox Business Channel at 3PM Central Today

August 5, 2010 | Filed Under Fox News, Media, Pensions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

As of right now I’ll be live on FoxNews Business Channel’s “Money Rocks” today at 3pm CT. We’re talking the Illinois pension mess.

Of course, you know how TV is. I may get down there and get all ready and they may bump my segment. So, we can only cross our fingers and hope it all goes according to plan.

**UPDATE**

Well, I just got back from the studio and the Show went well. Live video to New York for about three minutes duration.

I have to say that TV always makes me laugh.

Here is how it goes: I get contacted anywhere from 9AM to 11AM. I call back. They tell me what the show is and the topic and maybe ask for a few facts to be emailed back to them. They send a limo. I get in for the 1 hour trip to Chicago. I get makeup and wait for my spot. I get on the air for two to five minutes. I get back in the limo for another hour or so trip back home.

Yep, all that for about two to five minutes of live video. All that expense for two to five minutes.

What a racket, eh?

But I always enjoy it, anyway.

Bought and Paid For Gov. Finds Doing Right Thing Hard

July 28, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, New York, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The unions in New York have the idea that they own state government. It’s not too easy to deny their claim seeing as how unions (all of them) have been paying the bills and filling the pockets of ruling Democrats for decades now.

But Accidental Governor of New York David Paterson is finding himself in a quandary, one that more and more politicians are finding themselves in these days. These pols are finding that doing the right thing is hard when all your financial backers don’t want you to do the right thing at all.

Like most deep blue states, New York is about bankrupt without having to say it out loud. Its financial responsibilities far out pace its treasury. From state pensions, welfare, Medicaid and healthcare, to the simple day-to-day operations of operating a government, New York State is unable to pay its way.
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