The public employee unions have corrupted California state government. The public employee unions have become the most powerful special interest group in Sacramento. As a result, California’s state and local employees are the best compensated in the country. Californians pay ever higher taxes for ever worse services. Now, taxpayers are fighting back by launching the Citizen Power Campaign to restore taxpayer power and end corruption. California cannot be fixed without this reform.
The public employee unions have become the most powerful special interest group in Sacramento. They “spent millions of taxpayer dollars in 2009 to support Proposition 1A last May, which would have increased taxes on the citizens of California by $16 Billion”. They can do this because they have “special powers” that no other special interest group has – “the power to automatically take hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every year out of the paychecks of government workers for “special-interest”politics – without having to ask for it”. The results speak for themselves.
California’s state and local employees are the best compensated in the country. Claremont Review of Books Contributing Editor Bill Voegeli points out that “Local government employees make 11.5% more in California than Connecticut, and 21.4% more than those in Massachusetts. State workers in California make 13.1% more than New York’s and 19.9% more than those in Massachusetts.”
Californians pay ever higher taxes for ever worse services. Law professor Eugene Volokh has written how Californians pay high taxes for poor services because “California spends far more of its tax dollars on transfer payments to particular groups with political clout” – notably “public employees, public employee pensions, public sector unions”. Volokh is shocked that (low tax) Texas enjoys better “education, liveability, transportation, quality of life” than California. This is because “scarce tax dollars in Texas are spent on priorities that have broad appeal”. California, however, “[provides] increasingly poor services at an ever increasing cost” because “the state’s public sector is not holding up its end of the bargain.”
Now, taxpayers are fighting back by launching the Citizen Power Campaign. The Citizen Power Campaign has filed an initiative for the November 2010 ballot to end public employee union corruption and restore political power back to its rightful owners – taxpayers and voters. Their initiative will stem the flow of corruption money by prohibiting the use of any portion of state worker’s paychecks for political purposes. State workers will regain the right to make their own decisions about their political donations. Public employee unions must ask for political donations – just like everyone else.
California cannot be fixed without this reform. Without it, these unions will stop needed reform. Without it, Proposition 13’s Great Wall of Taxpayer Protection may crumble under the endless siege being waged against it by the public employee unions and their political cronies. Taxpayers must join in this fight because California’s future hangs in the balance.
Nearly every day now there is a story about someone being beaten up by a Union Thug at a “rally”. (Many involving SEIU) The Teacher’s Union is no better.
Most of these Mafia like unions buy off politicians and try to control politics at all levels. I support any and all attempts to stop these Thugs from ruining our Country.
SEIU violence is under-reported. (Imagine the reporting if the NRA or pro-lifers engaged in such violent attacks.) California is at the tipping point. Voters can reclaim their power or the state slides into the abyss.
I agree with #1 and #2. I have attended many neighborhood meetings in my city, Santa Ana, and Councilmeetings and School Board meetings. The SEIU and the Teacher’s Unions are always crying about something and yelling at anyone who does not bow to them. I once saw them yell down an 87 year old woman who was trying to give an opinion. Another time, I saw a group of SEIU union members circle a neighborhood association leader in the Civic Center parking lot and threaten to do physical harm to he and his wife. I could go on and on about these Unions but it brings back too many bad memories for me. I’ve seen our city and school budgets destroyed by trying to pay these high wages and retirement packages. The Teachers unions cry each schoolboard meeting but what programs do they want to cut to pay them even higher salaries? John Palacio and Roman Reyna on the board fan the flames of the Union but they don’t say what programs they would cut. Like #1 said, the Unions remind me of the Mafia back in my childhood growing up in Chicago. At least with the Mafia we know how much Payola was due and each month we made the payment. With the SEIU and Teachers Union the extorsion never ends so I think they are worse than the Mafia. I love our kids and want them to get the best education (I’m a retired school Janitor) but with all this money going to the Unions there is none left for the ones who need it most, our kids.
SEIU
Violence
http://www.larouchepac.com/node/11315
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5IInBP9D_s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWnxlFbYjVY
Only by fixing the way we finance campaigns,by instituting public financing do you get rid of corruption. If the proposition only imposes limits on Unions and does nothing to restrict other special interests then I will oppose it.
I would support real reform that limits contributions and provides public financing of campiagns equal to the amount of special interest money spent of behalf of your opponent(s).
Anything that just limits contributions to as in this case the Democrats mainly, I will not support. Like wise I would not support a proposition to limit only business or corperate or any other specific interst group, regardless.
A real solution would be nice, but I am not holding my breath.
This initiative treats unions equally to other special interests. Nor does it affect all unions, only public employee unions.
It puts no special limits on public sector unions, but treats them equally with other organizations. They are free to solicit contributions from their members. What they cannot do is take money from member’s paychecks.
It’s just simple fairness that public employee unions be treated equally. What could possibly be wrong with that?
If that is the case then I would consider supporting it if it applied to all Unions and it also said that only shareholders could donate to campaigns not any businesses.
If you are going to provide this right to restrict use of dues for union members then stockholders must get the right to do so with the profits of the companies they own.
Dues are for many purposes not just making contributions. Which is why they can be used for contributions, like profits in a company are used for many purposes not just contributions. Restrict both then it is a more balanced approach worth considering depending on the details.
What does this proposal do in regards to independant committees which often spend money to attack the opponent since they are prohibited from supporting a candidate?
Is that still unrestricted?
If it is then it will just increase the amount of negative ads and campaigning. Which will lead to more division and lack of ablity to get things done.
Then you may run into a free speech problem, with any type of measure.
That said I still think the only way to really beging to solve the corruption issue is to make available public financing of campaigns.
And will corporations need to ask permission from every shareholder before making a contribution?
Yes, they would have to follow the same proceedure to use the profits, as a union would have to, to use the dues of members. If that involved voting on each item or a voluntary contribution into a fund for political action, or allowing a percentage of your dues or a percentage of your share of the profits. It would have to be an equal system for all.
I’m a 25 year teacher here in Sacramento and I am on board to get the public unions out of the election process!
Its a hard road ahead, but I know this can be beaten. The fact that many americans have the entitlement mentality should sadden all of us. Lets make sure these idiots get stopped and start working for what our forefathers greatly handed us the freedom we enjoy now.