U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore is leading the charge against government corruption by throwing his support behind the Citizen Power Initiative, a California ballot measure and proposed constitutional amendment that will end the corrupt practice of allowing taxpayer money to be funneled to political causes through public employee unions. Read the rest of the press release here:
Tustin, CA [December 21, 2009] – U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore this week endorsed the Citizen Power Initiative, a California ballot measure and proposed constitutional amendment that will end the corrupt practice of allowing taxpayer money to be funneled to political causes through public employee unions.
DeVore, who currently serves in the California State Assembly representing the 70th District, is the first prominent Republican candidate to endorse the Citizen Power Initiative. DeVore said, “California’s fiscal crisis will continue unless we can break the political machine. The political alliance created by legislators and the powerful public employee unions who bankroll their campaigns results in bigger government, more spending, and taxpayers are shut out of the process. Nothing will change until we get the government out of the business of collecting union members’ dues that are used for politics.”
The Citizen Power Campaign (www.UnplugThePoliticalMachine.org) is currently collecting signatures to qualify the Citizen Power Initiative for the November 2010 ballot.
“Chuck’s endorsement shows political leadership and political courage,” said Dawn Wildman, an initiative proponent. “Opposing California’s public employee unions paints a target on your back.” She cites a recent example, where a San Diego county firefighters union bankrolled a political campaign to remove an Oceanside Councilman who supported reforming firefighter pensions.
DeVore is a longtime supporter of “paycheck protection” laws aimed at limiting the power of California’s public employee unions. What’s different about the Citizen Power Initiative, DeVore noted, is that while previous attempts focused on getting employees’ permission to use their union dues for politics, this initiative simply takes the government out of the business of collecting dues for politics at all.
DeVore said, “Simply put, the government should not be taking what is essentially taxpayer money and giving it to union bosses for politics. The employee doesn’t even see the money because their dues are automatically deducted from their paychecks, like taxes. The government shouldn’t be involved at all, especially when the union bosses are funding the political campaigns of the same government officials who set their salaries and pensions.”
To read the full text of the initiative and to learn more, visit www.UnplugThePoliticalMachine.org and click on “The Solution.”
To download petitions and join the Citizen Power Campaign’s online community, visit www.UnplugThePoliticalMachine.ning.com.
THE CITIZEN POWER CAMPAIGN
The Citizen Power Campaign combines grassroots taxpayer organizers, retirees, and political veterans. The initiative’s official proponents are Mark Meckler and Dawn Wildman, California’s Tea Party Patriot state coordinators; Larry Sand, retired public school teacher and founder of the California Teacher Empowerment Network; Allan Mansoor, Costa Mesa Mayor and Orange County Deputy Sheriff; and Mark Bucher, Orange County attorney and author of the 1998 ‘paycheck protection’ initiative, Proposition 226. The Lincoln Club of Orange County, a group of about 200 business owners and executives who believe in limited government, lower taxes, and the promotion of free enterprise, has been an early supporter and financial contributor to the Citizen Power Campaign.
NO-SHILL GUARANTEE: Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, made freely, and without financial or any incentive other than the pursuit of freedom and limited government.
As for the proposed initiative, seems to me that public policy by ballot box so often turns out to be a mess. This one would seem to tread on constitutional free speech rights. In any event, I predict the campaign finance industry is already designing approaches to work around the constraint that this initiative seeks to impose. Campaign finance is big business – Just ask folks like John McCain, Mike Schroder, John Lewis, etc. Of course, this could be more about show than substance as the silly (campaign) season is upon us.
Mark Patlan, everyone knows you’re Rogue Elephant. Why hide behind the phony name?
#1 good point
#2,
Don’t be a weenie. Rogue Elephant is a great blog handle. If you have some issue with this post then why don’t you tell us what that is rather than pick on our writer?
UNION CORRUPTION. Not exactly at the top of my list of concerns. When BIG CORPORATIONS pull the strings of the entire GOP and half of the Dems, and literally write most of our legislation. I’ll put union corruption down around, hm, #20 or 30 on my list of concerns this year.
Why doesn’t Devore focus on fighting corruption period? Corruption is corruption whether it be in unions, corporations, politics, etc.
Me thinks if he did that he may but heads with some of his supporters and fellow politicians. However by going after the evil boogeyman unions he can play to his base.
Union corruption should bat at the top of everyone’s list. the government worker unions are
* the most powerful special interest in Sacramento
* the only special interest that can spend taxpayer money on politics
* the only special interest that can elect the officials who set their salaries and pensions
* the driving force behind the pension crisis
* the driving force behind runaway spending
* the obstacle to reforming state government
If those things mean nothing to you, than taxpayers are nowhere on your list of priorities.
That’s true whatever your name is.
Lets see (Union corruption should bat at the top of everyone’s list.) the government worker unions are
* the most powerful special interest in Sacramento-
I have been up there and lobbied several different times, there were a lot of big business lobbyists up there also. Big businesses have a lot more to spend than labor.
* The only special interest that can spend taxpayer money on politics
Let’s see can you say bail out of banks-AIG other big businesses our money went to pay billion dollar salaries of top contributors to politicians, what do you call them if not special interests?
* The only special interest that can elect the officials who set their salaries and pensions.
See above- Special tax breaks bailouts etc; allow huge retirement packages and pay scales at taxpayer expense
* The driving force behind the pension crisis
Bad investments with companies who donated to various elected certainly did not help either, plenty of blame to go around.
* The driving force behind runaway spending
The republicans who are not supported by unions managed to turn a 6 trillion dollar projected surplus handed to them by the democrats who are supported in some cases by unions into a 6 trillion and still growing deficit in only 5 years.
* The obstacle to reforming state government
There is no reforming the state government without a repeal or sunset of all previous propositions which handcuff the legislature with spending and tax requirements.
Devore is a nice guy with the misguided idea that pandering to the right will help him win
The public employee unions have much more money at their disposal than big business because big labor spends your tax dollars. The solution to big business’s influence is to limit government.
True, Wall Street and Washington are in cahoots in looting the public coffers. The answer is less government.
There is plenty of blame to go around in the pension crisis. Public employee pensions should be abolished and replaced with defined contribution plans.
I agree with you on repealing ballot box budgeting and limiting it in the future. There will be no reform while the unions block it (spent $148.5 million in 2005 blocking reform).
DeVore is one of the few people who stuck to their fiscal conservative principles in Sacramento. The current fiscal crisis is the opportunity to build a center-right coalition to reform Sacramento. If that opportunity is missed, adios California!
Jim,
I do enjoy sparring with you. While we disagree, you seem to have principles (unlike some).
Chuck who?
NEXT.
7,9: At some point after a government employee receives a paycheck the money ceases to be taxpayer money, I would think. To say that a person, business, unio or politician who receives money from a public employee is receiving taxpayer money seems to me at that poiht to be a stretch. If it was still taxpayer money, then state and federal income taxes should not apply. Small point, but it grates on me a little.
The portion of a state worker’s paycheck that is union dues is not taxable income.
To expand on this:
* State workers are forced into the unions.
* State workers are forced to pay dues.
* Taxpayers pay for the unions as part of their labor cost.
* State workers are not taxed on the union dues.
* In tax parlance, the union dues are, therefore, a “tax expenditure” by the state (and, hence, the taxpayers).
Rogue, that is interesting. Wonder if since union dues are paid with pre-tax dollars if that sum counts as part of gross earnings when it comes to calculating retirement? If so, seems even more unfair. (Perhaps it varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction?) Sure is messy.
One of the flashing red lights you have on Union influence, is the Cadillac health care plans in the health care bill exempt from the new taxes on those plans. All the rest of us must pay if our employer gives them to us. SEIU is the biggest culprit and the head of that union has been to the WH more than any other visitor. Come on folks wake up. Corporations have influence but not like the corrupt unions.
Does that mean he also leads the fight, along with the OC Register, to protect the corporate and Wall Street “bosses” who say they are against socialism and than take billions from the taxpayers? Any and all money that the union “bosses”(by the way elected, not like the fake votes that put boards of directors in power) may or may not have ever stolen (in other words money used in the best interests of workers not CEO’s) in all history cannot compare to what the bankers, Wall Street brokers, the “Madoff’s, and corporations have stolen in just the last year (with the help of the Republican Party).