The Wall Street Journal leads off this little roundup, noting that the recent victory of ballot measures 66 and 67 were bankrolled by big unions:
The cash helped the tax increase roll up a 71% margin in the liberal precincts in and around Portland, even as it lost in most of the rest of the state.
The union message was also as clever as it was disingenuous: All of these taxes will be paid by someone else, such as Wall Street bankers, out-of-state credit card companies, CEOs. Only the richest 2.5% will pay a little more in taxes, the unions also claimed.
The teachers unions exulted yesterday that Oregonians voted to "protect our schools and vital public services." What was really protected was the $83,402 a year average in pay and benefits to Oregon state workers, 30% higher than what private workers receive. This is bankrupting states like Oregon, California, New York and New Jersey. On the other hand, Oregon's folly will be some other state's gain.
They are, of course, absolutely correct: the unions engaged in the rankest of class warfare tactics, claiming that what amounts to a state sales tax wouldn't in any way impact the folks who're barely squeaking by. That was a lie, but they sold it with impunity. It has been correctly noted that our former public servants have suddenly become our masters; this is due to the unionization of government.
There was a time when government work offered lower salaries than comparable jobs in the private sector but more security and somewhat better benefits. These days, government workers fare better than private-sector workers in almost every area—pay, benefits, time off, and job security. And not just in California.
According to a 2007 analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Asbury Park Press, “the average federal worker made $59,864 in 2005, compared with the average salary of $40,505 in the private sector.”
And as noted above, in Oregon: What was really protected was the $83,402 a year average in pay and benefits to Oregon state workers, 30% higher than what private workers receive.
Meanwhile, nothing gets done. The government class today can't even get something as basic as a bridge design pulled together. Last I heard, something like $100 million has been spent thus far on meetings to consider a new I-5 bridge. There still is no actual design, because the committees can't agree on what is needed.
Although it would be tempting to remove the impediments quickly and cleanly, that would likely involve the selective application of weaponry - which of course is generally eschewed these days. As a result, we have to wait. A new recall effort is underway, targeting Portland's predatory "mayor", and Metro's David Bragdon (one of the child-raping Neil Goldschmidt cronies) is on his way out. Assuming that "mayor" Sam Adams is removed from office, and assuming that Rex Placeholder is denied the Metro presidency, Portland may actually have a shot at making some headway on the bridge project.
You may be asking yourself why government has unions, as did I. But an alert reader noted - correctly, I believe - that unions gain a foothold and subsequent leverage in an environment characterized by incompetent managers. And in most cases, that accurately describes government.