[A version of this commentary appeared on FR early last year. This column has been revised and updated – Flash]
It seems to me that Californians are getting what they asked for in State Controller John Chiang. The contrast between selecting Chiang or his opponent, taxpayer advocate Tony Strickland, on the November 2006 ballot could not have been more stark. While Strickland was openly supported by a cadre of pro-taxpayer organizations and leaders, the bulk of Chiang’s support came from the left-wing of the Democrat Party, and most significantly, from public employee unions eager to have yet another “tool” in an important state constitutional office, ready to be put into play should the need arise. (Below, left, is a photo of Chiang standing with all of his union supporters after being elected Controller.)
While the nation’s economy is reeling, as the United States, and California, plow into a recession, public employee union bosses continue to be advocates for the notion that somehow public employees are “more privileged” that their counterparts in the private sector and should be immune from the laws of economics – you know, that when less money comes in, less money can go out? Unfortunately, that “Golden Rule” applies in government just like it does in the private sector.
At a time when state government is facing a huge financial shortfall, directly attributed, by the way, by an overspending orgy that was completely advocated by the state’s public employee unions (I do not recall any unions calling for less spending on new government jobs, and instead calling for increasing state reserves to deal with potential shortfalls such as the one we are facing today), the unions are pouring proverbial fuel onto the fire by opposing any cuts in pay or benefits for their employees, hiding behind negotiated contracts.
Unfortunately, unlike the private sector, where market flexibility allows companies to adapt to economic conditions more freely – increasing activities during times of plenty, or downsizing during tougher times – the public sector has been so highly regulated by the tools of the public employee unions that have been propelled into the state legislature (over decades by the aggregate spending of countless tens of millions of dollars of public employee union dollars). Now when state government so clearly needs to be able to cut its spending pretty dramatically to stay afloat, pro-union laws severely tie the hands of policy makers to do much about it. In the private sector, a bankruptcy judge would open up labor agreements and cause them to be reworked to be reflective of the fiscal realities facing the affected company, with the idea that workers are not served if the company in question has to close its doors. No such parallel exists for a government solution.
Yesterday Governor Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling for the pay of state most state employees to be reduced to the federal minimum wage $7.25/hour until a budget is adopted. Given, the challenges facing the state, this action was necessary to put pressure on the unions to let legislative Democrats come to the table to discuss how to spend less.
State Controller John Chiang has already, once again, stepped up and said that he is not going to comply with the Governor’s Executive Order (funny, when you read the state constitution, it doesn’t seem to give that kind of authority to the Controller to enforce only those legal directives that he likes, and to dismiss those he does not).
California Association of Highway Patrol Officers
California Association of Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
California Association of Professional Scientists
California Correctional Peace Officer Association (CCPOA)
California Faculty Association
California Federation of Teachers
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California Professional Firefighters
California School Employees Association
California Teachers Association
CAUSE – Statewide Law Enforcement Association
CDF Firefighters
CWA Local 9400
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC)
Huntington Beach Police Officers’ Association
Laborers’ International Union of North America, Pacific Southwest Region (LIUNA-PSW)
Los Angeles County Probation Officers Union
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs
National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO)
Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC)
Professional Engineers in California Government
Retired Public Employees Association of California
SEIU, Local 1000
State Coalition of Probation Organizations
Teamsters Joint Council 42
United Teachers Los Angeles
But wait, let’s look at contributions received by Chiang towards his 2010 re-election from unions. In 2009 and 2010, Chiang has taken over $150,000 in contributions from these unions (information taken straight from Chiang’s campaign filings) — and it’s still "early" in the election season — as Chiang faces Tony Strickland again this November, look for these unions and others to pony up even more for their tool…
As a reader stated in an email to me this morning, it seems that if you give Chiang enough (campaign) money, he will break the law to pay you back. How wrong is that?
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