Clearly the public employee union bosses just don’t get it. To Republicans in the legislature, these unions are the single greatest obstacle to enacting sane public policy in Sacramento. Everyone knows that these unions have only three major agenda items — grow their members by pursuing more public dollars being spent to employ whichever type of employee is mandated to pay dues into their union, seek greater and greater pay for their union members (no matter the economy, state of the budget, or conditions in the private sector) and seek more and more retirement benefits for their members (again, no matter what else is taking place).
So when I see public employee unions paying to place advertisements out there bashing Republicans (I just saw a California Teachers Association television spot during Olympics coverage, and the California Faculty Association is advertising at least on the Sacramento Bee and Red County websites), they are just emboldening Republican legislators.
To these public employee unions I say this — spend more and more and more on your ads. Every time a GOP legislator sees one, it reminds them of the importance of California breaking free of you, the way that someone addicted to drugs needs to break away from person supplying their habit.
August 16th, 2008 at 12:00 am
There you go again, Jon. What would you expect a union to do other than attempt to gain more members, get more pay and get better retirement benefits for their members? Personally, I’d like to see our governor and legislators revisit 1999 and repeal those unsustainable tax cuts and the legislation that added billions of dollars to the state budget. The put a cap of inflation plus increase in population to any budget increases. But there is no chance of this happening because the Republican Party insists on being the far right wing religious party.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Don’t know what you are talking about, Bob. It’s the Republicans who support meaningful caps on taxes and spending. Plus, I don’t see how you can argue the tax cuts are “unsustainable” given that tax revenue has increased much faster than population growth plus inflation. It’s just that spending has grown even faster than tax revenue.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Bob…
Sounds like you are part of the “religious party” too… but the god you worship and pay homage to is big government. “Unsustainable tax cuts”, according to your religion, is the big evil.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Can you read? My post says, to put it in the most simple terms possible: repeal all tax cuts and spending increases since 1999. Then put a cap of yearly percent of inflation increase plus yearly percent of population increase as a cap on spending. Under current law any surplus would return to the taxpayers (Prop 4, June 1978 ballot initiative). Case closed.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:00 am
In my effort in not wanting my friends at the California School Employees Association to waste the hard earned money of their members, I’d like to point out that they are buying “pressure ads” in markets that don’t reach Bonnie Garica’s and my district (the mentioned targets of the ads)
They do reach some of my district – but zero of Bonnie’s in some of their buy. But other stations are a complete waste of money.
But a nice side effect is that now my office is getting calls from Orange County Democrats (I don’t represent Orange County) emploring me to “stay strong” and hold out for a responsible budget. Which I intend on doing.
In fact, in the more than 50 calls we’ve received, about 95% of them don’t ever want me to vote for a budget!
And thank you to the four callers that wanted to donate to my campaign, but these calls are going to my state office and my staff politely informs them that we’re a Republican office and don’t mix taxpayer money with politics.
Thanks CSEA – please keep it up!