Washingtons latest bailout of bleeding state governments $26 billion worth has gotten attention because among other things almost half the bailout is financed by cutting $12 billion from food stamps.
But isnt food stamps a signature program for the liberal Democrats who passed this spending bill? Isnt government money for the poor what Democrats are supposed to be about?
How in these tough times do Democrats who control Congress decide wholl get funded and who will not?
This is the latest example particularly illustrative showing that Washington is less and less about ideas and values and more and more about interests power and money.
In this case were talking about unions. Of the $26 billion the bill appropriates $16 billion goes to state Medicaid programs and the other $10 billion to unionized state and local government employees.
Of the top 20 PACs in the country eleven are union PACs. No. 8 on the list is the American Federation of State County and Municipal Workers ($1.8 million dollars in campaign contributions in the current election cycle). No. 17 on the list is the American Federation of Teachers ($1.5 million in contributions).
Needless to say 100 percent of these union political contributions go to Democrats.
Union membership today is mostly a government phenomenon.
Whereas 7 percent of private-sector employees are unionized 35 percent of government employees are.
So with each incremental growth in government unionized workers gain disproportionate power and influence over all our lives. Unions understand that big government is their bread and butter so unions which represent 15 percent of all American workers account for more than 50 percent of the nations largest political action committees.
The problem should be clear. Regardless of the narrative you want to use to explain how we got into the current difficult economic times there is only one way out. Thats flexibility creativity and innovation.
But in areas that are unionized - mostly government - we hit the wall. Union contracts prohibit wage adjustments or any kind of market flexibility.
Over the last 10 years wages have risen for state and local government workers by 19 percent compared to 9 percent in the private sector.
Nobel laureate economist Gary Becker writes: During this recession wages did fall for many workers but mainly among non-union workers. ... For example the state of Illinois has the largest fiscal deficit as a percent of its budget of any state. ... It required many of its high-level non-union employees to take 24 unpaid leave days or about a 9 percent cut in their salaries since the state government cannot touch the wages of their many unionized employees.
Regarding pleas about saving teachers jobs its not about this at all. Its about teachers unions refusing to make concessions and hard adjustments like all Americans are making.
Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal recently wrote about the refusal of the teachers union in Milwaukee to negotiate with the local school board and make any concession in which teachers would have to contribute something to their health plan. Their plan according to Moore costs taxpayers $26844 per family compared to $14500 that typifies private employer plans.
The union held out letting some teachers get laid off waiting for a bailout from Washington.
Priorities in Washington have always been influenced by whos got the money as opposed to whos got the ideas. Today mores than ever.
And for the poor?
The main way to end the poverty cycle is to get poor children educated - and its the teachers unions that fight school choice.
A major driver of poor youth unemployment is the minimum wage aggressively supported by unions.
But unions have campaign funds so they will step ahead of the poor in line when Washington sets priorities. This will be true whether its a question of funding existing programs for the poor like food stamps or pushing forward innovative market-based ideas to combat poverty.
Washingtons latest bailout of bleeding state governments $26 billion worth has gotten attention because among other things almost half the bailout is financed by cutting $12 billion from food stamps.
But isnt food stamps a signature program for the liberal Democrats who passed this spending bill? Isnt government money for the poor what Democrats are supposed to be about?
How in these tough times do Democrats who control Congress decide wholl get funded and who will not?
This is the latest example particularly illustrative showing that Washington is less and less about ideas and values and more and more about interests power and money.
In this case were talking about unions. Of the $26 billion the bill appropriates $16 billion goes to state Medicaid programs and the other $10 billion to unionized state and local government employees.
Of the top 20 PACs in the country eleven are union PACs. No. 8 on the list is the American Federation of State County and Municipal Workers ($1.8 million dollars in campaign contributions in the current election cycle). No. 17 on the list is the American Federation of Teachers ($1.5 million in contributions).
Needless to say 100 percent of these union political contributions go to Democrats.
Union membership today is mostly a government phenomenon.
Whereas 7 percent of private-sector employees are unionized 35 percent of government employees are.
So with each incremental growth in government unionized workers gain disproportionate power and influence over all our lives. Unions understand that big government is their bread and butter so unions which represent 15 percent of all American workers account for more than 50 percent of the nations largest political action committees.
The problem should be clear. Regardless of the narrative you want to use to explain how we got into the current difficult economic times there is only one way out. Thats flexibility creativity and innovation.
But in areas that are unionized - mostly government - we hit the wall. Union contracts prohibit wage adjustments or any kind of market flexibility.
Over the last 10 years wages have risen for state and local government workers by 19 percent compared to 9 percent in the private sector.
Nobel laureate economist Gary Becker writes: During this recession wages did fall for many workers but mainly among non-union workers. ... For example the state of Illinois has the largest fiscal deficit as a percent of its budget of any state. ... It required many of its high-level non-union employees to take 24 unpaid leave days or about a 9 percent cut in their salaries since the state government cannot touch the wages of their many unionized employees.
Regarding pleas about saving teachers jobs its not about this at all. Its about teachers unions refusing to make concessions and hard adjustments like all Americans are making.
Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal recently wrote about the refusal of the teachers union in Milwaukee to negotiate with the local school board and make any concession in which teachers would have to contribute something to their health plan. Their plan according to Moore costs taxpayers $26844 per family compared to $14500 that typifies private employer plans.
The union held out letting some teachers get laid off waiting for a bailout from Washington.
Priorities in Washington have always been influenced by whos got the money as opposed to whos got the ideas. Today mores than ever.
And for the poor?
The main way to end the poverty cycle is to get poor children educated - and its the teachers unions that fight school choice.
A major driver of poor youth unemployment is the minimum wage aggressively supported by unions.
But unions have campaign funds so they will step ahead of the poor in line when Washington sets priorities. This will be true whether its a question of funding existing programs for the poor like food stamps or pushing forward innovative market-based ideas to combat poverty.
