The Pigs are Famous… OK act cool everybody, there a flood of new members on the horizon?

[paramount]

By Adam Sparks:

We’re now 25 billion dollars in the red in California. The governor along with his Democrat controlled legislature will never do the right thing. They’re the same folks who brought you this mess. When Governor Brown was previously the governor he signed the Dills Act in 1978 that gave civil servants the right to collective bargaining. He did this on his very first day in office as governor. This revolutionary enactment was the beginning of the end or our state. Now, with the power of government labor unions unchecked, state employees, now the largest unionized force of any state, have controlled the legislative agenda for the past 30 years. Their sweetheart pension plans are a marvel to their political strength and are unmatched anywhere in the private sector. This is why although state workers’ pensions are the single largest problem in this budget crisis, Brown has not even mentioned it in his new “reform” proposals. He has however mentioned tax increases, or as he calls them tax “extensions”. A two-thirds margin of Californians overwhelmingly opposes tax increases as a solution.

Here’s the problem, notwithstanding a current state budget deficit of 25 billion dollars, the state has 700 billion dollars in unfunded pension liabilities. This is ticking time bomb. No matter how much we cut and balance today’s budget, we will never catch up and meet the needs of the ridiculously high unfunded pensions. This is the problem. Brown’s budget may take away state workers’ cell phones and some social services dollars, but seriously, big deal. This is just more smoke and mirrors. It just kicks the can down the road. This will not solve our major structural problem.
Legalizing online poker, taxing marijuana (both proposed) and taxing air (already passed through cap and trade) will not solve the budget problems. The latter is a way of taxing the few manufacturing industries still dumb enough to be creating jobs in California. If they hadn’t got the memo earlier, this bill should be a neon sign. Get out of Dodge. We don’t see many folks clamoring for yet cleaner air, but we see millions looking for work.
Our legislature has been hallucinating for decades. They didn’t see the current budget crisis coming?
Perhaps, they’ve all been smoking that decriminalized marijuana. How else can you explain what the legislature has been doing? In the last 2 years, you would think that the legislature would be laser focused on the brewing crisis. Instead, it was busy, even consumed, passing 1,450 new crucial laws like that which banned shortening of cow’s tails and increased penalties for betting in office pools. Way to go, legislature!
The other major part of the budget is also largely untouched, K-12 education. Education represents 54% of the state budget. Brown still owes much to the teachers’ union which catapulted him into office this past November. It’s now payback time for Brown.
Without the political will to attack both the structural problems of K-12 funding and union pensions, there can be no solution to our structural budget crisis. Governor Brown knows this. The alternative is bankruptcy. Federal law prohibits states to file for bankruptcy, but they do allow for a federal receivership to be established and a receiver to take over. This is a distinction without a difference. This would allow us to cancel the pension agreements and refashion them to make sense considering our current economic malaise.

[CA renter]

paramount,

The pensions were not a problem until the bubble(s) burst. The problem is 100% attributable to the Federal Reserve and the financial industry.

Education is a huge part of California’s budget, but the one of the biggest reasons (if not THE reason) for the growth in the education budget is illegal immigration. Would you advocate eliminating the education benefits for illegal immigrants and their children? It’s one thing to say, “education costs are too high,” and another to actually be willing to address the causes. Realize that a good portion of the pension problem would disappear if we eliminated benefits for illegal immigrants, as there would be massive layoffs in the public sector, and those employees wouldn’t be entitled to the maximum benefits (or any pension benefits at all, if they aren’t vested).

Are you willing to address the cause of our budget problems?

[CA renter]

paramount,

The pensions were not a problem until the bubble(s) burst. The problem is 100% attributable to the Federal Reserve and the financial industry.

Education is a huge part of California’s budget, but the one of the biggest reasons (if not THE reason) for the growth in the education budget is illegal immigration. Would you advocate eliminating the education benefits for illegal immigrants and their children? It’s one thing to say, “education costs are too high,” and another to actually be willing to address the causes. Realize that a good portion of the pension problem would disappear if we eliminated benefits for illegal immigrants, as there would be massive layoffs in the public sector, and those employees wouldn’t be entitled to the maximum benefits (or any pension benefits at all, if they aren’t vested).

Are you willing to address the cause of our budget problems?

[CA renter]

paramount,

The pensions were not a problem until the bubble(s) burst. The problem is 100% attributable to the Federal Reserve and the financial industry.

Education is a huge part of California’s budget, but the one of the biggest reasons (if not THE reason) for the growth in the education budget is illegal immigration. Would you advocate eliminating the education benefits for illegal immigrants and their children? It’s one thing to say, “education costs are too high,” and another to actually be willing to address the causes. Realize that a good portion of the pension problem would disappear if we eliminated benefits for illegal immigrants, as there would be massive layoffs in the public sector, and those employees wouldn’t be entitled to the maximum benefits (or any pension benefits at all, if they aren’t vested).

Are you willing to address the cause of our budget problems?

[CA renter]

paramount,

The pensions were not a problem until the bubble(s) burst. The problem is 100% attributable to the Federal Reserve and the financial industry.

Education is a huge part of California’s budget, but the one of the biggest reasons (if not THE reason) for the growth in the education budget is illegal immigration. Would you advocate eliminating the education benefits for illegal immigrants and their children? It’s one thing to say, “education costs are too high,” and another to actually be willing to address the causes. Realize that a good portion of the pension problem would disappear if we eliminated benefits for illegal immigrants, as there would be massive layoffs in the public sector, and those employees wouldn’t be entitled to the maximum benefits (or any pension benefits at all, if they aren’t vested).

Are you willing to address the cause of our budget problems?

[CA renter]

paramount,

The pensions were not a problem until the bubble(s) burst. The problem is 100% attributable to the Federal Reserve and the financial industry.

Education is a huge part of California’s budget, but the one of the biggest reasons (if not THE reason) for the growth in the education budget is illegal immigration. Would you advocate eliminating the education benefits for illegal immigrants and their children? It’s one thing to say, “education costs are too high,” and another to actually be willing to address the causes. Realize that a good portion of the pension problem would disappear if we eliminated benefits for illegal immigrants, as there would be massive layoffs in the public sector, and those employees wouldn’t be entitled to the maximum benefits (or any pension benefits at all, if they aren’t vested).

Are you willing to address the cause of our budget problems?

[CA renter]

[quote=jeeman]$80k normalized out to an entire year’s worth of work is a $106k/year rate. Not bad.

Then, they can “retire” at 50, and collect atleast $50k/year in pension. Then they can go get another job that pays $60k, which is the average private salary, and now they are “making” $110k/year.

It’s nuts that they think they are being underpaid…are they counting all that free pension money that they will get when they retire early? I think not. They are just looking at their current salary.

Private workers get no such golden parachute in their “golden” years.[/quote]

There is no question that teachers take their benefits into account when they decide to pursue teaching. Every single public employee I know would say that the benefit packages are a large part of what drew them into their professions.

Would our education system be better off if teachers were making $18,000/year, without benefits?

[CA renter]

[quote=jeeman]$80k normalized out to an entire year’s worth of work is a $106k/year rate. Not bad.

Then, they can “retire” at 50, and collect atleast $50k/year in pension. Then they can go get another job that pays $60k, which is the average private salary, and now they are “making” $110k/year.

It’s nuts that they think they are being underpaid…are they counting all that free pension money that they will get when they retire early? I think not. They are just looking at their current salary.

Private workers get no such golden parachute in their “golden” years.[/quote]

There is no question that teachers take their benefits into account when they decide to pursue teaching. Every single public employee I know would say that the benefit packages are a large part of what drew them into their professions.

Would our education system be better off if teachers were making $18,000/year, without benefits?

[CA renter]

[quote=jeeman]$80k normalized out to an entire year’s worth of work is a $106k/year rate. Not bad.

Then, they can “retire” at 50, and collect atleast $50k/year in pension. Then they can go get another job that pays $60k, which is the average private salary, and now they are “making” $110k/year.

It’s nuts that they think they are being underpaid…are they counting all that free pension money that they will get when they retire early? I think not. They are just looking at their current salary.

Private workers get no such golden parachute in their “golden” years.[/quote]

There is no question that teachers take their benefits into account when they decide to pursue teaching. Every single public employee I know would say that the benefit packages are a large part of what drew them into their professions.

Would our education system be better off if teachers were making $18,000/year, without benefits?

[CA renter]

[quote=jeeman]$80k normalized out to an entire year’s worth of work is a $106k/year rate. Not bad.

Then, they can “retire” at 50, and collect atleast $50k/year in pension. Then they can go get another job that pays $60k, which is the average private salary, and now they are “making” $110k/year.

It’s nuts that they think they are being underpaid…are they counting all that free pension money that they will get when they retire early? I think not. They are just looking at their current salary.

Private workers get no such golden parachute in their “golden” years.[/quote]

There is no question that teachers take their benefits into account when they decide to pursue teaching. Every single public employee I know would say that the benefit packages are a large part of what drew them into their professions.

Would our education system be better off if teachers were making $18,000/year, without benefits?

[CA renter]

[quote=jeeman]$80k normalized out to an entire year’s worth of work is a $106k/year rate. Not bad.

Then, they can “retire” at 50, and collect atleast $50k/year in pension. Then they can go get another job that pays $60k, which is the average private salary, and now they are “making” $110k/year.

It’s nuts that they think they are being underpaid…are they counting all that free pension money that they will get when they retire early? I think not. They are just looking at their current salary.

Private workers get no such golden parachute in their “golden” years.[/quote]

There is no question that teachers take their benefits into account when they decide to pursue teaching. Every single public employee I know would say that the benefit packages are a large part of what drew them into their professions.

Would our education system be better off if teachers were making $18,000/year, without benefits?

[CA renter]

[quote=Doooh]What school district. I had a friend who worked at a private school. Those guys were on a true free market system and got paid pennies as teacher… The way it should be. There’s always somebody else who would love to have that job.
3 months off for summer and another month off between Christmas, presidents week, and spring break. 2 weeks in sick time and paid vacation days, and he’ll a teacher is approaching the half a year mark of time off. This is considered part time work were I come from.

$80k and health benefits for 7 months of work is a JOKE! Teachers should not be sacred cows, they the majority of the problem. What’s the % of the budget we spend on education here in CA?

I left my spelling and grammar errors in place so our local Piggington teachers would have some sort of leg to stand on when they try to argue their value.[/quote]

There’s always somebody else willing to do **anybody’s** job for less these days.

The private sector workers are buoyed by those “evil” public sector unions as well. Private sector employees can easily migrate to public sector work if the disparity in compensation gets too large, and this sets a floor for wages in the private sector.

Until very recently, there were PLENTY of jobs in the public sector. If the private sector workers were so underpaid, why didn’t they migrate to those “overpaid” govt jobs?

I would love to hear a well-reasoned, detailed response that outlines how private sector workers would benefit from the decimation of unions. Do you really think your taxes would go down enough to compensate for the lower wages/benefits you’d get as a result of a fully non-unionized workforce? The only people who will benefit from the demise of the unions are the financial and corporate theives who have driven this country — and the world — to the brink of economic destruction.

If the public unions are broken, the private sector workers will fall with them.

Be careful what you wish for…

[CA renter]

[quote=Doooh]What school district. I had a friend who worked at a private school. Those guys were on a true free market system and got paid pennies as teacher… The way it should be. There’s always somebody else who would love to have that job.
3 months off for summer and another month off between Christmas, presidents week, and spring break. 2 weeks in sick time and paid vacation days, and he’ll a teacher is approaching the half a year mark of time off. This is considered part time work were I come from.

$80k and health benefits for 7 months of work is a JOKE! Teachers should not be sacred cows, they the majority of the problem. What’s the % of the budget we spend on education here in CA?

I left my spelling and grammar errors in place so our local Piggington teachers would have some sort of leg to stand on when they try to argue their value.[/quote]

There’s always somebody else willing to do **anybody’s** job for less these days.

The private sector workers are buoyed by those “evil” public sector unions as well. Private sector employees can easily migrate to public sector work if the disparity in compensation gets too large, and this sets a floor for wages in the private sector.

Until very recently, there were PLENTY of jobs in the public sector. If the private sector workers were so underpaid, why didn’t they migrate to those “overpaid” govt jobs?

I would love to hear a well-reasoned, detailed response that outlines how private sector workers would benefit from the decimation of unions. Do you really think your taxes would go down enough to compensate for the lower wages/benefits you’d get as a result of a fully non-unionized workforce? The only people who will benefit from the demise of the unions are the financial and corporate theives who have driven this country — and the world — to the brink of economic destruction.

If the public unions are broken, the private sector workers will fall with them.

Be careful what you wish for…

[CA renter]

[quote=Doooh]What school district. I had a friend who worked at a private school. Those guys were on a true free market system and got paid pennies as teacher… The way it should be. There’s always somebody else who would love to have that job.
3 months off for summer and another month off between Christmas, presidents week, and spring break. 2 weeks in sick time and paid vacation days, and he’ll a teacher is approaching the half a year mark of time off. This is considered part time work were I come from.

$80k and health benefits for 7 months of work is a JOKE! Teachers should not be sacred cows, they the majority of the problem. What’s the % of the budget we spend on education here in CA?

I left my spelling and grammar errors in place so our local Piggington teachers would have some sort of leg to stand on when they try to argue their value.[/quote]

There’s always somebody else willing to do **anybody’s** job for less these days.

The private sector workers are buoyed by those “evil” public sector unions as well. Private sector employees can easily migrate to public sector work if the disparity in compensation gets too large, and this sets a floor for wages in the private sector.

Until very recently, there were PLENTY of jobs in the public sector. If the private sector workers were so underpaid, why didn’t they migrate to those “overpaid” govt jobs?

I would love to hear a well-reasoned, detailed response that outlines how private sector workers would benefit from the decimation of unions. Do you really think your taxes would go down enough to compensate for the lower wages/benefits you’d get as a result of a fully non-unionized workforce? The only people who will benefit from the demise of the unions are the financial and corporate theives who have driven this country — and the world — to the brink of economic destruction.

If the public unions are broken, the private sector workers will fall with them.

Be careful what you wish for…

[CA renter]

[quote=Doooh]What school district. I had a friend who worked at a private school. Those guys were on a true free market system and got paid pennies as teacher… The way it should be. There’s always somebody else who would love to have that job.
3 months off for summer and another month off between Christmas, presidents week, and spring break. 2 weeks in sick time and paid vacation days, and he’ll a teacher is approaching the half a year mark of time off. This is considered part time work were I come from.

$80k and health benefits for 7 months of work is a JOKE! Teachers should not be sacred cows, they the majority of the problem. What’s the % of the budget we spend on education here in CA?

I left my spelling and grammar errors in place so our local Piggington teachers would have some sort of leg to stand on when they try to argue their value.[/quote]

There’s always somebody else willing to do **anybody’s** job for less these days.

The private sector workers are buoyed by those “evil” public sector unions as well. Private sector employees can easily migrate to public sector work if the disparity in compensation gets too large, and this sets a floor for wages in the private sector.

Until very recently, there were PLENTY of jobs in the public sector. If the private sector workers were so underpaid, why didn’t they migrate to those “overpaid” govt jobs?

I would love to hear a well-reasoned, detailed response that outlines how private sector workers would benefit from the decimation of unions. Do you really think your taxes would go down enough to compensate for the lower wages/benefits you’d get as a result of a fully non-unionized workforce? The only people who will benefit from the demise of the unions are the financial and corporate theives who have driven this country — and the world — to the brink of economic destruction.

If the public unions are broken, the private sector workers will fall with them.

Be careful what you wish for…

[Author]

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