Halting State: How state employee unions stole California

[unixronin]

Police officers and firefighters are widely regarded as underpaid.  So how come police captains in Vallejo, California can make $300,000 a year, then retire at 50 on 90% salary, adjusted for inflation, for life and the life of their spouse?

The camera focuses on an official of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), California’s largest public-employee union, sitting in a legislative chamber and speaking into a microphone.  “We helped to get you into office, and we got a good memory,” she says matter-of-factly to the elected officials outside the shot.  “Come November, if you don’t back our program, we’ll get you out of office.’

City Journal's Steve Malanga details the history of how public-sector state employee unions bought California's state government lock, stock and barrel. Their bought-and-paid-for politicians repaid the favors by bankrupting the state, looting the budget to fund ever more lavish salary and pension plans for public sector union employees.

Comments

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Well, the real truth is there's no single cause, but a lot of contributing causes. Prop 13 was well-intentioned, but no question it was poorly thought through. Add in the various bubbles and busts, soaring real estate costs and high taxes driving employers out of the state ... it all adds up.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Howard Jarvis started as a lobbyist for The Los Angeles Apartment Owners Association. The intention of prop 13 was to protect landlords from property tax rises. The public was persuaded otherwise, but there was no goodwill in the work at all, and it did little for small property owners.

Refs: wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Jarvis#Alleged_impact_on_rent_control_laws). Sorry--I don't want to spend the time to dig more up. More than one book has been written on the subject, but it would take a days work to sort it all out and put the pieces together.