Pensions

Budget - Chicago - Chicago Teachers Union - Children - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - Ethics - GOP - Government - Government Corruption - House of Representatives - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Jobs - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Public School - Republicans - School Choice - Senate - Teachers Unions - Unions - Vouchers - Warner Todd Huston

School Choice Finally on the Agenda in Illinois

May 26, 2015 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The move for school choice is not only growing in Illinois in general but in Chicago in particular as politicians and parents both see the downward spiral of the public education system picking up speed.

With the costs of public education soaring but neither the rates of graduation nor proficiency growing accordingly, parents are desperate to find a way for their children to gain a better education.

The state is pumping millions upon millions into the bottomless pit of education and taxes are edging higher every year to support the spending habit. As an example, Illinois school district U46 (west of Chicago in the Elgin area) has $600 million in bond debt and this is just one of the nearly 700 school districts in Illinois.

So, as the system founders, many experiments have blossomed. We all know that charter schools have grown rapidly in the Chicago area, but there are other schools such as Leo Catholic High School in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood that are serving as perfect examples of school choice. Leo is a prime example of a private high school that is a wildly successful example of education at its finest.

The school is not fully supported financially by the city’s Catholic system but has since 1926 served students as an independent high school operating in what is now one of the city’s most depressed neighborhoods. The school started back when Auburn Gresham was a heavily Irish-Catholic part of the city but now serves an entirely African American student body. (Edit to note: The Archdiocese of Chicago does support Leo and has provided over $2M in direct, financial operating support for the school between 2009 and 2015, but doesn’t pay all the school’s expenses as it does the schools it has direct control over.)

The school has been such a success that for the last six years 100% of its students have been accepted into a college or university and 96 percent have gone on to pursue higher education.
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School Choice Finally on the Agenda in Illinois”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Entitlements - Ethics - Government Corruption - Jobs - Liberals - Pensions - President - Progressives - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Government Workers Should NEVER Be Allowed a Union

December 31, 2014 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

What are the best jobs on average in California? Apparently being a government worker. Infuriatingly, government workers live far better, have higher salaries, retire earlier and have better benefits than most in the private sector even though, like leeches, these same government workers live off the taxpayer.

The worst of all worlds for the taxpayer is a government union. Government unions do nothing whatever for the very people paying the bills. They do not improve services, they don’t professionalize workers, and they wildly grow the waste of tax dollars. Worse, government unions give public servants higher salaries, richer benefits, and earlier retirement dates than the taxpayers footing the bills.

Even the patron Saint of the liberal left, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was adamant that government workers should never be allowed to unionize. FDR thought it was “unthinkable and intolerable” to have a government workers union.

It’s for good reason, too. Government workers do not create the profits that might help enrich benefits. Whenever government unions get raises it simply means that taxpayers have to pay more to make up the difference.
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Government Workers Should NEVER Be Allowed a Union”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Gary Krasner - Jobs - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Unions

Labor Unions For Dummies

November 24, 2014 by

By Gary Krasner

Let me describe one larger point regarding public employee unions. It relates to the anti-competitiveness of unions generally, the same idea that Richard Epstein often writes about. But I’ll greatly simplify it for you.

Companies are not in business to make jobs. They’re in business to make profits. (It’s no different than when you invest your money.) Jobs are necessary to make profits.

Hiring labor is part of the cost of doing business. The object is to keep that cost down, but not to the extent that it will affect the performance of the company.

That means people who are capable and perform well are what businesses need, and it is why they compete with other companies to get such workers.

Example: In my profession, prepress computer operators who were fast and accurate could negotiate for higher wages. Through that reputation, they were in demand. Poor workers were not.

Such workers do not need unions. Mediocre and poor workers need unions. Unions benefit those who are the worst at their job.
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Labor Unions For Dummies”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Children - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Government - Government Corruption - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pensions - Progressives - Public Employees Unions - Public School - Regulation - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Crony Union Members Get Million Dollar Pensions for One Day of Teaching

October 16, 2014 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In another example of why government unions should all be eliminated, two union operatives in the Illinois school system have been the happy recipients of million-dollar pensions–courtesy of the taxpayers–for teaching classes for only a single day.

Back in 2011 I wrote of union operatives Steven Preckwinkle and David Piccioli at the Illinois teachers union who both “taught” only one day in the Illinois school system and then went on to be union operatives for the rest of their careers that were supposedly in “education.” Yet despite their lack of actually educating anyone, both were still demanding to get huge, generous pensions for being “teachers.”
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Crony Union Members Get Million Dollar Pensions for One Day of Teaching”

Alaska - Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Connecticut - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Entitlements - Ethics - Government - Government Corruption - Hawaii - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Jobs - Liberals - Massachusetts - Montana - Nanny State - Pat Quinn - Pensions - Policy - President - Progressives - Regulation - South Dakota - Taxes - Transparency - Truth in Accounting - Unions - Utah - Warner Todd Huston - Wyoming

Illinois a ‘Sinkhole State’: Rates Second Worst for Liability Per Taxpayer

September 2, 2014 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Illinois perennially ranks at the very bottom of every statistic that marks a successful state and a new report on America’s “sinkhole states” finds that Illinois again ranks at the very bottom this time for how much state debt each citizen is saddled with.

The statistics gathered by the excellent Chicago-based budget watchdog group Truth In Accounting calculated how much state debt–obligations like pensions, healthcare plans for retirees, etc–each citizen would have to pay to retire the debt in a lump sum.

The group has dubbed the worst states as “America’s Sinkhole States.”

Truth In Accounting found that Connecticut is the worst state in the union with each citizens owing 48 thousand dollars per citizen to retire the debt. But coming in a close second is the state of Illinois with a whopping 43 thousand dollars per citizen in debt.
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Illinois a ‘Sinkhole State’: Rates Second Worst for Liability Per Taxpayer”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Crony Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government Corruption - Jobs - Liberals - NLRB - Pensions - Progressives - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Taxpayers Lose $23.5 Million to Pay IRS Union Members to Do Union Business On The Clock

August 12, 2014 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here is a perfect example of why unions should be outlawed for all government workers. And I do mean all government workers. A new study finds that we, the American taxpayer, are ripped off to the tune of $23.5 million a year in tax money that goes to pay IRS union members to do union work while they are on the clock and supposed to be working for we, the people.

That’s right, you the taxpayer are paying IRS workers not to do IRS work. You are paying IRS employees to do nothing productive.

This is called “official time” (sometimes it’s called “union time”) and it is paid to IRS employees who are officers in the government union. These union officers carry out union work on the clock, during the time they are supposed to be doing work for the IRS.

Some of the activities these thieves engage in are things such as organizing union meetings, talking to other union members about union matters, or going on union-sponsored training events that aren’t training for IRS work but is instead training for union issues. And you are paying them a salary to do all this.
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Taxpayers Lose $23.5 Million to Pay IRS Union Members to Do Union Business On The Clock”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Chicago - Chicago Teachers Union - Children - Communism - Constitution - Cook County - Cook County Board - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Elections - Ethics - Government - Government Corruption - Government, Ill. County - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pensions - Progressives - Public Employees Unions - Public School - Rham Emanuel - Socialism - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Toni Preckwinkle - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

If Chicago Would Vote for Commie Karen Lewis, They Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Vote at All

July 15, 2014 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

A new poll of likely Chicago voters seems to find that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is in bad shape for his re-election coming up next year. The poll shows that two other candidates are far and away more popular than the incumbent mayor. One of those two is Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, a woman who is nearly an out and proud communist. But, if Chicagoans would vote for Lewis, they don’t deserve the vote at all.

This new Chicago Sun-Times poll shows Emanuel losing–and badly–to two other possible mayoral candidates in next year’s election. The biggest disparity is that between the mayor and Current Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. She really slams Emanuel beating him 55 percent to 31 percent in the poll.

Preckwinkle has made no moves at all to run against Emanuel and insists she won’t. Still, rumors abound that she will throw her hat in the ring, anyway.

To be honest, it really is no surprise that Emanuel is finding low favorables in polling this far out from the election. Mayor Emanuel has failed in many respects as Chicago’s mayor. He has done nothing at all to address the mounting pension crisis, spending is still skyrocketing, he’s solved none of the mess that previous mayor Richie Daley left him, and worse of all violence in the city has soared to never before seen rates of blood shed.
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If Chicago Would Vote for Commie Karen Lewis, They Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Vote at All”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Free Speech - Free Trade - Freedom - GOP - Government - Government Corruption - House of Representatives - Jobs - Labor Law - Liberals - Nanny State - Pensions - President - Progressives - Public Employees Unions - Regulation - Republicans - Senate - Taxes - Teachers Unions - The Law - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Now Destroying Unions is the Same as Reforming Government

July 8, 2014 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Years ago folks that stood against unions always had that one obstacle of “private” concerns in the way of urging people away from unionism. But today, with most unions being tied directly to government, now fighting unions is an act of beneficial government reform.

Once upon a time, the biggest hurdle for those arguing against unionism was the simple truth–and it was a truth–that unions and businesses were private concerns and if the two entities agreed to co-exist, who was an anti-union activist to say anything against the arrangement?

This is a simple, logical question that always made anti-union activists look like meddling outsiders. And the truth is, no matter how right they were that unionism is a bad idea for everyone, they were meddlers!

But today we have a far different situation for those who stand against unions. Since 1959 when unions were first allowed to organize government workers unions have slowly encroached into nearly every aspect of government causing spending to soar, bloating pensions beyond belief, and destroying the efficiency of government.
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Now Destroying Unions is the Same as Reforming Government”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Children - Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Ethics - Facebook - Government - Government Corruption - Inernet - Jobs - Liberals - New Jersey - Pensions - President - Progressives - Public Employees Unions - Public School - Regulation - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Technology - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Just Desserts: Silly Facebook Billionaire Ripped Off by Teachers Unions, Democrats, & Consultants

May 30, 2014 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Oh, he thought that just because he had billions of dollars, all he had to do was flit into a New Jersey school system, spread some of his cash around, and voila kids would get a “good” education. But reality was a different thing as when Mark Zuckerberg tried it, he found that the greedy teachers union stole all the cash and his millions didn’t help the kids at all.

Yes, Facebook Billionaire Mark Suckerberg–er, I mean Zuckerberg–was mugged by reality and found out exactly why Johnny can’t read. Because our system of mis-education is held prisoner to the anti-education, greedy, uncaring, left-wing teachers unions who don’t give a flying fig about the kids. It’s all about them stealing as much cash out of the system for their bloated pensions and high-salaried union bosses as humanely possible quite despite whether it hurts the kids or not.

In 2010 super rich Suckerberg gave $100 million big ones to help turn around Newark, New Jersey’s failing schools. He made a big show of the whole thing, too, even making his announcement on the Oprah show.
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Just Desserts: Silly Facebook Billionaire Ripped Off by Teachers Unions, Democrats, & Consultants”

Children - Education - Elections - GOP - Government - Government Corruption - Government, Ill. County - Illinois - Kirk Dillard - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Public School - Republicans - Senate - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Sen. Dillard Criticized for Taking Teachers Union Endorsement

February 14, 2014 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

This morning, Senator Kirk Dillard was “especially proud” to accept the endorsement of the Illinois Education Association (IEA) for the GOP nomination for Illinois Governor.

According to IEA president Cinda Klickna Dillard has shown that he values the expertise and opinions of the IEA.

“Sen. Dillard supports our fight for adequate funding for public education and he stood up to tremendous pressure and voted against the unfair and unconstitutional pension bill, Senate Bill 1,” Klickna said during this morning’s press conference.

“Illinois needs a fighter who believes in public schools and that is why IEA is proud to recommend Senator Kirk Dillard for the Republican nomination for governor,” she added.

The IEA is the largest education union in the state with some 130,000 members.

Dillard focused his comments on “the teachers” and education in general, but steered clear of talking about the union itself or the political abuses perpetrated public employees unions in general.
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Sen. Dillard Criticized for Taking Teachers Union Endorsement”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Government Corruption - Illinois - Liberals - Pat Quinn - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Four More Years: Pat Quinn Wins 2014 Illinois Governor Race

November 29, 2013 by

The Illinois Democratic Machine would like to congratulate Governor Pat Quinn on his 2014 re-election!

And a special thanks goes to Illinois Republicans for making it possible! Their support of our pension plan helped the Governor seem like a reformer instead of just kicking the can.

You know, it’s a funny story… Democrats control Illinois, so we were getting hammered for not fixing the pension crisis.

To avoid getting blamed, we hatched a plan: repackage old ideas, call them “reform”, and the Republicans do the rest. They took the bait and let us off the hook. (No joke, it was really that easy.)

So here’s a toast to Illinois Republicans–for passing a a pension bill that does nothing but give us another four years.

Video courtesy of Da Machine.

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Entitlements - EPA - Illinois - Liberals - Pensions - Progressives - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

A Tale of Two States: Illinois vs. Wisconsin in the Public Pension Debate

September 3, 2013 by

-By Benjamin Yount and M.D. Kittle, cross posted from Watchdog.org

SPRINGFIELD – The dividing line in the national debate over the future of public-sector unions can be found between the Land of Lincoln and its neighbor to the north.

The story of Illinois and Wisconsin is a tale of two very different states.

Wisconsin, led by Gov. Scott Walker and majority Republicans, took on public-sector unions and won in the pursuit of balancing a $3.6 billion state budget shortfall in 2011.

.

PENSION TENSION: A large crowd of union members and the professionally outraged (kids and older people bussed to the rally) demonstrate last month in downtown Chicago.

Illinois, led by Democrats with a veto-proof supermajority in the Legislature and Democrat Pat Quinn in the governor’s mansion (at least occasionally), have long coddled the public unions to which they and their campaign war chests are beholden. Consequently, the state faces billions of dollars in unpaid bills and unfunded pension liabilities for current public employees of about $130 billion.

Wisconsin’s economic prospects have vastly improved. The state’s public pension system, while not perfect, is nearly funded – at least based on much more liberal accounting standards than market-based measures. The Badger State budget now boasts a surplus of $741 million, the vast majority of that targeted for tax cuts over the next two years.

Illinois, meanwhile, continues to be buried under a mountain of debt, a broken fiscal house that has taken the state’s credit rating with it.

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A Tale of Two States: Illinois vs. Wisconsin in the Public Pension Debate”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Government - Liberals - New York - Pensions - Progressives - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Criminal Unions: The Perfect ‘Government Union Fat Cat’ Story

May 30, 2013 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Today’s example of why government unions should be outlawed is a union chief who ostensibly “works” for the people of New York. He has a grueling two-hour-a-day “work” schedule and spends that time eating lunch, then sleeping.

He’s a real life union fat cat, a perfect example of why government unions should be illegal, and the poster boy for union scumbaggery. He’s the 400-pound Mark Rosenthal, the president of Local 983 of District Council 37–New York’s largest blue-collar municipal-workers union–who earns $156,000 a year in New York’s tax dollars.

Take a look at these photos showing Rosenthal hard at “work”:

The New York Post reports that Rosenthal comes in at two, eats his lunch, takes a nap, then goes home at 4PM to “beat the traffic.”

Every day he uses union funds to buy oversized lunch orders, the leftovers of which he takes home to eat everyday.

Naturally this cretin claims he’s the victim of a “smear campaign.”

But, let’s face it, this guy is what government unions look like. Folks, while you are slaving away, paying taxes, or even finding yourself out of work, these union thieves are sponging off your tax dollars, doing little to nothing for you, and retiring at a young age to enjoy decades of an easy retirement on your dime.

Liberal hero, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, thought that government unions were a terrible idea. He was right. They should be outlawed and this morbidly obese Rosenthal is a perfect example of why.

This man is stealing from New York every day he is employed.
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Criminal Unions: The Perfect ‘Government Union Fat Cat’ Story”

Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Detroit - Economy/Finances - Elections - Ethics - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Michigan - Pensions - Progressives - Public Employees Unions - Right To Work - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Mich Dem. Whitmer Shows Unions & Obama More Important Than Her State

December 11, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, the State’s Senate Democratic Leader, is now pleading for President Obama to trample on Michigan’s state sovereignty and control the state from Washington DC. This is an odd request for someone that thinks she should be Michigan’s next Governor.

During most of American history, state politicians have been keen to safeguard their own power in their state. We even fought a whole civil war in part over the idea of states’ rights, after all. Oh, but not Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer. No, for Whitmer, allowing unions and President Obama to control Michigan is far more important than allowing the people of Michigan and their representatives to control the state.

Whitmer, you see, is trying to get President Obama to withhold federal funds from Michigan merely because Republicans and worker’s rights advocates have succeeded in passing right-to-work-style legislation in the current lame-duck session.

Whitmer is calling the right-to-work law “petty and vindictive politics.” That’s how losers talk, we all know. So, she wants King Obama to take action.
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Mich Dem. Whitmer Shows Unions & Obama More Important Than Her State”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - GOP - Government - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Republicans - Scott Walker - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Supporting Wisconsin’s Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch

May 29, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Many of you are aware of the recall election being held in Wisconsin. There, leftists and union thugs throughout the state are trying to oust the only recently elected Republican Governor, Scott Walker. But something many don’t realize is that Walker’s Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch, is also under recall in this needless and expensive re-do of the 2010 elections.

Kleefisch is the Republican Lt. Gov that entered office alongside Gov. Walker and she, too, is a target of these leftists. She hasn’t gotten the same publicity nation wide as Walker, of course, but she is just as deserving of our support and help. After all, the program that Walker and Kleefisch instituted has already saved Wisconsin $1 billion! Seems like a duo worth saving to me.

Despite what the pair have saved the state in budget dollars, estimates have varied on what this foolish recall election will cost, a recall effort that even liberal newspapers in Wisconsin oppose, but some are saying it will cost the donating mood, click on the image below and help Kleefisch out with the expenses that these liberals are forcing upon her, won’t you?

Recently Lt. Gov. Kleefisch was in Chicago and spoke a few words at the Tax Day Tea Party. (Video captured by MarathonPundit)

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Supporting Wisconsin’s Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch”

Aaron Schock - Adam Kinzinger - Anti-Americanism - Bobby Schilling - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Crony Capitalism - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Joe Walsh - Liberals - Pensions - Peter Roskam - PLA - Randy Hultgren - Regulation - Robert Dold - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Too Many Republican Congressmen Giving Unions Free Tax Dollars

May 29, 2012 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

For such a blue state, Illinois has some rather good Republicans in Congress, but on one issue many of them consistently fail. That is in their unfortunate support for Big Labor. The issue of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) is a perfect example of this penchant to support issues dear to the hearts of Big Labor.

Unions love PLAs because the rule forces government construction projects to be conducted under union rules, to pay union pay scales to workers as well as pension payments to the union plans, and requires all work to be controlled by union bosses even if the companies hired to do the work are non-union. With PLAs unions feel they have the best of both worlds because they can still benefit from free government money even when they aren’t hired to do the work. In short, PLAs are a sop to unions.

The main problem with PLAs is that they drive up the costs of government building contracts from word go. This costs us all money and in this era when we need to be cutting back the skyrocketing costs of government adding rules that drive up costs before the first foundation is dug is madness. Worse it is unfair to the largest number of construction companies that aren’t union members as they are forced as a condition of getting the work to pay unions thousands out of their pockets even as they’ll never benefit from union pensions or other programs.

Sadly, too many Illinois Republican Congressmen have been consistently in favor of allowing unions this free government handout. It is probably not a huge surprise that even Republicans in deep blue Illinois might end up bowing to the needs of greedy Big Labor initiatives. But it is not a healthy support regardless.
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Too Many Republican Congressmen Giving Unions Free Tax Dollars”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Ethics - Jobs - Liberals - Pensions - President - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

FAIL: Obama Ad Attacks Romney for Bain Bought Company That Laid People Off… But Romney DIDN’T Work There Then!

May 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Barack Obama released a new video ad featuring former workers of GST Steel of Kansas City who lost their jobs because of Mitt Romney’s work at Bain Capital — at least according to Obama that’s why they lost their jobs. Unfortunately for team Obama, the truth seems to argue against his campaign lies.

The ad is full of lament about GST workers having lost their jobs, sympathy that is most certainly warranted. But the ad goes on to call Romney an “economic vampire” over the layoffs. Union member Jack Cobb, one of the workers in the ad, says for instance, “It was like a vampire. They came in and sucked the life out of us.”

The ad goes on to blame Mitt Romney and Bain Capital for that vampirism.


WARNING: This Obama ad is filled with lies!

But there are quite a few problems with all these hoary claims of the evils of Bain Capital. First of all is the fact that every voice in this video is that of a union thug. Most especially a man noted as the lead union negotiator, David Foster. Does anyone think a unionista will tell the truth about what went on with a company they spent decades extorting?
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FAIL: Obama Ad Attacks Romney for Bain Bought Company That Laid People Off… But Romney DIDN’T Work There Then!”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Larry Sand - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

More Pension Truths and Why You Should be Very Angry

January 16, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

How much is that sweet retired teacher who lives down the street draining from your bank account? As the public employee pension mess worsens in California, little Rhode Island shows a way out.

In last week’s post, I focused on “air time,” a little known scheme in California and 20 other states that allows teachers and other public employees to pad their pensions at taxpayers’ expense. Also, not very well known is just how many of Joe and Jill Taxpayer’s tax dollars are going into the pockets of retired teachers.

In California, teachers contribute 8 percent of their pay to their retirement system. Where do the rest of the contributions come from? The current rates include 8.25 percent from the teacher’s employer and 2 percent from the state. But wait a minute. Who is the teacher’s employer? It’s the school district. In Los Angeles, for example, most school district money comes from the state, some from the federal government and the rest is local revenue. Hence, the employer’s contribution is all really the taxpayer’s burden, as the state, city and feds generate no money on their own. So it would be much more honest to say that 10.25 percent comes from the taxpayer.

Let’s look at the taxpayer’s responsibility another way. Sandy, a teacher I know, worked for 24 years in CA and retired at age 61. The amount of money she contributed into the system at retirement (including interest accrued along the way) was about $150,000. Sandy started collecting a pension of about $40,000 year (plus a yearly 2 percent COLA increase) for life. Whatever interest this money accrues over the next few years, Sandy’s contribution will have evaporated in about four years. So, at age 65 she will start living off other people’s money – whatever the “employer” (i.e. taxpayers) kicked in, whatever the “government” (i.e. taxpayers) kicked in and whatever is left, the taxpayers will have to fork over.
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More Pension Truths and Why You Should be Very Angry”

Budget - Children - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Larry Sand - Liberals - Los Angeles - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

Visitors from Outer Space and Their Strange Ideas About Education Reform

December 30, 2011 by

-By Larry Sand

There are those among us who think that teachers unions, collective bargaining and peer assistance review are the way to a better education for kids. They look like earthlings, but in fact are extraterrestrials.

As the year draws to a close, newspapers, magazines and blogs are filled with best of and worst of lists that deal with everything imaginable. The Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force got on the bandwagon early and posted Best and Worst in American Education, 2011 in November. All solid stuff. Can a reformer not be happy about the Parent Trigger being raked over the coals, yet surviving, or that many of Michelle Rhee’s reforms are still in place despite leaving her post as D.C. Schools Chancellor after a major push from the American Federation of Teachers? On the worst list, the Task Force includes the Atlanta teacher cheating scandal and the union-orchestrated overturn of Ohio’s recent anti-collective bargaining law.

Then lo and behold, we received a dispatch from Planet Ravitch on December 23rd. (Most people are not aware that shortly after astronomers ruled that Pluto was not a planet in 2006, a new planet would be identified. And it is inhabited!) The people who live on this celestial body (named after Diane Ravitch, a former reformer who turned into a champion of the failing status quo) are afflicted with a dyslexic-like condition: they have the entire education reform picture exactly backwards. The way to true reform is to hold their ideas up to a mirror with the resulting image revealing the best way to proceed.
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Visitors from Outer Space and Their Strange Ideas About Education Reform”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Liberals - Ohio - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Republicans - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Defeat of OH Issue 2 Means $1,468 More Per Taxpayer By 2015

November 8, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Matt Mayer of the Buckeye Institute has done the math on what a defeat of Issue 2 will cost Ohio’s taxpayers. Turns out it will cost taxpayers $1,468 more a year by 2015.

Mayer made a simple calculation by taking the $8 billion tax hike that a defeat of Issue 2 will usher in by 2015 and dividing that by the 5,448, 500 state tax returns filed in Ohio. He also took the initial $1.4 billion tax hike that will result if the unions win on Tuesday and found that each taxpayer will be stuck with an immediate $257 more in taxes next year.

The annual savings we calculated from SB5 once all contracts are negotiated would be nearly $1.4 billion per year (for details, see www.buckeyeinstitute.org/getthefacts).

In 2007, Ohio had 5,448,500 [tax] returns filed, so that would equate to a “tax” of $257 per return… That is [merely] the savings from SB5 enactment.

An additional wrinkle is that Big Labor/Democrats have essentially gone all in on higher taxes; meaning, if SB5 is repealed, that removes one option to reducing local government costs, which leaves two options–program/staff cuts and/or raising taxes… For example, Ohio’s 613 school districts currently project a collective deficit by 2015 of [approximately $8 billion]…

[Thus, without] SB5, taxes will have to go up … [at least] $8 billion just for [Ohio’s] 613 school districts by 2015, which is $1,468 per return.

So, Ohio, you have a choice. Vote Issue 2 down and stick yourself with needlessly higher taxes and give unions the ability to stick it to you further, or give your legislature — not union bosses — the power to control your state’s budget like they should.
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Defeat of OH Issue 2 Means $1,468 More Per Taxpayer By 2015″

Illinois - Larry Sand - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Teachers Unions - Unions

Unions Continue to Swindle the Public

November 8, 2011 by

-By Larry Sand

Unions are still treacherous, but with a generous helping of legislative malfeasance, their tactics are more subtle.

“On the Waterfront” portrayed union power at its rawest. In the 1950s, the unions typically got their way with nothing less than brute force. But today the tactics are different. In “Pretty Boy Floyd,” Woody Guthrie sang, “Some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen.” The unions are well entrenched in the “fountain pen” camp and recently, Illinois has been in their crosshairs.

In September, the Chicago Tribune broke a story about Dennis Gannon, a former sanitation worker who became a president of the Chicago Federation of Labor. He went back to work for the city for one day, then took a leave of absence and was legally allowed to collect a $158,000 pension, about five times the average sanitation worker.
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Unions Continue to Swindle the Public”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Liberals - Ohio - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Scott Walker - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Ohio, Vote YES on Issue 2

November 2, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A few days ago the Cincinnati Enquirer came out in support of Issue 2, which will enact Senate Bill 5 — a reformation of how the Buckeye State deals with government unions.

For decades, Ohio has been on an unsustainable path of rapidly increasing public-sector benefits. SB 5 would give the people we choose to manage our money, our safety and our schools greater flexibility in benefits and work rules for public employees, bringing them closer in line with what comparable workers receive in the private sector. That could relieve the pressure to raise taxes and thus help, not hurt, middle-class Ohioans.

This is an important bill not just for Ohio, but for the whole country. What Ohio is trying to do (and what Governor Walker of Wisconsin has already done) is to take away the power of un-elected union bosses from determining how the state’s budget will be spent. Ohio is trying to take back the reins of making policy, allocating tax money, and making rules for employment from the union thugs that now have control over it all.

This new rule that states such as Ohio and Wisconsin are struggling to pass is not a war against the middle class, nor even necessarily a war against the idea of unions themselves. It is a move toward fiscal responsibility and the democratic process.

These new reforms must pass now or our states will necessarily go bankrupt for all the unfunded liabilities and unfair goodies handed out to government union members.

Pass issue 2, Ohio.
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Ohio, Vote YES on Issue 2″

Anti-Americanism - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Free Trade - Government - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - Nancy Pelosi - NLRB - Pensions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Pelosi: Boeing Plant Should Unionize or be Shut Down

November 1, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The now thankfully former Speaker of the House Nancy “San Fran Nan” Pelosi said in a recent interview that a Boeing plant in South Carolina should either unionize or be shut down by the iron fist of government. So much for America being the land of the free, eh?

Pelosi appeared on CNBC with hostette Maria Bartiromo. Bartiromo asked about the famed Boeing plant being harassed by Obama’s union-sold National Labor Relations Board.

“Do you think it’s right that Boeing has to close down that plant in South Carolina because it’s non union?” Bartiromo asked. “Yes” insisted the former Speaker.

A flat out “yes.” No equivocation.

Lachlan Markay notes that the workers at the Boeing plant in question overwhelmingly voted not to join a union.
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Pelosi: Boeing Plant Should Unionize or be Shut Down”

Americans For Prosperity - Budget - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - GOP - Government - Liberals - Pensions - President - Public Employees Unions - Regulation - Republicans - Scott Walker - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Wisc.: Walker’s Union Reforms Are Working! (A Lesson for Illinois)

October 28, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Governor Scott Walker was the worst devil the unions could imagine. They targeted him and Wisconsin’s Republicans mercilessly earlier this year. Fortunately, the unions and their Democrat handmaidens lost most of these battles.

But now some results are being seem from the efforts to curtail the un-democratic, unearned power of Wisconsin’s government employee unions. A new effort by the MacIver Institute and Americans for Prosperity is showing the world where these policies have succeeded in making things better in Wisconsin.

This is a lesson for Illinois and every other blue state. We can fix our problems, too. But it means defeating entrenched, un-American union power and their bought and paid for Democrats.
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Wisc.: Walker’s Union Reforms Are Working! (A Lesson for Illinois)”

Anti-Americanism - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Jobs - Liberals - Ohio - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Union’s Battle Against Ohio Heats Up

October 25, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

On November 8, Ohioans will go to the polls to vote on a series of ballot initiatives, among them Issue 2.

A yes vote will support Governor Kasich’s collective bargaining reform (SB 5) to become law. A no vote would return power to the bloated, thieving unions to do hat they have always done: steal from the taxpayers. (I wonder if you can tell which side I am on, here? Ha, ha)

Unions have rolled into Ohio with millions of dollars for anti-issue 2 advertising, donations to politicians, and the usual corrupt bargaining behind the scenes that unions generally employ. Sadly, it looks like their big money has persuaded too many Ohioans to back the unions as polling shows Issue 2 is losing with voters.
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Union’s Battle Against Ohio Heats Up”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Union Organizers Work 1 Day As Teachers, Get $100K+ in State Pensions

October 24, 2011 by 5 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Two union organizers that represent the Illinois Federation of Teachers were able to secure millions in state pensions by working one day as a teacher here in Illinois. This outrageous abuse of the state pension system is exactly why government unions should not be allowed to exist.

The Chicago Tribune has the story of Steven Preckwinkle and David Piccioli who took advantage of a loophole to enrich themselves off the backs of the taxpayers written into law just for them by pliant Democrat politicians.

The crony legislation enabled the unionistas to quickly get state teaching certificates, work one day as a substitute teacher, then count their years as union operatives to qualify them for pension benefits from the state.
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Union Organizers Work 1 Day As Teachers, Get $100K+ in State Pensions”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Government, Ill. County - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pat Quinn - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Reform Illinois Pensions Now!

October 19, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Springfield must reform pensions now or our children will pay.

According to Illinois Is Broke, “The 30-second spots, in English and Spanish, will begin airing on Tuesday, October 18th and are scheduled to run through the veto sessions, which begin October 25th. The television campaign will be supplemented with a billboard, print and radio campaign, timed to coincide with the legislative sessions. In addition to nightly newscasts, the spots will run during sporting events, and programming such as 60 Minutes.”

Connect with Illinis is Broke on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IllinoisIsBroke

Follow them on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/IllinoisIsBroke
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Reform Illinois Pensions Now!”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pat Quinn - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Regulation - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Bad News For Illinois Teachers: Illinois is Broke and You Might Not Get Your Pension!

October 12, 2011 by

The unions and the Democrats are lying to you, teachers.

In Illinois we have a $140 billion retirement pension deficit for teachers, folks. Don’t let the unions lie to you all the way until you decide to retire only to find out you lost everything.

And you police, firemen, and other state employees… don’t think you are better off than the teachers. You aren’t.

Adam Andrzejewski - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - For The Good Of Illinois - Franklin Deleno Roosevelt - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Regulation - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Abuse: Union Leaders Pull Down Millions in Public Pensions in Illinois

October 9, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Andrew Thomason of the Illinois Statehouse News agency has a pair of stores on the criminal syndicate that is unions in the Land of Lincoln this week that have to be seen to be believed. In fact, these stories and the ones like them we’ve seen for the past several months in Illinois are proof positive that unions should be illegal for government employees.

In one story, Thomason reports the tale of Michael Johnson, a corrupt teacher out to milk the taxpayers dry by collecting $209,379.43 in pension benefits while at the same time also collected $324,785 from a separate Illinois pension fund. And so far this crook has already collected $1.1 million of our tax dollars on top of the $198,105 a year he makes for “part-time work” for the school district.

This is called double dipping. Johnson was able to do this because he worked at one job in Illinois education, “retired” from it, then took a second job in the same field. This means he gets two pensions to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, likely totaling up to millions by the time he dies. All paid for by the taxpayers of Illinois.
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Abuse: Union Leaders Pull Down Millions in Public Pensions in Illinois”

Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Jobs - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Tom Cross - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. GOP House Leader Tom Cross: Reforming Chicago and Cook Co. Pension Boards‏

October 7, 2011 by

From Illinois GOP House Leader Tom Cross…

In a speech at the City Club of Chicago this afternoon, Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross announced that he filed a bill that will help give more accountability to taxpayers by reconstituting the City of Chicago and Cook County pension boards. The bill, which will be sponsored by Senator Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) in the Senate, will also require pension boards statewide to refer any suspected fraud to the local authorities.

“Recent media reports have unveiled abuses in the Chicago Pension systems that were not reported to the proper authorities for punishment or investigation. We believe these matters should have and still should be reported to law enforcement. We mandate that in our bill,” said Cross. “We also believe the pension boards in the City of Chicago and Cook County need a fresh start—that’s why we are seeking reconstitution.”
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Ill. GOP House Leader Tom Cross: Reforming Chicago and Cook Co. Pension Boards‏”