Hijacking the Private Sector, the SEIU and Blago Way
by Liberty ChickThe current state of the economy has placed a large burden on private business, especially on small businesses and the self-employed. Subscribing to a Keynesian tenet of financing debt and increasing government spending to boost output, lawmakers are repeatedly giving themselves cover for splurging. After the first bailouts came the massive $787 billion stimulus bill, an urgent remedy that Congress and the White House insisted was all about “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.”
And as spending has increased, so has the size of the public employment sector. Meanwhile, the private sector will soon be close to earning a coveted placement on the endangered species list.
As the union leaders’ plundering of the private sector has continued, this doesn’t mean that they have abandoned unionizing private sector workers altogether. In fact, while the number of private sector jobs overall is down, the number of unionized private sector jobs is trending upward, right alongside the public sector growth.
But don’t let the beltway pundits fool you. While the current administration certainly deserves a great deal of credit for bloating the public roster, this was a plan in the making far before the economic “crisis” was created. And while America focused on the sexier details of a scandal at that time, many overlooked the legislative and economic arsenal of weaponry that labor leaders honed at the height of their rebirth.
The public bloating flourished years ago in places like California, Illinois, Michigan and Maryland, and grew steadily, though concurrent private sector employment growth dampened that effect. The public sector saw a dramatic spike between 2006 and 2007, just before the mid-term election when Democrats won back control of Congress again – this after stints of Republican power from 1995 to 2001 and from 2003-2007 had interrupted Democrats’ control of one or both houses for 46 straight years. In 2007 the private sector plummeted. There would be plenty of catch-up to play.
Union leaders have an obvious history of bloating public sector employment. But more importantly, there are direct connections to their activity in certain private sectors and intentional disruptions in the balance between the public and private workforce. Reading about events in isolation from one another might not emphasize the gravity of this issue. But revisiting prior stories and connecting the dots over and over again will. Apathy is our greatest enemy right now. As we enter 2010, this is perhaps one of the most important times in history when such activity could literally push America past the point of no return and will impact who your children will work for in the future. One particular time in recent history really sets the stage for the perfect storm of today between private and public sector employment; the current stimulus spending is merely the el Niño that has stirred up the silently raging waters.
It starts in 1994 and gains its true momentum by 2005.
In 1994, ACORN and labor unions rallied behind Maryland Democrat Parris Glendening. Soon after, that same coalition stood by a newly elected Maryland Governor Parris Glendening as he signed the Living Wage bill into law, granting government the power to set wage standards on any project that receives public subsidies. The practice of quid quo pro was back in full force. In 1996, Glendening needed to fulfill another campaign promise to unionize state employees. When it looked like too much political and community opposition would stop that from occurring through the normal state legislative process, he issued an executive order to mandate unionization of state employees. It was the first of its kind. It was challenged shortly thereafter, but upheld in court as within the power of the Governor’s office. That set the wheels in motion down one path.
In 1999, after SEIU and California Nurses Association lobbied for a mandate on nurses in hospitals, California Gov. Gray Davis signed the Nurse to Patient Ratio bill into law. That same year, SEIU made headlines all across the country when it successfully organized nearly 75,000 Los Angeles County home care workers, receiving credit for revitalizing a labor movement that was all but left for dead. The cause to take care of the caretakers seemed a noble one to the public; however, most were unaware of the fact that the effort would require SEIU to sue the county of Los Angeles in order to set up a shell corporation that could serve as the employer of record with which the union could bargain. The public was also completely ignorant to the reality that the state of California could never sustain the level of financial burden that such an arrangement would create. Nonetheless, this set the wheels in motion down a parallel path, where eventually the two paths would meet.
Fast forward to 2003.
Rod Blagojevich is the newly elected Governor of Illinois. Still energized by their California home care workers win, Andy Stern, Anna Burger and their SEIU have just founded the New Unity Partnership with four other AFL-CIO unions (which later became Change to Win in 2005). Intent on organizing unorganized workers and vowing to push for a far more progressive agenda than their parent AFL-CIO has pursued, Stern is positioning himself as the more liberal replacement for current AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, himself a Democratic Socialists of America member. SEIU has worked hand in hand with ACORN and its political organizing arm, Project Vote, to win promises from politicians, including Blagojevich, in exchange for their mobilizing power in recent and upcoming elections.
After helping Blagojevich reach his 1% margin of victory in Illinois’ gubernatorial election, SEIU is immediately rewarded on March 4, 2003 with a signed Executive Order from Blagojevich granting it collective bargaining rights for the state’s 25,000 home-care workers. On February 18, 2005, Blagojevich signed another Executive Order for the bargaining rights of 49,000 child-care workers. This also gave the SEIU unprecedented access to the names and addresses of thousands of workers it could target for mailings and visits from union organizers – a particularly frightening prospect for those whose workplace was also their home.
And in December 2005, Blagojevich then took it a step further. The state of Illinois and SEIU reached a precedent-setting agreement for those child care workers, making it the nation’s first state contract of its kind for such workers. While these workers wouldn’t technically be considered direct employees of the state, they in essence became contractors to the state, gaining health benefits and a 35% increase in wages, at the cost of nearly $300 million to Illinois taxpayers. The contract was officially signed on March 9, 2006. Meanwhile, some of those home child care workers weren’t even aware they’d all but lost their “self-employed” status.
And such solidified a pattern. Just as they raid one another’s territory for new members, unions like SEIU now saw the tangible benefits to raiding the private sector, not only to gain new members, but to secure public funding and make it more difficult to cut it off.
It wasn’t long before Andy Stern was reciting, “Time to Build a National Child Care Movement.” SEIU formed strategic organizing campaigns AFSCME and UAW to split up regions and form child care unions, and with groups like ACORN and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to mobilize support and serve as a public relations vehicle. In 2005, Change to Win split from the AFL-CIO and was now its own entity, with SEIU and the Teamsters as its anchor unions and Anna Burger as its chair. Democracy Alliance is founded, with Anna Burger appointed vice-chair, spawning dozens of inter-connected progressive 527 organizations and injecting more than $50 million into big labor’s agenda.
Even ACORN became revitalized, as it reaped the benefits of not only being a paid vendor to SEIU (search LM2 reports on Dept. of Labor website), but they would also see an increase in grants from state and federal government agencies to serve as a recruitment and training arm for these causes. On Page 107 of ACORN’s Year End/Year Begin Report for 2006, SEIU and ACORN celebrated the child care victory together:
“And we signed this in style on March 9th: marching into the state of Illinois Building locked arm-in-arm singing ‘Victory is Mine,’ led by SEIU President Andy Stern and Local 880 childcare leaders Angenita Tanner, Martina Casey, Alma McIntosh, Maria Velasquez, and scores of others from across the state. All the while, we were being filmed by “60 Minutes” and were broadcast on the show in May of 2006 – another first! And we had a great blowout of a party afterwards when hundreds of homecare and childcare leaders from across the state celebrated the victory with a party across the street from the state of Illinois Building where we were joined by Governor Blagojevich, State Senate President Emil Jones, and President Stern!
Best of all, this victory in Illinois was followed up by other organizing and contract victories in Oregon, Washington, and New York, with another ten states with hundreds of thousands of childcare providers in the organizing process!” The report continued, “…Our early support of Governor Blagojevich and his commitment to support an Executive Order allowing homecare and home child care workers to organize put us far ahead of the other states… It is no accident that once Illinois’ Governor signed the Executive Order and helped pass the enabling legislation granting home child care providers organizing rights, that states like Washington, Oregon, Iowa, New York and others did the same thing…”
Generally, there is public acknowledgment that many union leaders take advantage of the political system in order to work around it at the same time. This presentation given for the Child Care Association of Illinois highlights some of these tactics:
Unions have been “working governors” and “working state legislators”, as well as pressuring for more governmental support through “political quid pro quos.”
And so was Chicago, where the momentum propelled a larger movement of legislative scheming between labor unions and governors, with SEIU at the helm. Legislating by Executive Order was now their most powerful political tool. Converting independent private sector workers to the public workforce became their most powerful social tool.
Armed today with the invaluable power of hindsight, we’re able to dissect a master blueprint that has changed the balance between private sector and public sector employment and helped set into motion a sophisticated strategy designed to hijack the private sector right out from under the noses of the American people. Rather than depend on local organizing or on Washington, SEIU and its partners would simply work the state legislators. Their plan? Replicate the Blago formula in multiple states and multiple sectors. In a few short years, nearly 20 states had already been infiltrated, the fallout of which is only becoming evident to most average Americans now, as the economic downturn shines a spotlight on budgets.
Workers in some states are finally noticing and have been crying foul.
In Michigan, the brewing legal battle over a unionizing scheme that began in 2006 continues. As I wrote last month on Loar v. DHS, self-employed home child care workers in Michigan, like Sherry Loar and Michelle Berry, suddenly found out one day that they were now part of Child Care Providers Together Michigan (CCPTM), a union created in partnership with AFSCME and UAW. This seemed ludicrous, since these individuals don’t work for an employer, they work for themselves. While an executive order was not used to establish collective bargaining for child care workers in Michigan’s case, one noticeable tactic in particular seems similar to SEIU’s unionization of home care workers in California in 1999. The creation of a shell corporation against which the new union could bargain. In Michigan, the Department of Human Services entered into an interlocal agreement with Mott Community College to create the Michigan Home Based Child Care Council (MHBCCC). The newly formed union, CCPTM, then filed a petition seeking to organize against the MHBCCC. When challenged, the groups all seem to absolve themselves of responsibility for these union members as “employees”, which then begs the question, who is the employer? The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has been fighting the state and its forced unionism scheme head-on.
Their latest video below provides an update on the Loar v. DHS complaint. Mackinac Center communications specialist Kathy Hoekstra indicated that the center has received additional interest from other individuals, as well as from national media, especially since their recent Wall Street Journal article. Director Patrick Wright elaborates on the state’s curious stance on the matter, and expresses astonishment over the MHBCCC’s no-show to scheduled hearings where the organization was expected to provide testimony, one of which was a state House Human Services sub-committee meeting on an Auditor General’s report concerning the child care programs. You can follow continuing developments and media coverage on the Loar v. DHS case here.
(Coincidentally, SEIU has recently received a $2 million tax credit to build a Member Action Center in Michigan).
In Colorado, Governor Bill Ritter sparked debate in March 2007 when he signed an executive order that rescinded a previous executive order by former Gov. Bill Owens that prohibited unions from forcing the state to deduct dues payments from state employee paychecks. Then in November of 2007, after public opposition forced him to veto a bill, Ritter worked around the legislative process and signed an executive order “allowing employee organizations to establish partnership agreements with the state”, citing that the model is one followed by Kaiser Permanente. SEIU’s Andy Stern is of course head of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.
In October 2007, Colorado’s Face the Nation revealed Ritter’s collaboration with the unions:
“In the latest documents obtained by Face the State, it is clear that policy analysts inside Ritter’s office solicited the advice of staff at the National Governor’s Association to identify states that have “authorized state employee collective bargaining by executive order.”
Only days after the order was issued, CAPE SEIU, AFSCME and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) announced a joint labor coalition, Colorado WINS, which organized state workers under a cooperative agreement. Some were staunchly opposed to any union involvement, like Dave Ohmart, founder of Colorado LOSES, who contacted me back in May to share his concerns about SEIU. He was also worried the initiative would lead to the release of home addresses, union solicitation at work meetings, increases in state spending, and the forced deduction of dues from paychecks. Just this October, a HR manager had to intervene to halt WINS reps from using work meetings to solicit members. In November, Ohmart contacted the Governor’s legal designee for employee partnerships, asking questions about how union representatives obtained the home addresses of employees. As with Michigan and others, the state seems to absolve itself of any responsibility. Meanwhile, Ohmart’s concerns and those of Colorado LOSES seem to be being validated, one at a time.
In Washington state, in 2006 Governor Chris Gregoire signed into law a bill granting collective bargaining rights to home child care providers. Despite the fact that only 2,000 out of the state’s 10,000 child care providers are reported to have had any interest in joining SEIU, providers were forced into paying SEIU dues, or a union fee, regardless. The state and SEIU both contend that union membership is voluntary. But non-union providers still receive a 2% deduction in their subsidy payments called a “fair-share” fee, which the state allows SEIU to cover its costs associated with negotiating the state contract. Like Michigan, many self-employed home-based providers have no contact with the union but are receiving their customers’ subsidy checks with money deducted from the total. They see no benefit in SEIU being involved, rather more bureaucracy and an imposition on their self-employment status. Some child care advocates, like Margo Logan of Washington Parents for Safe Child Care, writes at Child Care in Washington State that the arrangement has the opposite effect – in an effort to break free of SEIU’s hold, some providers decide to stop accepting children whose parents participate in the state subsidy programs. This leaves low-income high-risk children with fewer provider options and results in overcrowding and lower quality in care. (Similar to the effect that occurs in health care when providers opt out of Medicaid and Medicare, huh?) In addition, advocates complained they were intentionally left out of the Negotiated Rule Making process, which is intended to review and update safety regulations in child care. They contend SEIU announced meetings last minute, at inconvenient times, and meetings weren’t advertised as open to the public. When conducted, the focus of the meetings were not on child safety, but rather on political and organizing discussions.
Other states are all facing similar issues, in addition to heavy burdens on the state budget.
While the campaign to unionize child care and home care workers in the remaining states continues, unions like SEIU have lined up the next concentration of unorganized workers, to name just a few: private security workers , Transportation Security Officers in the TSA (2008 letter from President Obama to AFGE union president John Gage), and as we’ve seen in the Green Jobs programs and government development projects, independent contractors, such as the New York City Independent Contractors Agreement with SEIU.
Looking back in hindsight at 1994, 1996, 1999, the Blagojevich executive orders in the early 2000’s, and all of the state milestones that have followed since then, the pattern is undeniable. There is an intentional balance shift between the private sector and public sector employment that took hold long before today. There is a concerted effort that contrives the anti-capitalist propaganda circulating the country for the last decade, camouflaging it as populace outrage. The radical stimulus spending and the legislative squall are the catalysts that have finally jolted everyday Americans into engagement. I started out this piece by stating that apathy is our greatest enemy right now. Fail to observe, to connect the dots, and to engage, and we risk depriving the next generation of the innovation and entrepreneurship that molded the lives of all who came before us in this great country.
In 2010, we all must be John Galt.
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157 Comments
Somehow Obama has the power to insist stimulous contracts be fulfilled by "union" only contractors, how odes he get away with it, executive order?
It's coming people, get ready.
If the court can uphold a Governor's mandate, I'm sure they will also uphold Obama's mandate! Total abuse of Executive Power!! Reason 100 for impeachment!!
It is with sad sorrow the truth be known that the administration is working behind closed doors and Lincoln Bedroom closets with union leaders to aggressively buy their votes. This is also by the way where you can track down the spent funds of both the stim, er, porkulous bill and the new jobs, jobs, b l o w jobs bill the obomunists have signed onto. Yes America, there is a Socialist agenda being driven behind closed doors that the MSM is ignoring, and those on the current unemployment line will not be able to get off of unless they give the unions their $1K to join and continued monthly vigorish of 2 to 3 hours wages plus administrative costs so the leaders of the unions, and their staff can all get free vehicles, monumental salaries, and other perks membership will support with dues payments. Oh, yes, and then unions will not have to subscribe to the health welfare plan the governement is trying to stuff down the throats of Americans. They'll still be able to provide "cadillac health coverage" without the taxes the rest of America on a cadillac plan will have to pay. And, yes that too is discrimination.
The SEIU and other unions are the "foot soldiers" of the war on capitalism AND the war on the American economy. This is socialism pure and simple, a redistribution of money from the private sector to the public sector. How do you destroy states with tremendous natural resources? Liberty chick just gave us the blueprint.
It isn't just Obama who has done so, this has been the case with many federal contracts for quite some time, but mostly in construction. We need to pay attention to prospective governor's ideals on unionization and vote likewise. This can and will be duplicated across the country if people aren't paying attention. When enough businesses stop taking low income patients, day care attendees, etc…the foot is in the door to have a total government takeover of all these sectors.
Bush, wrote the book on Abuse of Executive Power!!!! I will play along, go ahead start listing the impeachable offenses, then I will let loose with Bush's, and we will compare, this should be interesting.
as a former contract specialist for the government, we were required to post requirements for contracts in the federal register and then analyze all the bids that came in. 98% of the time the lowest bid won and was awarded. If he is bypassing the process then he is in violation of federal rules….at least as I understood it at my level (DOD).
This is payback for the union vote plain and simple and is about as scummy and corrupt as you can get!!! Anybody who voted for him and wasn't a union member should be on his doorstep demanding special treatment for a job!!!
Yes, by EO. Check out http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Execut...
Yes, by EO. Check out http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Execut...
Eventually, parasites will kill the host!
I haven't warmed up to a good rant yet.. so I'll just make 2 points.
.although some of this is about getting votes- it's secondary to 'fundamentally transforming America'. Global Community is primary.
. I am self-employed and have reached the point of needing to become an employer. BUT I WILL NOT – because I will not commit myself to this level of government intrusion.. how's that for job stimulus??
This all makes me nauseous and would most people if they could pay attention long enough to understand it. The Big Picture is hard to follow, so most will just ignore it. Just the concept of being forced to be in a union whether you want to or not is un-American, but that has been the story with teachers for years. And now child-care workers in their own businesses? They have been planning this attack for years. How do we fight it?
I'm not fond of this answer, but have been seriously looking for another answer and cannot find it. At this point I'm convinced that starving the beast is our only chance.
who cares about BUSH…….you must have Dementia.
Its not about Bushy or Obumba, or whatever F'n party…..They are both SCREWing the U.S public.
Keep being an IDIOT and a SLAVE to the GOV't that has been in control the last 75 years….
In 2010, we all must be John Galt.
The way I look at it who would have believed this if Obama didn't win he White House? Who would have believed ANY of it? ACORN, SEIU, Van Jones, Jennings et al.
I don't know about you but I hear troops on both sides mobilizing. Chaotic elections might be the spark.
One of my wishes for the New Decade is that people would be more skeptical of the Far Right. Take the first two charts as example- the scale is different on each, and yet people are supposed to conclude that there is a takeover of the public sector in the US. Idiots?
I agree with just about everything you wrote, except the part about being a slave to the government, we need to get the Corporatist out of government, so that we can take back control of the country. Explain to me how you are a slave to your government in your everyday life.
We should not need to call people names in order to express our views.
Socialism enslaves the productive.
Regardless of the different values used in the Y axis, the X axis of each chart is the same (same amount of time). Therefore, it would be logical to compare trends between the two charts and it is obvious the trend of the chart on the right shows a much steadier increase in the public sector. Of course, you could have read the titles of the charts to see the intention. Conservative, yes. Idiot, not.
I certainly agree with the final comment, that "In 2010, we all must be John Galt." If there was ever a time to go on strike, it is now. And even though there is no Galt's Gulch to run to, everyone can do something to withold their "consent" of the governed. Earn less and make what you have go farther. Find sales with no state tax. Avoid expansion in your business. Comb the tax rules for every possible nickel you can keep from government. Pay the lowest possible price for something you need because a smaller sales tax denies the government assets to use against you. Do not plan new initiatives or expansion.
You already see what voting can do. A bunch of young people and those ashamed of their previous treatment of blacks have saddled us with socialism. Now, if you want to do something effective, reduce every nickel you can that goes into government's maw – at every level. You're outnumbered and out-earned anyway. Government employees are the fastest growing sector, with average wages about $30,000 per year more than the private wage average. They can legislate away, and build up debt as they wish, but there will be a reckoning from the financial markets. And if you deny them their cash flow, the impact will be felt. As Rand suggested, when the system fails the capitalists can re-build it. In the meantime, a reduction in your financing of an evil system is the only moral stance possible.
Thatcher had it right about running out of other peoples money. I am not so sure that this host will die. This host has too much spirit, too many guns, too much of an independent spirit, too much distrust of centralized government. I admit the parasites have made tremendous inroads towards killing this host, but the cure is coming, it will start with an enema in November of 2010. We will have to swallow a bitter pill, but the end of this BS is coming.
If you read Witness by Whitaker Chambers, you would see that the infiltration of the US Government by commies and fellow travelers was, and most likely still is, quite widespread.
I have a request for Andrew and the wonderful folks and contributors ot BG. Please get a site dedicated to exposing the "Executive Orders" of not just the white house but of the Governors as well. There is way too much going on that is circumventing the public and their representatives which the media just will not expose. This well written article just touches on one such 'order'.
We set the stage for chaotic elections by not prosecuting the Black Panthers in Philly for intimidating voters. Some of the same bozo's show at my polling place, there will be trouble.
"Who is John Galt?"
If one were to investigate who the real beneficiaries of every bill and order from Obama since his innaugeration we will see that in every case it benefits the UNIONS or those of his own special interest groups. The stimulus was definitely rigged to favor union contractors. If this is allowed to continue we will find every state in the same bind that California finds itself in with untennable government employee union contracts. This unionization of home care givers is about as nefarious as they come. Many of those care givers who recieve aid from the state that now have to pay union dues are family members of the one they care for. Placing them in a union only short changes them from the aid they so desparately need. I ask you, what mother would go on strike or engage in collective bargaining at the expense of their own child???? THIS IS PURELY DISGUSTING!!!
** Explain to me how you are a slave to your government in your everyday life. **
Ah, perhaps the fact that the government extracts money from your paycheck against your will?
Spends that money contrary to your wishes for idiotic research and outright bribes, Nelson and Landrieu being the higher priced of the prostitutes?
The innumerable and asinine rules that must be complied with on pain of penalty and/or jail?
Most recent and asinine being Uncle Janet's rules for the last hour of airline flight where passengers must keep their hands in plain view, no blankets allowed, no going to the lavatory (I wish Uncle Janet could be forced to personally clean up the messes when that one backfires).
Look at your own life and how many regs and laws you must comply with, and perhaps you might want to have another look at your statement.
A new term for the Obama lexicon 'bureacracy' is now 'barakcracy'
"This unionization of home care givers is about as nefarious as they come. "
I couldn't agree more.. but – in the 'We told you so' category. This unionization of child care givers would not be possible if we had been principled when the fear tactics of 'We must protect our children' coerced us into allowing those same care givers to having to ask for government permission (licenses and permits) to operate their businesses. We enabled this by not adhering to the root principle.
You forgot the billions in corporate welfare spent every year, the same money that goes right back to the politicians. I still think we actually agree more than we disagree, I will keep trying to prove it.
People don't complain about unions, public employees and their wages when the economy is good and the private sector employees make significantly more money than public employees. They wait until there is a recession and the private sector loses jobs. If you are a private sector employee, you should save you money during the prosperous times so you can survive during the recessions. That is the risk you take as a private sector employee.
I am an SEIU member. I am well educated and hard-working.
My department at work is understaffed
My wages & hours were cut 10% from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.
I'm not sure if there will be more cuts or if I will have a job after June 30, 2010.
So kiss my a**, you conspiracy theory losers !
Go start your own company and stop whining !
The deficit, the budget and government spending grows under Republican Presidents too.
The government money goes to Halliburton, Blackwater, the military, and corporate welfare under Republicans.
I'd rather see the government money go to the people rather than corporations.
** You forgot the billions in corporate welfare spent every year **
Think that would be covered under '…money spent againt your wishes' part.
Big misconception that pols, dems/libs (redundancy) in particular, would have us believe is that corporations pay taxes when pols vow to increase taxes on them. We as consumers pay that hidden tax when the corps. simply raise the cost of their goods and services to us consumers. And an absolute insult when the pols vow to raise taxes on the filthy rich when those very pols ARE the filthy rich. Again, dems/libs–Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, Durbin, and repubs too, –are far wealthier than they would have us believe, so we don't scrutinize too closely where they acquired their wealth.
Makes an excellent point for enacting the FAIRTAX. And we probably do agree on far more than we disagree on.
the govt. has a a parasitic relationship with the private sector, the problem with public sector unionization is that the union in seeking a bigger part of the pie will be paid for by the taxpayer, so ultimately they are promoting for higher taxes, is there any wonder why the significant majority is liberal democrats. If they arent clamoring for the govt. to fix any problem that exists, they are creating problems that the govt. then has to "fix". Almost every liberal solution has at its foundation more taxes.
AGREED!!!!!
what is government money?
Kiss my ass union scum. You and your thuggish "brothers" are noting more than parasites. You are on they way out! FU.
So, the Democrats are to blame for the increase in labor employment, even though some of the illustrations you point to as proof are from 2000 to 2008? While private sector and public sector employment both saw rises in the years prior to the Democrats rise to power in 2006, both private and public sector employment showed equivalent rises after the mid term elections. To claim that Obama is the cause of all the problems is ridiculous.
Unlike you, at least we can spell. Enjoy your conspiracy.
i see you chose the easy route… what is government money?
Its not a conspiracy when its out in the open. There is not such thing as "government money" and I detest the fact that you think there is. I work very hard for MY paycheck as well and see no reason to feel bad about your whining. If you took a pay cut under your glorious union, why don't YOU go out and start your own business? Oh and by the way? Your belittling ANYONE about spelling is laughable considering you have miss-spelled words in your first posting.
Tom, let me make sure I understand what you have stated:
"The government money goes to Halliburton, Blackwater, the military, and corporate welfare under Republicans. I'd rather see the government money go to the people rather than corporations."
The first part of your statement rings just as true as "The government money goes to AIG, GM, Citi, Acorn, etc., under Democrats."
The second part of your statement refers to having government money "go to the people" rather than corporations. Where do you think "government money" comes from, Obama's stash?
I do not care if you choose to pay dues to be a member of the SEIU. I do not care that you pay someone else to
represent your opinion and use "your" money as they please. My income is down a whole lot more than 10% and I do not know if I will have a job on Monday, but I do not expect you or anyone else to worry about me.
It is no conspiracy when your beloved Obamao surrounds himself with a bunch of dirt bag Marxists including your union boss Stern, Bill Ayers, Van Jones, Rev. Wright and a whole cast too big to list.
We conservatives do not care about Demo and Rinos, we want less government and more responsibility for our own lives. We don't need your help or your beloved president's hand outs. We work hard, try to make ends meet, take care of our families when they need us and only want to hold onto our hard earned income. You would do well to read The Constitution and if you find it disturbing, you are probably a socialist.
The host does not have to consent to this. Consent of the governed is going to be withdrawn.
Anyone who starts ranting about Halliburton and "corporate welfare" should not be talking about other people having conspiracy theories. Further proof that while you might be, as you say, "well educated," that is no guarantee that what you were educated in isn't crap. Also, re your last sentence, I personally am in favor of government money going to neither "the people," whoever that is, nor the corporations. I am in favor of the government not having any surplus money in the first place, so it can't cajole or influence any one part of the population against the others. What are you in favor of?
Chaotic elections might be the spark.
Anticipate thuggery in 2010. Need to take video cameras to polling places. Be prepared for intimidation. Be smart. Be organized.
The productive may just choose not to be enslaved.
Good comment. Get small. Deny the disease its fuel.
Barakcracy=Thugocracy
My, where do we start?
"The deficit, the budget and government spending grows under Republican Presidents too."
Bad then, bad now. Doubling down on a very bad policy is not good policy. It is terrible economics for a free country.
"The government money goes to Halliburton, Blackwater, the military, and corporate welfare under Republicans."
Government hired Halliburton and paid for services rendered. The military are government employees and certainly are not overpaid. Corporate welfare is a trite slogan used to cover a false liberal narrative that somehow the Feds funnel money to fat corporate cats and not to others.
"I'd rather see the government money go to the people rather than corporations."
The money should not be in the government's hand in the first place.
Taxpayers are now in the position of paying taxes that are then funneled to unions that then use that money to elect politicians that will funnel more money and jobs to the unions. This is an unholy vicious cycle that would not be tolerated elsewhere in our economy.
"To claim that Obama is the cause of all the problems is ridiculous."
True, he had a lot of help from Congress and a fawning media. It is the policy that is the enemy and it is doing lasting harm.
Excuse me Tom C, I don't mean to interrupt but isn't that a ballet stuck to your show heel?
Sorry.
Creepy moniker, filthy mouth, angry rhetoric and boring talking points. You are the total bagger package.
[...] Chick has a fantastic article over at Big Government that details one of SEIU’s most recent methods of forcing more and [...]
The entire premise of this article is without merit. It's only point is to scare and enrage Americans who already fear change and are felling marginalized by events they can't possibly understand.
What is happening to our economy and our society is the normal evolution of change. It happens rapidly now, and changes which once occurred in a century now happen in less than a decade. Our economy and culture are uniquely American and not public or private, or capitalistic or socialistic, but a combination of all the above. This rate of change is going to continue regardless of how much we complain because it must. It is driven by technology and population shifts and attitudes.
No doubt the fearful will continue to try and slow the change, and try to redirect it the best they can. But progress can't be stopped and you can not turn back the clock. Most of us wouldn't even want to.
Or simply stop producing.
your nuts and all you commentors are nuts. unions built the middle class in this country. if it wasn't for unions, every one of you would be making ten cents an hour. I ain't a fan of Obama and the Democratic party, but Ronald Reagan destroyed this country.
Wrap your arms tightly around the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights; Scrap the rest; Start over.
The degree or dateline that we reset to are debateable I guess… but It is the obvious answer, and the most comfortable of our options. Why it isnt even considered by most? — I guess it's just beyond me to grasp that…. I suppose it's similar to the epiphany needed to get out of debt. "It's short-term hard – so I won't even consider it."
Socialism cannot be ignored or it will cease to exist.
Read the article: "The public sector saw a dramatic spike between 2006 and 2007, JUST BEFORE the mid-term election when Democrats won back control of Congress again"
The implication is that the addiction to campaign contribution money is bipartisan.
The article is about the use of collective bargaining by Governor's Executive Order. Illustrating the point that it's not merely Presidents bloating public rosters unnecessarily. (Last I checked, Obama was never a Governor….so, not sure how you see it claims Obama is the cause…) I think you may have missed the point of the article. Apathy and disengagement are the cause of the problems, because WE have the power to stop it if we pay attention. (Unless you're one who wants to see a public sector outgrow the private sector….in which case, who will pay for all those government paychecks when the private sector, hence tax revenue, is gone?)
Don't forget card check. Union members will be forced into an open vote where they must vote for the Dems and particularly for ObaMao. He said he intends to be president for a long time. Tell me this isn't an impeachable offense. Obie is a dictator wannabe.
Tell me which words I misspelled.
Look what Boxer and Feinstein are doing to Central CA. The former fruit and vegetable basket of the US is now a dry wasteland and over 30,000 people are out of work. All for a little fish that isn't even indigenous to the area and which are being caught in abundance in the Midwest. Boxer and Feinstein are in bed with the environmental lobby and know where their bread is buttered.
still unwilling to answer what government money is Tom ? reinforcing a stereotype there I think..
You got that right! It is getting so bad though there may be a slight chance Boxer can be booted.
How would you identify the "middle class" in this country? Are you proposing the union organizers and bosses created the "middle class"? I think capitalists created wealth and those who appreciated the opportunity to better themselves because someone was willing to pay for their services created the middle, upper middle and upper classes in this country. Unions have not created a single honest job in history… ever. Just because you choose to pay a third party to represent your views and spend your dues as they see fit, does not make it right. If you think I am nuts, you must be a racist.
The days of my grandparents' unions and my late father in law's coal miner's union weren't the same as today's. They fought for honest causes in honest ways. Not anymore; they're ashamed of what they see in today's unions now. I was union (by force) for six years. Being in that union was an absolute insult to the respectable achievements of my relatives who toiled in the unions that built this country. Today's unions are destroying that image; in fact, they're destroying the middle class.
Doing exactly that. I hold my nose and invest in double tax free munis too. Rewards some bad state governent but does starve the bigger beast – the Fed Gov't. I am looking at a combined fed, state , local tax rate if healthcare passes of around 60%. That kind of rate is what killed GB. Why work hard to hand over more than a majority of income to these boobs? Wait til hyper-inflation and the hidden tax it imposes. Anyone in middle class who believed the DEMs BS just committed sepuku and the don't even know or understand that.
What is government money Tom?
Oh, no doubt. Sen. McCarthy was spot on. The infiltration is widespread and wildly successful. Education: to prepare the minds of the people. Media: To control public opinion. Now the "unionization" of gov't workers and the nationalization of major industry. Soon, only "good" party members will find employment. (Sound familiar?) The Health care legislation is one the the last coffin nails. Once the communists in the beauracracy get hold of those taxes-and re-direct them to politically connected cronies, your liberties will be gone. The American citizen will become a faceless cog in a giant machine, used only to generate revenues for the party faithful. Orwells' wildest nightmare is happening, right now, right in front of your eyes. No one will believe it though, until the FEMA camps begin to fill up with American Patriots…
Sorry. Tax money paid by taxpayers to the government. The government then uses the money to fund government services for the taxpayers etc.
DRB1957 is absolutely correct . We are at war with international socialists whether we like it or not, failing to recognize that fact only makes our enemies job easier. We need to adopt a two front strategy that hits the socialists where they're most vulnerable, voting booth, and wallet. Elected officials provide the socialists with a power structure, taxpayer money provides them with the fat wallets that buy whatever resources they need to maintain that power structure. Cut off the money supply and socialism dies on the vine, since it offers no incentives beyond easy money for the chosen few. Learn to live on less, engage in no uneccessary activity that provides the government with funds. Try to cut back on sin tax items-the government is raking in billions on Obama's new cigarette and alcohol taxes. Conserve gasoline- in spite of all the socialist hand wringing over fuel consumption, the taxes on it provide the government with billions of dollars. Stop the flow of taxpayer money to the socialist machine, and you kill the organizations that benefit from it- SEUI, ACORN, NEA, NPR, DNC, the list is endless. Stop letting them use your money to destroy our country.
WOW, very impressive Liberty Chick, a lot of work and an interesting read thusfar. Will need more time – bookmarked for later.
[...] Read more…. [...]
I'd rather that people keep the money they earn, rise and fall on their own merits and exercise their liberty in all economic decisions. And I'd rather see your wages decreased by 100%. (Which will most likely happen after your commucrats pass their Amnesty bill…) That "government money" you're so fond of referencing has been picked from my pocket sir.
[...] the rest here: » Hijacking the Private Sector, the SEIU and Blago Way – Big … By admin | category: Uncategorized | tags: boost-output, current-state, economy, [...]
If people keep all the money they earn, how would you suggest we pay for law enforcement, fire protection services, roads & freeways, courts etc.
"you money" in the third line, which I'm pretty sure is supposed to be "your money." Also, you failed to put a period at the end of the sentence "My department at work is understaffed". Petty details? Yes. But remember, you brought it up.
Well, for starters, we could just use the millions SEIU has ripped off from the country.
you do understand that it comes from me and you. that's good. no sarcasm intended, but there are some who believe it just magicly appears at a government official's whim.
So, if you understand that how can you make a statement that you want government money to go to the people??? They take it from the people, you and me and all the other working-hard-for-our-money folks, and then do not use the money for the reasons they tell us they are taking it. Do you pay for private-sector services with such low expectations? Why would you go back to a service provider who has an extensive record of such theft for other needs?
I'll be happy to respond to those statements when you have a coherent train of thought.
"you should save you money" I don't make accusations. I state facts.
I stand corrected. Thanks.
And this is your mistake in your posting:
"miss-spelled"
look it up….
Tom C – "The government money goes to Halliburton, Blackwater, the military, and corporate welfare under Republicans. I'd rather see the government money go to the people rather than corporation."
You're clearly quoting the Dem Party's talking points. All must be properly brainwashed and ready to vote for THEIR selected candidate. Do your own research Tom. Yes, Bush did it with Halliburton, Dyncorp, AIG, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup and Blackwater. Obama? Obama simply added GE, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Big Pharma, AARP, AMA, Insurance Companies, etc. Both parties sell their souls. There are no morals in leadershop, they're into numbers and dues – power and money. What has Obama done for small business' who makeup 80% of the jobs in this country? Nothing. Yet witness who he bailed out and had visit him in the WH. Wake up Tom. Wake up America. We've all been screwed for decades.
@Tom C – here's a few crooked politicians from one small area in the country – Pelosi, Feinstein, Lantos, Pete Stark etc –
http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-06-26/bay-area/17...
I never hear (or read) people who rant about "socialism" explain how we should pay for police, fire departments, roads, courts.
PS: A friend of mine who owns a small business and has to lay off at least 5 people. He's deliberately SELECTING those who voted for Obama. He thinks that anyone who voted for a man who was associated with commies and marxists deserves to go first…I can't say I blame him.
Know your enemy America. It is the ideologue's utopia. These correctly defined as insane believers in a government run utopia, think that they can create a perfect race by forced equalization. Attaining perfection of the human race by these means is an absolute impossibility. In every instance, it impoverishes citizenships. The reason why it is impossible, is that there simply will never be enough wealth to create a government large enough to perfect human beings. All is lost in growing government, and nothing can "equalize", because it's a fiscal impossibility, and the end result in every case of this being tried is that the rich get poorer and the poor get poorer too. The second thing is, it is human nature to be self determined. You can not force mankind into a perfect being, because human nature repels such force. Most of the worlds population is currently victimized by tyrannies in power of their governances. And make no mistake, the state wants to replace the parent in the family unit. These people believe that the state can do a better job of raising a child than a family can. A substancial part of the stimulus is for growing the governments power to raise this nations youth, through expansion of child welfare & child day care programs. The social workers and attorneys for the state workforces are growing. While our prison, justice, public school, justice system, and other public service budgets are being slashed. These people mock liberty by making a reference to Sister Theresa and Mao, that the public will neither comprehend, nor be able to oppose. This movement is nothing less than the final damnation of all of mankind by way of American led tyranny. Know your enemy American people. Liberty begets liberty infinite for your soul, tyranny begets eternal damnation for those who perpetrate it on others. Nature will not stand down.
I predicted this before the 2008 election but it appears the groundwork has been being laid for some time before. With the direct involvement of the Obama Administration, a two-tiered system is being created. One tier being the government / union workers, with high pay, guaranteed jobs and lucrative benefits packages. The other tier being the private sector worker who refuses to "play ball". The intention being to slowly force a higher and higher percentage of workers into the public sector, either through unionization or the expansion of government. Our middle class will eventually turn into a peasant class tasked with supporting the whole thing.
Turns out Joseph McCarthy was right. It's just taken 50 years for the rest of us to catch on.
Let me get this straight…the man who brought us 20 years of peace and unprecedented prosperity is the worse thing to ever happen to this country? Were you alive and working during the Carter Years? HELLO! If you would like to live in socialist/Marxist utopia please move to Russia or France or Canada (where I have relatives who can't even get a doctor let alone an appointment!)…this is a Capitalist country founded on those principles.."that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…" No where does it say that government should provide those because, duh, it CAN"T…FREEDOM and Capitalism are what has made this country strong and allowed it to feed and defend others all over the world…wake up, smell the roses and take some economics and history classes for goodness sake!
Without some taxes (10% good enough for God), it would be anarchy, but when you go beyond the basic function of government roads, police, firemen, military, you enter the world of the welfare state. This is a bottomless pit of government good intentions that leads to generational servitude, and will eventually lead to the collapse of this great nation. Independence, freedom, risk taking, is what has made this country great not a damn union.
STATE TAX money to pay for police, fire departments, roads and courts. FEDERAL TAX money to pay for maintaining a military. All other financial needs should then first be assessed at the individual level, then family, then community, then company/church/organization, then county, then state level to determine where the need can be met at any of those levels. When the need is legitimate, for the benefit of all/many people, and cannot be adequately accommodated by the preceding levels, the "national" government, as our founders called it, may consider whether to assist. That's how it is supposed to work. But it doesn't.
It used to be the need was met somewhere in between and barely ever went higher than the community level before it was met. The problem today is that we skip right from the level of individual responsibility and go right to national government, at the encouragement of our own politicians! (who are more interested in buying votes than really helping other Americans to help themselves) When I lost my job AND became gravely ill, I exhausted all options first – my own savings, family loans, help from friends/neighbors/and work, donated services from my local doctors & non-profits, donated medicine from pharma co's, my mortgage company, then went to Medicaid (which no one accepted anyway!). I turned to government LAST, not FIRST. In the end, all those other resources helped me far more than government did anyway.
We have it backwards in this country nowadays; we've cut out all the good that those middle levels can and should do.
No one is saying don't spend any tax money. We're saying spend it constitutionally, wisely, and in the right order. There is a difference between "limited government" and "no government". None of us are advocating no government. We simply don't want to continue watching an already bloated government enslaving our most vulnerable citizens to the government and keeping them in poverty for their own selfish purposes (votes). Not when those levels in between could do far more to help those citizens more effectively. As they say, "teach a man to fish…".
I never hear (or read) people who repeat the same talking points that Joseph Goebbels wrote (because that's exactly where your beloved "police, fire dept, roads and courts" propaganda comes from) explain why government should be our first source for everything.
Every system (pubic and private) has corruption, inefficiencies and abuse. Enron, The Church, Government. Does that mean we should dismantle them?
Some government employees may not provide you with the level of services you would like but others go beyond what is required of them. I see people working hard every day where I work. I think the firefighters who ran in to the Twin Towers and died there are pretty exceptional. Don't you ? How many Cops are killed every year in the line of duty ? How many public school teachers work for low pay while attempting to teach kids who are NOT disciplined at home ? I want the tax dollars to go to programs that help children get the education, food and medical care they need to successfully grow in to adulthood and contribute to our society. I don't want my tax dollars to be spent with Halliburton, ConAgra and Goldman Sachs.
But, just because the government may not use the tax dollars exactly the way I want, does not mean I want the government dismantled and thrown away. If you have bad service from a public employee, you can complain accordingly to the office he or she works for or to your elected representative.
Also, if the government is so bad, inefficient and almighty, shouldn't I be allowed a union that can protect me from their uneven bargaining power.
By the way, I worked in the private sector for more than 20 years. There are plenty of lousy, lazy and stupid people working in the private sector. They may not have a union but they continue working because private sector organiztions have their own corruption and poor company policies: workplace favoritism. Yes, I get bad service in the private sector. If it's worth my time, I take action to correct lousy service.
BUT the chart still shows a net 2% increase in government job growth and a decline of private jobs. and every single penny spent on that growth represents money stolen from productive private use and spent at the discretion of political interests. couple that with the outrageous explosion in gov deficits and you have a plundering of historic proportions. commie
Tom C. – you are wrong, public sector employees make much more than private sector employees,and the gap is growing. See my post for more information. http://libertariancomment.com/government-workers-... As well, the number of federal government employees making more than 150k had doubled during the recent recession, see this post http://libertariancomment.com/federal-plus-150k-c...
As for kissing your ass, perhaps you could just get a hold of yourself for a second and see how arrogant and ignorant you are about even your own world, I can only imagine how uninformed you are about the world at large. Also, since you are inside government somewhere, I'm sure you know firsthand the ridiculous bureaucracy it creates and the overall lack of productivity of government work and its workers. As for me, I've been unemployed for over a year, have had to move out of my home and my daughter may have to drop out of college because I've run out of money to pay for it after going through six fugures already to a state school filled with self righteous union members who are probably as arrogant as you. But I wouldn't dream of expecting the government to bail me out. I'm starting a business and will work my way out of my troubles, I always have and hope that I always will be able to.
I have an even deeper thought for you to consider. I don't believe in freedom because it's better for creating wealth for everyone (although it undoubtedly is superior to collectivist societies), I believe in freedom because its how I want to live, rich or poor (I've been both). Everytime the government regulates something or takes someones property/money, we are less free. Yes, we need some government, but the growth of the unionized public sector in this country is going to collapse our economy – just extend out the costs of pensions/health care over the next 30 years, with even half the cost growth rate. Oh yeah, one more thing, I complained about the same thing under Bush and in 'good' economic times.
And I never hear or read about people using that line of defense who are able to explain how the U.S. got through the first 150-200 years of its existence without anything approaching socialism.
So the need for universal healthcare for the whatever number of uninsured people that is thrown out there is nothing but a payoff to the unions? Follow the money here. The SEIU has gained large numbers of new members by fiat from friendly Governors and Legislators, all paying dues. Now we have a bill that needs to be reconciled that is supposed to provide medical care, in the meantime what about the medical care providers? Look to the states for a hint of what is to come – new union members by dictate of the government! All paying dues to the Union – what a deal.
so by your explaination, the Romans were ignorant to fear the possible innovations of barbarian change? How about Maoist economic progress? That worked out well. I'm puzzled that you define having more chains placed around your neck as progress. If that's what you want, fine. But why do you insist that all the rest of us be forced at gunpoint to follow you?
So instead of going with the marxist pursuit of repressive slavery under central C&C economics, we try and move forward on capitalist systems that ensure individual freedom based on our constitution instead?
But then you statists couldn't bully everyone into doing what you decree what's best for them.
You fail to see the point. Some people who DO start their own company, like these women in Michigan who were perfectly happy being self-employed as child care providers in their homes, are waking up one day to find they are now state employees and union members. They got no vote. AFSCME and SEIU have gone state to state to convert these private business owners to state employees by executive order (or in Michigan an interlocal), on the premise that these people happen to have customers who get state subsidies. That's wrong, and regardless what party you are, that should not happen in this country and it should bother you, if you actually care about people the way you say you do. To stay self employed, these women would have to kick out their customers who are on welfare. Instead, their money goes to SEIU, and not to them. That makes your SEIU no better than the corporations you think are so evil.
I'm a Libertarian, so the whole Republican/Bush/Haliburton thing does nothing for me. Passe talking points, manufactured rage and propaganda. It's sooooo Jim Jones sounding…
I was also AFL-CIO for six years, by the way. And not by choice.
I was not the one complaining about others spelling Tom. Just saying the pot should not call out the kettle. We ALL make mistakes in spelling here.
You mean the greatest president in forty years who single handedly saved us from the absolute destruction of Carter and went on to win the cold war? That Reagan?
And by unions, are you referring to the 1930's ones who fought for safety standards and disability pay for losing an arm, or the modern ones who fight for paid parking, paid standby time, getting rid of secret ballots, buy off politicians to make laws to force people to join them, and outlaw the use of screw guns because they threaten job security?
Tom,
We dismantle churches, institutions, and corporations that are corrupt. Enron is one example. However, government is, as Thomas Paine said, a necessary evil and taxes are compulsory. It is only correct that we demand accountability.
BTW, many of us "tea partiers" were livid when government expanded under Republicans. We weren't heard because we are viewed as extremists. It will be a mistake that we will ensure never happens again!
Yep. I'm neither a Democrat or a Republican.
You should start a revolution.
I'm sure you'll get far.
I was willing to bet you were unemployed!
Good luck with your business.
So free market !
Typical head-full-of-mush response. Do you care to respond to my actual refutation of your position? Does new information affect what you think? Also, don't feel bad for me, I actually have job prospects finally, but really want my business to take off so am holding off on them. I've cut my expenses so I can afford to do this. I'm fine with the free market and the choices I've made. However, you have to wake up every day being you, so full of petty jealousy and resentment, knowing deep in your heart that being a leftist is a form of irresponsibility and cowardice. You see it every time you look in the mirror, or see someone in a nicer home than you. That's okay, the "B" team has always gone to work for government, maybe it's the C team these days, I mean, I've seen software salesmen better on their feet than Obama.
so-we agree on something. basic services are necessary and taxes are needed to pay for them. But those examples you give are local and local taxes. And we agree that we don't want federal taxes going to corporate wellfare. What devides us is that you are anxious to continue to give authority to a prove untrustworthy federal government to forcably take our money to continue giving them that corporate welfare. I'm convinced they'll always do so – but you are not. You seem to ignore the historical facts supporting that lobbiest will always find a way to get your's and my money from a federal government. I don't want your money going to Haliburton either. Why don't you want to stop them from taking it and doing it forever more? As long as you continue to enable this, it will continue to happen. Stop allowing it relying on blind faith that federal government could someday be trustworthy. It's a fools dream.
More to the point, who are the people driving these increases in labor and public sector employment, what is their goal, and is it something we should be concerned about? I think you'll find that practically no one here is a big fan of the GOP establishment or looking to lay all the blame for the situation at the feet of the Democrats, so to say that we're wrong in pinning all this in Obama (which we're not) is simply ducking the question.
Glenn! Tom is a devout 57th stater, he loves his Barry. And your strong arguments about self reliance and freedom are falling on deaf ears, kind of like asking a baby to quit crapping it’s diaper. Sorry about your business Glenn you’ll be okay, Tom…well he’ll still be Tom, an envious government parasite, sucking on uncle Sammy’s teat. The good news is, 2010 is here and we can begin to give Washington an attitude adjustment. Good luck Glenn with your business, it’s people like you that make the USA the greatest country in the world.
Excellent request, SK.
I hope the BG folks can set up such a site, since we can count on the alphabet networks not reporting on 'Executive Orders'.
[...] is the original: » Hijacking the Private Sector, the SEIU and Blago Way – Big … By admin | category: care credit one | tags: angeles, card-debtors, collectors, creditor, [...]
Many places in this nation have VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS!
Fire and police departments are all paid on the local level; not on the FEDERAL nor state levels.
The SEIU is a corrupt union and one that is completely unnecessary; not to mention full of thugs.
Labor unions have ALWAYS been corrupt; even back at the turn of the 19th into the 20th century.
All of you need to read up on their history, instead of spouting off specious, error filled talking points.
Yes, some managed to do a bit of good for the workers; but that is the anomaly, not the norm.
(Coincidentally, SEIU has recently received a $2 million tax credit to build a Member Action Center in Michigan).
When are people going to realize our freedom is being bought and sold with our own tax money?
You must believe that you are out of political power because something was stolen from you. You were voted out of power because your economic plan failed and your social plan is more sensitive to the needs of corporations than people.
You are a slave to your corrupt ideology and need someone to blame other than yourselves. So it's always, the liberals, or the communists, or the media or the socialists… you make this stuff up in your heads and then begin to believe your own propaganda. You act as though all you have to do is stop health care reform and the problem is solved. Or stop government action on climate change and the climate will magically stop warming. It doesn't work that way. When you are successful at delaying action it may put it off for a while, but the problems are still here and still getting worse.
That is why in the long run, conservatives always lose. We just have to pass health care reform once, but you have to defeat it every year from now on until it finally passes. Climate change legislation may not pass this year, but it will be back year after year until it finally does pass.
So don't give me that sad talk about slavery or Marxism or whatever your boggy man of the day is. You are not victims, you are angry, racist ideologues who are one step away from committing act of revolution and terror yourselves, and all the while draped in the flag and claiming the Constitution as the moral source of your actions.
Try winning an election without lying to people. Come up with some new ideas to fix social problems that don't involve socializing risk and privatizing profits. You had power in DC for eight years and never got past shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to the middle class (thanks for that by the way).
And try living in the now. Worrying about how the Romans and the Barbarians got along won't help us fix the problems we face today.
This is the MOST important thing that has been said about this issue. I've made this point several times at different posts, but it doesn't seem to provoke much conversation… Look, the Socialist beast runs on your money–kill the beast by starving it. I like your methods, so I'll add a few more for interested parties. Maybe if folks spread the word we can make a dent…
1.) Pay cash for everything. Don't keep receipts.
2.) Give discounts for people who pay cash.
3.) Buy as many things as you can, second hand and off the books. (Avoid the tax and rob the looters of the taxes generated by producing new goods…)
4.) Work "under the table."
5.) Avoid hiring people who support communist ideas.
6.) Avoid buying from companies that have sold out to the G.
Lastly, I would like to see some conservative spokesperson organize a "Galt Day." A one day strike where all of the producers in the economy sell nothing and buy nothing–not a thing–for a day. The loss of sales tax alone for this one day strike would be significant–possibly sending a message.
Glenn:
1) Did you collect any unemployment benefits during the past year ?
2) Did you daughter get any state financial aid or Federal Govt. guaranteed loans for her education?
3) Hopefully, you won't need any government services when you run your business…. like copyright, trademark or patent protection.
I haven't always been a government employee. As I mentioned in a previous post, I worked in the private sector for more than 20 years before this job. I've travelled the world, done business with people in almost every country, study governments and the Constitution. I've been unemployed, been a vice president of sales, and I've owned my own company.
continued….
Ironically, I too have been a software salesman. The software salesmen in the company I used to work for made more money per year than the top government employee in the branch that I work in. But they don't work harder than the guy I currently work for (the government employee). I took a significant pay cut for this government job. I am not jealous or envious of you or anyone else. I am not poor and I am not rich. I have a home and a mortgage just like others. I cut back my expenses too. I am happy with who I am. I'm just sick of losers blaming government employees and their unions for this country's troubles. Once you get a job or start your own company, you won't have time to dwell on the SEIU and government employees.
Oh, if you can use a blackboard and have the ability to cry on cue, Glenn Beck's TV show is looking for on-air personalities. Send them your resume…..
Let's get back to the argument, which you were wrong about and my initial point when you stated essentially since private sector employees make more than public sector employees, which is factually inaccurate (I included links to validate that statement), therefore we shouldn't complain about unions and government employees when the economy turns south. Since your predicate is incorrect, the rest doesn't matter. But you chose not to respond to that, and in fact started off being an arrogant, nasty ponce, so I digressed to your level which I regret as it only cheapens me.
The authors original point, which you also demeaned, would be something that Andy Stern would have agreed with, and anyone with knowledge of Democratic and New Left strategies would also acknowledge. The exploitation of unions, and using governmental power to coerce enrollment is part of a larger ideological agenda. If you don't know that, you simply are ignorant of the politics involved. Why do you think Andy Stern has been to the White House more than any other vistor (22 times?)? Just listen to the rhetoric of the labor movement, with it's class warfare and anti-free market stance. The motivations and goals are clear.
@Tom C – The Chicago Sun Times
For 40 years, William F. Cellini has been a fixture in the Illinois governor's office.
And Cellini — one of the most powerful Republicans in Illinois history — maintained his clout when a Democrat, Rod Blagojevich, ended 26 years of GOP rule.
Some Democrats were shocked to find Cellini sitting at Blagojevich's table during a party at Tony Rezko's house six years ago. But Cellini had a simple answer to explain how he and his business associates would thrive under a Democratic governor: "When we're in, we're in. And when you're in, we're in. We're always in.''
Blago is in bed with Cellini. Cellini is in bed with Blago. Money makes for good bedfellows. Get your blinders off Tom, and lose the talking point propaganda, because it makes you appear naive. I know you're smarter than that…
Bottomline – we need to clean house and I mean the WH and every other government house in this country. I just read where Ritter in Colorado just had his pictures taken with $200,000 of tax-payer money. That's my money and your money. What's the matter with a regular camera and have an aide take his pictures… We're losing jobs, the country's going broke, and they're living like we've got money to burn. Enough already..
You don't even know how much money is paid for the jobs these people do. When someone comes to your home to give an insulin shot or deliver oxygen to your sick mother, how much money do you want them to be paid, $5 an hour or $15?
Daley's Deal + Lady Blago Fundraising = Epic Fail For Shelter
A Chicago Christian Industrial League homeless shelter is struggling to stay afloat after a deal by Mayor Daley moved them to new digs they can't afford and Patti Blagojevich's fundraising efforts have fallen short according to an investigation by NBC 5 and the Sun-Times. It seemed at first to be pretty simple: the city moved the League 's homeless shelter from its "crumbling" Greektown location into a new $25 million building in Lawndale which cleared the way for developer Michael Marchese and businessman William F. Cellini, (who was recently indicted for trying to shake down a Hollywood producer), to build a brand-spanking-new condo unit on the site of the old shelter.
What could go wrong?
http://chicagoist.com/2009/01/08/daleys_deal_lady...
It's a city full of corruption, no wonder the SEIU does so well there, and no shock the poor get shafted. ACORN probably worked with them many times in one of their little schemes. I wish people would wake up.
The unions controlled what?…30% of the labor force at their PEAK…Sounds like the few carried the many…Sounds worthy of a 'expose' for the LSM…Then they can do a sequel on how the few carry the burden of many with the tax burden…
not
John Galt is the character in ATLAS SHRUGGED (SPECIAL ON FOX IS COMING BY JOHN STOUSEL THIS MONTH) BY AYAN RAND (THE RAND INSTITUTE). It is a very good (must read) read! It was written over fifty years ago. Look into the history of Ayan Rand, it is special!
Also, the book was disallowed in our public shools (years ago), it is a very capitalist book!
Produce, just not in the light!
I like the "GALT DAY" idea!
Liberty Chick; Hijacking the Private Sector, the SEIU and Blago Way is a great article! I just wonder if the goal actually will be reached to unionize the entire world's workers' under the SEIU?
I did start my own company years ago! At one time I employed eight people, at this time I employ NONE and I intend to keep it that way. In addition, so called government money is money taken by our representatives from the private sector (via taxes).
I no longer make any money, hence no taxes. I have a feeling the rest of the people here are considering similar steps for their future! Hence, in time the government money going to SEIU, ACORN, UAW, etc. will diminish and the people will regain their consitutional rights!
As for my education MASTERS DEGREE AND CPA! Personally, I question the college and economic classes you attended, or did you!
I have enough protection, and my protection is undetectable. The private sector built the roads, and probably will in the future (unless the government learns how to do construction, instead of hiring it out to unionized (overpaid contracts) corporations.
Ronald Reagan finished the cold war and we had a wonderful economy after he cleaned up after CARTER! Clinton then killed the economy again, BUSH got us out of that one for a short period of time! NOW, how do you like the results of our current administration, it certainly has been a wonderful ride hasn't it! By the way, it is far from over with FDR policies that stretched out the depression much further than it should have lasted!
Here! Here! While we are at it get rid of the our house and senate representatives and all the judges in the executive branch, and start over with term limits for all!
You are a real A??, I hope to HE?? we retake the government and you lose your GOVERNMENT JOB WE ARE PAYING FOR and are forced to MOVE TO RUSSIA, FRANCE or anywhere but here!
As for Glenn, work hard self-employment isn't easy and do as much as you can in the dark, just like our government does!
And that was the Question "Who is John Galt"
I don't understand how in a "free" country a worker can be forced to join a union, money garnished from his/her wages for union dues, and all this sanctioned by local, state, federal governments. People should have the right to associate with whom they want. If they want to join a like-minded group fine. If they don't that's fine to.
There is no such thing as "public money." A worker pays taxes (forcibly taken) from his/her paycheck by a collection of individuals who passed a "law" authorizing them to do so. When that money is then given to another group that the worker doesn't agree with or even know about, that's wrong.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) has now affiliation with the S.E.I.U. and doesn't want nothing to do with the SEIU. Period! The UAW is by themselves and wants no connections with any type of subversive activity.
What is your hourly wage….you never stated?
http://cloward-piven.com/
The strategy of forcing political change through orchestrated crisis. The "Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/11/clowardpiv...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaLnQvy7_w
http://cloward-piven.com/
The strategy of forcing political change through orchestrated crisis. The "Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/11/clowardpiv...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaLnQvy7_w
That's pretty much what I meant. Produce for yourself, and not for the Government. What we really need to do is to take back our government. I realize that is easier said than done, but we have to find a way to make it happen. It is totally out of control at the moment.
I want them to be paid whatever the value of their labor is worth in a free market, not a sum extorted by a racketeering cartel.
What a load of old cobblers… which doesn't remotely start to be a defense of the increasing power of labor cartels over the public sector. One lie after anot6her, e. g. "shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to the middle class"- a falsehood. The tax burden in fact shifted UP the income scale. But then Leftists *always* lie.
Your "change" is fundamentally immoral and doesn't work. To try to claim the finacial crisis of last fall was a "failure of capitalism" is doubly dishonest, because it tries to pretend, in agitprop fashion, that it wasn't caused by government in the first place. But, no, you would far rather toss random insults that defend your (unworkable) philosophy of theft.
Typical ignorant union dumbass.
Unions are about perpetuating the power of the "Union" for the good of Union leadership…as always, follow the money. They protect the incompetent and unproductive while promoting the same for all regardless of competence and productivity. They are at their very nature collectivist and socialist. "Right to work" laws are needed in every state.
libertychick – January 3rd, 2010 at 12:08 am
Excellent post portraying genuine Social Justice. Alinsky stole the term from Christians, turned it upside down, and into something unrecognizable, it continues to be used and abused by his followers.
PS: I like the idea of a John Galt Day as noted by other posters above.
I like that… "load of old cobblers". I may have to steal it.
Labor unions have been declining in membership, and thus influence, for the past 50 years. They helped build the middle class in this country, which is the true strength of our country and the source of our power.
I'm not going to say you are a liar Boh, but you are factually challenged. There is a reason wealthy people in this country loved GWB. His tax cuts had the affect of transferring wealth from the middle to the top. Reagan did the same thing when he "reformed" social security. He cut the top tax rates and raised payroll taxes, effectively transferring the tax burden to the middle class.
Today we can see the results of tax and monetary policy that favors capital over labor. Real wages that have not been able to keep up with inflation for a decade. A housing bubble that inflated the true effects of bad tax policy. And an economy that has not created any net jobs since the decade began.
Well regulated capital markets have created the greatest economic engine in the history of the world. Capitalism didn't fail, it the the people whom we charged with managing capital markets failed. Capitalism can be harnessed to work for the good of people or it can be devoured by greedy players. It's all us to the voters in a democratic society. We seem to forget hard lessons every 20 years or so and succumb to right wing thinkers who believe we make markets more efficient with more deregulation. In blew up in our faces when we deregulated the S&Ls and again in 1999 when we repealed the banking safeguards from Glass-Stegall. Senator Dorgan tried to warn us at the time when he told us the banking industry would melt down in ten years. He's looking pretty smart now.
I will try and focus my insults in the future.
You are right, I am as nutty as they come, but I do know that you should use a big letter when you start a sentence.
I'm sorry but could you redefine baby to fetal tissue and then get back to me?
So basically you dodged answering anything and resorted to name calling.
Word to the wise-those that do not know history are doomed to repeat it. I know the history of where your socialist /welfare roads lead. You should try researching it yourself sometime. If you did, you would know that welfare systems bankrupting the government is NOT a new problem we face today. Bread and circuses, now where have I heard that line before? hmmm
BTW global warming is a hoax perpetrated by the very capitalists you sneer at.
Good for you, liberty chick, and GOD BLESS YOU – Great essay, too.
tate-dog, do you like to scare your glass of bourbon with a couple a drops of water – me too!
Where is our auto industry jobs now?
The management produced cars nobody wanted to buy & the unions priced their hourly rates to a level no comapny could sustain. Now the unions have control of them and should be cut off from receiving public money.
China says thank you.
Unions built the middle-class? What a joke. The middle class emerged in spite of the unions.
Socialism stinks and so do most thuggish unions.
There's no such thing as "big labor" anymore. I wish there was. Unions certainly represent my interests better than the Chamber of Commerce does and to be sure, your average American is more likely to end up a bum on the street than the next Michael Bloomberg. You must think we're stupid.
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