Even as other liberal states face the music of unfunded union pensions and benefits, Connecticut’s governor plans to do things his way. Democrat Governor Dannel Malloy, and his majority in the state legislature, have agreed on a budget that will represent the largest tax hike in the history of the state. The fact that the constitution of the state of Connecticut requires a balanced budget also seems a minor detail to Malloy, who initially said he would balance his two-year, $40 billion budget by obtaining $2 billion in concessions from the state’s unions. The only problem is that Malloy wants his leaders to pass their budget with no union concessions on the scene. And Governor Malloy wants it now.

Malloy’s governing philosophy is in stark contrast to that of neighboring New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, a liberal, but pragmatic Democrat, who insisted on a budget that did not raise taxes yet demanded, and received, union concessions. Similarly, fellow New England states, Massachusetts, which recently voted to restrict collective bargaining, and New Hampshire, likely to become the 23rd “Right to Work” state in the nation, are clearly moving in step with the rest of the country, by addressing the costs of unfunded public sector union pensions and benefits, as well as the conflict-ridden collective bargaining system.

Malloy, however, has openly bragged about his willingness to spend several weeks in packed town meetings, listening to irate citizens of the Constitution State complain about his budget plan. He and his majority party are clearly cut from the same Obama administration cloth that is inclined to ignore the will of taxpaying citizens, while it attempts to instill guilt with the all too familiar phrase, “shared sacrifice.” To them, “shared sacrifice” means that Connecticut’s taxpayers, already among the highest taxed in the nation, will be paying an average increase of $3,000 per family annually to their state. This amount represents tax increases on income, sales, gasoline- up 3 cents per gallon, alcohol- an increase of 20%, cigarettes, an “Amazon” internet sales tax, as well as a lowering of a $500 property tax credit to $300.

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If you’re going to be required to pay for something, common sense would say that you should have the right to know how much it costs, right? After all, no one likes surprises—especially if those surprises cost trillions and you, your children and your children’s children are likely going to have to pay for it for decades to come.

Yet, there are those who seem to think that the American taxpayers will forever just keep shoveling our money into the furnace of bailing out banks, car companies, and union pensions funds. Moreover, these same putrid people (be they bureaucrats, bankers, or union bosses) seem to think that, if they hide the truth from the the American taxpayer, we will just blindly and willingly keep bailing out failure. Have they learned nothing over these past two years?

The Ticking Time Bomb

On Saturday, three examples were given of the public pension Ponzi scheme that is beginning to unravel. In one case (Central Fall, RI), the costs have put a city into financial ruin. In Chicago, Mayor Daley is openly talking about reorganizing the city’s pension through bankruptcy. Then , of course, there’s California and newly retread governor Jerry Brown and the 30-year old legacy of union domination in the tarnished Golden State.

However, just so you know that Saturday’s three examples are not mere isolated incidents, you might want to know the following:

• In 2011 70% of Decator, Illinois’ property taxes will go to fund union pensions (h/t anacreon)
• Illinois, as a state, has $54.4 billion in unfunded liabilities
• New Jerseyans owe their public pension plans up to $173.9 billion and it was discovered the Democrat-run state allegedly defrauded investors without disclosing the debt as bonds were sold from 2001 through 2007
• New York State may have $120 billion in unfunded pension debt
• New York City, on the other hand, may have had up to $76 billion in unfunded liability before 2008’s market slump
• The City of Philadelphia’s public pension plan is nearly $5 billion underfunded
• Oklahoma has $12 billion in unfunded pension liabilities
• Colorado has $16.8 billion in unfunded pension liabilities
• …And the list goes on and on…

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Once again The New York Times misses the big picture in its coverage of organized labor. The Old Grey Lady reports:

[U]nion leaders had amassed an armory of research on derivatives, mortgage foreclosures and even Wall Street pay as part of their effort to hold bankers accountable for the economic pain they helped cause in Los Angeles and across the country.

Why? Labor leaders say the fortunes of banks and unions are linked more than people realize. Wall Street manages union pension portfolios worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Much of that is invested in financial institutions, giving unions a loud voice as shareholders.

Wall Street manages union pension funds? The New York Times failed to note that unions appoint their own trustees to these funds. Most union pension plans are known as multiemployer plans, which are comprised of several companies and generally only one union. The union appoints half the trustees of the plan. These trustees vote as a block and are the ones in actual control of the fund.

This distinction is important for two reasons. First, union pension plans are disastrously underfunded. Also, as The Washington Times’ Kevin Mooney reports:

The average union pension has resources to cover only 62 percent of what is owed to participants, according to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. Pensions with less than 80 percent of the assets needed to cover present and projected liabilities are considered “endangered,” while those that fall below a 65 percent threshold are classified as “critical” under the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

Unions blame everyone but themselves for the underfunding.

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We saw their fury throughout 2009:  “Capitalism is Dead”, “Kill the Corporation”, “Bust Up Big Banks”, “Greed Kills”, “Bank of America, Bad for America”.  The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) led an all-out assault on Wall Street – and on capitalism and corporations – coining words and phrases that have since become common staples in the vocabulary of the bank-bashing craze.  That fury hit a fever pitch last March when word of the AIG bonuses went public.  It was the SEIU out in front of the protests, at AIG offices, and bussing protestors to the homes of AIG executives.

The months that followed saw more of the same.  In April, SEIU hailed the ousting of General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner.  That same week, it stepped up its battleplan with the Mother of all Corporate Campaigns against Ken Lewis, Bank of America CEO and Chairman – complete with videos, rolling billboards, smear sites, petition drives, letter campaigns, media blitzes and more, while it placed equal attention on Bank of America, forcing the company to respond with a $40 million image boosting campaign of television and print ads.

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In their first year in office, the Obama Administration has re-made the U.S. Department of Labor into the Department of Organized Labor, working hard to make certain that those who spent hundreds of millions of dollars to put them in office get a return on their investment.  While many dismiss the importance of the Department of Labor, virtually every person in America is directly touched by the rules and regulations that this federal bureaucracy creates and enforces, so changes at the top have real consequences for every working American.

As we evaluate the impact of the past year on the nation’s workforce, it is worthwhile to remember the accomplishments of President Bush’s Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao.

When Secretary Chao left office, workers were safer in their workplaces than at any time in history, the Labor Department was focused upon encouraging private sector job creation, and created an enforcement environment that successfully protected workers from employers who egregiously violated the law while providing the necessary education to limit inadvertent violations.

Secretary Chao put an emphasis on clarifying workplace regulations to make it easier for employers to know the rules of the game.  Her efforts led to overtime requirements being more clear-cut for employers while explicitly guaranteeing overtime protections for blue collar workers, police and fire fighters, EMTs, construction workers and others.

The Labor Department under Secretary Chao brought transparency to the spending of Big Labor through regulations which for the first time shined a light upon labor union expenditures.  These reports revealed the massive labor expenditures supporting ACORN’s efforts,and were used by LA Times reporter Paul Pringle in his Polk Award winning series that brought down the SEIU powerbrokers in the California SEIU.

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