Shadowbosses: Government Unions Control America and Rob Taxpayers Blind

by Mallory Factor

  78 “Teachers, Students Protest Cuts to Education,” Associated Press, May 13, 2011, available at http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/05/13/teachers-students-protest-cuts-to-education/, accessed December 2011.

  79 Katherine Mangu-Ward, “Teachers Unions versus Online Education,” Reason, August–September 2010, http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/20/teachers-unions-vs-online-educ/singlepage, accessed February 2012.

  80 “CTYOnline Accelerated Math for Elementary Students,” Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, http://cty.jhu.edu/ctyonline/information/Elementary_Math_Courses.html.

  81 Tamar Lewin, “M.I.T. Expands Its Free Online Courses,” New York Times, December 19, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/education/mit-expands-free-online-courses-offering-certificates.html, accessed February 2012.

  82 Stanford on iTunes U can be accessed at http://itunes.stanford.edu/index.html.

  83 Mangu-Ward, “Teachers Unions versus Online Education.” Several states like Oregon and Wisconsin have already severely capped online virtual charter schooling in their states.

  84 “The Condition of Education: Homeschooled Students,” National Center for Educational Statistics, April 2011, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_hsc.asp, accessed December 2011.

  85 Brian D. Ray, “Homeschool Population Report 2010: 2.04 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2010,” National Home Education Research Institute, http://www.nheri.org/HomeschoolPopulationReport2010.pdf, accessed February 2012.

  86 “The Condition of Education: Private School Enrollment,” National Center for Educational Statistics, April 2011, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_pri.asp, accessed December 2011.

  87 This assumes a 79 percent overall rate of unionization of these workers and dues of $600 to $1200 per worker. Moe, 54–55.

  88 Michelle Malkin, “The EduJobs III Bailout,” MichelleMalkin.com, October 19, 2011, http://michellemalkin.com/2011/10/19/the-edujobs-iii-bailout/, accessed January 2012.

  Chapter 6. Shadowbosses Bankrupt Our States

  1 Eileen Norcross, “Public-Sector Unionism: A Review,” Working Paper no. 11-26, Mercatus Center, May 2011, http://mercatus.org/sites/default/files/publication/WP1126-Public-Sector-Unionism.pdf.

  2 Many states are looking for ways to declare bankruptcy and get protections against their debts, although current law does not permit it. Mary Williams Walsh, “A Path Is Sought for States to Escape Their Debt Burdens,” New York Times, January 20, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/business/economy/21bankruptcy.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=state%20bankruptcy&st=cse, accessed February 2012.

  3 Ibid.

  4 Gregory White, “Here Are the 10 U.S. States Most Likely to Default,” Money Game, Business Insider, July 16, 2010, http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-11-us-states-most-likely-to-default-2010-7, accessed January 2012.

  5 Tad DeHaven, “State Dependency on the Federal Government,” Cato @ Liberty (blog), January 23, 2012, http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/state-dependency-on-the-federal-government/.

  6 “Country Comparison: Public Debt,” 2011 figures, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2186rank.html, accessed February 2012.

  7 Steve Forbes, “For Whom The Greek Bell Tolls,” Forbes.com, July 18, 2011, http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0718/opinions-steve-forbes-fact-comment-greek-bell-tolls.html, accessed January 2012.

  8 Chris Edwards, “Public Sector Unions and the Rising Cost of Employee Compensation,” Cato Journal, Winter 2010, pp. 87–115, http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj30n1/cj30n1-5.pdf, accessed February 2012.

  9 As Eileen Norcross notes, “The parties at the negotiating table share similar goals and benefit from the expansion of public spending, and may do so in a manner that, in the short-run, obscures the full cost of the bill.” Norcross, “Public-Sector Unionism: A Review,” p. 22.

  10 Edwards, “Public Sector Unions and the Rising Cost of Employee Compensation.”

  11 Arthur Laffer, “The States Are Leading a Pro-Growth Rebellion,” Wall Street Journal, February 11, 2012, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203711104577201391354733460.html, accessed April 2012.

  12 Randall G. Holcombe and James D. Gwartney, “Unions, Economic Freedom and Growth,” Cato Journal, Winter 2010, pp. 1–22, http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj30n1/cj30n1-1.pdf/pubs/journal/cj30n1/cj30n1-1.pdf, accessed February 2012.

  13 Calculated from the national, state, and area employment, hours, and earnings databases on http://www.bls.gov—the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website.

  14 Steven Malanga, “Yes, There’s Bloat in NJ’s Schools,” New York Post, April 9, 2010, http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/yes_there_bloat_in_nj_schools_ngZJRi9YViWlhzeHc4nmWP, accessed February 2012.

  15 See http://unionstats.com—the Union Membership and Coverage Database, a website maintained by Drs. Barry Hirsch and David Macpherson.

  16 This calculation is based on the national, state, and area employment, hours, and earnings databases on http://www.bls.gov—the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website.

  17 Nicole Gelinas, “New York’s Next Fiscal Crisis,” City Journal (Manhattan Institute), Summer 2008, http://www.city-journal.org/printable.php?id=2699.

  18 Daniel DiSalvo, “The Trouble With Public Sector Unions,” National Affairs, Fall 2010, http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-trouble-with-public-sector-unions, accessed December 2011.

  19 “A Tale of Two Counties,” editorial, Washington Post, May 30, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/29/AR2010052903132.html, accessed February 2012.

  20 “Public Employee State Law Monopoly Bargaining Chart,” National Right to Work Committee (2011), on file with the authors.

  21 “A Tale of Two Counties.”

  22 Union Membership and Earnings Database, maintained by labor economists Barry Hirsch and David Macpherson, http://www.unionstats.com. Workers covered by a union contract are workers whose collective bargaining rights have been assigned to a union. Not all of these workers would actually join the union, although in forced-dues states all of these workers will have to pay dues or fees to the union. See NRTW Committee Staff, “Top Union Boss Huffs and Puffs, But Cannot Blow the Facts Down,” National Right to Work Committee, June 2010, http://www.nrtwc.org/top-union-boss-huffs-and-puffs-but-cannot-blow-the-facts-down/, accessed February 2012.

  23 See the Union Membership and Earnings Database.

  24 Right-to-work states provide workers with express right-to-work protections, but some other states don’t provide their workers with these express protections but also don’t allow forced-dues collection in practice either. Of the twenty-two Free states, eighteen are right-to-work states; Colorado, Kentucky, and Missouri don’t allow forced-dues collection from government employees. New Mexico does allow forced-dues provisions under which workers are fired if they don’t pay fees or dues to the union that represents them.

  25 “Top Union Boss Huffs and Puffs, But Cannot Blow the Facts Down.”

  26 According to this report, the most likely to default states are: Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Ohio, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, California, and Illinois. Gus Lubin, “The 10 States Most Likely to Default,” Money Game, Business Insider, May 20, 2010, http://www.businessinsider.com/10-states-most-likely-to-default-2010-5, accessed February 2012. Despite its title, the web article listed only nine states, plus New York City, as the gravest default risks in the United States. The determination of which states are most likely to default was based on market data for the credit default swaps for the state, which relates to how much a party would have to pay to insure against a default by the state or locality.

  27 “Top Union Boss Huffs and Puffs, But Cannot Blow the Facts Down.”

  28 However, one of the most-likely-to-default states was Nevada, a right-to-work state.

  29 The number of private sector jobs fell in these nine states by about 4 percent
over a ten-year period ending 2009; but over the same time period, state and local government jobs increased by 9 percent. Ibid.

  30 For example, in the states that have less than 40 percent of government workers unionized, the median per capita state debt in 2007 was more than $2,200. Among states with “between 40 and 60 percent” of government workers unionized, the median debt was more than $3,600. David Freddoso, “Public Sector Unions and State Debt Go Hand in Hand,” Washington Examiner, April 4, 2010, http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/public-sector-unions-and-state-debt-go-hand-hand, accessed February 2012.

  31 See, for example, “How U.S. Land Use Restrictions Exacerbated the International Finance Crisis,” Demographia, April 2008, http://www.demographia.com/db-overhang.pdf, accessed February 2012. Demographia is a website focusing on land-use policies. See also “Reforming Regulation to Reduce New York’s Exorbitant Cost of Living,” New Yorkers For Growth, http://www.newyorkersforgrowth.com/reforming-regulation.asp, accessed February 2012.

  32 Mark Robyn and Gerald Prante, “State-Local Tax Burdens Fall in 2009 as Tax Revenues Shrink Faster Than Income,” Special Report, Tax Foundation, February 23, 2011, http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/22320.html, accessed February 2012.

  33 The Hon. Talmadge Heflin and Katy Hawkins, “Trends in State Government: State Government Spending,” Policy Brief, Texas Public Policy Foundation, October 2010, http://www.texaspolicy.com/pdf/2010-10-PB05-StateSpendingTrends-th-kh.pdf, accessed February 2012.

  34 Edwards, “Public Sector Unions and the Rising Cost of Employee Compensation.”

  35 Ibid.

  36 Larry Kudlow, “Madison Madness,” National Review Online, February 18, 2011, http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/260135/madison-madness-larry-kudlow, accessed January 2012.

  37 Steven Malanga, “Unions vs. Taxpayers,” Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2009, available at http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/miarticle.htm?id=4544, accessed January 2012.

  38 Giovanna Fabiano,”Traffic Duty, Overtime Boost Englewood Police Paychecks,” (Hackensack, N.J.) Record, April 18, 2010, available at http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4041340, accessed February 2012.

  39 Luke Funk, “Audit: NJ Turnpike Wasted Millions on Perks,” My Fox New York, October 19, 2010, http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/traffic/traffic_news/audit-excessive-perks-for-nj-turnpike-employees-20101019-apx, accessed February 2012.

  40 Nicole Gelinas, “MTA’s Too-Nice Pay,” New York Post, July 13, 2011, http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/mta_too_nice_pay_yaOJpA4zHnVb6YRskNqB3K, accessed January 2012.

  41 Frederic U. Dicker, “Andy Rocks the ‘Bloat,’ ” New York Post, March 19, 2010, http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/andy_rocks_the_bloat_pMD64QLibsykw6vhTXJHfO, accessed February 2012.

  42 Ibid.

  43 Once Cuomo took over as governor of New York, however, he seemed to become less concerned about union featherbedding. In 2011, he nixed an effort to end the Triborough Amendment, a New York law that allows inflated union contracts to be extended beyond their expiration dates. This amendment, which has been on the books in New York for many years, reduces the pressures on unions to give concessions in contract negotiations, because their contract can’t lapse if a deal isn’t reached. Jacob Gershman, “Triborough Labor Law Likely to Survive,” Wall Street Journal, January 12, 2012, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204124204577155332171320006.html, accessed January 2012.

  44 Herbert London, “New York Is the Ultimate Nanny State,” Newsmax, July 2, 2010, http://www.newsmax.com/HerbertLondon/London-unions-public-dependence/2010/07/02/id/363709, accessed January 2012.

  45 Jason Grotto, “Watchdog Update: Feds Probe Union Pension Deals,” Chicago Tribune, December 8, 2011, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-union-pension-subpoena-20111208,0,7092967.story, accessed March 2012.

  46 Ibid.

  47 Ibid.

  48 Ray Long and Jason Grotto, “2 Teachers Union Lobbyists Teach for a Day to Qualify for Hefty Pensions,” Chicago Tribune, October 22, 2011, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-pensions-teacher-perk-20111023,0,7187206.story, accessed March 2012.

  49 Ibid.

  50 DiSalvo, “The Trouble With Public Sector Unions.”

  51 Mark Steyn, After America: Get Ready for Armageddon (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 2011), p. 220.

  52 Chris Rizo, “Calif. AG Candidate Takes Aim at Public Employee Pensions,” LegalNewsline.com, February 8, 2010, http://legalnewsline.com/news/225451-calif.-ag-candidate-takes-aim-at-public-employee-pensions.

  53 “The Widening Gap: The Great Recession’s Impact on State Pension and Retiree Health Care Costs,” Pew Center on the States, April 25, 2011, http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Pew_pensions_retiree_benefits.pdf/uploadedFiles/Pew_pensions_retiree_benefits.pdf, accessed February 2012.

  54 Martin Z. Braun and Cristina Alesci, “NYC Actuary Said to Seek Lower Pension-Fund Rate of Return of 7% from 8%,” Bloomberg, January 12, 2012, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/nyc-actuary-said-to-seek-lower-pension-fund-rate-of-return-of-7-from-8-.html, accessed February 2012.

  55 The report explains, “There are several reasons for the current crisis. Some states and local governments have lacked fiscal discipline, some have promised overly generous benefits, and many have failed to make the annual contributions necessary to maintain an actuarially sound pension plan. States have not been entirely at fault, as they had no control over the recent precipitous drop in interest rates or the volatile stock market. But regardless of the reason for the current pension crisis, the need for action can no longer be denied.” Senate Finance Committee, “State and Local Government Defined Benefit Pension Plans: The Pension Debt Crisis that Threatens America,” January 2012, http://finance.senate.gov/newsroom/ranking/release/?id=f9a92142-d190-4bca-a310-b43cb462eb45, accessed February 2012.

  56 Edwards, “Public Sector Unions and the Rising Cost of Employee Compensation.”

  57 David Cho, “Growing Deficits Threaten Pensions,” Washington Post, May 11, 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/10/AR2008051002883.html?hpid=topnews, accessed February 2012.

  58 A 2009 CalPERS chart showing the life expectancies for California male and female police officers and firefighters at age fifty-five is reproduced on page 243 of Steven Greenhut, Plunder! (Santa Ana, Calif.: Forum Press, 2009).

  59 David Crane, “California’s $500-Billion Pension Time Bomb,” Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2010, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/06/opinion/la-oe-crane6-2010apr06.

  60 “State & County QuickFacts: California,” U.S. Census Bureau, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html, accessed January 2012.

  61 Jon Bruner, “Is your state a debt disaster?” Forbes.com, January 20, 2010, http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/20/states-debt-pensions-interactive-map.html, accessed February 2012.

  62 See Bruner.

  63 Senate Finance Committee, “State and Local Government Defined Benefit Pension Plans.”

  64 Ibid.

  65 Tax charts are available on the Tax Foundation’s website, http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/9.html, accessed February 2012.

  66 Bureau of Labor Statistics, “State and Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings,” http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMS34000009000000001?data_tool=XGtable, accessed April 2012.

  67 Cristobal Young, Charles Varner and Douglas S. Massey, “Trends in New Jersey Migration: Housing, Employment and Taxation,” Policy Research Institute for the Region, September 2008.

  68 Ibid.

  69 “Statement by Governor Corzine Regarding the Princeton Migration Study,” September 2008, http://www.politickernj.com/governors-press-office/23545/statement-governor-corzine-regarding-princeton-migration-study, accessed May 2012.

  70 The U.S. Treasury Department data cited here were obtained at http://www.mytaxburden.org—the Tax Foundation’s State to State Migration database.

  71 Shannon Muller, �
�Leaving New Jersey,” Asbury Park Press, October 2, 2009, http://www.app.com/article/20091002/NEWS/310020001/Leaving-New-Jersey, accessed February 2012.

  72 See “Domestic Net Migration in the United States: 2000 to 2004,” table 2, U.S. Census Bureau, April 2006; and “Cumulative Estimates of the Components of Resident Population Change for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009,” U.S. Census Bureau, December 2009.

  73 “Estimates of the Components of Resident Population Change for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2009.”

  74 Joel Kotkin, “The Golden State’s War on Itself,” City Journal (Manhattan Institute), Summer 2010, http://www.city-journal.org/2010/20_3_california-economy.html, accessed February 2012.

  75 See Joseph Vranich’s six-part entry for December 6, 2010, at Business Relocatiun Coach, beginning at http://thebusinessrelocationcoach.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html; “California Business Exodus Now Triple Last Year’s Rate,” Fox & Hounds Daily, September 21, 2010, http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2010/09/7861-california-business-exodus-now-triple-last-years-rate/, accessed February 2012.

  76 “State to State Migration Data,” Tax Foundation, http://interactive.taxfoundation.org/migration/, accessed February 2012.

  77 The calculations were made by considering “net migration” for California and North Carolina for the period 1999 to 2009, using the Tax Foundation’s State to State Migration calculator, http://interactive.taxfoundation.org/migration/.

  78 Laura Ingraham, “The Public Employee Union War against the States,” Laura Ingraham’s Notes, Facebook, January 4, 2011, http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=482319946394&id=271042954725, accessed January 2012.

  79 Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, You Know I’m Right: More Prosperity, Less Government (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010), p. 69.

  Chapter 7. Corruption and Conspiracy

  1 Joseph A. Loftus, “Meany is Shocked by Racket’s Scope,” New York Times, November 2, 1957, p. 1.