At issue on this Washington ballot is how government is to respond when it is spending more money than it takes in. The answer may help tell the rest of us whether our future is to be government of the public employee, by the public employee and for the public employee."
- William McGurn, WSJ
Have you heard the phrase, "FOLLOW THE MONEY"?
Finding out where the money is coming from and where it's going can give a person the truest sense of what's really going on.
With I-1098, the money here is VERY important. The Wall Street Journal has a great piece by William McGurn today about how Unions are (by far) the largest supporters of the "Vote Yes" campaign for 1098.
Just a few great snippets from McGurn:
"Far from a civil war among the rich, the push for I-1098 is being led and financed by unions. In a day when organized labor claims more members in government than in the private sector, it's not surprising to learn that public-employee unions are front and center. Their leadership raises a question asked by beleaguered taxpayers across America: Do state budgets exist to serve their citizens or their government employees?"
"Of the roughly $6.2 million raised by the lead group urging a "yes" on 1098, $4.1 million comes from unions. The largest chunk of this money comes from two unions and their local affiliates: the Service Employees International Union and the National Education Association (the teachers union)."
"In a recent article for the Seattle Times, one local businessman pointed out that 60% of the state budget is untouchable because it relates to salaries and benefits for public employees that are governed by union contracts. At a time when the government is facing shortfalls totalling $4.5 billion, he says that the government unions 'have more control over our state budget than we the people have.'"
Doesn't it make sense the Unions are all over 1098? The livelihood of their outlandish health care benefits and retirement packages are all based on a tax structure that can keep up with their demands. And who is responsible for the bill? Private sector taxpayers who fund these benefits while getting by with their more market-driven benefit plans.
Do you see a trend here? The Unions have P-O-W-E-R...more than you or I realize.
Just today, Boeing announced increases in 2011 health care contributions for their non-union employees. The unions, however, are untouched because they are bound by union contracts. And you can bet the unions will put up a huge fight when negotiations begin and an increase in personal benefit contributions are at the table (can you say strike?).
Yes, Bill Gates is out there saying 1098 is such a good thing (and in my opinion he can go ahead and write a bigger check to the government out of the goodness of his heart if he so chooses), but the real backers of 1098 are Unions who refuse to accept a contraction in their way of life.
But where does that leave you and I?
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