As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, it’s worthwhile to read this column by California’s best political journalist, Dan Weintruab, and reflect on the grave danger posed by public employees unions to our way of life as a free, republican people.
“Government organized as a special interest” – this remains the best characterization of public employees unions I have ever heard. They overriding purpose is to elect and control politicians who will use the power of compulsory taxation to transfer wealth from taxpayers to tax-eaters, e.g. government employees. That’s it – their bottom line.
Here in Orange County, the county firefighters union is probably the worst example of this legal banditry. Convinced that they aren’t getting enough of the taxpayers money (what government employee union doesn’t think that?), they are trying to qualify an initiative that will direct a bigger share of the county’s Prop. 172 money into firefighters’ pockets – which has provoked an amusing skirmish with their brother unionists, the sheriff’s deputies union. The latter think the current division of taxpayer spoils is just fine, and don’t want to part with any of their loot. It’s like watching hogs jostling at the trough.
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