California’s State and Local Government Spending Nearly $400 Billion per Year

Why Did the California State GOP Accept Donations from Public Sector Unions?

As reported in the Sacramento Bee on Sept. 26 “Teachers union, SEIU open wallets to California Republican Party,” in recent weeks the California Teachers Association donated the California GOP $15,000, the SEIU Local 1000 donated $10,000, and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association donated another $25,000. Representatives of all three of these powerful public sector...

By Edward Ring

The Average Orange County Firefighter’s Total Compensation is $234,000 per Year

Most fire fighters do not get Social Security, so they completely count on the pensions they have contributed to, been promised and earned over a career. Take their pensions away or cut their pensions and you have fire fighters who risked their lives over a career to save others living in destitution, on public assistance,...

By Edward Ring

Reports on Public Insolvency Incomplete Without Employee Compensation Data

On Sept. 23rd the New York Times published an in-depth report on how the cost of public employee pensions is causing budget challenges in San Jose, California. Entitled “Struggling, San Jose Tests a Way to Cut Benefits,” this article ran over 1,500 words and was filled with examples of city workers who are struggling financially....

By Edward Ring

Orange County Pensions At Risk – Unions Just Call Critics “Extremists”

“Just as the overseer of Detroit lied to the public about Detroit’s unfunded pension liability, these extremists are likewise lying to the taxpayers of Orange County, and they’re following his playbook.” – Jennifer Muir, Communications Director, Orange County Employees Association We’re not lying, Jennifer. We’re not even stretching the truth. What government union spokesperson Muir...

By Edward Ring

How Should Technological Advances Affect the Role of Government?

“Robots will steal your job, but that’s ok.” Federico Pistono Anyone who has recently driven through Mountain View, in the heart of Silicon Valley, is likely to have had the memorable experience of sharing the road with a car that has nobody inside. Google’s “autonomous cars” are being tested there, and apparently they drive better...

By Edward Ring

Union Activists Disrupt Right-to-Work Forum in Washington

Last week we reported on new efforts underway in the northwest to implement right-to-work laws. In particular, we reported on a public sector right-to-work initiative proposed for the November 2014 Oregon state ballot, “Oregon ‘Public Employee Choice Act’ Aims for 2014 Ballot.” These efforts will trigger a union funded backlash that will intensify in direct...

By Edward Ring

Oregon “Public Employee Choice Act” Aims for 2014 Ballot

An initiative that will permit public employees to not only opt-out of paying full membership fees, but actually allow them to opt-out of paying anything whatsoever to unions has been filed in Oregon. While public sector union membership is supposedly voluntary in most states that permit unionization of their public servants, the unions nearly always...

By Edward Ring

Are Annual Contributions Into Orange County's Employee Pension Plan Adequate?

By Ed Ring, August 30, 2013 Summary: During 2012 the Orange County Employee Retirement System, OCERS, collected $628 million from employees and employers to invest in their pension fund. Of this $628 million, $410 million was the so-called “normal contribution,” which was a payment to cover the present value of future pensions earned during 2012...

By Edward Ring

Saving Pensions Will Require Unions To Face Reality

“Not surprisingly, within moments of news of Detroit’s bankruptcy, pension scare mongers took to their pedestals to place all the blame on pensions. California, Los Angeles, and other governments would surely follow Detroit’s footsteps in short order, they cried. It’s simply not true, like most of the claims made by the anti-pension soldiers who have...

By Edward Ring

State Pension Litigation Update

By Joe Luppino-Esposito, August 9, 2013 About the Author: Joe Luppino-Esposito is an editor and author at State Budget Solutions, focusing on public employee pensions, labor law, and state budget reforms. Prior to joining SBS, Joe was a researcher at the Center for Union Facts, and previously served as a Visiting Legal Fellow at the Heritage...

By Edward Ring

Social Security is Healthy Compared to Public Sector Pensions

Last week yet another missive on the lessons to be learned from Detroit’s bankruptcy was published, this time in Forbes Magazine by Jeffrey Dorfman, an economist at the University of Georgia. Dorfman’s article, “Detroit’s Bankruptcy Should Be A Warning To Every Worker Expecting A Pension, Or Social Security,” clearly implies that future Social Security benefits...

By Edward Ring

A Method to Estimate the Pension Contribution and Pension Liability for Your City or County

July 24, 2013 Summary: With last week’s announcement that Detroit has declared bankruptcy, many wonder how their city, county, school district, or other government organization is doing. Citizens want their elected officials to behave responsibly so that what happened to Detroit won’t happen to them. But elected officials are not always cooperative when it comes...

By Edward Ring

Exponential Technological Advances and the Role of Unions

“Robots will steal your job, but that’s ok.” Federico Pistono Anyone who has recently driven through Mountain View, in the heart of Silicon Valley, is likely to have had the memorable experience of sharing the road with a car that has nobody inside. Google’s “autonomous cars” are being tested there, and apparently they drive better...

By Edward Ring