Don’t believe the hype: Janus ruling will help public employee union members – and unions
Don’t believe the hype: Janus ruling will help public employee union members – and unions
Sacramento The rhetoric from union organizers has been expectedly overheated regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s coming review of the Janus v. AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) case that challenges mandatory dues payments to public-sector unions. Court watchers from the left and right expect the conservative-leaning majority to toss out the practice...
By Steven Greenhut
Janus case: Friends of the court offer weak defense of mandatory union dues
Janus case: Friends of the court offer weak defense of mandatory union dues
Sacramento The nation’s public-sector unions have all but thrown in the towel on the notion of mandatory dues, yet various legal theorists and organizations have submitted briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court defending the right of unions to arm-twist dues from those who don’t agree with the union’s agenda. After reading their arguments, it’s clear...
By Steven Greenhut
On the chopping block: Gov. Brown joins the chorus of those predicting coming pension cuts
On the chopping block: Gov. Brown joins the chorus of those predicting coming pension cuts
Sacramento Lo and behold, it’s not just pension reformers and critics of the state’s massive pension funds who are worried about the sustainability of California’s pension systems. At a press conference announcing his proposed budget last week, Gov. Jerry Brown made some astounding comments. “When the next recession comes around,” he said, “the (next) governor...
By Steven Greenhut
Bill to unionize Capitol staffers is ridiculous, but cynics might find a bright side
Bill to unionize Capitol staffers is ridiculous, but cynics might find a bright side
Sacramento If you believe that mandatory unionization is a solution to almost every state problem rather than the prime cause of California governmental dysfunction, then you’ll love an idea that one of the Legislature’s most union-friendly lawmakers is touting. “I will be introducing a bill this year to allow our legislative staff to unionize,” wrote...
By Steven Greenhut
In New Year, court could usher in dramatic reform on California’s pension front
In New Year, court could usher in dramatic reform on California’s pension front
Sacramento When it comes to California’s underfunded pension system and to its root cause – the excess power of public-employee unions – we’ve gotten used to the same old story every year. The pension funds go deeper into debt, public services are cut and taxes are raised to make up for past shortfalls. Reformers stand...
By Steven Greenhut
City services slashed to fund pensions, and now your taxes are going up, too!
City services slashed to fund pensions, and now your taxes are going up, too!
Sacramento In the coming months and years, California voters can expect to see a variety of tax increases pop up on their local election ballots. They will be called “public safety” taxes to hire more police or firefighters or “parks” or “library” taxes to pay for those popular public services. But don’t be fooled. Any...
By Steven Greenhut
CalPERS’ social investing comes at steep cost paid for by California taxpayers
CalPERS’ social investing comes at steep cost paid for by California taxpayers
Sacramento The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the nation’s largest state pension fund, claims that making investments based on myriad social priorities is good for business, even though a newly released report found that such investments are some of its poorest stock performers and are increasing the public’s risk in the vastly underfunded system. CalPERS...
By Steven Greenhut
Unions rigged the rules, but can do little more than brace for end of mandatory union dues
Unions rigged the rules, but can do little more than brace for end of mandatory union dues
Sacramento Virtually everyone enjoys the prospect of watching the class bully, who has spent ages tormenting the weak and powerless, get a justified comeuppance. It’s particularly entertaining when the tough guy cries about the unfairness of it all when the tables finally are turned – and there’s nothing he can do about the well-deserved retribution....
By Steven Greenhut
CalPERS is shocked – just shocked – to find cities reeling under the burden of growing pension debt
CalPERS is shocked – just shocked – to find cities reeling under the burden of growing pension debt
Sacramento The California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s union defenders feign shock whenever pension reformers accuse it of “kicking the can down the road” in dealing with the state’s mounting pension debt. It’s like the scene from Casablanca, when Captain Louis Renault is absolutely shocked to find gambling going on in a gambling house. CalPERS is...
By Steven Greenhut
LA Unified can’t top its high-performing charter schools, so it’s tormenting them to death with bureaucratic rules
LA Unified can’t top its high-performing charter schools, so it’s tormenting them to death with bureaucratic rules
Sacramento – The Los Angeles Unified School District and some of the nation’s highest-performing charter schools are engaged in what one report has called a “game of chicken” – with the fate of 14 of these schools and their nearly 4,600 students hanging the balance. But that suggests this is about two parties engaged in...
By Steven Greenhut
In good times and in bad, California’s pension fund managers win fat bonuses
In good times and in bad, California’s pension fund managers win fat bonuses
Sacramento — California’s top pension funds have suffered through a few cycles of bleak investment returns and plummeting funding ratios, so we can’t blame them for wanting to celebrate after what was, relatively speaking, a stellar financial year. But the manner in which they chose to celebrate was shocking. The funds gave their top officials...
By Steven Greenhut
Napa fires highlight huge disparities between wealthy firefighters and ‘slave laborers’
Napa fires highlight huge disparities between wealthy firefighters and ‘slave laborers’
Sacramento As Napa’s deadly wildfires have subsided, newspapers and politicians are asking an interesting question in an indelicate way. How come the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, relies so heavily on thousands of prison inmates to battle the blazes alongside well-paid professional firefighters? Many observers have even used the term...
By Steven Greenhut
Improper state activities pale in comparison to some of the ‘proper’ ones
Improper state activities pale in comparison to some of the ‘proper’ ones
Sacramento — After reading through the recently completed state audit of “improper activities by state agencies and employees,” one might wrongly conclude that California’s massive bureaucracy of 131,000-plus employees is a well-oiled machine. After all, if this is all they could find, then the problems in state government must not go very deep. The California...
By Steven Greenhut
Forget the scary pension future; study confirms the crisis is hitting now
Forget the scary pension future; study confirms the crisis is hitting now
Sacramento — Debates about California’s pension crisis almost always focus on the big numbers – the hundreds of billions of dollars (and, by some estimates, more than $1 trillion) in unfunded liabilities that plague the public-pension funds. For instance, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System is only 68 percent funded – meaning it only has...
By Steven Greenhut