Posted by
Playful Walrus on Thursday, October 14, 2010 2:39:06 PM
Scott Campbell of Laguna Hills
wrote in to the Orange County Register, citing a good reason not to put Jerry Brown back into the role as California Governor.
Jerry Brown signed the 1977 Dills Act (Sections 3512 through 3524 of the Government Code) into law in 1978 and granted collective-bargaining rights to state employees. Since that time, state worker salaries, pension and health care costs have skyrocketed. State workers now enjoy salaries and pension benefits that (conservatively) average 20 to 30 percent higher than private-sector workers, along with Cadillac health care plans.
After 1978, state, county and municipal collective-bargaining units were established throughout California and, indeed, across the entire country. As a consequence, the ranks of government workers have exploded nationwide.
This is one of the biggest problems from Brown's previous time as Governor and one of the main reasons California is in the mess it is in.
Campbell goes on to write:
Government employees, civilian contractors to the government and anyone who gets paid by private sector tax revenue have no right to say, “I pay my taxes, too.” They should not have a voice (or a vote) in matters of public service or elections.
Deny the vote to government employees? I don’t see how that is Constitutional. However, government employees should have a real choice to NOT join a union, and NOT pay dues to a union that turns around and spend that money on political causes the employee does not support.
I do think it would be interesting if votes were weighted according to income taxes paid, with everyone getting at least some vote. But I imagine the "soak the rich" crowd would be more hesitant to raise income tax rates for “the rich” if it meant the rich would get more a vote as result.
I think is a better way is to decrease the reliance on income taxes and flatten the income tax rates.
Previously:
Funding Government