Comments on: Unions Continue To Control The California Democratic Party http://www.policyreport.net/2009/07/unions-continue-to-control-the-california-democratic-party/ California Public Policy Debate and Analysis Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:42:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Adam Haverstock http://www.policyreport.net/2009/07/unions-continue-to-control-the-california-democratic-party/comment-page-1/#comment-276 Adam Haverstock Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:58:04 +0000 http://www.policyreport.net/?p=3426#comment-276 If Unions were merely an "influence" upon the majority party in California and the business lobby was so powerful by comparison then California would not have the 6th highest business tax burden and be losing 8,000 businesses to Nevada, Texas and Mexico each each year. The proof is in the pudding. Union members enjoy the most lavish benefits packages known to man (CTA members make 35% more than the national average for teachers, for example) while jobs continue to be lost in California even when we have a good economy. That is quite more than influence by any fair measure. If Unions only "influence" the process, Karen Bass wouldn't be abandoning ship from budget negotiations to avoid having to break her campaign promises to Union leaders. The truth is Unions control the California Democratic Party, forcing them to make decisions that have devastated the economy. If Unions were merely an “influence” upon the majority party in California and the business lobby was so powerful by comparison then California would not have the 6th highest business tax burden and be losing 8,000 businesses to Nevada, Texas and Mexico each each year.

The proof is in the pudding. Union members enjoy the most lavish benefits packages known to man (CTA members make 35% more than the national average for teachers, for example) while jobs continue to be lost in California even when we have a good economy. That is quite more than influence by any fair measure.

If Unions only “influence” the process, Karen Bass wouldn’t be abandoning ship from budget negotiations to avoid having to break her campaign promises to Union leaders.

The truth is Unions control the California Democratic Party, forcing them to make decisions that have devastated the economy.

]]> By: IgortheGreat http://www.policyreport.net/2009/07/unions-continue-to-control-the-california-democratic-party/comment-page-1/#comment-275 IgortheGreat Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:46:38 +0000 http://www.policyreport.net/?p=3426#comment-275 This article is an intellectual insult! It is akin to walking into a room full of red apples, picking one up, and saying "this apple is red, so THIS apple is bad" and ignoring all the other red apples in the room. To begin with, the term "control" in this article is unfair and only reflects the authors obvious bias. It is unfair becuase it alludes to some sort of nefarious acts on the part of unions. Participating in the political process is a positive thing, it is a good thing that union members walk precincts and phone bank on behalf of candidates. They realize that what happens in government impacts them, just as it impacts all of us, and they choose to be proactive about it. Instead of calling it "control," why not call it influence, a more accurate term without the negative connotation of "control." Which brings me to the authors bias. This article spends a great deal of time discussing SEIU's T-shirt color, but at no time mentions that unions are just one of many groups that assert influence in Sacramento. In fact, a March article in the Sacramento Bee lists the top 10 lobbyist spenders, out of those, business groups spent close to triple that of unions, with an oil industry group topping the list. It was my impression that the mission statement of this blog was the following: "The purpose of The Policy Report is to inject common sense debate and analysis on public policy issues into a world of spin and extreme partisanship..." This article reflects none of that. This article is an intellectual insult!

It is akin to walking into a room full of red apples, picking one up, and saying “this apple is red, so THIS apple is bad” and ignoring all the other red apples in the room.

To begin with, the term “control” in this article is unfair and only reflects the authors obvious bias. It is unfair becuase it alludes to some sort of nefarious acts on the part of unions. Participating in the political process is a positive thing, it is a good thing that union members walk precincts and phone bank on behalf of candidates. They realize that what happens in government impacts them, just as it impacts all of us, and they choose to be proactive about it. Instead of calling it “control,” why not call it influence, a more accurate term without the negative connotation of “control.”

Which brings me to the authors bias. This article spends a great deal of time discussing SEIU’s T-shirt color, but at no time mentions that unions are just one of many groups that assert influence in Sacramento. In fact, a March article in the Sacramento Bee lists the top 10 lobbyist spenders, out of those, business groups spent close to triple that of unions, with an oil industry group topping the list.

It was my impression that the mission statement of this blog was the following: “The purpose of The Policy Report is to inject common sense debate and analysis on public policy issues into a world of spin and extreme partisanship…”

This article reflects none of that.

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