Public sector unions dominate our government

We allowed unions to dominate the public sector, and now they're the most powerful force in government.

When the movement among public-sector workers to unionize began gathering momentum in the 1950s, some critics, including private-sector labor leaders such as George Meany, observed that government is a monopoly not subject to the discipline of the marketplace. Allowing these workers -- many already protected by civil-service law -- to organize and bargain collectively might ultimately give them the power to hold politicians and taxpayers hostage.

But we let them do it anyway because we're stupid and self-destructive. And this is how it's worked out for us:

A study in 2005 by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute estimated that the average public-sector worker earned 46% more in salary and benefits than comparable private-sector workers. The gap has only continued to grow. For example, state and local worker pay and benefits rose 3.1% in the last year, compared to 1.9% in the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The people producing the wealth in the private sector that makes America run are paying public workers who don't product wealth far more than they make. That's insane. And this is the result:

But the real power of the public sector is showing through in this economic crisis. Some five million private-sector workers have lost their jobs in the last year alone, and their unemployment rate is above 9% according to the BLS. By contrast, public-sector employment has grown in virtually every month of the recession, and the jobless rate for government workers is a mere 2.8%. For anyone who thinks such low unemployment numbers are good news, remember that the bulging public sector must be paid for with revenues that most governments don't currently have. This is one reason for a spate of state and local tax increases, such as $5 billion in tax increases New York state passed in April, and $12 billion in tax increases California's legislature agreed to in February that will only become law if voters pass a series of ballot initiatives next week.
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In the private sector such efforts will still be subject to the demands of the marketplace. Employers who are too generous with pay and benefits will be punished. In the public sector, however, more union members means more voters. And more voters means more dollars for political campaigns to elect sympathetic politicians who will enact higher taxes to foot the bill for the upward arc of government spending on workers. That will be the pattern for the indefinite future unless taxpayers find a way to roll back the enormous power public workers have acquired.

It's a pleasant fantasy to think that you vote once every 2 or 4 years, and the person you vote for goes to city hall or the state capital or Washington and works on your behalf. But living in that fantasy world where we surrender all our power to the aristocrats from both parties is about to bring our country down around our ears. Those aristocrats work for the benefit of themselves and their families like everybody else, not you and I. We can't afford that lazy fantasy anymore. Stop the madness. Vote third party.