Kasich dares to state the obvious
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
Given that Chris Redfern chairs the Ohio Democratic Party it is no small wonder that Republicans cleaned his clock in November.
If he had a hat Nov. 3, it was most likely in his hand.
Seriously, Chairman Redfern must have gone to the Howard Dean School of Partisan Politics. Yeaahhh-Ahhhhhhh.
So, when Ohio Gov.-elect John Kasich had the brass … er, tacks to accurately say what every politician in Columbus already knows but refuses to acknowledge – specifically that Ohio’s collective bargaining law is bankrupting communities across the state – who else but Redfern rushes to the defense of the public employees’ unions.
In one of his numerous mass media e-mailings, Redfern told The Highland County Press this week: “By attacking collective bargaining, Kasich wants to
turn back the clock 25 years on working people in Ohio. His plans are devastating to the hard-working men and women who teach our children, keep us safe and provide other vital services to our communities throughout the state. John Kasich of all people should understand the consequences of his anti-working families agenda, since he grew up as the son of a public sector union member who benefited from collective bargaining.”
OK. Mr. Redfern. Let me offer a question or several.
• What about the hard-working men and women in Ohio who do not benefit from, yet are compelled to pay, the taxes to support the public-sector workers, their pensions and their unions?
• Is it possible that Gov.-elect Kasich understands the problem better than some precisely because he is (if you are correct) the son of a public-sector union worker?
• What about the Bureau of Labor Statistics data that show huge – and growing – disparities between public- and private-sector salaries, wages and benefits, not only here in Ohio, but across the nation?
• What about a state, such as Ohio, that’s been hard-hit by the current recession (referred to ad nauseam as “these tough economic times”), with an $8 billion deficit and no reasonable means to increase its revenues?
• Just curious, Chris, but have you ever considered making $8 billion in cuts in state spending (to balance the budget) and, if so, where? Given that roughly 75 or 80 cents of most public-sector dollars are tied up in salaries, wages and benefits, including many public pensions that pay far more that most working Ohioans earn while actually WORKING, what, pray tell, would you cut to balance the state budget?
These are five easy questions. Answer them – even somewhat satisfactorily – and I’ve got five more for you. And before you tag me with the all-too-convenient “right-wing radical” label, you might want to know that The Highland County Press made four endorsements for the Nov. 2 midterm elections. Our preferred candidates were 2-2. I’ll let you guess which political party won and which lost.
With that minor bit of housekeeping out of the way, let’s look at the next governor’s modest proposal and what it could mean for Ohio taxpayers.
Much like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio’s next governor realizes that he’s walking into a serious budget deficit. John Kasich also realizes, as do many in the General Assembly, where cuts can and should be made.
George Voinovich, Bob Taft and Ted Strickland knew this, too. But not one of them had the brass to come out and say it.
In Christie’s Garden State, the Newark-based Star-Ledger commended the governor’s efforts to rein in spending, specifically through reforms in binding arbitration.
“Arbitration has played a major role in creating the mess we’re in today,” the newspaper said. “It has allowed (many public workers) to retire in their 40s and collect pension checks for decades. ...It has awarded reality-defying raises at a time when taxpayers are losing their jobs and their homes, and facing pay freezes and furloughs.”
Obviously, it remains to be seen if Kasich (and the General Assembly) will follow through on reforming Ohio’s collective bargaining rules.
Let’s look at what Kasich said – and didn’t say. If media reports are accurate (there’s a crap shoot), the new governor simply said: “If (public workers) want to strike, they should be fired. I really don’t favor the right to strike by any public employee. They’ve got good jobs; they’ve got high pay; they get good benefits; a great retirement. What are they striking for?”
This was reported in The Plain Dealer, one of Cleveland’s better contributions to the Buckeye State.
At no point did Kasich say to cut the salary, wages and benefits of the public-sector employees, who, on average, already receive 35-percent higher wages and 69-percent higher benefits than their private-sector counterparts.
Kasich’s primary issue with collective bargaining is the union’s demand for binding arbitration.
Binding arbitration rules used to decide public-sector union labor contracts are expensive. And, he says, they are bankrupting local governments.
He’s right.
“Let the people vote on it,” Kasich told The Plain Dealer. “We’ll come up with a series of changes, but binding arbitration is not acceptable…You are forcing increased taxes on taxpayers with them having no say.”
New Jersey lawmakers (a Democratic majority) worked with Gov. Christie to enact a cap of 2 percent on any contract negotiations that go to arbitration. The cap will be from 2011-14.
Public-sector employees will insist that binding arbitration is fair because, they say, an impartial third party will hear both sides and make a reasonable decision. Reasonable for whom?
More often than not, the arbitrator hears from an expensive hired gun from the unions and from a less-equipped representative of the elected or appointed administrative body. At no point does the arbitrator hear from you, the taxpayer, the levy payer or the tuition payer. Your representation in all of these negotiations is minimal, at best. Your cost, however, is significant.
In many instances, local city council members, school board members, college trustees, etc., also work other jobs. These public servants are, for the most part, contributing their time and energy. The hired guns – on either side – aren’t.
If John Kasich accomplishes nothing else in four years as Ohio governor other than to put an end to Dick Celeste’s collective bargaining legislation of the 1980s, he will have saved the state and its 88 counties millions.
It’s encouraging that he’s got the brass to discuss the issue. It will be even more so if he can convince the 2011 Ohio Legislature (that’s you, Cliff Rosenberger, Dave Daniels, John Carey, et al.) to pass a bill to end the costly legislation.
If not, let’s put the issue to a vote of all Ohioans. At least, that way, we’ll have some say in the matter before having our taxes confiscated.
As newspapers are reporting nationwide, the public salaries of government jobs are outpacing those in the private sector in nearly all professions – and collective bargaining is a primary reason.
Hey, Chris. Here’s another question. Please explain to the average Ohio taxpayer why it is fair and proper for a public employee to retire in his or her 50s, with an annual public-financed pension of more than $100,000, which, by most accounts, translates into a $3 million or more retirement – far more than the average Ohio private-sector taxpayers earns in his or her lifetime.
And, while you’re at it, please explain why it is fair and reasonable that that former public employee and his or her $3 million retirement at age 50-something can return to the public feeding trough and receive another $100,000 or so a year in additional income.
Moreover, and just for kicks, please explain your party’s thought on the $28,000 cap on annual Social Security “benefits” and how all government budgets, nationwide, would be affected if all public-sector pensions were capped at $28,000.
(By the way, I thought you guys were supposed to be champions of the working poor, not the rich elitists.)
The last time I checked, which was five years ago, the per capita income for Highland County was $24,270, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Families Services. What do you suppose the per capita income is today in Highland County, in Ohio, and in the United States for public employees?
Of course, if you answered “a helluva lot more than $24,270,” you can move to the head of the class.
Don’t go away. I still have more questions for you.
Since you are such a big fan of collective bargaining – which influences public-sector salaries, pensions, medical insurance and so forth – what do you think is a reasonable return on investment for Ohio taxpayers?
Do you think it’s reasonable for academic administrators, et al., to receive six-figure yearly salaries plus multi-million-dollar pensions and double-dipping “privileges?”
On the lower end of the spectrum, do you think it’s reasonable for a public employee to charge taxpayers for 14 hours of overtime in a single day in which the public employee actually worked less than seven hours? As the teachers say on their tests: If so, please explain.
I would – and could – go on. But you suffered enough on Nov. 2.
Good luck, Gov. Kasich. Stick to your guns.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.
Given that Chris Redfern chairs the Ohio Democratic Party it is no small wonder that Republicans cleaned his clock in November.
If he had a hat Nov. 3, it was most likely in his hand.
Seriously, Chairman Redfern must have gone to the Howard Dean School of Partisan Politics. Yeaahhh-Ahhhhhhh.
So, when Ohio Gov.-elect John Kasich had the brass … er, tacks to accurately say what every politician in Columbus already knows but refuses to acknowledge – specifically that Ohio’s collective bargaining law is bankrupting communities across the state – who else but Redfern rushes to the defense of the public employees’ unions.
In one of his numerous mass media e-mailings, Redfern told The Highland County Press this week: “By attacking collective bargaining, Kasich wants to
turn back the clock 25 years on working people in Ohio. His plans are devastating to the hard-working men and women who teach our children, keep us safe and provide other vital services to our communities throughout the state. John Kasich of all people should understand the consequences of his anti-working families agenda, since he grew up as the son of a public sector union member who benefited from collective bargaining.”
OK. Mr. Redfern. Let me offer a question or several.
• What about the hard-working men and women in Ohio who do not benefit from, yet are compelled to pay, the taxes to support the public-sector workers, their pensions and their unions?
• Is it possible that Gov.-elect Kasich understands the problem better than some precisely because he is (if you are correct) the son of a public-sector union worker?
• What about the Bureau of Labor Statistics data that show huge – and growing – disparities between public- and private-sector salaries, wages and benefits, not only here in Ohio, but across the nation?
• What about a state, such as Ohio, that’s been hard-hit by the current recession (referred to ad nauseam as “these tough economic times”), with an $8 billion deficit and no reasonable means to increase its revenues?
• Just curious, Chris, but have you ever considered making $8 billion in cuts in state spending (to balance the budget) and, if so, where? Given that roughly 75 or 80 cents of most public-sector dollars are tied up in salaries, wages and benefits, including many public pensions that pay far more that most working Ohioans earn while actually WORKING, what, pray tell, would you cut to balance the state budget?
These are five easy questions. Answer them – even somewhat satisfactorily – and I’ve got five more for you. And before you tag me with the all-too-convenient “right-wing radical” label, you might want to know that The Highland County Press made four endorsements for the Nov. 2 midterm elections. Our preferred candidates were 2-2. I’ll let you guess which political party won and which lost.
With that minor bit of housekeeping out of the way, let’s look at the next governor’s modest proposal and what it could mean for Ohio taxpayers.
Much like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio’s next governor realizes that he’s walking into a serious budget deficit. John Kasich also realizes, as do many in the General Assembly, where cuts can and should be made.
George Voinovich, Bob Taft and Ted Strickland knew this, too. But not one of them had the brass to come out and say it.
In Christie’s Garden State, the Newark-based Star-Ledger commended the governor’s efforts to rein in spending, specifically through reforms in binding arbitration.
“Arbitration has played a major role in creating the mess we’re in today,” the newspaper said. “It has allowed (many public workers) to retire in their 40s and collect pension checks for decades. ...It has awarded reality-defying raises at a time when taxpayers are losing their jobs and their homes, and facing pay freezes and furloughs.”
Obviously, it remains to be seen if Kasich (and the General Assembly) will follow through on reforming Ohio’s collective bargaining rules.
Let’s look at what Kasich said – and didn’t say. If media reports are accurate (there’s a crap shoot), the new governor simply said: “If (public workers) want to strike, they should be fired. I really don’t favor the right to strike by any public employee. They’ve got good jobs; they’ve got high pay; they get good benefits; a great retirement. What are they striking for?”
This was reported in The Plain Dealer, one of Cleveland’s better contributions to the Buckeye State.
At no point did Kasich say to cut the salary, wages and benefits of the public-sector employees, who, on average, already receive 35-percent higher wages and 69-percent higher benefits than their private-sector counterparts.
Kasich’s primary issue with collective bargaining is the union’s demand for binding arbitration.
Binding arbitration rules used to decide public-sector union labor contracts are expensive. And, he says, they are bankrupting local governments.
He’s right.
“Let the people vote on it,” Kasich told The Plain Dealer. “We’ll come up with a series of changes, but binding arbitration is not acceptable…You are forcing increased taxes on taxpayers with them having no say.”
New Jersey lawmakers (a Democratic majority) worked with Gov. Christie to enact a cap of 2 percent on any contract negotiations that go to arbitration. The cap will be from 2011-14.
Public-sector employees will insist that binding arbitration is fair because, they say, an impartial third party will hear both sides and make a reasonable decision. Reasonable for whom?
More often than not, the arbitrator hears from an expensive hired gun from the unions and from a less-equipped representative of the elected or appointed administrative body. At no point does the arbitrator hear from you, the taxpayer, the levy payer or the tuition payer. Your representation in all of these negotiations is minimal, at best. Your cost, however, is significant.
In many instances, local city council members, school board members, college trustees, etc., also work other jobs. These public servants are, for the most part, contributing their time and energy. The hired guns – on either side – aren’t.
If John Kasich accomplishes nothing else in four years as Ohio governor other than to put an end to Dick Celeste’s collective bargaining legislation of the 1980s, he will have saved the state and its 88 counties millions.
It’s encouraging that he’s got the brass to discuss the issue. It will be even more so if he can convince the 2011 Ohio Legislature (that’s you, Cliff Rosenberger, Dave Daniels, John Carey, et al.) to pass a bill to end the costly legislation.
If not, let’s put the issue to a vote of all Ohioans. At least, that way, we’ll have some say in the matter before having our taxes confiscated.
As newspapers are reporting nationwide, the public salaries of government jobs are outpacing those in the private sector in nearly all professions – and collective bargaining is a primary reason.
Hey, Chris. Here’s another question. Please explain to the average Ohio taxpayer why it is fair and proper for a public employee to retire in his or her 50s, with an annual public-financed pension of more than $100,000, which, by most accounts, translates into a $3 million or more retirement – far more than the average Ohio private-sector taxpayers earns in his or her lifetime.
And, while you’re at it, please explain why it is fair and reasonable that that former public employee and his or her $3 million retirement at age 50-something can return to the public feeding trough and receive another $100,000 or so a year in additional income.
Moreover, and just for kicks, please explain your party’s thought on the $28,000 cap on annual Social Security “benefits” and how all government budgets, nationwide, would be affected if all public-sector pensions were capped at $28,000.
(By the way, I thought you guys were supposed to be champions of the working poor, not the rich elitists.)
The last time I checked, which was five years ago, the per capita income for Highland County was $24,270, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Families Services. What do you suppose the per capita income is today in Highland County, in Ohio, and in the United States for public employees?
Of course, if you answered “a helluva lot more than $24,270,” you can move to the head of the class.
Don’t go away. I still have more questions for you.
Since you are such a big fan of collective bargaining – which influences public-sector salaries, pensions, medical insurance and so forth – what do you think is a reasonable return on investment for Ohio taxpayers?
Do you think it’s reasonable for academic administrators, et al., to receive six-figure yearly salaries plus multi-million-dollar pensions and double-dipping “privileges?”
On the lower end of the spectrum, do you think it’s reasonable for a public employee to charge taxpayers for 14 hours of overtime in a single day in which the public employee actually worked less than seven hours? As the teachers say on their tests: If so, please explain.
I would – and could – go on. But you suffered enough on Nov. 2.
Good luck, Gov. Kasich. Stick to your guns.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
If he had a hat Nov. 3, it was most likely in his hand.
Seriously, Chairman Redfern must have gone to the Howard Dean School of Partisan Politics. Yeaahhh-Ahhhhhhh.
So, when Ohio Gov.-elect John Kasich had the brass … er, tacks to accurately say what every politician in Columbus already knows but refuses to acknowledge – specifically that Ohio’s collective bargaining law is bankrupting communities across the state – who else but Redfern rushes to the defense of the public employees’ unions.
In one of his numerous mass media e-mailings, Redfern told The Highland County Press this week: “By attacking collective bargaining, Kasich wants to
turn back the clock 25 years on working people in Ohio. His plans are devastating to the hard-working men and women who teach our children, keep us safe and provide other vital services to our communities throughout the state. John Kasich of all people should understand the consequences of his anti-working families agenda, since he grew up as the son of a public sector union member who benefited from collective bargaining.”
OK. Mr. Redfern. Let me offer a question or several.
• What about the hard-working men and women in Ohio who do not benefit from, yet are compelled to pay, the taxes to support the public-sector workers, their pensions and their unions?
• Is it possible that Gov.-elect Kasich understands the problem better than some precisely because he is (if you are correct) the son of a public-sector union worker?
• What about the Bureau of Labor Statistics data that show huge – and growing – disparities between public- and private-sector salaries, wages and benefits, not only here in Ohio, but across the nation?
• What about a state, such as Ohio, that’s been hard-hit by the current recession (referred to ad nauseam as “these tough economic times”), with an $8 billion deficit and no reasonable means to increase its revenues?
• Just curious, Chris, but have you ever considered making $8 billion in cuts in state spending (to balance the budget) and, if so, where? Given that roughly 75 or 80 cents of most public-sector dollars are tied up in salaries, wages and benefits, including many public pensions that pay far more that most working Ohioans earn while actually WORKING, what, pray tell, would you cut to balance the state budget?
These are five easy questions. Answer them – even somewhat satisfactorily – and I’ve got five more for you. And before you tag me with the all-too-convenient “right-wing radical” label, you might want to know that The Highland County Press made four endorsements for the Nov. 2 midterm elections. Our preferred candidates were 2-2. I’ll let you guess which political party won and which lost.
With that minor bit of housekeeping out of the way, let’s look at the next governor’s modest proposal and what it could mean for Ohio taxpayers.
Much like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio’s next governor realizes that he’s walking into a serious budget deficit. John Kasich also realizes, as do many in the General Assembly, where cuts can and should be made.
George Voinovich, Bob Taft and Ted Strickland knew this, too. But not one of them had the brass to come out and say it.
In Christie’s Garden State, the Newark-based Star-Ledger commended the governor’s efforts to rein in spending, specifically through reforms in binding arbitration.
“Arbitration has played a major role in creating the mess we’re in today,” the newspaper said. “It has allowed (many public workers) to retire in their 40s and collect pension checks for decades. ...It has awarded reality-defying raises at a time when taxpayers are losing their jobs and their homes, and facing pay freezes and furloughs.”
Obviously, it remains to be seen if Kasich (and the General Assembly) will follow through on reforming Ohio’s collective bargaining rules.
Let’s look at what Kasich said – and didn’t say. If media reports are accurate (there’s a crap shoot), the new governor simply said: “If (public workers) want to strike, they should be fired. I really don’t favor the right to strike by any public employee. They’ve got good jobs; they’ve got high pay; they get good benefits; a great retirement. What are they striking for?”
This was reported in The Plain Dealer, one of Cleveland’s better contributions to the Buckeye State.
At no point did Kasich say to cut the salary, wages and benefits of the public-sector employees, who, on average, already receive 35-percent higher wages and 69-percent higher benefits than their private-sector counterparts.
Kasich’s primary issue with collective bargaining is the union’s demand for binding arbitration.
Binding arbitration rules used to decide public-sector union labor contracts are expensive. And, he says, they are bankrupting local governments.
He’s right.
“Let the people vote on it,” Kasich told The Plain Dealer. “We’ll come up with a series of changes, but binding arbitration is not acceptable…You are forcing increased taxes on taxpayers with them having no say.”
New Jersey lawmakers (a Democratic majority) worked with Gov. Christie to enact a cap of 2 percent on any contract negotiations that go to arbitration. The cap will be from 2011-14.
Public-sector employees will insist that binding arbitration is fair because, they say, an impartial third party will hear both sides and make a reasonable decision. Reasonable for whom?
More often than not, the arbitrator hears from an expensive hired gun from the unions and from a less-equipped representative of the elected or appointed administrative body. At no point does the arbitrator hear from you, the taxpayer, the levy payer or the tuition payer. Your representation in all of these negotiations is minimal, at best. Your cost, however, is significant.
In many instances, local city council members, school board members, college trustees, etc., also work other jobs. These public servants are, for the most part, contributing their time and energy. The hired guns – on either side – aren’t.
If John Kasich accomplishes nothing else in four years as Ohio governor other than to put an end to Dick Celeste’s collective bargaining legislation of the 1980s, he will have saved the state and its 88 counties millions.
It’s encouraging that he’s got the brass to discuss the issue. It will be even more so if he can convince the 2011 Ohio Legislature (that’s you, Cliff Rosenberger, Dave Daniels, John Carey, et al.) to pass a bill to end the costly legislation.
If not, let’s put the issue to a vote of all Ohioans. At least, that way, we’ll have some say in the matter before having our taxes confiscated.
As newspapers are reporting nationwide, the public salaries of government jobs are outpacing those in the private sector in nearly all professions – and collective bargaining is a primary reason.
Hey, Chris. Here’s another question. Please explain to the average Ohio taxpayer why it is fair and proper for a public employee to retire in his or her 50s, with an annual public-financed pension of more than $100,000, which, by most accounts, translates into a $3 million or more retirement – far more than the average Ohio private-sector taxpayers earns in his or her lifetime.
And, while you’re at it, please explain why it is fair and reasonable that that former public employee and his or her $3 million retirement at age 50-something can return to the public feeding trough and receive another $100,000 or so a year in additional income.
Moreover, and just for kicks, please explain your party’s thought on the $28,000 cap on annual Social Security “benefits” and how all government budgets, nationwide, would be affected if all public-sector pensions were capped at $28,000.
(By the way, I thought you guys were supposed to be champions of the working poor, not the rich elitists.)
The last time I checked, which was five years ago, the per capita income for Highland County was $24,270, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Families Services. What do you suppose the per capita income is today in Highland County, in Ohio, and in the United States for public employees?
Of course, if you answered “a helluva lot more than $24,270,” you can move to the head of the class.
Don’t go away. I still have more questions for you.
Since you are such a big fan of collective bargaining – which influences public-sector salaries, pensions, medical insurance and so forth – what do you think is a reasonable return on investment for Ohio taxpayers?
Do you think it’s reasonable for academic administrators, et al., to receive six-figure yearly salaries plus multi-million-dollar pensions and double-dipping “privileges?”
On the lower end of the spectrum, do you think it’s reasonable for a public employee to charge taxpayers for 14 hours of overtime in a single day in which the public employee actually worked less than seven hours? As the teachers say on their tests: If so, please explain.
I would – and could – go on. But you suffered enough on Nov. 2.
Good luck, Gov. Kasich. Stick to your guns.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.
Given that Chris Redfern chairs the Ohio Democratic Party it is no small wonder that Republicans cleaned his clock in November.
If he had a hat Nov. 3, it was most likely in his hand.
Seriously, Chairman Redfern must have gone to the Howard Dean School of Partisan Politics. Yeaahhh-Ahhhhhhh.
So, when Ohio Gov.-elect John Kasich had the brass … er, tacks to accurately say what every politician in Columbus already knows but refuses to acknowledge – specifically that Ohio’s collective bargaining law is bankrupting communities across the state – who else but Redfern rushes to the defense of the public employees’ unions.
In one of his numerous mass media e-mailings, Redfern told The Highland County Press this week: “By attacking collective bargaining, Kasich wants to
turn back the clock 25 years on working people in Ohio. His plans are devastating to the hard-working men and women who teach our children, keep us safe and provide other vital services to our communities throughout the state. John Kasich of all people should understand the consequences of his anti-working families agenda, since he grew up as the son of a public sector union member who benefited from collective bargaining.”
OK. Mr. Redfern. Let me offer a question or several.
• What about the hard-working men and women in Ohio who do not benefit from, yet are compelled to pay, the taxes to support the public-sector workers, their pensions and their unions?
• Is it possible that Gov.-elect Kasich understands the problem better than some precisely because he is (if you are correct) the son of a public-sector union worker?
• What about the Bureau of Labor Statistics data that show huge – and growing – disparities between public- and private-sector salaries, wages and benefits, not only here in Ohio, but across the nation?
• What about a state, such as Ohio, that’s been hard-hit by the current recession (referred to ad nauseam as “these tough economic times”), with an $8 billion deficit and no reasonable means to increase its revenues?
• Just curious, Chris, but have you ever considered making $8 billion in cuts in state spending (to balance the budget) and, if so, where? Given that roughly 75 or 80 cents of most public-sector dollars are tied up in salaries, wages and benefits, including many public pensions that pay far more that most working Ohioans earn while actually WORKING, what, pray tell, would you cut to balance the state budget?
These are five easy questions. Answer them – even somewhat satisfactorily – and I’ve got five more for you. And before you tag me with the all-too-convenient “right-wing radical” label, you might want to know that The Highland County Press made four endorsements for the Nov. 2 midterm elections. Our preferred candidates were 2-2. I’ll let you guess which political party won and which lost.
With that minor bit of housekeeping out of the way, let’s look at the next governor’s modest proposal and what it could mean for Ohio taxpayers.
Much like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio’s next governor realizes that he’s walking into a serious budget deficit. John Kasich also realizes, as do many in the General Assembly, where cuts can and should be made.
George Voinovich, Bob Taft and Ted Strickland knew this, too. But not one of them had the brass to come out and say it.
In Christie’s Garden State, the Newark-based Star-Ledger commended the governor’s efforts to rein in spending, specifically through reforms in binding arbitration.
“Arbitration has played a major role in creating the mess we’re in today,” the newspaper said. “It has allowed (many public workers) to retire in their 40s and collect pension checks for decades. ...It has awarded reality-defying raises at a time when taxpayers are losing their jobs and their homes, and facing pay freezes and furloughs.”
Obviously, it remains to be seen if Kasich (and the General Assembly) will follow through on reforming Ohio’s collective bargaining rules.
Let’s look at what Kasich said – and didn’t say. If media reports are accurate (there’s a crap shoot), the new governor simply said: “If (public workers) want to strike, they should be fired. I really don’t favor the right to strike by any public employee. They’ve got good jobs; they’ve got high pay; they get good benefits; a great retirement. What are they striking for?”
This was reported in The Plain Dealer, one of Cleveland’s better contributions to the Buckeye State.
At no point did Kasich say to cut the salary, wages and benefits of the public-sector employees, who, on average, already receive 35-percent higher wages and 69-percent higher benefits than their private-sector counterparts.
Kasich’s primary issue with collective bargaining is the union’s demand for binding arbitration.
Binding arbitration rules used to decide public-sector union labor contracts are expensive. And, he says, they are bankrupting local governments.
He’s right.
“Let the people vote on it,” Kasich told The Plain Dealer. “We’ll come up with a series of changes, but binding arbitration is not acceptable…You are forcing increased taxes on taxpayers with them having no say.”
New Jersey lawmakers (a Democratic majority) worked with Gov. Christie to enact a cap of 2 percent on any contract negotiations that go to arbitration. The cap will be from 2011-14.
Public-sector employees will insist that binding arbitration is fair because, they say, an impartial third party will hear both sides and make a reasonable decision. Reasonable for whom?
More often than not, the arbitrator hears from an expensive hired gun from the unions and from a less-equipped representative of the elected or appointed administrative body. At no point does the arbitrator hear from you, the taxpayer, the levy payer or the tuition payer. Your representation in all of these negotiations is minimal, at best. Your cost, however, is significant.
In many instances, local city council members, school board members, college trustees, etc., also work other jobs. These public servants are, for the most part, contributing their time and energy. The hired guns – on either side – aren’t.
If John Kasich accomplishes nothing else in four years as Ohio governor other than to put an end to Dick Celeste’s collective bargaining legislation of the 1980s, he will have saved the state and its 88 counties millions.
It’s encouraging that he’s got the brass to discuss the issue. It will be even more so if he can convince the 2011 Ohio Legislature (that’s you, Cliff Rosenberger, Dave Daniels, John Carey, et al.) to pass a bill to end the costly legislation.
If not, let’s put the issue to a vote of all Ohioans. At least, that way, we’ll have some say in the matter before having our taxes confiscated.
As newspapers are reporting nationwide, the public salaries of government jobs are outpacing those in the private sector in nearly all professions – and collective bargaining is a primary reason.
Hey, Chris. Here’s another question. Please explain to the average Ohio taxpayer why it is fair and proper for a public employee to retire in his or her 50s, with an annual public-financed pension of more than $100,000, which, by most accounts, translates into a $3 million or more retirement – far more than the average Ohio private-sector taxpayers earns in his or her lifetime.
And, while you’re at it, please explain why it is fair and reasonable that that former public employee and his or her $3 million retirement at age 50-something can return to the public feeding trough and receive another $100,000 or so a year in additional income.
Moreover, and just for kicks, please explain your party’s thought on the $28,000 cap on annual Social Security “benefits” and how all government budgets, nationwide, would be affected if all public-sector pensions were capped at $28,000.
(By the way, I thought you guys were supposed to be champions of the working poor, not the rich elitists.)
The last time I checked, which was five years ago, the per capita income for Highland County was $24,270, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Families Services. What do you suppose the per capita income is today in Highland County, in Ohio, and in the United States for public employees?
Of course, if you answered “a helluva lot more than $24,270,” you can move to the head of the class.
Don’t go away. I still have more questions for you.
Since you are such a big fan of collective bargaining – which influences public-sector salaries, pensions, medical insurance and so forth – what do you think is a reasonable return on investment for Ohio taxpayers?
Do you think it’s reasonable for academic administrators, et al., to receive six-figure yearly salaries plus multi-million-dollar pensions and double-dipping “privileges?”
On the lower end of the spectrum, do you think it’s reasonable for a public employee to charge taxpayers for 14 hours of overtime in a single day in which the public employee actually worked less than seven hours? As the teachers say on their tests: If so, please explain.
I would – and could – go on. But you suffered enough on Nov. 2.
Good luck, Gov. Kasich. Stick to your guns.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]