January 11, 2017
The Julian News 11
California Commentary
A Happy New Year For State Workers
by Jon Coupal
In a recent column, I holds a monopoly on most of commented on how joyous the the services it provides — there holiday season would be for is no competition or alternative members of the state legislature — much of the work actually and our constitutional officers provided is subpar. Anyone who who are seeing a four percent must use government services increase in their pay. California cannot imagine that these across lawmakers were already the the board raises state employees highest paid in the nation. are receiving are based on merit. But as the song says, you ain’t There are those who will justify seen nothing yet. In a state the the additional money as cost-ofU.S. Department of Labor rates living increases. But cost of living as first in pay for state and local increases are based on inflation, government workers, one of the which has been minimal due to largest public sector unions has the sluggish economy. Just ask negotiated a pay raise of up to 19 Social Security recipients, who percent for many of its members. will receive an increase in their Union leaders claim that many of benefits of 0.3 percent (threethe jobs their members perform tenths of one percent) for the are in high demand and, without coming year. This translates to the increases, employees will be about a $4 monthly increase lured away to the private sector. for the average retiree, or about Therefore, a 19 percent increase $48 per year. Had the average for “financial experts” currently recipient, who must get by making between $7,300 and on $1,355 each month, been $10,000 per month, is warranted. granted a four percent increase However, everyone has been (the minimum for so many state invited to the party. Even janitors employees) their monthly checks will be getting an extra 3 percent would bump up almost $55, or on top of the standard 4 percent $660 annually. that has been negotiated for all But we shouldn’t have to argue the represented workers. over how much government Other unionized employees, employees should be paid. Since now negotiating pay increases union leadership worries that the with the state, will likely see private sector will hire valuable similar raises. And it is important workers away unless they are to mention that most of these paid more, why not let them go? “public servants” are receiving In the private sector, they can join healthcare and pension benefits or establish companies that can that most in the private sector bid on doing the work currently can only dream of. performed by government In November, voters said employees. Let them pay yes to new taxes and to the themselves whatever they want, continuation of the highest but they will have to bid on doing income tax rates in the nation. the work they now perform on the The expensive campaigns that taxpayers’ dime. Government will put these measures over the top hire the lowest qualified bidder were funded primarily by public and if their service is topnotch, sector unions, so it is not hard to they will keep their contracts. If guess where the bulk of the tax not, the governor and Legislature revenue will be going. Instead can move on and engage another of state government providing bidder. more and better services, most As the late New York Governor of the funds will go to paying for Mario Cuomo — a Democrat raises for government workers. and father of the current New And let’s not forget the need to York Governor — stated fund nearly a trillion dollars in several decades ago, “It is not unfunded pension liabilities for a government’s obligation to which taxpayers will be picking provide services but to see that up the tab. they are provided.” This is not to lose sight of the Jon Coupal is president of fact that many public employees the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers work hard and provide valuable Association — California’s largest service. Most citizens want grass-roots taxpayer organization, dedicated to the protection of to see these employees fairly Proposition 13 and the advancement compensated for good work. of taxpayers’ rights. However, because government *** The purse of the people is the real seat of sensibility. Let it be drawn upon largely, and they will then listen to truths which could not excite them through any other organ. — Thomas Jefferson ***
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• It was award-winning American novelist Ann Patchett who made the following sage observation: "The question is whether or not you choose to disturb the world around you, or if you choose to let it go on as if you had never arrived." • The world's smallest city block can be found in the small town of Dothan, Alabama. Bordered by Appletree, College and Troy streets, the block was once home to a single two-story building measuring 38 feet long and 27 feet wide. • Most Americans are familiar with graham crackers -- they're a favorite childhood snack. But have you ever wondered what they're made of? The obvious answer is "graham flour" -- but what is that? It's just flour made from whole wheat. This type of flour was named after a 19-century Presbyterian minister named Sylvester Graham, who promoted the snack as a digestive aid and a cure for alcoholism. • You might be surprised to learn that, although Charles Goodyear received a patent for vulcanized rubber in 1844, the Maya were creating objects with rubber 3,000 years before that. • The quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is the most widely distributed tree in North America (as well as the state tree of Utah). Groves of them can be found in high altitudes as far south as Guanajuato, Mexico, and as far north as the Brooks Range of mountains in northern Alaska. Most people don't realize, however, that the groves are not made up of separate trees; all the visible trunks are part of a single organism, genetically identical and sharing the same root system. *** Thought for the Day: "The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves." -- Victor Hugo © 2016 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
START TALKING BEFORE THEY START DRINKING Kids who drink before age15 are 5 times more likely to have alcohol problems when they’re adults.
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© 2016 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
*** The world is divided into people who do things and people who get the credit. — DwightMorrow ***