Salary Info Shows Strength of Union Muscle
2nd January 2015
The political system, as described in civics textbooks (to the degree the public schools still teach civics) and by Capitol legislators, is a temple of democracy, where elected officials solve problems and do the public’s work. But Buchanan realized that people who work for government are as motivated by economics as those who work outside of it.
They seek power and money within their organizations, just like everyone else.
This not-so-glamorous theory helps explain why most of California’s long-term financial problems are tied to one source — the unsustainable levels of compensation paid to state and municipal workers. Sacramento budget issues revolve around underfunded public-employee pensions, unfunded retiree medical care and the like.
As Jerry Pournelle likes to say, ‘The object of government is to hire and pay government employees.’