Another Reason why California is Boned… Tuesday, Jan 10 2012 

Axis of Idiots and Democrats and Economics and Failure and Government and Neo-Marxists and Socialism and Stupid People and Unions and WTF Files , , , , , , , , , , 1IDVET 10:33

This is why California is boned. Yeah, let’s keep adding to the debt. Makes perfect sense to me. Oh, and let’s raise the taxes again! And let’s give more free shit to illegal aliens too! That will solve everything.

Berkeley city manager not unique retiring with bigger pension than salary – ContraCostaTimes.com

Daniel Borenstein: Berkeley city manager not unique retiring with bigger pension than salaryBy Daniel BorensteinStaff columnistPosted: 01/07/2012 04:00:00 PM PSTUpdated: 01/09/2012 06:20:35 AM PSTIn November, Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz traded his $250,000-a-year job for retirement with a starting pension of about $266,000 annually.The deal highlights the city’s generous pension program, which is one of the better plans in the state but by no means unique. The costly program is also $420 million underfunded, a shortfall equal to more than three years of city payroll, according to the city’s latest actuarial reports.Kamlarz’s hefty retirement pay was predictable. Three years ago, Mayor Tom Bates successfully persuaded his City Council colleagues to grant the city manager a series of raises to keep him on the job. As Bates pointed out then, Kamlarz could have collected just as much in retirement.The irony was that the raises didn’t solve the problem. Rather, they ensured that Kamlarz’s pension would increase by roughly a like amount whenever he finally walked out the door.As a result, whereas he could have left with a starting annual pension of $219,000 in January 2009, he left at the end of 2011 with 21 percent more a year for the rest of his life. The retirement pay also comes with annual cost-of-living adjustments.

via Daniel Borenstein: Berkeley city manager not unique retiring with bigger pension than salary – ContraCostaTimes.com.

 

Michelle Obama Still Sucks… Thursday, Dec 22 2011 

Axis of Idiots and Buyers' Remorse and Comarade Obama and Democrats and Failure and Government and Lies and Neo-Marxists and Obama and Politics and Socialism and Stupid People and Unions and WTF Files , , , , 1IDVET 14:50

…and so does her school lunch BS.

This meddling buffoon  is a perfect example of liberal stupidity gone wild. Just look at the “it’s for the children” BS that she’s piled onto the schools. And they’ll point to this as a success, no doubt.

Who benefits? The SEIU and their left wing cronies. That’s who. The children get crappy lunches and we foot the bill.

Michelle Obama’s Unsavory School Lunch Flop

by Michelle Malkin

The road to gastric hell is paved with first lady Michelle Obama’s Nanny State intentions. Don’t take my word for it. School kids in Los Angeles have blown the whistle on the east wing chef-in-chief’s healthy lunch diktats. Get your Pepto Bismol ready. The taste of government waste is indigestion-inducing.

According to a weekend report by the Los Angeles Times, the city’s “trailblazing introduction of healthful school lunches has been a flop.” In response to the public hectoring and financial inducement of Mrs. Obama’s federally subsidized anti-obesity campaign, the district dropped chicken nuggets, corn dogs and flavored milk from the menu for “beef jambalaya, vegetable curry, pad Thai, lentil and brown rice cutlets, and quinoa and black-eyed pea salads.”

Sounds delectable in theory. But in practice, the initiative has been what L.A. Unified’s food services director Dennis Barrett plainly concludes is a “disaster.” While the Obama administration has showered the nation’s second-largest school district with nutrition awards, thousands of students voted with their upset tummies and abandoned the program. A forbidden-food black market — stoked not just by students, but also by teachers — is now thriving. Moreover, “(p)rincipals report massive waste, with unopened milk cartons and uneaten entrees being thrown away.”

via Michelle Malkin » Michelle Obama’s Unsavory School Lunch Flop.

 

Poll: Little Love for Big Government… Tuesday, Dec 13 2011 

Failure and Government and Neo-Marxists and Socialism and Unions , 1IDVET 06:39

Doesn’t really surprise me, but I am glad to see that most Americans see the real problem is government, not businesses.

Unfortunately, I think there are some people that think big labor isn’t a problem. I rank big labor a close second to big government as being the problem that America needs to overcome ASAP.

Americans’ fear of big government – partly fueled by a sharp spike among Democrats since President Barack Obama took office – almost reached a record high this year and is far greater than people’s concerns about big business and big labor, a new Gallup poll Monday shows.An overwhelming 64 percent of people surveyed said big government was the biggest threat to the country, compared to just 26 percent who said big business is their gravest concern and 8 percent who picked big labor.

The all-time high for percentage of people who said big government was the biggest threat to the country was in 1999 and 2000, when 65 percent named it the country’s biggest menace.

Republicans are most wary of the threat of big government than are Democrats or independents – 82 percent of GOPers said big government was the biggest threat to the nation, compared to 64 percent of independents and 48 percent of Democrats who said the same.

via Poll: Little love for big gov – MJ Lee – POLITICO.com.

 

Occupy Wall St. = 25% Unemployment for Local Restaurant… Wednesday, Nov 2 2011 

Axis of Idiots and Comarade Obama and Democrats and Economics and Failure and Neo-Marxists and Politics and Socialism and Stupid People and Unions and WTF Files , , , , , , , , , 1IDVET 09:49

Way to go morons.

You entitlement expecting morons sure know how to screw things up. Congratulations on your achievement.

Cafe Owner Says He Was Forced to Cut Staff by Nearly a Fourth Because of ‘Occupy’ Protests

A New York City cafe cut its staff by nearly 25 percent last week because of lost business due to the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests, the cafe’s owner told FoxNews.com.

Marc Epstein, owner of the Milk Street Cafe at 40 Wall Street in lower Manhattan, said he had to cut 21 of the 97 members of his staff on Thursday and Friday after seeing sales plummet by 30 percent in the six weeks since the protests began. He’s also been forced to slash the restaurant operating hours, moving up his closing time from 9 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.

 

Milton Friedman on Labor… Tuesday, Sep 6 2011 

Axis of Idiots and Democrats and Economics and Failure and Government and Neo-Marxists and Politics and Socialism and Unions 1IDVET 12:14

This is a pretty good video. It’s from the 70s, but it truly applies today even more.

Unions still suck.

 

Big Labor vs. Taxpayers… Thursday, Sep 1 2011 

Democrats and Economics and Failure and Government and Politics and Socialism and Unions , , 1IDVET 07:53

For anyone like me that thinks big labor is a drain on society as a whole and should be disbanded, then this is a good story for you to read.

Big Labor vs. Taxpayers

By F. Vincent Vernuccio, William Kovacs
For the first time ever, government union members outnumbered those in the private sector in 2009. Until recently, union bosses—not elected representatives—have been in control of the government employee compensation process. Using taxpayer dollars they obtain through mandatory dues, they elect the management they later negotiate with. However, across the country in states such as Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan, taxpayers are fighting back and the tide of Big Labor control is starting to change.

Now there is a new online tool to give taxpayers and policy makers critical information on which states favor Big Labor. The Competitive Enterprise Institute and Crossroads GPS recently launched a “Big Labor versus Taxpayer Index” that analyzes 1,150 labor laws and regulations throughout the country and exposes states that make coddling Big Labor a top priority.These unions are at the forefront of the movement for more expansive and expensive government. They use collected forced dues to lobby for greater pay, lavish benefits and more members. They also have a legal monopoly over public services and, if they strike, can deprive citizens of essential services such as education and safety.

More

 

Republicans introduce bill to give workers a choice on joining unions… AKA Unions Suck! Wednesday, Mar 9 2011 

Congress and Democrats and Government and Politics and Unions 1IDVET 13:59

This is a step in the right direction. Stop forcing people to join unions if they don’t desire to do so. This is a fundamental freedom that fits with America.
Unions suck.

Republicans introduce bill to give workers a choice on joining unions

By Vicki Needham - 03/08/11 01:17 PM ET

Eight Republican Senators introduced a bill Tuesday giving workers a choice as to whether to join labor unions, which they argue will boost the nation’s economy and provide an increase in wages. 

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), introduced the National Right to Work Act to “reduce workplace discrimination by protecting the free choice of individuals to form, join, or assist labor organizations, or to refrain from such activities,” according to a statement. 

Seven other Republicans signed onto the effort: Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Mike Lee (Utah), Rand Paul (Ky.), James Risch (Idaho), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and David Vitter (La.).

“Facing a steady decline in membership, unions have turned to strong-arm political tactics to make forced unionization the default position of every American worker, even if they don’t want it,” Hatch said. “This is simply unacceptable. At the very least, it should be the policy of the U.S. government to ensure that no employee will be forced to join a union in order to get or keep their job.

“Republicans cited a recent poll they said shows that 80 percent of union members support having their policy and that “Right to Work” states outperform “forced-union” states in factors that affect worker well being.

Keep up the pressure! When unions are no longer relevant, then the Democrat party is done.

 

Wisconsin Governor Reveals Budget…AKA Unions SUCK! Wednesday, Mar 2 2011 

Axis of Idiots and Democrats and Education and Neo-Marxists and Politics and Socialism and Unions , , , , , , , 1IDVET 08:42

I’ve been avoiding this one, just because there is so much coverage of it that my .02 probably wouldn’t add much, if anything to it.

I am against all public sector unions. Private company unions aren’t my problem. If a company wants to put up with that shit, that’s their problem. I can always take my business elsewhere if they are priced too high. Public sector unions on the other hand, give me little to no choice in dealing with them. There are no alternatives to dealing with the government, whether it is state, of federal. I don’t think that I should have to pay ridiculous sums of money for public sector employee’s health and retirement benefits, when they contribute next to nothing, if anything at all.

At any rate, the battle ground for the people vs. the unions has been set. If Gov. Walker holds out and smacks the union in the mouth, then it will be like dominoes in the rest of the country.

Here’s a few people that are covering this:

Walker Unveils Budget Containing Deep Cuts

This happened in New Jersey, under Christie. The teachers were told they could either pay for health insurance and pensions but keep their current workers in their jobs, or stay at their current overpaid rates but face a lot of layoffs.

Big cuts: Scott Walker reveals budget proposal to Wisconsin legislature

1,200 jobs eliminated, funding to public schools reduced, collective bargaining on benefits for public-employee unions nuked, and total spending slashed by 6.7 percent. Is there any governor in America, Daniels and Christie included, more willing than this guy to risk political death in the interests of solvency?

It’s all about the deficit to [David] Brooks. But the damage done by public sector unionism isn’t mainly the producing of deficits. It’s the crippling of government, so that bad teachers can’t be fired and productivity stagnates and virtually everything the government does it does crappier than private industry does it. That’s a big, ongoing problem for Democrats, which is why maybe it doesn’t trouble Brooks. But it should trouble even non-neo liberals. Democrats are the party that needs the government to be good at something other than mailing out checks.

Gov. Walker Delivers Budget Address

Those who thought Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s agenda would be tempered by two weeks of nonstop protests outside his Captiol office couldn’t have been more wrong.

State spending would be reduced, taxes would not increase and the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus would be granted independence from the UW System under the biennial budget introduced by Gov. Walker on Tuesday.

Wisconsin Governor Releases ‘Reform’ Budget as Stalemate Continues

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker unveiled Tuesday the rest of his two-year spending plan that has already gripped the nation’s attention with its explosive proposal to take nearly all collective bargaining rights away from most public workers.

With the union rights proposal stuck in a legislative stalemate thanks to the state Senate’s runaway Democrats, the Republican governor forged ahead with the release of his spending plan that includes major cuts to schools and local governments to help close a projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall.

Video: Wisconsin Dem intervenes to protect GOP senator threatened by mob

You have to see it to believe it. The clip is long and the key moment doesn’t come until 2:50 in, but you won’t be able to look away. The savior here, in the orange union t-shirt and sportsjacket, is Democratic Rep. Brett Hulsey; behind him, with white hair and glasses, is Republican Sen. Glenn Grothman. Watch and try to imagine what might have happened had Hulsey not been there. Even some of the protesters are sufficiently alarmed to start a chant of “peace-ful” to calm the more unruly ones down.
There’s plenty more out there.
Unions suck!

 

Unions Still Suck! Friday, Feb 18 2011 

Axis of Idiots and Comarade Obama and Democrats and Failure and Government and Lies and Neo-Marxists and Obama and Politics and Socialism and Unions , , , , , , , , , 1IDVET 08:58

It’s about time America wakes up to the union bullshit that has been plaguing this country for far too long.

I’ve posted on this before here and here.

Government unions should be outlawed. They work for the people, are paid by the people, and any and all monetary issues should be decided by the people.

The shit has finally hit the fan with this bullshit. I for one am ecstatic over the idea that teacher’s unions are finally going to get the crap kicked out of them by the American tax payer.

Unions are about power. Anything else they say they are about is a lie. Plain and simple.

Here’s a piece from Hot Air:

If anyone thought that unions were paragons of democracy, the display in Madison this week has been instructive.  Their protests have given their Democratic allies in the Wisconsin state senate an excuse to abandon representative democracy rather than abide by the results of an election less than four months earlier, and protesters hold signs comparing newly-elected Republican Scott Walker to dictators such as Hosni Mubarak and Adolf Hitler for the crime of proposing changes in the law which he promised during the election campaign.  The Wall Street Journal argues today that the spectacle in Wisconsin shows that unions are interested in only one thing — power:

The reality is that the unions are trying to trump the will of the voters as overwhelmingly rendered in November when they elected Mr. Walker and a new legislature. As with the strikes against pension or labor reforms that routinely shut down Paris or Athens, the goal is to create enough mayhem that Republicans and voters will give up.

While Republicans now have the votes to pass the bill, on Thursday Big Labor’s Democratic allies walked out of the state senate to block a vote. Under state rules, 20 members of the 33-member senate must be present to hold a vote on an appropriations bill, leaving the 19 Republicans one member short. By the end of the day some Democrats were reported to have fled the state. So who’s really trying to short-circuit democracy?

Unions are treating these reforms as Armageddon because they’ve owned the Wisconsin legislature for years and the changes would reduce their dominance. Under Governor Walker’s proposal, the government also would no longer collect union dues from paychecks and then send that money to the unions. Instead, unions would be responsible for their own collection regimes. The bill would also require unions to be recertified annually by a majority of all members. Imagine that: More accountability inside unions.

More

Michelle Malkin also discusses this issue:

Support Wisconsin: Trumka storms Madison tomorrow; Walker supporters to rally Saturday; a disgusted teacher calls out unions

It’s the National Thug Convergence.

AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka — refresh your memories of his violent rise to power here — announced that he’ll be storming Madison, Wisconsin tomorrow to join all the Hitler/Mubarak-sign toters and teachers ditching their jobs.

The showdown is scheduled for high noon.

Check out Vicki McKenna’s photo gallery for today’s scenes from the mob.

More

Also more at Memeorandum.

 


 

More Union BS, or Unions Suck Part Deux… Wednesday, Feb 16 2011 

Axis of Idiots and Comarade Obama and Democrats and Education and Failure and Government and Lies and Neo-Marxists and Politics and Socialism and Unions , , 1IDVET 17:02

I hate unions. I think they create an atmosphere that is not conducive to competition within the free market system. They are expensive for the employer and they pretty much tie the employer’s hands when it comes to getting rid of the assholes that don’t do their job effectively.

Case in point; teacher’s unions.

How many times have you heard them cry “it’s for the children!” whenever they whine for more money? They use that shit every time they want more money. It’s not for the children. Don’t buy that shit. 80% of the money that states and municipalities throw at schools goes into the teacher’s pockets, either through a bloated bureaucracy, or to their pensions and health care.

How much do teachers pay for their health care? In places like Detroit, or L.A. it’s zero. When those assholes are striking, it’s not for the children, it’s for their own bottom line.
It’s high time that unions were disallowed in public service and especially in schools.

Check this out:

Make sure you look at the other videos in this series at: Kids Aren’t Cars

 

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