Here is a report that former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has told Chicago Public Employee Unions that pension have to be cut, and not just for future workers.
If this is the case, and I don't see why it might not be, then Mr Emanuel may be the man to succeed as mayor of Chicago, because public union pensions are a major threat to the state of Illinois, including to the City of Chicago.
Hat tip to the Instapundit.
Regards — Cliff
Glad to see he's unafraid to take this on. I know Rahm was "present and accounted for" on the day brains were handed so he realizes that municipal workers are politically active and influential.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, however, he must also realize Chicago has a huge population of non-municipal worker citizens who realize the gravity of this problem and care enough to want to see real change.
For years, public sector wages and benefits have just spiraled up, up, and away because no one was really paying attention, except for the public sector unions and the politicians whose backs were getting scratched.
Now that we're facing budget crises on nearly all levels of government nearly everywhere in the states, I'm wondering if we're collectively reaching a "tipping point" where regular people are saying "enough is enough" to the point that politicians are listening and acting.
The rants against public sector compensation are common enough, but I don't hear enough people making the point I keep raising about how the group of people ultimately getting hurt INCLUDES the public sector workers themselves. Just ask all the police who got laid off in Newark, NJ...when the union wouldn't budge, the city had no choice...the same is going to keep happening over and over and over, all across the country.
Everyone -- except for a VERY tiny # of people lucky enough to hold the right jobs -- is hurt when this stuff happens.