the official blog of the evergreen freedom foundation

The cost of politicians on welfare

Posted by Ryan Bedford - May 14, 2008

King County staff released their report today on the feasibility of taxpayer-campaign funding. As with any government regulation of elections, the cost to free speech freedom is high, but let’s talk hard dollars right now. The report analyzed taxpayer-funded campaign programs from Arizona and Maine, and the cities of Portland, Albuquerque and San Francisco. The following chart describes the cost of each program if used in King County’s general election campaigns for King County Council and King County Executive. The chart can be found on page 14 of the report.

 

Model (applied to King County	Council only	Executive only	Total Executive & Council
Maine	$ 500,904	$ 784,000	$1,284,904
Seattle	1,050,000	300,000	1,350,000
King County	1,260,000	525,000	1,785,000
San Francisco	1,575,000	1,700,000	3,275,000
Arizona	2,160,000	1,140,000	3,300,000
Albuquerque	1,995,012	1,989,628	3,984,640
Portland	6,300,000	900,000	7,200,000

 

The costs listed above cover only the amounts given to candidates, not administrative and enforcement costs. Using a suspect, albeit resourceful, yardstick, (see pages 35 and 36 of the report for details) the report projects administrative costs at $609,536.

 

These numbers, however, do no reflect the costs to implement the system Councilman Bob Ferguson has proposed. As noted in a previous post, the proposed legislation would cover all county-wide elections and candidates would be granted up to three times the salary of the office they are running for.

 

The report also discusses funding strategies, acknowledging that many of the sources mentioned will not provide enough revenue to support a full program alone (pages 36 and 37). Proposed sources include:

• A property tax check-off
• Candidate filing fees or voter pamphlet fees
• Voluntary donations
• Qualifying contributions raised by candidates
• Penalties for violating campaign finance laws
• Proportionately distributing costs among all the county agencies.
• Special levy ($0.01 per $1,000 in assessed value would fund the program), and
• Tapping into the county’s general fund

As we noted earlier today, Washington State is the sixth highest taxed state in the nation. Given today's prevailing mood about tax increases (transportation taxes, property taxes, etc.), citizens may not tolerate creating another entitlement program for politicians.

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"We're #6!" Taxes and such

Posted by Tom Henry - May 14, 2008

We were happy to finally be able to celebrate Tax Freedom Day here in Washington state on April 29...almost a full week after the rest of the nation and nearly two weeks after neighboring Oregon.  But it is nice to get some recognition...  It seems we are the 6th highest taxed state in the nation.
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Public Service Announcement on State Ferries

Posted by Corey Burres - May 13, 2008


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Teachers Unions Playing Dirty Pool

Posted by Sonya Jones - May 13, 2008

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the local teachers union finds itself in a bit of a tiff with the local newspaper. Prior to a local election, the union mailed out a flyer misrepresenting statements made by The Grand Rapids Press:

The flyer falsely implied that this newspaper had validated the union's claims that city schools are unsafe. The mailing was meant to influence the school board election. One of the three candidates the union endorsed won.

Besides an egregious manipulation of The Press' story, most disturbing is union president Paul Helder's apparent determination to damage the image of the district with scare tactics, not responsible dialogue.

The union's unconfirmed claims of unsafe schools touch every parent, student and taxpayer. This propaganda goes beyond bargaining matters such as wages and work days.

 

So, the union bosses played dirty pool. That’s about as shocking as OJ’s former manager revealing that he helped OJ commit murder. Yawn.

 

Last lines:

The focus needs to be on greater student achievement, enhancing instruction and bolstering enrollment. You can quote The Press on that.

 

Teachers unions do not care about “greater student achievement, enhancing instruction and bolstering enrollment.” They do care about putting money in their pockets through payroll deductions from warm bodies willing to work in a thankless job. They do care about using that money to get exactly what they want at the bargaining table opposite the school board members they helped elect.

 

How’s that for a combo?

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NEA: Teachers are beasts (when they don’t give us money)

Posted by Mike Reitz - May 13, 2008

(I)t is well recognized that if you take away the mechanism of payroll deduction you won't collect a penny from these people, and it has nothing to do with voluntary or involuntary. I think it has to do with the nature of the beast, and the beasts who are our teachers...who simply don't come up with money regardless of the purpose.

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One fell swoop

Posted by Scott Dilley - May 13, 2008

Why should unions work in each state to unionize public employees when they can just get Congress to do it all at once nationwide?

If the U.S. Senate passes the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, it will allow police, firefighters and paramedics in every city of more than 5,000 people to unionize and bargain for pay, benefits and work rules.

The House already passed the measure (H.R. 980) in 2007 by a vote of 314-97. The bill has 11 Republican co-sponsors in the Senate, which may signal enough bipartisan support to ensure its passage. President Bush has vowed a veto.

The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out that the bill will lead to legal challenges, increase the public tax burden, harm public security, and have the effect of forcing certain employees into supporting or contributing to a union.

Liberty, which used to be priceless and non-negotiable, now seems subject to debate. Are union clout and political contributions worth more to certain senators than upholding personal rights?

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Get Free - The Late Edition - Episode 6

Posted by Corey Burres - May 13, 2008


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Fun with ferries

Posted by Scott Dilley - May 09, 2008

After reading the latest article in the Kitsap Sun regarding ferries, I started thinking about how the state could sell its two foot ferries. If this latest deal goes the way of the failed attempt to sell the ferries on eBay, the ferry system may have to resort to Craigslist. Here's a possible posting I wrote for them:

2 passenger-only ferries, like-new, used sparingly. Same class. 7,200 Hp. 35 knots max speed. Diesel-Waterjet propulsion. Carries up to 350 people. Paid $9.7 million each. Asking price $4.5 million each. $8.5 million OBO takes them both. Touch-up paint included. As is, cash only, no trades. Pictures below.

Docked at Eagle Harbor for easy convenience. Pick up anytime. Payment on the honor system. Leave payment in ferry union dues drop box. Call David M. at 206-555-5555 for directions or questions.

And if this doesn't work, maybe the state could pawn them off as riverboat casinos on the Mississippi River or Gulf Coast. The possibilities are endless.


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Be sure to read...

Posted by Tom Henry - May 08, 2008


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Adult family home union vote decided

Posted by Scott Dilley - May 08, 2008

The Washington State Residential Care Council has claimed victory over the Washington Federation of State Employees in the effort to unionize adult family home providers.

This week, officials with the Public Employment Relations Commission, WSRCC, and WSFE came to terms on how to count 144 disputed ballots in the election to certify a union. The final vote tally was 648 in favor of WSRCC, 552 in favor of WSFE, and 11 ballots still challenged. The 11 ballots did not affect the outcome of the election. There is a seven-day period for appeal. If there is none, PERC will certify the election results on May 13.

In 2007 the legislature passed HB 2111, which allowed adult family home providers the right to bargain collectively with the state for higher subsidy and reimbursement rates. Adult family homes provide residential care for the elderly or disabled adults.

After HB 2111 passed, many providers realized that WFSE would try to unionize them. WSRCC, a voluntary association at the time, amended its bylaws to allow for it to officially represent its members in bargaining sessions.

Here's what's interesting -– WSRCC dues are for collective bargaining costs only. A person or home may elect to pay an association membership fee in addition to the dues, but that fee is used for other purposes and is voluntary. In contrast, public-sector unions typically use dues to cover both collective bargaining and other non-disclosed membership and political activities. (This is why we need union financial transparency.)

Even though I disagree with the concept of mandatory dues, it's at least nice to see one outfit (unlike WFSE, SEIU, WEA, etc.) that is willing to limit itself to workplace-representation issues and NOT spend its members' dues money on issues and politics they may disagree with.


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