Mort Zuckerman: The Crippling Price of Public Employee Unions

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First of all this isn't the 1950's or 1960's. Times have changed. The US is no longer the economic power house that it was in the past. The private sector has had to reorganize, revise benefits and wages just to try and stay competitive with ASIA. There isn't the tax base anymore to pay for your goodies.
You have not had a care in the world for the past 4 decades. Unlike the WWII public sector employees who took pride in their jobs and were actually productive, you don't give a rats behind.
While the rest of us (private sector workers) have been struggling to keep our jobs and pay our bills through this recession(yes... your wages are most of our taxes), you have been sitting at your desk, feet ontop, fat & happpy, not a care in the world.
Every morning you drive to work and sit at your desk and serf the web for the first 3 hours. You day dream about that nice little pension your going to get after just 15 years, which will be 2 or 3 times your salary. You drool with complacity as you enjoy the 100% stated funded healthcare benefits, the nice little income tax breaks you get on your house, and just laugh. Silly private sector workers.
There is no level of accountability with your bunch either. Mediocrity is not penalized, everyone just turns their head the other way. If you stink at your job or are just plain lazy, no one worries, the Union thugs & Democratic politicians protect you.
Whenever people oppose your lavish benefits, you all get together and accuse them of being racist, xenophobic, wealthy, Republican, etc. with the hope that they go away. You group even goes so far as to threaten them with acts of intimidation, violence, vandalism, etc. "You think back to when you have broken car windows, thrown bricks through windows and eggs at houses of non Union members that have opposed your union."
After leaving work at 3:30 in the afternoon while the rest of us are struggling to pay your HUGE salary & benefits, you see house after house in foreclusure, see businesses closing and people losing their livehoods.
But you don't care. Your politicial buddies will surely raise TAXES AGAIN to pay for your cookies. You hold your head up high, flip all them desperate people the birdie and think about the green wad in your wallet. F" them you think.
Haha they pay my salary, i'm entitled to this. If they were politically connected and not a Republican they'd have a cake job job like mine too. They deserve what they get.
2010 & 2012. REALITY CHECK! Your rediculous cookie benefits and gravey train is about to END. We are bankrupt! We have no more money to give you! You can't fool us with this tax the rich garbage anymore. Your Unions have forced tax rates so high that OUR private employers are fleeing the country to stay in business. We have lost almost everything BECAUSE OF YOU!!!
SAY NO TO UNIONS!!! SAY NO TO MORE TAXS INCREASES!!!! AND SAY NO TO SPOILED LOUD MOUTHED PUBLIC UNION WORKERS!!!!!

XXX of VT 10:50AM March 26, 2011

Mort's Brain works correctly. That's the real problem with others. They fight for what they believe in. You see Mort presents both sides of the Union problems, they were good for America and they support idiots and lose site of their mission, make the work place good for majority and keep us safe from abuses. But what about those who do not work well? They should also take a roll to demote them and retrain or fire them. They need to pass tests again like journeyman in the union training! Same like driver test for drunks! Retrain or get the idiots out. Use force. Union used to be full of mafia. Now what are they? Spineless to get the job done and done well? How about the fact that most labor workers are coming from foreign lands now mostly Latino? Is that the problem? They don't work or they work too hard for too little money? Which one? Last time I checked the Mexicans got 11/ hour to make chocolate when the Woman running her business would not hire me a white man. I think there was no union there. No equal representation again of me the real minority.

BKK Willy of CA 10:59PM March 12, 2011

ALL you guys are fools he hit the nail on the head!

Palu Miller of WY 11:28PM October 27, 2010

The Wealth Distribution
by G. William Domhoff
September 2005 (updated July 2010)
In the United States, wealth is highly concentrated in a relatively few hands. As of 2007, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 85%, leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of one's home), the top 1% of households had an even greater share: 42.7%. Table 1 and Figure 1 present further details drawn from the careful work of economist Edward N. Wolff at New York University (2010).
http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

bpennala of MI 11:33PM August 15, 2010

I keep two list. One list is a list of Phonies and the other list is a list of Hypocrites. About 99.5 of politicians make both lists.

James of IL 1:47AM July 14, 2010

So the Wall Street crowd took irresponsible chances with other peoples money, brought down the entire economy and left the rest of America to foot the bill while losing their jobs and the answer is to punish the rest of America?
Mr. Zuckerman needs to work for a living instead of pontificating with his ivory tower and hedge fund friends before writing this garbage. With inequality of pay between the richest Americans and the rest of society increasing the destruction of the only organizations that represent the economic interest of working Americans is definitly not the solution. Just so I am clear, it is OK for financial industry lobbyists to secure tax loopholes, tax credits, and backroom legislation that increased their income through the financing of politicians campaigns but it is now the amazing power of unions to turn out voters that is the cause of our current economic problems? Nice try.

Darin of MO 3:25PM June 07, 2010

Really? The teachers, police officers, firemen, and librarians are all to blame for the current financial mess? This biased article is why I will never subscribe to US News.

Robyn Hage of OH 11:42AM June 02, 2010

In the future, we, as taxpayers will look back at this period as one of pure embarasment. To let this situation become what it is nothing short of being upside down with our resposibilties to the greater public at large. Laws will and should and will be changed to correct the situation.
Call it tough love or acting like adults, or something much worse. It won't matter. Things are changing. It can be felt in the polital winds. There is always a course correction when our sails loose there wind.

John Carpenter of WI 1:55PM May 31, 2010

If you want to be in a pension plan different than social security that's great. Just don't have one that is unfunded and requires the taxpayer to fund the shortfall. That is how it works in the private sector. Once companies determined that the defined benefit plans would bankrupt the firm, they switched to defined contribution plans.
The trouble with unions in the public sector were made very clear by the article. Due to political considerations, there is no incentive to make responsible fiscal decisions relative to union benefits. Just give them what they want as long as I can get reelected. This type of thinking will be demolished in the 2010 and 2012 elections.

ingepi of IL 6:57PM May 30, 2010

Your information is incorrect about pension plans I am a city worker and this is what I will receive 7% of my salary. So yes I will simply thrive off of my pension. And yes I created a 401K but unlike the private sector the city doesn't contribue$ So you do the math I earn 45k yes I am one of those out of control public employees

docountyourdividends of NY 3:08PM May 28, 2010