The Free Enterprise Nation - Blog

Miami cutting pensions, salaries for current employees

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:28:22 GMT

The city of Miami, Florida is declaring a state of "financial urgency," which gives city commissioners the ability to cut the salaries and pensions of government employees despite their being under union contracts. The mayor of Miami said that the only other option would be to cut 1,000 jobs or raise taxes. The president of the general services employee union said that the move will result in a mass exodus of government employees, costing the city years of experience and expertise. But considering the facts surrounding city employee salaries and benefits, the chances of them leaving because of a pay cut are highly unlikely.

Public Sector Pensions: One of the Greatest Ponzi Schemes of all Times

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:44:51 GMT

While governors throughout our nation wring their hands over budget deficits, there is one fiscal adjustment that has been routinely ignored … the re-thinking of over-generous public pension plans whose unfunded liabilities present an ever-increasing stumbling block to financial stability. Yet tackling this one issue can begin the important reform work that will have a substantial impact on tomorrow’s taxpayers – our children and grandchildren.

Unions: the new political powerhouse

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:45:22 GMT

Great stories always have a hero and a villain. In this political narrative we have two characters, corporations and unions. Can you guess the villain?

Your answer to this question may be very different depending on your political ideology, your past professional experience or the letter that appears on your voter’s ID card. Yet, upon closer examination these two characters are quite identical, the only difference is that one earns profits through the selling of goods, which creates tax dollars, and one represents 16.9 million people, half of whom are public servants and rely on taxes for their wages and health benefits.

Welfare gambling: What are the odds it’s happening in your state?

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:44:24 GMT

The next time you enter a casino and hear the clink-clink-clink of the coins pouring out of a lucky slot machine, check your wallet. As a taxpayer, there’s a chance that the money used to hit that jackpot was yours. There are numerous states where welfare cards are being used in casinos and even strip clubs. The most insulting part is that there are very few programs in place to prevent this indirect siphoning of your tax dollars into the overflowing coffers of a casino or strip club, and some states have no interest in even attempting to prevent it.

Paul Ryan: A man with a plan

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:17:08 GMT

Here's the problem with politics today. In order to get reelected, a member of Congress needs to be big on talking points, but vague on details. You need to say 'cut the deficit,' without offering a single idea of how to cut the deficit. Why is this? Because the answers to how to cut the deficit are not popular. Enter Paul Ryan.

Lou Dobbs gives high praise to UNSUSTAINABLE during an interview with author Jim MacDougald

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:13:21 GMT

In case you missed it, you can download and listen to FEN founder Jim MacDougald as he talks at length with Lou Dobbs live on his radio show about UNSUSTAINABLE: How Big Government, Taxes and Debt are Wrecking America. Dobbs spoke volumes about the book and how important it is in regards to improving the current state of our economy and country in general.

Latest stimulus increases corporate taxes to retain public sector employees

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:26:58 GMT

The House voted today to approve a Senate bill providing an additional $26 billion in stimulus funds to states. This is on top of the $119 billion in stimulus funds states received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. While some states have instituted reforms and reduced staff, the continued federal bailouts allow them to put off making any REAL changes to their unsustainable spending, such as reducing their overly-generous salaries and pensions.

School’s 3 Rs anything but the basics

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:07:11 GMT

The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School, which serves about 480 middle school students in New York City’s Washington Heights, is generating some back-to-school chatter. When it opened in September of 2009, the school began recruiting teachers, promising them a $125,000 salary and an opportunity to earn a $25,000 annual bonus. This is part of its “3 Rs” that it claims ensure academic success of students: Rigorous Qualifications, Redefined Expectations and Revolutionary Compensation.

Citizen outrage sparks change in California

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:53:14 GMT

In response to the public fury over the outrageous salaries paid to city officials in Bell, the California state controller ordered that all cities post employee salary data online. This is a huge win for the fight to increase transparency on how governments spend our tax dollars, and shows what we can accomplish when we demand action from our governments.

Healthcare reform lawsuit focuses on unconstitutional mandate

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:16:55 GMT

The State of Virginia is leading the way in championing and protecting the rights of individual citizens. It has distilled the vast and valid arguments against the 2,000+-page healthcare reform package into a single word: unconstitutional. Virginia says that the clause in the U.S. Constitution that allows the federal government “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes” does NOT mean that Congress can call anything it wants to “interstate commerce” and use it to interfere with our constitutionally-protected individual rights. It’s refreshing when a lawsuit is focused and clear in its simplicity. Virginia presents a strong and simple constitutional argument against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that President Obama signed into law in March. And now U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in Richmond, Virginia, agrees, allowing the state to proceed with its suit.

Public Unions becoming "Fear Factories"

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:56:37 GMT

Unions all across the country are resorting to cheap scare tactics to selfishly avoid necessary budgetary concessions. What at first appeared to be an isolated event in one state, soon turned into a pattern, as story after story of various controversial advertising and marketing campaigns disseminated throughout the U.S. by public unions became apparent. All of it shared the same message: continue providing us with a generous salary structure, benefits and pension plans, or you will have to fear for the safety of yourself and everyone you care for. While families and private sector workers are making sacrifices daily to make ends meet during this rough economic downturn, unions seem ready to resort to anything to avoid compromise, even fear-mongering.

Bell, Calif. taxpayer funds abuse not a singularity

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:32:22 GMT

A few weeks ago three top officials from the small, low-income city of Bell, California made nationwide news. Unbeknownst to other officials in the state, and apparently the taxpayers of Bell, the city manager was making a yearly salary of $787,637, the police chief was making $457,000, and an assistant city manager was making $376,288. Anyone want to move to Bell?!

Tax reporting in HC reform will swamp small businesses

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:47:56 GMT

Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) is promising to fight the increased 1099 reporting that was included in healthcare reform. According to the IRS’s own assessment of the new reporting requirements, the measure will result in tens of millions of additional 1099 forms being filed. The IRS says it will have to hire an unspecified number of new employees simply to keep up with the extra paperwork, and predicts that “it is highly likely that the IRS will improperly assess penalties that it must abate later, after great expenditure of taxpayer and IRS time and effort."

Unemployment Benefits Extensions: Where do we draw the line?

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:47:31 GMT

The extension of unemployment benefits that just passed in Congress presents a dilemma. While most of the unemployed are members of the private sector and, therefore, the very people our organization represents, we also represent the individuals and companies that are taxed to provide these benefits, as well as their children and grandchildren who will be the ones left picking up the tab. The latest extension alone adds an estimated $34 billion to the national deficit that future generations will have to find ways to cover.

US heading toward a lost decade?

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:10:28 GMT

I recently read an article on CNN.com that said economists are worried that the United States is headed toward a "lost decade," similar to what was experienced in Japan in the 1990s. This term refers to a decade of stagnant economic growth and poor employment numbers. If the upcoming decade, 2010-2020, is at risk of being a "lost decade," what should we call the past 10 years in this country?

Relief for public sector financial woes: Privatization

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:43:48 GMT

Privatization remains a controversial issue in the United States. However, there are many examples of why it works, and how it has worked in the past. According to Leonard Gilroy, editor of the 2009 Annual Privatization Report,” privatization can be done well, or it can be done poorly.” There are many examples of how privatization can be done well. Cities like Phoenix and Philadelphia have seen positive results from privatization, as well as states like West Virginia. Specific organizations, like private prisons, have also demonstrated that privatization can work.

Big government getting bigger

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:05:12 GMT

Nowhere is America’s obesity epidemic more apparent than in our own government. We’ve already pointed out the decade-long trend in public sector job growth, but the underpinnings of that growth go beyond the simple addition of more jobs; it’s indicative of the burgeoning infrastructure of government itself.

Teachers unions need a lesson in sharing

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:18:38 GMT

In a previous posting, we discussed the hypocrisy of teachers unions claiming cuts will hurt the kids. Here are some specific examples from around the country that demonstrate the willingness of teachers unions to ignore the best interest of the students, and in some cases, their own members, when negotiating new contracts.

Political Perk or Taxpayer Prank?

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:02:23 GMT

The Illinois General Assembly Scholarship Program, which allows politicians to award the children of friends, campaign donors and even other legislators with full scholarships to state colleges or universities, is just the latest ripple in a long stream of entitlements that has grown out of control in politics. The name Illinois General Assembly Scholarship Program would suggest that the General Assembly pays for the tuition, but actually legislators simply instruct the schools to completely waive the cost on the students they select. Think of it as a ‘Get-A-Free-Education’ Card like the cards in Monopoly. The cost of lost tuition for this program in 2009 was $13.5 million, which was a million more than it cost in 2008. Meanwhile, these freebies fly in the face of the current need for massive tuition hikes which could go as high as 9% this coming year. Families are struggling to afford to pay these exorbitant prices for a higher education, while legislators are just tossing out free education as a government perk.

The Stimulus that keeps on giving, and giving, and…

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:15:25 GMT

I wonder—will state and local governments EVER make the necessary cuts needed to sustain themselves, or will they rely on a perpetual cycle of “stimulus” extensions to balance budgets.

Private sector shrinking, Public sector growing

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:00:50 GMT

In Chapter 3 of UNSUSTAINABLE, the recently released book by Free Enterprise Nation CEO Jim MacDougald, he discusses the 10-year loss of 1.5 million private sector jobs between 1999 and 2009. In a FEN analysis of updated data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we have found that the drop has gotten much worse. Between March 2000 and March 2010, the private sector LOST over 3 million jobs, while the public sector GAINED nearly 2 million. During this same time, the population of the United States grew by over 25 million.

Elected officials 'passing the buck' on financial decision-making

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:22:20 GMT

Municipal bankruptcies are disturbing news, but these failings aren’t unique to big cities. Central Falls, Rhode Island, a city of just 19,000 residents, recently had a temporary receiver appointed to take over the city's finances. Amongst the problems facing the city is a massive unfunded liability in the pension plan for city employees. With a city budget of $18 million, the pension plan’s $35 million in liabilities is in desperate need of financial attention.

Public sector retirees suing over cuts to their "cost of living" increases

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:44:25 GMT

In the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, June 12, was a story entitled, “State Pension Cuts Face Test”. It describes how some states, like Colorado and Minnesota, are trying to cut back just a tiny bit on the lavish pensions they have bestowed on public sector workers. The subject concerned the automatic “cost of living” raises built-in to state retirement plans. The raises have nothing to do with the real cost of living…they are just guaranteed increases. In the case of Colorado, the increase in pension benefits is 3.5% every year. The legislature voted to “cut” it to only 2% a year. Retirees are suing.

The not-so-transparent world of top city official pay and benefits

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:29:15 GMT

Two Brandford University students teamed up with 2010 City Council candidate, Barbara Kogerman, to assist in the research and drafting of a report detailing the inconsistencies in city management compensation packages in Orange County, Cal. The report reveals that Laguna Hills funds a city manager compensation package that is totally inconsistent with those of the remaining 33 county cities.

The Oil Spill, Congress, and the President

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:31:17 GMT

The catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico is a horrific example of what happens when Congress and the President don’t do the jobs that the Constitution REQUIRES them to do.

The U.S. Constitution says that Congress is to “…provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States of America.” The Constitution was telling the Congress that it was to provide for the general welfare of the NATION.