POLITICIANS ARE USING STATE EMPLOYEES
By Bob Confer

The New York economy is in dire straits. Thanks to high and ever-growing taxes many companies are forced to seek greener pastures in nearby states. Due to the lack of job opportunities associated with this corporate migration, people are leaving in droves.

Despite this nightmare, we saw a major development in the job market in June. Bucking the trend of the mass exodus, nearly 52,000 jobs in our borders were granted a sort of permanency. Tens of thousands of other people were given improved benefits and pensions. Another 25,000 workers were granted substantial pay raises, most of them nearing 30 percent.

This is great news, right?

Unfortunately, it is not. As a matter of fact, it is some of the worst news one could receive.

No true positive revenues are being created by these developments. No economic wealth-creation is being accomplished by such job growth. If anything, what has occurred has only destined New York to suffer further ruin.

This outcome is not an anomaly. Such is the case when one considers that not one of these “wonderful” developments occurred in the private sector. Each and every one of these measures occurred in the public sector. Somehow, the state legislature, in all its twisted glory, decided it was in the best interest of NY’s fiscal well-being to increase state payrolls now and in the future.

The lawmakers have said it’s “only” $1 billion, but doing the math in a more realistic and less of an overly-conservative fashion shows the impact in just a few years will be a staggering $2.3 billion per year…and growing. The 52,000 jobs “created” are really a transfer of day care jobs to the state’s unions, creating huge benefit disbursements and higher wages. This reward has also been granted to many more state employees, among them the aforementioned 25,000 workers receiving raises.

Where is this money to come from? To make ends meet the state needs a staggering $800 million up front. Of this, it has been said the state has available only a paltry $25 million.      

Therefore, all of these bills will jack-up taxes to unprecedented levels in the coming years, not that we aren’t there already. With a budget deficit already anticipated for 2006 – 2007, one can’t help but wonder: “how much more can we give?”

Well, as much the politicians can take, which is, essentially, a limitless amount because they are allowed to do so and are rewarded for it.

You see, in their truest essence, these bills were not put into place for the benefit of the state employees. Instead they were created for the benefit of the politicians as they virtually guaranteed their job security. Even though irate taxpayers possess a loud voice, their voice is muffled by the power of the government workforce that every one of these bills support. The conniving politicians know full well that these content folks will provide the legwork necessary to get them the votes to keep them in power.

Basically, the politicians are using the state’s employees as a tool, a tool by which to win votes. But, the thing is, you use a tool a little too much, and it will break. The state’s union employees will suffer the pain of the high taxes the politicians created to please them.

Sure, they’ll posses the benefits and relative long-term security of a state job, but without any spending money what good is it? Be it property taxes, sales taxes, or sin taxes, they will be paying through the teeth to support they and their peers. Over time they may wonder – like many private sector employees do - whether their families’ quality of life may be better elsewhere, someplace with less taxes and, therefore, more net income available.

It’s sad what this supposed taxation with representation has progressed to. These labor bills prove that New York politics are a game, one which all taxpayers – private and public employees alike - are losing and only our elected officials are winning. Those we have placed in power are so ego-driven and intent on getting back into power and making a name for themselves that they would just assume dig a deeper hole for New York in order to secure their own personal benefit and will – without guilt - use poor working souls like the state’s employees to get what they want.