California State GOP leadership released a surprising video showing direct threats to elected California representatives by SEIU leadership today.
Sacramento, California: With the release of a scathing video, the California Republican Party and GOP leaders took on the powerful, state public employee unions, including the SEIU - which was recently labeled "budget terrorists" by a highly placed member of the Obama White House - accusing them of bullying the elected members in the State Legislature and showing an unidentified SEIU union leader testify and make threats saying, "We helped to get you into office. We got a good memory; and come November, if you don't back our program, we'll help get you out of office."
The video link can be found at www.youtube.com/watch
Facing a $200 billion unfunded pension liability, a $42 billion current budget gap and an floundering economy, Governor Schwarznegger and the majority held Democrat Legislature continue to be at odds as to how to get the State back on track. Having just passed the largest tax increase in decades while watching thousands of public employees retire as millionaires - according to the website www.pensiontsunami.com/; Legislators on both parties are struggling to let the unions' stranglehold on the State budget continue.
A recently lauched website www.californiapensionreform.com/calpers/ shows a database that lists over 5000 California Employees Retirment System (CalPERS) employees earning lifetime pensions with payouts of $100k to $499k annually. CalPERS first refused to disclose the information citing privacy concerns however, were ultimately forced by the courts to release the information. CalSTERS and many County public employee retirement systems have yet to disclose this information to the public. Sacramento political insiders claim the real reason for trying to hold back the information is the fear of public outrage and backlash due to these pension and medical retirement packages valued in excess of $3 - 10 million per employee.
Comments
Hmmm no wonder california is screwed up. Looks like chicago type Mob is running the california state and the government.
If you help get someone elected and they turn on you obviously you're not going to endorse them any more. Any interest group does the same exact thing and I'm sure legislators here this line all the freaking time. Just because its a union we're going to try to make a big deal out of it? Come on now.
Check out the site listing 100k+ pensions! How about a bill that creates a maximum state pension system that does not pay state employees after retirement more than 80% of California residents? That should reduce a lot of the waste!
SEIU isn't just some ordinary union. Follow the money. SEIU is intimately related to ACORN (both were begun by - and are directed by - the same Fed funded community organizer grifter and profiteer). The unbridled looting of our U.S. treasury by them is actually being aided and abeted by our current Alinsky-Marxist dictatorship in Washington D.C.
-BRL
5000 making more than $100K out of how many public pensioners? Most of out here can expect pensions closer to $50,000 if we've worked close to 30 years. Youu're cherry picking your data. California is screwed up because we've shifted taxes to the mid- and lower-income workers and small businesses. And we've locked it in with a 2/3 vote that guarantees the politicians (REEPS) who are their agents will prevent any change.
Tucker, you are right on. The mafia is them. Has anyone ever see a bunch of clowns that more resemble the great Alfred E. Newman? Wasn't his slogan, "What me worry"? Each, has their sugar daddy special interest group.
>> Most of out here can expect pensions closer to $50,000 if we've worked close to 30 years. >>
Most private sector employees can't even expect that - they can expect to work another 10 years. They can also expect the legislature to demand more money from them to pay for the public employees' pensions and health benefits. Most likely, they can expect to die at their desks so the 100k club never has to suffer a reduction in benefits.
And 5000 is just the beginning. That number is going to get bigger every year at a rapidly increasing pace due to demographics and the higher salaries of future retirees. Those 5k pensioners by themselves cost us well over a half billion dollars every year.
Public employees don't work for us anymore. We're working for them.
Our polticians knew in the 1990's when they created the law for pension plans that they werent going to be able to fund it past 20 yrs! And look it didnt even make 20 yrs!
You may be right that some employees are getting paid bogus amounts of money for retirement. But those are the top 1% of the other unionized folk. I think giving state employee pensions in general is a fine privelege of working for the state. The majority of folks take a mediocre lifetime pay with a great retirements benefit package. My dad has worked hard for the public works department for 20 years making sure that we have the proper infrastructure to protect us from floods and earthquakes, etc. I think it's tough that he has to think about finding another job when he's near retirement age (hes 56). And I think he is very deserving of his pension after his years of service. So let's not make a blanket statement and think that this small percentage of folks represents the rest of the union. That would give you a completely skewed view.
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