The California Teacher’s Union wants to make it more difficult and unprofitable for corporations to do business in California …
In spite of the widespread failures of California educators to fulfill their mission to educate California’s children (50% dropout rate), the California Teacher’s Union is apparently planning to follow radical socialist Saul Alinsky’s rules for community organizers by demonizing California businesses who are already struggling in one of the most anti-business environment in the nation. Like all unions, they are stupidly, once again, attempting to kill the golden goose which drives the California economy.
According to the Sacramento Bee …
“CTA seeking to repeal corporate tax benefits via initiative”
CTA has formed a new committee called Taxpayers for Jobs and Against Corporate Handouts, into which the union transferred $86,882 on Wednesday from a 2009 committee that backed special election ballot measures. Kaufman said CTA wants to qualify the initiative for the November 2010 ballot.
“The California Teachers Association plans to begin gathering signatures as soon as today for an initiative to repeal corporate tax benefits that lawmakers approved in the past two years, according to CTA political consultant Gale Kaufman.”
“The tax changes are worth an estimated $1.7 billion annually and scheduled to begin in 2011-12. Republicans said the tax measures would help stimulate the economy and advocated for their inclusion during budget deals struck in 2008 and 2009. The laws give companies more flexibility to apply operating losses to their tax liability and allow firms to calculate their California taxes based on a percentage of in-state sales rather than property and payroll.”
Labor group wants to alter term limits proposition to aid current legislators who negotiate union contracts …
In an effort to corrupt the term limits demanded by “we the people” to limit the toxic effects of long-serving “professional politicians” who are more about promoting their personal and political interests by pandering to the special interests, the Los Angeles Federation of Labor is trying to pass their own version of term limits.
“LA labor federation digging deep to alter term limits”
“The powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor is becoming increasingly active in the drive to place an initiative to alter California's legislative term limits onto the November ballot.”
“Maria Elena Durazo, head of the federation, serves as treasurer of Californians For A Fresh Start, the committee leading the drive to qualify the measure for the ballot, state records show.”
“The group touts itself as the second largest labor federation of its kind in the country, representing more than 350 unions and more than 800,000 workers. Officials did not immediately return phone calls Friday.”
“Like Proposition 93, which voters rejected two years ago, the new measure would reduce legislative term limits from 14 years to 12 years, but allow all to be served in one house.”
“Unlike Proposition 93, however, Olson's proposal would not apply to lawmakers holding office when ballots were cast.”
“Californians For A Fresh Start has collected $580,000 in donations. The largest came from the developer of a proposed National Football League stadium in the city of Industry, Majestic Realty, which chipped in $300,000.”
Other donors are the Los Angeles Jobs Political Action Committee, $10,000; POPA Inc., a law enforcement committee, $10,000; BNSF Railway Co., $7,500; and the O'Melveny & Myers law firm, $3,000.”
Make no mistake about it: this initiative is being funded by people with business pending before the legislature. By the special interests who apparently want to legally bribe legislators for access and votes. There is no civic responsibility here – only pure, unbridled “quid pro quo” politics.
About unions …
California’s difficulties can be traced back to the increasing unionization of the public sector where individual initiative is replaced by mediocrity, merit is replaced by seniority and the costs are ever-increasing for decreasing results and onerous work rules that make firing poorly performing employees next to impossible.
“We the people” have inadvertently created a super-class of people – people who have life-long job guarantees, life-long medical benefits and a great retirement – sometimes at a relatively young age. These people are almost immune from the current economic downturn.
Let me be perfectly clear, I do not mind benefits for first responders (police, fire, medical), but to confer these same benefits on the cubicle workers who produce nothing but paper rankles me greatly.
Let’s watch as these propositions are qualified for the 2010 election cycle – and kill them at the ballot box if they do not serve to improve California’s struggling economy and only allow the special interests to dig deeper in the public’s pocket with little or no benefit to “we the people.”
-- steve
Reference Links …
Capitol Alert: CTA seeking to repeal corporate tax benefits via initiative|Sacramento Bee
Capitol Alert: LA labor federation digging deep to alter term limits|Sacramento Bee
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