OP-ED | CT’s Budget Crisis: Circus of the Absurd
by Terry Cowgill | Jul 1, 2011 3:02pm
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Posted to: Opinion
To an outside observer, the spectacle of Connecticut’s budget and labor crisis looks like a door-slamming farce — a bad comedy in which none of the shouting actors are capable of moving the plot along.
Last week, I spent time in Massachusetts with relatives who asked me how the Nutmeg State was holding out during The Great Recession. First of all, they wanted to know how a crummy little state like Connecticut could rack up a budget deficit of $3.7 billion. But then their jaws dropped as I told them the General Assembly had passed a two-year budget based on $1.6 billion in labor concessions that hadn’t even been secured yet.
No matter how you look at it, that really is the bottom line. But the budget crisis actually goes beyond bad theater. It has devolved into a high-stakes three-ring circus in which the outcome is a foregone conclusion: someone will fall off the high-wire or get eaten by a lion, Siegfried & Roy-style.
In one ring, we have a gaggle of die-hard union members determined not to give up their unsustainable compensation packages, even if it means thousands of their fellow workers will get pink slips. In defense of the rank-and-file, it’s worth pointing out that most of their members voted to accept Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s very fair offer. The failure to ratify exposes a serious flaw in the union bylaws that require an absurd 80 percent of membership to approve any change in the contract. That’s not a super-majority; it’s an uber-majority. How ironic that the unions’ own stupid rules could cause the loss of thousands of dues-paying jobs.
If the state employee unions enjoyed any support, then it is rapidly shrinking.
To wit, in the other ring we have Gov. Malloy, a former big-city mayor whose support among state employees was crucial in his successful gubernatorial bid. Not only has Malloy had enough, but he has called for unspecified “systemic changes” in the way the state deals with its union employees. Is this a Scott Walker deal? Could the Democrat Malloy actually be talking about curtailing the right of state workers to collectively bargain? Not if you believe what Roy Occhiogrosso, Malloy’s senior adviser, said this week on The Colin McEnroe Show. However, it looks like the Democratic-controlled Senate has other ideas.
In the third ring, we have the media and other traditional bastions of diminishing union support. In an editorial, The Hartford Courant has bemoaned the unions’ “selfishness.” The Boston Globe thundered that the unions have put “every hard-won perk ahead of the greater good of the union, the government, and the state economy.” Progressive Courant columnist and blogger Colin McEnroe has famously branded the union no-voters as “Big Babies.”
State Sen. Edith Prague, the liberal firebrand who chairs the legislature’s labor and public employees committee, said the unions are “out of their minds” to have rejected the deal. And exasperation with organized labor has reached such a fevered pitch that legislators have apparently agreed to empower “King Dannel” with the enhanced authority to make unilateral budget rescissions.
Peaking under the circus tent is a smirking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the tough-talking Republican who has lead the way in pushing state employees into giving ground. When asked this week about Gov. Malloy’s predicament on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Christie started laughing even before Joe Scarborough could finish his question.
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“The fact of the matter is what these folks in the public sector unions respect is strength.” Christie gloated. “Strength, not weakness.”
Substitute the words “some militants” for “these folks” and you’d have to agree that Christie is spot-on. Blessed with a governor who has bragged about his conciliatory posture and his willingness to negotiate, SEBAC’s mulish militants have decided Malloy is bluffing when he says he’s willing to lay-off 5,500 state employees.
Meanwhile, Moody’s Investor Service has downgraded Connecticut’s general-obligation bond outlook from stable to negative.
Is it any wonder that our state has the worst record in the nation for creating new jobs over the last two decades? I’m afraid it’s time for some of the circus performers to either reform themselves or pack up and leave town.
Terry Cowgill blogs at terrycowgill.blogspot.com and was an award-winning editor and senior writer for The Lakeville Journal Company. He is host of Conversations with Terry Cowgill, an hour-long monthly interview program on CATV6 on Comcast’s northwest Connecticut system.
Tags: concession, union, SEBAC, Malloy, budget, legislature
(4) Comments
posted by: Lawrence | July 4, 2011 2:32pm
“But then their jaws dropped as I told them the General Assembly had passed a two-year budget based on $1.6 billion in labor concessions that hadn’t even been secured yet.”
Okay, Terry—but did you also tell them that New Jersey balanced its budget last year with $1 billion in public school cuts that have been deemded unconstitional?
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March 22, 2011
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – A judge has found that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s $1 billion in school aid cuts last year left the state unable to meet its obligation to provide all children with a “thorough and efficient” education.
In a report issued Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne found that Christie’s cuts hit high-risk districts the hardest.
The state Supreme Court will now consider his finding and whether to act on it.
The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that the state needs to do more to improve schools in New Jersey’s poorest districts.
Last year, Christie cut state funding for all districts, including the needy ones, saying the state government couldn’t balance its budget otherwise.
Did you tell them that Standard & Poors downgraded New Jersey’s debt in February due to ongoing budgetary conerns in that state?
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By Tami Luhby, senior writerFebruary 9, 2011: 4:47 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)—Standard & Poor’s lowered its credit rating on New Jersey’s debt to AA- from AA, citing concerns about its massive retirement obligations.
“The lower rating reflects our concern regarding the stresses from the state’s poorly funded pension system, substantial post-employment benefit obligations, and above-average debt levels,” said Standard & Poor’s Credit Analyst Jeffrey Panger.
The state has nearly $33 billion in debt, among the highest in the nation, according to S&P, which rates the state’s outlook as stable because it believes it will “continue to manage its structural budget imbalances proactively.”
New Jersey has long skimped on funding its pension, leaving it with a current unfunded liability of $54 billion.
Gov. Chris Christie, who took office in 2010, has taken an aggressive approach to handling the Garden State’s financial problems. He closed a fiscal 2011 deficit of $11 billion, which was equal to 37% of the budget, by deeply cutting spending and suspending a property tax rebate. He also deferred $3.1 billion in pension funding.
Did you tell them that Mario Cuomo balanced New York’s budget by building union layoffs into his budget, then reaching an agreement with them AFTER THE BUDGET WAS APPROVED ON MARCH 31 to find equitable costs savings?
That’s not too different from what Malloy did: give me the savings, or I’ll lay you off. Either way, the budget is balanced with concessions, not layoffs.
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Governor Andrew Cuomo Announces Redesigned State Workforce Agreement With Council 82, New York State’s Law Enforcement Officers Union
Albany, NY (April 13, 2011)
Governor Andrew M Cuomo today announced a historic contract agreement with Council 82, the labor union representing New York State’s law enforcement officers.
The agreement includes wage freezes through the 2013-2014 fiscal year, elimination of so-called ‘step increases,’ more equitable employee health care contributions, and major reforms to health care benefits and overtime.
“I applaud Council 82 and its leadership for understanding the problems of the state, and realizing that through shared sacrifice, we can get New York on the road to recovery,” Governor Cuomo said. “This is a model the other unions negotiating with the state can follow. If similar contract terms were adopted by New York’s other public employee unions, the state could achieve the $450 million in savings needed to avoid the 9,800 layoffs projected in the enacted budget. I also want to thank and commend our lead negotiators Todd Snyder and Joe Bress for their tireless work on behalf of the people of the state.”
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My point is, every state had to depend on a series of unappetizing choices to balance historic budsget deficits.
State workers are somehow being unfairly blamed and burdened for this when we should be looking at Wall Street for the causes of our pain.
posted by: hawkeye | July 4, 2011 3:17pm
The former fast-talking—Dan Malloy, now Dannel Patrick Malloy, told voters he did an outstanding job—as Mayor of Stamford—to get elected as Governor.
Howevever with the benefit of a Democratic General Assembly, he is doing an atrocious job as Governor.
To top it off, our poor job perforrmance Governor—is getting a guaranteed paycheck through the end of next year!
How many people will be losing their pay-checks due to the inept Gov. Malloy, led by the union members—who helped elect this career politician?
However, Malloy—will be laughing—all th way to the bank!
posted by: victim's revenge | July 4, 2011 10:41pm
Terry, this is a very good piece that you wrote here.
I think Gov. Christie has the weight advantage, but Malloy is lean, and he’s pretty mean. So if Malloy can just stay out of Christie’s grasp, and keep on hitting him with the jab, Christie will probably run out of juice, and then Malloy would probably be able to finish him off with a hard right.
posted by: Terry D. Cowgill | July 5, 2011 2:11pm
Lawrence, the decision you cite was from a lower court in NJ. Let’s see what happens when the case hits the NJ Supreme Court. I’m not saying Christie is my ideal governor, but I think it’s fair to say he has gotten more than Malloy—and been a lot more decisive.
I can only speak for myself, but I certainly have not “blamed” state employees for the recession. But when economic circumstances change drastically, everyone has to step up to the plate.
The taxpayers are weathering the largest tax increase in state history. But 43% of SEBAC members think state employees should not have to make modest concessions.
Colin nailed it: that 43% is comprised of “big babies.”