Local governments have very few venues for increasing revenues. The revenues have to be raised. Just that simple. Legislators at any level of government stating otherwise are not practicing sound fiscal policy.
Citizens should not be lead into destroying their governments because of past irresponsible fiscal policy in the Federal Executive Branch. This is like pulling the rug from under the recovery in any economy, state, local or federal. Revenues have to bring about balance in stressed governments, not destruction of democratic principles. It is obvious what is happening and why there are increases in unemployment. Republicans don't know how to govern.
These "Authoritarian Laws" are based on 'solvency' as if every town and hamlet was a corporation. These cities might be incorporated, but, they are not producing a product for profit. The entire approach is about destroying cities and towns and not about sustaining them or creating a 'tax base' that is workable. If the property values are not sustaining these cities on a 'systemic' basis then the state needs to increase revenues until property values return to a reasonable level. Snyder's policies throw the baby out with the bath water. It isn't a reasonable approach. The state needs to increase its revenue and provide subsidies to sustain local budgets while the economy recovers. This is about emergency fiscal management and not corruption that derailed local governments.
Property values at the local level is an issue, it serves NO ONE to decrease employees incomes to balance budgets. That will only result in lower property values and will further destabilize the housing market. Public employees are not aliens, they have families and purchase homes like everyone else. Destroying pay scales for public employees by destroying their unions is the sound fiscal policy it is more of the wayward approach we have seen for nearly a decade now and look where it has gotten the nation.
...Al Garrett is president (click title to entry - thank you) of the 60,000-member Michigan chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 25. He said the money local governments have lost to plunging property values and state aid reductions is responsible for local governments' financial problems, not their contracts with unionized workers….
That attack by Governor Snyder is becoming SYSTEMIC. It isn't a city on occasion that has a problem resulting from corruption and needs 're-organization' to recapture viability away from its corrupted infrastructure, the problem is broader that than.
The need for skilled and qualified public employees was never more evident than when "Hurricane Irene" struck the east coast of the USA.
The problem across the board in the USA is a result of LOST REVENUES to any government, not costs and certainly not the employees that work for the government. The problem is REVENUE. What new revenue is Synder and others like him bringing to their state budgets to influence GROWTH and not just 'Fire Sales' of public assets. The methods of these governors are hideous while they continue to treat their power as dictatorial rather than democratic.
There is a problem here and it needs to be tested in the courts. Those limiting and destroying government have not provided enough revenues to their treasury to even consider these measures.The Federal Labor Board has to begin to draw conclusions regarding these policies and then litigate it while seeking injunctions . The 'Authoritarian Laws' are destroying economies and job growth.
These are fundamental constitutional rights of citizens that are being attacked. The right to assemble and organize is being destroyed by so called 'budget balancing.' It is out control.
Snyder is digging a deeper hole for these communities, he is not solving their problems. He is removing democratic processes while making matters worse.
Foundation files brief supporting university teaching assistants' First Amendment freedom of association (click here)
Washington, DC (July 29, 2011) – The National Right to Work Foundation filed an amicus curiae("friend of the court") brief with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) asking the Board to uphold its long-standing precedent to disallow union officials to corral university graduate students working as teaching assistants into unwanted union affiliation.
Foundation attorneys filed the brief with the NLRB in a case involving United Auto Workers (UAW) union organizers’ attempt to forcibly unionize graduate students at New York University (NYU) in New York City and ultimately to force them to pay union dues to maintain their status....
