Budget Red Ink and Public Employee Unions

You've gotta believe it's easier to go into collective bargaining when the coffers are full. In most places, including Washington, that's not the case right now. The Spokesman-Review reminds state workers that the well is dry.

New York faces a substantial budget crisis, as well. Lawmakers there want to cap property taxes. The state's largest teachers union opposes the gap. The Niagara Gazette is fed up.

... the cap may or may not be an answer. The ultimate answer is fiscal responsibility. But since this is New York, that?s probably not going to happen anytime soon. So if the crutch of a tax cap is needed to instill discipline, so be it.

One thing we cannot do is to let the teachers and other public employee unions dictate the terms of our fiscal future. We?ve allowed that to happen in the past. Look where that?s brought us.

The S-R has it right.

State workers lament that pay isn't keeping pace with inflation, but compare that with workers who have been laid off, had their pay cut or haven't had a raise in years. In that context, recent state pay raises of 2 percent and 3.2 percent look pretty sweet.

Since 2004, funding for pay and benefits for teachers has risen 29 percent. For other state workers it's up 31 percent. Some of that is due to new hires. Some is due to compensation increases...

Ultimately, and soon, state leaders will have to apply the brakes to state spending. This round of negotiations sets the stage.