Public Employee Compensation and the State Budget Crunch

As we've written previously, news of pay hikes for state workers undercuts what little public support exists for tax hikes. Today, The News Tribune takes a hard editorial line, saying it's past time for the state to get tough with unions. The first three paragraphs are priceless.

A Seattle Democrat earned a heaping of derision earlier this year for suggesting that people would die if the state didn’t send a tax increase to the ballot.

We were among the eye-rollers, but there’s something to be said for speaking the language of those in power.

So, at the risk of indulging hyperbole, let us suggest an amendment to state Rep. Eric Pettigrew’s good little reproach: People will die if the state doesn’t take on its employee unions.

They conclude:

It is irresponsible to ask taxpayers who are juggling pay cuts, furloughs, reductions in working hours and staggering health care costs to help preserve the position of state workers. It is a far worse offense to foist such a burden on the poor and sick.

Read the whole thing.

The unions disagree. Responding to earlier criticism from Sen. Joe Zarelli and the Seattle Times editorial board, the state labor council defends the pay hikes and benefits. I didn't find it persuasive. But then, I didn't expect to.

Meanwhile, Tracy Warner at the Wenatchee World examines the taxing options.

Evidence of the fragile nature of this recovery can be found in the news that the state unemployment rate dropped from 9.3 percent to 9.2 percent.

According to the Employment Security Department, the state lost 4,800 jobs last month. That’s about the same number that were lost in October.

Keep the cork in the champagne bottle. We've a ways to go yet. And the state workers' unions can't be held harmless.