Opensecrets.org is a great site to explore, and I encourage everyone to go there and browse.
I was doing so today, and came across their list of heavy hitters: the biggest contributors to political campaigns over the last 20 years.
One clear thing is that labor unions were, as a group, by far the biggest givers, to the tune of $184,906,000. That is $184 Million.
ATT was the biggest single company at over $43 Million. Goldman Sachs managed only fourth place with over $31 Million. But they got several Secretaries of the Treasury for their trouble.
Go here and see who "owns" our politicians. Click at the bottom of the list of ten to see the whole list, and to which party the contributions were made.
Something has to change. Who will lead the revolution?
Showing posts with label unions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unions. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Labor Day
The unofficial end of Summer has arrived, and with it all sorts of things.
College football got under way last week, starting my favorite time of the year. My Texas Longhorns won, while our arch-rival Oklahoma lost at home to Brigham Young. OU's Heisman quarterback was injured, but its extent is yet unknown. I wish him a speedy recovery. He is an outstanding young man.
With it comes a breath of Fall, particularly in the mornings and evenings in West Texas. Temps at night are 10-12 degrees cooler than a month ago, and there is a freshness in the breeze. Even a few leaves are beginning to drift down in the back yard
New polls shown unions to be unpopular with the folks. That is not surprising, because now that their man is President, and they own the Congress, we are all able to see what jerks most of them are. See articles here and here.
Obama had the whistle blown on one of the several outright communists in his administration. There are more, but good riddance to Van Jones. An article here. Another is here.
Take note that the large media never covered the story until he left, and than tried to paper it over. No wonder they are all going broke. Most of them are simply an adjunct to Obama's propaganda machine. Something closely akin to Lenin's "useful idiots." One simply cannot trust anything most of them say.
This Labor Day finds us with a reported 9.7% unemployment rate, with the direction still headed down. If one were to use the same measure as was used during the Great Depression, it would be closer to 17%. Very sad.
All the liberal pundits like to talk about "green shoots" in the economy, and a "recovery" about to start. My view is that there is no recovery until jobs come back. Even Obama says that won't be until well into next year.
The use of the "stimulus" bill to pay off ACORN and other large Democratic constituencies is turning into a nightmare for unemployed Americans. Will there be any accountability for this? Probably not. Maybe November, 2010. We will see.
There are other things to cover that have arisen since I last posted. More later.
College football got under way last week, starting my favorite time of the year. My Texas Longhorns won, while our arch-rival Oklahoma lost at home to Brigham Young. OU's Heisman quarterback was injured, but its extent is yet unknown. I wish him a speedy recovery. He is an outstanding young man.
With it comes a breath of Fall, particularly in the mornings and evenings in West Texas. Temps at night are 10-12 degrees cooler than a month ago, and there is a freshness in the breeze. Even a few leaves are beginning to drift down in the back yard
New polls shown unions to be unpopular with the folks. That is not surprising, because now that their man is President, and they own the Congress, we are all able to see what jerks most of them are. See articles here and here.
Obama had the whistle blown on one of the several outright communists in his administration. There are more, but good riddance to Van Jones. An article here. Another is here.
Take note that the large media never covered the story until he left, and than tried to paper it over. No wonder they are all going broke. Most of them are simply an adjunct to Obama's propaganda machine. Something closely akin to Lenin's "useful idiots." One simply cannot trust anything most of them say.
This Labor Day finds us with a reported 9.7% unemployment rate, with the direction still headed down. If one were to use the same measure as was used during the Great Depression, it would be closer to 17%. Very sad.
All the liberal pundits like to talk about "green shoots" in the economy, and a "recovery" about to start. My view is that there is no recovery until jobs come back. Even Obama says that won't be until well into next year.
The use of the "stimulus" bill to pay off ACORN and other large Democratic constituencies is turning into a nightmare for unemployed Americans. Will there be any accountability for this? Probably not. Maybe November, 2010. We will see.
There are other things to cover that have arisen since I last posted. More later.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Citizens' revolt in California
Back in May, California had 6 ballot intiatives designed to fund the gap between state income and outgo, and 5 of them were heavily backed by the political class, the big newspapers, and the public sector unions. The sixth one limited elected officials' salaries.
Guess which one passed and which five failed. You got it.
Now, the political class is up in arms. They won't cut back anywhere. So California is broke and issuing IOUs instead of paying in cash.
Reason has piece by Matt Welsh that covers it pretty well:
"During the last two decades, the Golden State has been transformed from what was once known as the nation’s most anti-labor outpost to a state essentially run by public-sector unions. Nearly three in five publicsector workers are unionized, compared to less than two in five public employees in other states. The Democratic Party, which is fully in hock to unions, has controlled the legislature and most statewide posts, with the notable exception of the governor’s mansion, for more than a decade. That means more government workers, higher salaries, and drastically higher pension costs. "
Now, the public is rebelling, and its about time.
"California is the Ghost of Federal Government Future."
Is what has been happening in California something we can look for in the rest of the country? Well, consider this:
"The federal government is now run by a president and Congress more responsive to union concerns than any in at least two decades. The same bloat currently bogging down statehouses and city halls is being duplicated in boomtown Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama even brought Andy Stern in to help warn Schwarzenegger that federal stimulus money would not be disbursed to California unless the governor rescinded some proposed state job cuts. Though that threat was later withdrawn, Schwarzenegger at press time was pushing for a measly work force reduction of 2 percent."
So, what can we conclude?
"Faced with a political class that ignored bureaucratic inefficiency, that demanded higher taxes, that filled the newspapers with scare stories about people who will literally die as a result of budget cuts, the citizens of one of the bluest states in the nation collectively said we just don’t believe you anymore. If even California’s famous fruits and nuts can call the statists’ bluff, there may be hope for the rest of the country. "
Read the whole thing here.
Guess which one passed and which five failed. You got it.
Now, the political class is up in arms. They won't cut back anywhere. So California is broke and issuing IOUs instead of paying in cash.
Reason has piece by Matt Welsh that covers it pretty well:
"During the last two decades, the Golden State has been transformed from what was once known as the nation’s most anti-labor outpost to a state essentially run by public-sector unions. Nearly three in five publicsector workers are unionized, compared to less than two in five public employees in other states. The Democratic Party, which is fully in hock to unions, has controlled the legislature and most statewide posts, with the notable exception of the governor’s mansion, for more than a decade. That means more government workers, higher salaries, and drastically higher pension costs. "
Now, the public is rebelling, and its about time.
"California is the Ghost of Federal Government Future."
Is what has been happening in California something we can look for in the rest of the country? Well, consider this:
"The federal government is now run by a president and Congress more responsive to union concerns than any in at least two decades. The same bloat currently bogging down statehouses and city halls is being duplicated in boomtown Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama even brought Andy Stern in to help warn Schwarzenegger that federal stimulus money would not be disbursed to California unless the governor rescinded some proposed state job cuts. Though that threat was later withdrawn, Schwarzenegger at press time was pushing for a measly work force reduction of 2 percent."
So, what can we conclude?
"Faced with a political class that ignored bureaucratic inefficiency, that demanded higher taxes, that filled the newspapers with scare stories about people who will literally die as a result of budget cuts, the citizens of one of the bluest states in the nation collectively said we just don’t believe you anymore. If even California’s famous fruits and nuts can call the statists’ bluff, there may be hope for the rest of the country. "
Read the whole thing here.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Musings
Just musing today after reading all of the frightening economic and political news.
The stock market is up good today on the news that Citi made a profit. I will bet it is not net of all the taxpayer dollars that have been and will be poured into it. Absurd.
There is news that the Democrats have introduced the "Employee Freedom of Choice Act." This is one that actually does away with freedom of employees to have a secret ballot when deciding whether or not to unionize. Typically of Democrats, its all a lie.
I note that some people are saying that the next shoe to fall on the banks will be huge credit card losses. Not a surprise. Banks were sending out many cards for years, not only to adult people, but to children, dogs, cats and canaries. Without regard to credit ratings. Now we are going to have to bail the banks out for that, too.
Does anybody know how many trillions of dollars all this bailout business is going to cost?
No?
Didn't think so.
Does anybody know who is going to pay for it?
Your children and grandchildren, that's who.
Sigh.
The stock market is up good today on the news that Citi made a profit. I will bet it is not net of all the taxpayer dollars that have been and will be poured into it. Absurd.
There is news that the Democrats have introduced the "Employee Freedom of Choice Act." This is one that actually does away with freedom of employees to have a secret ballot when deciding whether or not to unionize. Typically of Democrats, its all a lie.
I note that some people are saying that the next shoe to fall on the banks will be huge credit card losses. Not a surprise. Banks were sending out many cards for years, not only to adult people, but to children, dogs, cats and canaries. Without regard to credit ratings. Now we are going to have to bail the banks out for that, too.
Does anybody know how many trillions of dollars all this bailout business is going to cost?
No?
Didn't think so.
Does anybody know who is going to pay for it?
Your children and grandchildren, that's who.
Sigh.
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