California State University Faculty Must Say No to Furloughs
The California State University's attempt to get faculty to accept furloughs is the latest chapter in a shock and awe budget process designed to undermine wages and unions in the state and force labor concessions to protect corporate profits.
Our buget crisis should not be used as an opportunity to weaken unions
California State University (CSU) is facing a $583.8 million dollar budget cut for the 2009-10 fiscal year. CSU faculty are being asked to take 10% less pay by accepting two days of furloughs per month for 2009-10. Justification for this request is to protect 3,700 full time equivalent lecturer positions (9000 Instructors) from lay-off. CSU Faculty, like state workers, are being asked to bail out the state by accepting less pay because of massive budget deficits. State worker unions and the California Faculty Association must stand firm against being intimidated by the CSU administration and State government officials. Giving concessions undermines the wages for working people across the board. It also means protecting the incomes of the rich and most powerful corporations in California.
The budget crisis in California has been artificially created by cutting taxes on the wealthiest people and corporations. The current “crisis” is a shock and awe process designed to undermine wages and unions in the state and force labor concessions to protect corporate profits.
Tax cuts enacted in California since 1993 cost the state $11.3 billion dollars annually. Had the state continue taxing corporations and the wealthy at rates from fifteen years ago we would not have a budget crisis today. Even though a budget crisis was evident last year, in February California income tax laws were changed to provide corporations with even greater tax savings equal to over $2 billion per year.
Half of all state revenue comes from personal income taxes paid by working people, and another third comes from sales and use taxes. The result is, that as a percent of income, taxes hit the lower paid workers the hardest. Corporations only pay for about 1/10 of the state budget. The rest of us are bailing out the rich by accepting massive budget cuts at a time when less spending will only exasperate the economic situation.
Unions and working people need to say no to massive state budget cuts, and fight for every service and job possible. We must say no to voluntary furloughs and push for new taxes on the wealthy and largest corporations. CSU Professors should be the leaders for working people in the State. We must stand firm on no concessions, no furloughs, and no cuts in classes for our students.
I can't let your article go unchecked...
So let's think about this. There's no money, none left in the state. Private interests and lobbying (unions included) and lets not forget the freeloaders are dragging down the system. Everybody's struggling, 10% of our workforce is unemployed, and yet we have our CSU faculty complaining about Furlough? They're not even losing their jobs that are probably the most stable in the state - not to mention that they are reasonably well paid, have little oversight, and enjoy a multitude of vacation days, benefits, and pensions that of which no longer exist in the private sector.
The system is broken, unions are broken, and yet you're asking your fellow bretheren to unite? Unions are contrary to everything this country stands for, they're as evil as import taxes and protectionism. Unions push their weight around to simply tax their employers. Look at GM: unions killed the company. Workers responsible for installing a windshield getting paid $100 per hour? Unions are great for the worker, but they are NOT great for the customer which is you and I and they are completely contrary to free trade. If you don't like your damn job go get another one, don't force your employer through scare tactics and unreasonable demands . There's laws against this, laws to which unions don't abide - we've all heard about them and they involve "PRICE FIXING". Unions have stepped well beyond reasonable bounds, they should protect workers health and safety and help set standards, but the moment they push their weight around to arbitrarily increase wages and benefits they become the epitome of evil. In the end, the unions promote apathy and entitlement ultimately bringing down both the worker, the company or even the industry (e.g. California Steel industry).
And let's talk about that private sector, the American economy, it's what supports the public sector. It pays for the roads, post offices, the hospitals, the faculty, the schools - don't start thinking that the government comes first, it's a far second in importance. To undermine industry with taxes through a veritable cleptocracy equates to bloodletting on a hemophiliac where government happily steps up to drink ever last drop of blood; in its entitlement and belief in self worth it demands more; when the flood slows the government seeks to expand the wound to hasten the bleeding to satisfy its newly found thirst until you know what happens --- 2009. Where do you think this money comes from? How dare you say that you should TAKE more. Do you think money just appears out of nowhere when these companies do business? A company is driven by profit, in fact that's its mandate. Taxes, while in the short term sound like a good idea, only cut into a corporation's profits limiting its ability to consume goods and services that other members of the private sector provide. Your rationality for taxing is that the government provides a service that is more important than the private sector, but there is nothing more important than the private sector in the grand scheme of things.
Taxes have become so bad and so out-of-whack that they are literally destroying the taxable base of the economy. For example, I could actually work 6 months out of the year and still make 90% of my income after working an entire year - YES, that's right, I am being incentivized to work less. Before the government starts TAKING more from private industry and "the rich" (who might I add might work their asses off to earn that money by the way) consider this: 1) Clean up the mess, stop letting city council members, regents, and politicians vote themselves pay increases and outrageous benefits. 2) Clean up welfare and stop giving away money as we have creating an entitled society 3) remove the taxes on the rich, they are unfair and you're making the wrong assumption that the government will spend the money on something else that's more important - tax me less and I might actually be able to afford to buy that car that keeps a person working in Detroit (after Ca sales tax I'm over 50%!!!!!) 4) Make sure that unemployment applicants are looking for work instead of sitting on their asses for 2 years straight 5) Drug test all welfare and food stamp recipients 6) Remove all time-based taxes such as toll roads 6) SHRINK THE GOVERNMENT 7) Incentivize prisoners by associating their parole date with hours spent paying the state back while on work detail
“I swear—by my life and my love of it—that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” ---- Ayn Rand