Cali Muni Pensions Cut
From Matt Stoller at Naked Capitalism:
San Diego and San Jose residents voted overwhelmingly to cut the pensions of city workers. In San Diego, the measure passed with two thirds of the vote, and in San Jose, the measure passed with seventy percent of the vote…
The union representing city workers, of course, went to the courts rather than pursuing a strategy of engagement with the public. These unions will probably end up losing the fight, because they have no ability to persuade voters that they represent anything but a self-interested group of insiders…
[T]his is a direct consequence of how Barack Obama has led the Democratic Party and redefined liberalism, into a party and an ideology that is defined by wage cuts, foreclosures, debt, and acceptance of dramatic political and economic inequality. Voters don’t want to pay for a government and for government workers who they perceive as out of step with their interests.
