9/30/2010Berkeley Steven Greenut, editor-in-chief of CalWatchdog and director of the Pacific Research Institute’s Journalism Center, speaks about the dangers of public labor unions, as detailed in his new book "Plunder: Plunder!: How Public Employee Unions are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation.
9/15/2010 Fox Business Network - Daytime with Brian Sullivan
Steven Greenhut discusses the pension crisis. Media Monitoring
9/15/2010Sent: Wednesday, 03:56 PM From: Governor's News Room Subject : FBN-TV (Fox Business): Steven Greenhut Discusses Public Employee Pensions Being At Fault For California's Budget Woes, Need For Reform
FBN-TV (Fox Business): Steven Greenhut Discusses Public Employee Pensions Being At Fault For California’s Budget Woes, Need For Reform
DAGEN MCDOWELL: facing a massive budget hole the state of california may run the risk of cutting more states public services. join me to discuss what the director of pacific research institute and author of plunder of public employee unions are controlling our lives and bankrupting the nation. great of you to be here. the problem is that politicians are in the pocket of all the union leaders and the workers. the thing that will change in california?
DIRECTOR OF PACIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE, STEVEN GREENHUT: have not seen any change. they absolutely dominate and control the capital and many of the democratic leaders who control the state are actually union organizers in past lives that will have to come at a local level because we will not see any change from legislators.
MCDOWELL: waking up to what you call the $100,000 pension with 15,000 members in a state of california, right?
GREENHUT: speak of these are obscene pension levels and people are starting to wake up to it. the problem is what do we do about it and how do we fix that? we are seeing some signs and depleting public services is very important, still a fairly liberal state.
MCDOWELL: fairly?
GREENHUT: i know. there are different pockets of conservativism and liberalism. but we have to make the argument services are being cut because the senior obligation must be paid. that is why we see a lot of social welfare programs. you have a modestly rein in the cost, taxes have to go way up. some folks on the left are actually promoting some pension reform initiatives and that maybe the most heartening thing i have seen so far.
MCDOWELL: which reforms are most heartening and how long i were talking about any reform to take place? you have written about this that the strength of the union's in the public sector, years and years in the making so what type of timetable are you thinking about?
GREENHUT: i am not the most optimistic person in the world. it will take a while to fix a problem but we have to start the people recognizing the problem and have a broad understanding of it. he is progressive, incredible credentials promoting a pension reform and america's most liberal city requiring public employees to contribute more out of their paycheck contributing very little right now now at least keep the city from being consumed by pension debt by 2015, a third of the city budget will go to retirement cost for public employees. we are seeing ridiculous salaries. they are paying police captain's $300,000 per year. they're cutting police services and firefighting services because of the huge compensation packages. something has to be done. we have to start at least by creating a new lower level of retirement benefits, and we have to require higher contribution base from existing employees, that will keep the system from going belly up it sucking the life out of the government programs, that is what they are saying. it will lead to massive tax increases and just harming the state in all sort of ways.
MCDOWELL: do you worry this will be much bigger problem that is not just a state problem but even a national one? you have a raw number of more union workers in the public sector than the private sector because of the job market so much greater.
GREENHUT: as far as the unfunded pension liabilities to the term for the debt, $3 trillion nationwide. stanford university issues $500 billion in california alone. it is a fairness issue. government employees are retiring their early fifties with six-figure cost of living. i am the health care benefits they get which in many cases are killing public services more than a pension benefits the system is out of whack. they now seem to be their masters. we are stuck paying the tax. my 401(k) does not perform, i'm stuck with retiring with less money. the government employee defied benefits plan does not work taxpayers have to pick up the slack cosmic pension fund to take more aggressive investments many of which have gone bad as we have seen. on the cutting edge of everything good or bad. this is a bad one and we have to get it fixed.
City Journal
STEVEN GREENHUT:
THE FREEMAN 
NORTH COUNTY TIMES 
