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Arizona’s Secret Growth Industry

May 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Stephen Slivinski

Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor released employment data for all 50 states. Arizona has done reasonably well since March 2011, adding 47,000 non-farm jobs. That’s a growth rate of around 2 percent and puts Arizona among the top 10 states.

The Arizona Republic mentioned these numbers in their annual employment survey of the largest companies in the state and concluded that large employers were helping lead the state into a recovery. The Arizona Department of Administration reported that the biggest absolute job gain was in the leisure and hospitality industry (10,700 new jobs).

But digging deeper into the employment data reveals that Wal-Mart and tourism aren’t the state’s real growth industries.

In percentage terms, the fastest-growing industry was specialty contractors. Tied for second place were the securities and commodities industry and the state public education system, which includes the state universities.

Top Five Industries by Employment Growth

Specialty Trade Contractors 10.5%
Securities and Commodities 6.3%
State Government Educational Services 6.3%
Building Services 5.7%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 5.7%

Source: Author’s calculations based on data from U.S. Department of Labor

It’s worth noting that the biggest employer in the state is not Wal-Mart, as the Arizona Republic concludes. The biggest employer in Arizona is the government.

State government as a whole has more than twice as many employees as Wal-Mart in Arizona, and total state and local public education employees outnumber Wal-Mart employees by more than 6 to 1.

The growth in the ranks of public education employees means more resources go to government. Unfortunately, there has been little in the way of an honest appraisal of whether those additional resources will add more value for taxpayers or students. In the meantime, policymakers should recognize that until we have real limits on the growth of government, government will continue to compete with private industries for the title of “top growth industry.”

Stephen Slivinski is an economist with the Goldwater Institute.

Learn more:

Arizona Department of Administration: Job Gains Across All Sectors (PDF)

Arizona Republic: Arizona’s Big Companies Boost Jobs Recovery

Goldwater Institute: Put Arizona on a Real Budget

Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Economic Development, Economics, Jobs/Labor

Job Creators Cheer Referral of Proposition 116

April 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Small Business Job Creation Act rolls back job-killing equipment and machinery tax

PHOENIX, Ariz., April 25, 2012 — The Arizona Secretary of State today received transmission from the Arizona Legislature of a crucial ballot referendum designed to spur new job creation and economic development. The state constitutional amendment, called the Small Business Job Creation Act, is positioned to be on Arizona’s November 6, 2012 General Election ballot as Proposition 116.

“Arizona’s small business job creators have heard loud and clear from their state legislators that help is on the way to rollback the job-killing equipment and machinery tax,” said Farrell Quinlan, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business who drafted the referendum with Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs and other lawmakers.

“The heavy tax burden we place on small business’ equipment and machinery is self-defeating and anti-growth because it punishes the very investment in job creation that Arizona needs to fuel our economic recovery,” Quinlan said.

The Proposition 116 referendum, enumerated Senate Concurrent Resolution 1012 in its legislative form, seeks to amend the Arizona Constitution to reset the personal property tax exemption for new equipment and machinery purchases to an amount equal to the earnings of 50 Arizona workers, approximately $2.4 million. The current constitutional exemption is $50,000 indexed to inflation since 1996 or $68,079 in Tax Year 2012.

“We are very encouraged about Proposition 116’s ultimate success at the ballot box due to the unanimous bipartisan support it received from legislators. It’s a real testament to the soundness of this public policy proposal that every Republican and Democrat lawmaker voted for it. Proposition 116 proves the adage that good policy makes for good politics,” Quinlan concluded.

The unanimous legislative support for SCR 1012 is a rare example of bipartisan consensus from the contentious and often bitterly partisan 50th Arizona Legislature. The Arizona Senate passed the legislation 30-0 on February 16, 2012 and the Arizona House of Representatives passed it 51-0 with eight absent and one vacancy on April 23, 2012.

Proposition 116 must garner 50 percent plus one vote of those voting on the measure this November to amend the state constitution. If passed, the new provisions will affect personal property purchased in 2013 and thereafter while personal property already on the tax rolls will remain unaffected.

According to state law, the Secretary of State will make official the designation of the Small Business Job Creation Act referendum as Proposition 116 after the petition filing deadline passes for citizen initiatives on July 5, 2012. The Secretary of State is required to assign numbers to propositions in the order the measures are filed with their office. SCR 1012 was the third referendum filed for the 2012 ballot following the two measures sent by the Legislature in 2011 that will be designated Proposition 114 and Proposition 115 respectively in accordance with statute.

NFIB has already begun organizing a campaign committee to support the passage of Proposition 116. Those interested in joining that effort should contact NFIB’s Arizona office at (602) 263-7690 or send an email to farrell.quinlan@nfib.org.

# # #

NFIB is the nation’s leading small business association with 350,000 members nationwide and 7,500 in Arizona and has offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals.  Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small and independent business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB’s powerful network of grassroots activists send their views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system. NFIB’s mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. More information is available online at www.NFIB.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: Ballot Measures, Campaigns & Elections, Economic Development, Jobs/Labor, Legislation, Small Business, State Economy, Taxation Tagged With: , , , , ,

Small Business Left Vulnerable to Unfair Big Labor Tactics

April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Senate Fails to Nullify NLRB “Ambush” Election Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 24, 2012 — The United States Senate was today tasked with voting to nullify an upcoming change in workplace unionization rules that would dramatically undermine an employer’s opportunity to learn of and respond to union organization.  The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a rule to reduce this amount of time from 38 days to 20 days or less.  Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) introduced legislation, S.J. Res. 36, to nullify this rule and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) took this issue across the country in a national ‘Call to Action’ for its membership, and highlighted the importance of this vote in a Key Vote letter to the Hill.

“Protecting the rights of our members to own, operate, and grow their own businesses is the motto of NFIB, and this latest rule change by the NLRB threatens this at its core,” said Dan Danner, CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business. “By failing to nullify this rule, Senate Democrats have once again allowed Big Labor intimidation tactics to infiltrate small business and commandeer Main Street.  We tasked our extensive grassroots network across the country with a ‘Call to Action’ to urge senators on both sides of the aisle to support Senator Enzi’s common-sense resolution, but once again, politics has dictated policy.  Instead of a fair, level playing field for unionization in the workplace, the NLRB has given labor bosses a significant advantage over small-business owners, leaving them vulnerable and unsure of what will come their way next.”

The National Federation of Independent Business has been very engaged in ensuring that workplace unionization is the result of a fair and informed decision by employees, and has worked to limit the scope of the NLRB’s pro-Big Labor policies.  In an op-ed running today on Fox News.com, Dan Danner gave a final push to urge senators to support Senator Enzi’s resolution.

By not nullifying this NLRB rule, the Senate has allowed non-confirmed members of the NLRB to change labor law and has conceded its legislative responsibility to the NLRB.

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NFIB is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small and independent business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB’s powerful network of grassroots activists sends their views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system. NFIB’s mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. More information is available online at www.NFIB.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: Federal Government, Jobs/Labor, Regulations, Small Business Tagged With: , , ,

Government Workers Deserve Paycheck Protection

April 18, 2012 By 1 Comment

By Darcy Olsen

If you’ve ever signed up for a magazine subscription, bought cable TV, or purchased something from an infomercial, you’ve probably encountered the automatic renewal process. After the initial subscription period ends, some companies continue charging you until you jump through myriad time-consuming hoops. And you may never get your money back.

This happens perpetually to Arizona workers, but the consequences are far greater. Year after year, unions take dues from the paychecks of government workers without asking them for permission. The unions then spend the millions of dollars raked in from automatic renewals to fund political warfare their own members oppose.

The Arizona Legislature is considering HB 2103, a bill that would require unions to get members’ permission every year before taking dues from their paychecks.

Under Arizona law, once you’ve joined a government-employee union, you’re never asked if you’d like to continue authorizing paycheck deductions. Big Labor diverts some of those deductions to political activism, which may directly conflict with your political beliefs and have little to do with your job.

For instance, the Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 1 million local and state government workers, public-school employees, and bus drivers nationally, spent much of 2010 organizing boycotts of Arizona in the wake of SB 1070, the immigration legislation overwhelmingly supported by Arizonans.

A half-dozen states have already passed similar paycheck-protection measures, including union strongholds Michigan and Ohio.

Within five years of the passage of Washington’s paycheck-protection law, voluntary paycheck deductions to the state’s teachers-union PAC had shrunk by 75 percent. Paycheck-protection legislation in Idaho and Utah yielded comparable results.

Paycheck-protection laws give government workers a greater voice and force unions to justify to their members why they should continue to subsidize union bosses’ political activism.

HB 2103 will restore the balance of power to working Arizonans – public employees and taxpayers alike.

Darcy Olsen is president and CEO of the Goldwater Institute.

Learn more:

Arizona State Legislature: HB 2103

Arizona Republic: Bill Would Stop Unions from Raiding Paychecks

Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Government Reform, Jobs/Labor, Legislation, State Budget, State Economy, State Government

URGENT: CALL SPEAKER TOBIN AND TELL HIM TO BRING HB 2103 TO THE FLOOR!

April 12, 2012 By 3 Comments

By Starlee Rhoades

It’s no secret that government unions need reform. Government workers earn nearly twice as much as their private sector counterparts, and taxpayers are paying for it. These inflated salaries and benefits are threatening to bankrupt Arizona cities. On top of that, unions spend millions to influence the outcome of elections, estimated to be $400 million this year alone, and support issues that are at odds with the limited government policies you and I support.

The vast majority of that money comes from dues that are automatically deducted from workers’ paychecks. Right now when a government employee joins a union, a portion of his paycheck is redirected to the union to pay dues. The problem is that workers are never asked again if they want to keep paying those dues. The money is deducted automatically, forever.

We want unions to ask permission once each year to keep collecting dues from government employee paychecks. Those who want to keep paying may do so, and those who don’t will be able to stop. It will be up to the worker how they pay their dues, not their union boss.

We need your help. Will you make one phone call today to help pass a bill that would give government workers “paycheck protection?”

Six other states have passed this reform and we know what happens: union spending on political activity plummets.

If we could pass this measure in Arizona there would be fewer union-funded lawsuits against limited government reforms passed by the Legislature and voters. It would also help Arizona get government worker pensions and benefits in-line with the private sector. With less money at their disposal to oust courageous elected officials who vote for pension and benefit changes, we could make real progress in getting Arizona cities and towns back on sound financial footing.

Here’s how you can help:

  1. Please call the Speaker of the House, Andy Tobin from Prescott, and ask him to let the “paycheck protection” bill come up for a vote. You can reach Speaker Tobin at (602) 926-5172.
  2. Once you’ve called the Speaker, please call the state representatives who represent you and tell them you support paycheck protection, House Bill 2103, and ask them to vote yes. There is no need to call your state senator—they have already passed the bill. You can find out who your state representatives are by clicking here.

The unions are fighting this reform tooth and nail, and we know legislators need to hear from regular taxpayers. I hope you will please take just one minute today to make your voice heard.

Starlee Rhoades is Executive Vice President of the Goldwater Institute.

Learn More:

Goldwater Institute: Protecting Workers’ Paychecks from Union Raids

Goldwater Institute: Reforming Arizona

Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Government Reform, Jobs/Labor, State Budget, State Government

The ‘Obama Factor’ and Unemployment Statistics

April 11, 2012 By 5 Comments

The state-controlled Democrat Media Complex (DMC) loves to tout tiny improvements in the unemployment rate as evidence that the “President’s plans are working”.

I have to agree — those plans are working just fine — if what the President wants to do is reduce the number of makers and boost the number of takers.  On that score, Obama has made undeniable progress from Day One of his administration.

As evidence –

See the chart below, which shows the Labor Force Participation (LFP) Rate.  This statistic answers the following simple question:

What fraction of our total civilian working-age population is actually employed?

In this statistic, people are counted as either working or not-working.   It doesn’t matter whether they’re looking for work or not.  That makes this statistic harder to “fudge” than the widely reported “unemployment rate”.  While there are month-to-month variations, note the steady, linear decline in the trend lines since Obama took office in January, 2009.  Well done, Mr. President!

This is The Obama Factor.  It’s a phenomenon, a statistical trend, and a chart we should all demand to see every time the state-controlled DMC reports the usual unemployment rate statistic.  If the DMC doesn’t oblige, continuing the malpractice of what it still calls “journalism”, you can find the chart at this link.

So …

Do Obama’s re-election prospects get worse as the LFP rate continues to fall?  One might think so, but the answer is No.  Perversely, his prospects actually get better!  There are two reasons:

First, all those newly unemployed people are prime candidates to become new Obama model-citizens.  He convinces them they are victims of the vilified “1%”, he offers them extended unemployment benefits with more borrowed money, and, with high confidence, he chalks them up as Obama-voters come election time.

Second, once these folks say they are no longer looking for work, they no longer count as “unemployed”.  Consequently, they contribute to a drop in the commonly reported unemployment statistic.

This is terrific news for Obama — a double win — as long as voters remain stone-cold ignorant of The Obama Factor.

As an aside, if you are an Obama believer who is currently unemployed but still looking for work, you could help the president’s “job numbers” if you would just stop looking for work two to three months before the election.  If only half of the unemployed-but-still-looking would do that, the official unemployment rate would drop to between 4% and 5% just before the election.  Wouldn’t that make a great campaign talking point for your beloved leader?

But I digress.

If Democrats/Progressives manage to re-elect Obama, The Obama Factor trend will continue — possibly accelerating.  One day soon there will be so many takers that they can out-vote, out-shout, and out-threaten the makers.  As the takers demand more and more, the makers produce less and less as they lose their remaining incentive to generate new jobs, products, services, and income only to see it confiscated.  Eventually, many of them go on a virtual “strike” as the industrialists did in Ayn Rand’s newly relevant novel Atlas Shrugged.  Soon thereafter, the Democrats/Progressives run out of other people’s money, borrowing power, and resources.

There will then follow some combination of rationing, civil unrest, martial law, tyranny, and virtual slavery to The State. The only alternative will be starvation or imprisonment in The State’s prisons and gulags.  It has happened many times in many places.  WesternFreePress.com recently interviewed three direct eye witnesses (here, here, and here).

Preposterous you say?  Such a disaster could never happen here?  Stick around.  It’s on its way (before 2027) unless we act to stop it.  And Obama recently laid more critical groundwork for this nightmare with his stealthy signature of the National Defense Authorization Act.  That law gives him dictatorial powers over American citizens when and if he chooses.  These powers violate (at a minimum) the Fifth and Sixth Amendment protections in the Constitution.  But Obama has told us not to worry because he won’t use those powers unless he really has to.  Small comfort.

This November, we have one last solid chance to reverse The Obama Factor, turn the economy around, and restore Constitutionally protected freedoms.  Here’s hoping we score an electoral victory large enough to effect those changes as well as overcome the Left’s continuing attempts to commit vote fraud.

As one of the Republican candidates for President has said, the 2012 election is the most important US election since 1860.  Those who again fall for Obama’s rhetoric, voting for him again despite his record, must share responsibility for the all-but-certain national mega-disaster that is headed our way.

Filed Under: Demographics, Federal Government, Jobs/Labor, Media Tagged With: , ,

House Vote Comes Just in the Nick of Time

April 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Prescient lawmakers act before key economic indicator reports dangerous drop

PHOENIX, Ariz., April 10, 2012 — They had no way of knowing yesterday that today’s release of one of America’s most important economic indicators would show a possible stall in the nation’s recovery, but Rules Committee members of the Arizona House of Representatives proved very prescient in passing Senate Concurrent Resolution 1012.

“Today’s release of NFIB’s Small-Business Economics Trends report should remove any lingering doubt that the full House should pass SCR 1012 and get it on the November ballot for voters to have their say,” said Farrell Quinlan, Arizona state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), America’s largest small-business association. “Combine today’s report with next week’s tax filing deadline and it’s beyond debate that the House needs to act now to send the strongest possible message to Arizona’s job creators that help is on the way.”

For almost 40 years, NFIB’s SBET has been one of the nation’s bellwether economic barometers, used by Federal Reserve chairmen, Congress, and presidential administrations. Release of today’s report shows its Optimism Index falling two points overall in March after six months of gains. Small business in no small matter, because Main Street enterprises employ the majority of working Americans and generate most new jobs—not big businesses, and certainly not big governments or labor unions.

“The mood of owners is subdued—they just can’t seem to shake off the uncertainties out there,” wrote NFIB’s chief economist, William Dunkelberg, in today’s report. “What we saw in March is painfully familiar – this was the same pattern of growth followed by months of decline from 2011. History appears to be repeating itself—and not in a good way.”

A capital expenditures category is one of 10 measurements the SBET takes each month, and March showed a sharp drop in new equipment and vehicle purchases. This, according to Quinlan, is where Arizona can step in to help. SCR 1012, also called the Small Business Jobs Creation Act, would unleash small business expansion by resetting the personal property tax exemption for new machinery and equipment purchases to an amount equal to the earnings of fifty Arizona workers (almost $2.4 million). Last month the referendum unanimously passed the Senate 30-0 while an identical bill (HCR 2009) passed the House 47-10 with an overwhelming bipartisan majority.

“You can say you intend to hire more workers, and all you’re doing is expressing a wish or a sentiment,” said Quinlan. “But when we see you adding more machinery, other equipment, and vehicles, the new jobs are sure to follow. That’s why NFIB is amplifying our call for the Arizona House to schedule a vote on SCR 1012 sooner rather than later—before Tax Day and the 100th day of the legislative session, both of which fall on April 17 this year. We need to send a message now that Arizona is open for business.”

# # #

NFIB is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small and independent business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB’s powerful network of grassroots activists send their views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system. NFIB’s mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. More information is available online at www.NFIB.com/newsroom.

Filed Under: Ballot Measures, Economics, Jobs/Labor, Legislation, Small Business, State Economy, Taxation Tagged With: ,

Tobin in the “Hot” Seat

April 9, 2012 By 5 Comments

There is growing chatter around the state capitol that House Speaker Andy Tobin is walking a thin line with his caucus and might have a tough time keeping the Speaker’s chair if he chooses not to run for Congress.  Many members feel he has gone overboard in playing favorites with members’ bills and has kept them from voting on bills they want to vote for.

One prime example is the union bills, dealing with “paycheck protection” and so-called “release time.”  Many members have constituents telling them that it’s ridiculous that a Republican super majority doesn’t have the backbone to reign in the public employee unions, especially when they’re doing union work on taxpayer time.

If (well, WHEN) public empoloyee unions spend money against Republicans in this years’ elections, especially in the more closely contested new districts, majority House members will wonder why their Speaker didn’t have their back.  Once they have lost confidence in their leader, and lost a few of their colleagues, they’ll be looking for a new leader.

Tick tock, Mr. Speaker…you’re running out of time.

Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Conservatives, Elected Officials, Government Reform, Jobs/Labor Tagged With: , , ,

Rep. David Schweikert Praises Senate Passage of ‘Jobs’ Act

March 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Washington, D.C. – Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ) applauded the passage of the ‘JOBS’ Act today by the U.S. Senate. This package included two of his bills, co-authored by Senators Toomey, Tester, and Carper, the most of any Member:

“I am ecstatic that the Senate has passed the ‘JOBS’ Act and is sending it along to President Obama.

“I am grateful that my work product and the work product of my colleagues was included in this package. This is a big win for the American people, as we have further removed burdens on small business and create more certainty,” said Rep. David Schweikert.

BACKGROUND ON H.R. 1070:

The Small Company Capital Formation Act reduces regulation and makes it easier for small businesses to raise capital and test the waters for a future initial public offering.

H.R. 1070 reduces burdensome regulation on small business by increasing the SEC Regulation A exemption from $5 million to $50 million.

Regulation A, on the books since 1933, exempts small companies from the SEC’s filing requirements for less than $5 million. Though Regulation A has periodically increased from its initial ceiling of $100,000 in 1933 to the current $5 million ceiling in 1992, it has not been increased to reflect the rising costs associated with bringing a small company public over the last two decades. Increasing the Regulation A threshold will lower the cost of raising capital for small businesses.

The Small Company Capital Formation Act ensures that this ceiling is raised when necessary and as economic conditions warrant by requiring that the SEC revisit this ceiling every two years. Should the SEC find that the ceiling needs to be higher, this bill provides them with the authority to increase the limit.

This bill first passed the House on November 2, 2011, by a margin of 421-1.

The Senate version of this bill was introduced in September by Sens. Toomey (R-PA) and Tester (D-MT).

BACKGROUND ON H.R. 2167:

Many small businesses are forced to file as a public company because of an obscure regulation that requires companies with 499 shareholders and $10 million in assets to file with the SEC.

This current shareholder threshold rule was originally adopted in 1964, and has not been modernized since.

This regulation causes undue pressure on our markets because it restricts the number of shareholders and assets these companies can have. In turn, this severely limits the growth stages for companies, which need time and flexibility to develop. Without regulatory relief, these small businesses will not grow or they will be acquired by larger firms. Both of these outcomes lead to fewer jobs and less innovation.

H.R. 2167, Private Company Flexibility and Growth Act, removes these barriers to capital formation for small companies by raising the shareholder threshold from 500 to 1,000 shareholders.

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Filed Under: Elected Officials, Federal Government, Jobs/Labor, Legislation, Press Release Tagged With: ,

Debbie Lesko: HB 2625 legislation lets employers opt out

March 20, 2012 By 1 Comment

By Debbie Lesko

My legislation to protect our First Amendment rights does one thing and one thing alone: It allows an employer to opt out of a current government mandate that forces it to include the morning-after pill and contraceptives in its insurance benefits even if it is against the employer’s religious beliefs.

Employers can opt out if, and only if, they have a religious objection. It does not authorize employers to ask or know about their employees’ contraceptive use, and it does not allow employers to fire anyone for that use.

The Catholic Church and other faith-based organizations support my legislation, and a national legal organization helped write the law.

Ironically, the controversy about my bill revolves around current law — not even anything I introduced.

In current law, the prescription is still covered if it is used for something other than contraception and the insurance company, not the employer, knows that information.

Whether my legislation passes or not, that will still be the law.

Protecting our First Amendment rights is one of the most important things we can do.  America’s future is at stake.

State Representative Debbie Lesko currently represents legislative district 9 and serves in the Arizona House as majority whip.

Additional Facts:

HB 2625 will:

  1. Allow an employer to opt out of the current government mandate that forces them to cover in their insurance plans abortion-inducing drugs and other items related to contraception…even if they must violate their religious beliefs. The mandate violates the 1st Amendment right of freedom of religion. The employer can opt out, if and only if, they have a religious objection.
  2. It does NOT authorize an employer to ask or know anything about their employee’s contraceptive use.
  3. It does NOT authorize an employer to fire an employee for that use.
  4. Was written by the Alliance Defense Fund, a national legal organization, that fights for religious freedoms.
  5. Is supported by the Catholic church and other faith-based organizations.
Filed Under: Elected Officials, Guest Opinion, Jobs/Labor, Legislation, State Government Tagged With: ,

Support Public Pension Reform

March 13, 2012 By 4 Comments

by Byron Schlomach, Ph.D.

I’ll be blunt. Last year’s tepid reforms to the state’s pension systems were not enough.

Those reforms were probably about as far as the legislature could go and keep the pension systems in place for all future and existing public employees. But the only reform that can begin to dig us out of the financial hole pension systems represent would move all new employees to 401(k) plans. So far, that has been more than the legislature has wanted to bite off.

In the meantime, even the modest reforms passed last year have been under legal assault. The state recently lost a lawsuit in its bid to require employees in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) to contribute a greater share of the pension system’s costs. Another lawsuit by judges would block any increases in their share of pension system costs and block modest limits on cost of living adjustments.

Judges participate in the Elected Official Retirement Plan (EORP) where employee contributions have been held to 7 percent of salary for at least a decade. Meanwhile, taxpayers are now contributing an average rate of almost 30 percent of salary, up from 7 percent a mere 10 years ago.

At least ASRS participants see their contributions rise and fall with taxpayers’. These judges are insisting that they not face any of the risk of their own retirements, even while they are still working.

Representative Kavanagh has proposed HCR 2060, a constitutional amendment to explicitly allow increases in EORP member pension fund contributions and to allow reductions in cost of living adjustments. This is minimal protection for taxpayers, especially when the judges who decide whether reforms are legal have a conflict of interest with the taxpayers they are sworn to protect.

Dr. Byron Schlomach is the director of the Goldwater Institute’s Center for Economic Prosperity.

Learn more:

Arizona Capitol Times: Judge overturns Arizona pension law change

Arizona Republic: Put-upon judges to defend their cushy pensions — in court

Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Economics, Elected Officials, Government Reform, Jobs/Labor, State Budget, State Economy, State Government

Time to End the ‘Meet and Confer’ Shakedown

March 7, 2012 By 1 Comment

by Nick Dranias

Government unions claim “meet and confer” collective bargaining only promotes innocent brainstorming between government employees and employers about work conditions. But in reality, as with any other collective bargaining law, meet and confer laws legalize a shakedown of the taxpayer.

Government Union InfographicLike a “discussion” conducted under the threat of a business “accident,” meet and confer laws ensure collective bargaining in Arizona is conducted under the very real threat of costly litigation. Such laws empower government unions to sue government employers for failing to negotiate in “good faith” whenever the employer refuses to yield to union demands. And government unions routinely sue government employers to meet their negotiating demands.

As a result, it should be no wonder that meet and confer collective bargaining costs Arizona taxpayers $550 million per year in outsized wages and unsustainable benefits. The legal compulsion leveraged by government unions is not offset by the fact that elected officials ultimately must approve the deal that is struck.

As the Arizona Republic reports, neither elected officials nor the media are able to monitor collective bargaining, which is typically kept secret by meet and confer laws. Elected officials rarely read or understand the hundreds of pages of labor agreements they must approve every year. And willful ignorance is encouraged by the fact government unions do not hesitate to threaten the political careers of elected officials unless they approve those agreements.

In the final analysis, meet and confer laws encourage government unions to apply legal and political force to control both sides of the bargaining table. This inevitably skews any negotiation over wages, benefits and work conditions to their advantage and to the detriment of the taxpayer—as evidenced by the outrageous phenomena of “release time,” in which union officials are put on the government payroll but work exclusively for the union.

Even if release time is banned or struck down, leaving the power of a legalized shakedown in the hands of government unions will only allow new abuses to take its place. Only a structural reform in the way government does business with unions can prevent such future abuses. For this reason, SB 1485’s total ban on government sector collective bargaining remains absolutely essential to protecting Arizona taxpayers from being fleeced by government unions.

Nick Dranias holds the Clarence J. and Katherine P. Duncan Chair for Constitutional Government and is director of the Joseph and Dorothy Donnelly Moller Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute.

Learn more:

Goldwater Institute: Save Taxpayers Tens of Billions of Dollars

Arizona State Legislature: SB 1485

Arizona Republic: Surprise drops curtain on police, fire union negotiations

Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Government Reform, Jobs/Labor, State Government

Jonathan Paton to Ann Kirkpatrick: Stop Accepting Support from Arizona’s Boycotters

March 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2012
CONTACT: Robert Mayer

Marana, AZ: Republican Jonathan Paton is calling on ex-Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick to refuse the support of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a major force behind the national efforts to boycott Arizona. SEIU announced its support of Kirkpatrick today.

Ann Kirkpatrick accepted $10,000 in campaign contributions from SEIU in 2010, and SEIU’s renewed endorsement today means she will take their money again. Meanwhile, SEIU leaders continue to work with Occupy groups around the country to press for higher taxes, harsher government regulations, and trillions of dollars in spending.

“Ann Kirkpatrick is more interested in cashing-in from extremist groups that have hurt our state’s economy than she is representing the people of Arizona,” said Jonathan Paton, candidate for Congress in District 1. “We don’t need another rubber stamp in Congress – we need a representative who stands up to groups like this.”

Ann Kirkpatrick, a lawyer, was elected to Congress in 2008. She was soundly rejected by the voters in 2010 after voting for the worst aspects of President Obama and Nancy Pelosi’s agenda, including the failed stimulus and the Obamacare health care takeover.

Jonathan Paton is a former state legislator and an Iraq war veteran. Jonathan is a constitutional conservative who believes in low taxes, less spending, smaller government, and a secure border. He was born and raised in Arizona, and has lived here his whole life.

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Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Jobs/Labor, Press Release Tagged With: , ,

City-Funded Report on Government Pay Called into Question

February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Nick Dranias & Stephen Slivinski

Phoenix taxpayers recently paid almost a half a million dollars for a report that looked at city-employee compensation. The report reveals that some types of workers get paid more than the market average; some get paid less. But when you include benefits, the report found that all government workers in Phoenix are vastly better off than private sector workers.

These findings could have been obtained for a fraction of the cost, simply by surveying existing academic literature. Unlike the Goldwater Institute’s own research, which has revealed that public sector collective bargaining costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, there is little in the way of actual “news” in the new Phoenix report. In fact, the report missed an opportunity to uncover the real differences in pay and benefits between government and private workers in the City of Phoenix.

The Phoenix report omits any comparison of the hourly compensation of government versus private sector workers. It’s a big omission, particularly since the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported state and local government workers receive average hourly compensation that is 44 percent higher than private sector workers.

This failure to compare hourly compensation, despite abundant resources to do so, demonstrates that the city-funded report doesn’t present an accurate picture of the local differences in compensation between government and private sector workers. It also calls into question whether this omission was inadvertent or by design — such an analysis may have revealed that government employees receive dramatically more hourly compensation than private sector workers.

Nick Dranias holds the Clarence J. and Katherine P. Duncan Chair for Constitutional Government and is director of the Joseph and Dorothy Donnelly Moller Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute.

Stephen Slivinski is the Senior Economist with the Goldwater Institute.

Learn more:

Goldwater Institute: Save Taxpayers Tens of Billions of Dollars

City of Phoenix: Balancing Competitive Employment and Stewardship of Public Funds

Filed Under: Arizona Politics, City Government, Economics, Government Reform, Jobs/Labor

Take Action to Control Powerful Government Unions!

February 2, 2012 By 3 Comments

Dear Arizona Taxpayer,

Today in the Senate Government Reform Committee, the majority members voted in favor of four important bills that would reform powerful government-worker unions:

SB 1484 — Paycheck Protection for Government Employees — Prohibits government employers from taking money from employee’s paychecks for union activities without express annual authorization.

SB 1485 — Prohibition on Government Collective Bargaining — Prohibits government employers from engaging in collective bargaining (including “meet and confer”) with government unions.

SB 1486 — Prohibition on Government Union Release Time — Prohibits government employers from paying employees to do union activities on the taxpayer dime.

SB 1487 — Prohibition on Withholding of Dues for Government Unions — Prohibits government employers from withholding any portion of public employee wages to pay for labor organization dues.

To send quick thank-you emails to the members of the Committee, click here. For Goldwater Institute fact sheets on the above bills, click on the bold bill titles, above.

TAKE ACTION! 

Senate Bills 1484, 1485, 1486 and 1487 will be heading soon to floor votes in the full Senate. Please help us rein in Arizona’s powerful government unions by sending an email to your state Senator in support of these bills.

To take action, simply REPLY to this email and click SEND. It will automatically send an email to your State Senator! You can also customize your message and take action by clicking here. 

To learn more about AFP-Arizona’s 2012 Legislative Agenda, click here.

Please forward this alert to your friends and family members!

For Liberty,

Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity

Filed Under: City Government, County Government, Government Reform, Jobs/Labor, Legislation, State Government

A One-Two Punch to Union Release Time

January 31, 2012 By 1 Comment

By Taylor Earl

In December, the Goldwater Institute filed a constitutional challenge to the City of Phoenix’s practice of “release time” within the police union. This practice takes six city police officers off the streets and puts them behind desks to work as full-time union managers, 35 to work as part-time union representatives, and one to work full time as a union lobbyist — all while collecting city salaries and benefits.

As surprising as it may be, the practice is widespread among local-government unions around the country. A win in court will lead to the elimination or severe curtailment of the practice across Arizona. Unions would be forced to pay for the practice through their own union dues or, at the very least, compensate taxpayers for their use of public employees.

But the legislature has a chance to go one step further to guarantee the practice is banned in its entirety. Arizona Senate Bill 1486 would prohibit municipalities from signing contracts that fund union release time in any manner. The bill, sponsored by Arizona Senator Rick Murphy, was introduced yesterday to the Arizona Senate. It requires city governments to respect the Arizona Constitution and rescues taxpayers from unknowingly funding union activity.

No doubt unions will object, likely predicting all sorts of negative consequences for government workers. But teachers’ unions were barred from using full-time release positions in 2010 with no disasters to speak of, and city employees in Scottsdale seem to function just fine without any type of union release time.

The lawsuit and legislation come at a good time. In Phoenix and other cities, unions have issued new demands to be considered in upcoming negotiations— demands that include even more release-time hours and even more public employees transferred from government jobs to union work.

Release time is a unsavory, unconstitutional give away to unions that must be stopped, whether it happens in the courts or with legislative action and a signature from the Governor.

Taylor Earl is an attorney for the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.

Learn More:

Goldwater Institute: Money for Nothing: Phoenix Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Union Work

Goldwater Institute: Do Police Officers Pay for Release Time?

Arizona State Legislature: SB1486

Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Constitutional Law, Economics, Government Reform, Jobs/Labor

What President Obama Saw Out of the Window of the Presidential Limo.

January 26, 2012 By 3 Comments

President Obama came to speak to Intel employees in Chandler, Arizona at the Ocotillo complex on January 25th.

What most of the media didn’t show or report was what the President saw out his window en route.

First it was the amnesty demands of pro illegal groups:

 

 Further down the road, a couple hundred, mostly upset Arizonans chanting “You are fired!”:

 

 Probably not the ‘welcoming committee’ Obama wished for.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Elected Officials, Illegal Immigration, Jobs/Labor, Political Parties, Protests, Special Event Tagged With: ,
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