Schumer/Gillebrand on Bailing Out Bankrupt states and municipalities

New York Senators Schumer and Gillebrand:

I do understand I am writing to disinterested eyes but at least my points will have been made.

Do NOT bail out states and political subdivisions as a part of COVID incentive packages.   Most of the states and cities were in bad shape before coronovirus, precisely because they refused to control their unions.  As much as you love unions, public employee unions are the personnel supply for a monopoly with taxing authority.  Because there is no competition for the work they do, the public entity, and its unions have a monopoly.  State and local governments can tax all they wish simply because they have the authority to do so.  If GM increases the price of its automobiles, they may lose business to Ford so raising prices must be well-reasoned.

However how about Illinois, Stockton, CA, Suffolk County, NY?  They can gouge at will. I am perfectly certain that had Obama had a democrat-controlled house he would have bailed out Detroit, et al.  The only reason these municipalities filed bankruptcy is because republican house members weren’t willing to tax...say...Nebraska, to help Michigan or Illinois.

Elected officials don’t want to tax because they might get unelected so the elected officials, with your help, try to pass the costs of dismal administration to the Feds because it is nearly impossible for an unhappy population to unelect a Federal official.  You are the textbook example of that cemented incumbency.

What the political subdivisions and states always had the right to do was write tough labor contracts, staff and pay prudently and tax only as necessary. States and political subdivisions are absolutely unwilling to do that and unwilling to open labor negotiations to the public eye for what certainly would be critical scrutiny.

Bottom line is the poverty-pleading government units now can either tax more or cut services or both  I have yet to hear of any public meeting that seeks public input on service levels.  It is only the unions that provide that input.  On its face it is nonsense to deem that what the firefighters’ union believes proper staffing and pay levels are going to be anywhere near reasonable...but that is the only source of input to most governments that employ firefighters.

To include a bail out of governments that were already in poor financial states is fraud.  COVID incentive is NOT to prop up awful governments but to keep SMALL business and its hard working employees employed...not to feed union coffers at public expense.  If you absolutely insist on wasting flyover state money (or mine in “blue” New York) at least stipulate, subject to audit, that the money may not be used for anything but proper staffing, not paying off loans or bonds that might be coming due.  It might be wise, as in the case of Detroit, to require an overseer who reports to the Feds for the public record. Receiving government units must also open labor negotiations to the public.

Sincerely,

John M. Tyson

Saint James, NY