Bill McGurn over at the Wall Street Journal argues that private sector unions have a stake in reining in the costs imposed by public unions in places like New Jersey because of the impact that those costs have on the private economy.
The Garden State makes an interesting case study. As recently as the 1990s, the state was a jobs powerhouse and frequently ranked as a decent place to do business. That changed rapidly starting in 2003, when a blizzard of tax hikes (33 during the McGreevey administration alone) dramatically changed the business environment. From 2003 to 2005, for instance, Jersey fell from 24th in the Beacon Hill Institute's annual ranking of state business environments to 44th among the states.
The Garden State makes an interesting case study. As recently as the 1990s, the state was a jobs powerhouse and frequently ranked as a decent place to do business. That changed rapidly starting in 2003, when a blizzard of tax hikes (33 during the McGreevey administration alone) dramatically changed the business environment. From 2003 to 2005, for instance, Jersey fell from 24th in the Beacon Hill Institute's annual ranking of state business environments to 44th among the states.
That decline was reflected in private employment, which slumped through
much of the decade. Even during the bubble years of 2006-2007 Jersey
could boast only a few thousand more jobs in the private sector than at
the start of the decade, and with the sharp decline in employment since
then, Jersey's private sector jobs economy is 5 percent smaller today
than a decade ago. Heavily unionized private industries like
construction are substantially smaller today than in 2000 in the Garden
State.
Not government. Tax increases at the state and local level paid for expanding government even as the private economy shrank. From 2000 through 2008, K-12 schools in Jersey added 14 percent more personnel even though enrollments grew just 3 percent. The added staffers contributed to a 110 percent increase in health care costs in the schools. Meanwhile, Jersey ranked 4th among the states from 2000 through 2006 in adding new state government workers, matching the gains in more populous and rapidly growing states like Florida, according to a U.S. Census report.
As McGurn notes, the president of the New Jersey Senate, Steve Sweeney, happens to be an organizer for the International Association of Ironworkers, whose unemployment rate in the Garden State is 40 percent. Sweeney seems to have seen the connection between Jersey's expanding government, its high costs, and the decline of the private economy, which is why he advocates reform of public pensions. It will be interesting to see how many other private sector union leaders join the crusade.
Not government. Tax increases at the state and local level paid for expanding government even as the private economy shrank. From 2000 through 2008, K-12 schools in Jersey added 14 percent more personnel even though enrollments grew just 3 percent. The added staffers contributed to a 110 percent increase in health care costs in the schools. Meanwhile, Jersey ranked 4th among the states from 2000 through 2006 in adding new state government workers, matching the gains in more populous and rapidly growing states like Florida, according to a U.S. Census report.
As McGurn notes, the president of the New Jersey Senate, Steve Sweeney, happens to be an organizer for the International Association of Ironworkers, whose unemployment rate in the Garden State is 40 percent. Sweeney seems to have seen the connection between Jersey's expanding government, its high costs, and the decline of the private economy, which is why he advocates reform of public pensions. It will be interesting to see how many other private sector union leaders join the crusade.
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