Good op-ed in the Orange County Register by a local consultant named Tom Cagley, on the subject of the new paycheck protection initiative.
I received my paycheck protection initiative petition in the mail earlier this week. It's heartening to see the opening of another front in this war with the public employee unions for control of state government. Although Citizens to Save California, the Governor's umbrella group behind his reform initiatives, hasn't officially endorsed this initiative, it's clear the Governor supports it.
That, in turn, is a strong indication the Governor not understands what is fundamentally at stake, but that he is willing to see this fight through to a victorious conclusion -- because unless Schwarzenegger is willing, the likelihood of a lasting victory over the government unions is much less.
As someone who contributed to the (I assume) parent organization, I am glad to see a California version of Club for Growth in existence. However, either we received different inititiaves on this topic, or you have not read it closely. The initiative would prohibit deductions from the payroll of union employees "whether the deduction is voluntary or not." I totally support the elimination of any involuntary deduction. However, the major First Amendment issues surrounding this initiative has led me to be adamantly opposed to it since voluntary deductions are eliminated. I don't want the government telling me what to do with my money.
Posted by: Matthew McKinley | May 27, 2005 at 08:15 AM