Government Unions vs Taxpayers

Conn Carroll / June 02, 2010

CATO’s Dan Mitchell has a new Center for Freedom and Prosperity video out titled “Bureaucrats vs. Taxpayers” on how “government workers have now become a cosseted elite, with generous pay, extravagant benefits, lavish pensions, and ironclad job security. In exchange for this privileged status, they reward the politicians with millions of dollars of support and a host of in-kind contributions.”

Dan’s presentation details much of the best research on government worker compensation (especially the work of CATO colleague Chris Edwards) but left unmentioned in this video is the role that government unions play in enriching their members at the expense of taxpayers. But as Heritage’s James Sherk documented early this year, government unions are integral to this story: (more…)