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AFL-CIO Pres. Trumka Condemns Obama Budget; Richard Trumka – AFL-CIO CEO; Progressive Democrats of America – PA 12th CD Chapter; April 11, 2013.
The primary business of today’s labor unions is political advocacy for leftist politicians and lobbying for leftist policies/programs. Representing employees is simply a fund-raising chore labor union management must endure to provide funds for its lobbying and political activities. Heck, Mr. Trumka conceded as much when he said, “I got into the labor movement not because I wanted to negotiate wages. I got into the labor movement because I saw it as a vehicle to do massive social change to improve the lots of people.”
AFL-CIO management spent over $29.6 million in 2010 on “Political Activities and Lobbying.” In additional to the cash, the AFL-CIO has access to more than 11.7 million members (as of 2010) for “volunteer” political campaign work.
You can learn more about BCR’s leftster management here.
“A president’s budget is more than just numbers. It is a profoundly moral document. We believe cutting Social Security benefits and shifting costs to Medicare beneficiaries – while exempting corporate America from shared sacrifice – is wrong and indefensible.”
[RWC] Mr. Trumka failed to mention what “shared sacrifice” is asked of Big Labor management.
“The administration’s budget cuts cost-of-living increases for current and future Social Security beneficiaries by $130 billion over 10 years, and much more in future years. It shifts $64 billion in health care costs to Medicare beneficiaries over 10 years. Yet despite closing some loopholes, it calls for corporate income tax reform that is ‘revenue neutral’ – meaning it fails to ask big, profitable corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.”
[RWC] Mr. Trumka intentionally failed to note total SS and Medicare spending over the 10-year period. The President’s proposed fiscal-year 2014 budget shows SS spending of $860 billion in 2014 and increasing to $1,427 billion in 2023, a total of $11,247 billion ($11.2 trillion) over those 10 years. That means an alleged cut of $130 billion out of $11,347 billion is only about 1.1%.
Medicare spending goes from $530 billion in 2014 to $941 billion in 2023, a total of $7,046 billion ($7 trillion) over those 10 years. That means the alleged shift of “$64 billion in health care costs to Medicare beneficiaries over 10 years” out of $7,111 billion is only about 0.9%.
You’ll note Mr. Trumka doesn’t detail the “loopholes” he complains about. While Mr. Trumka claims Mr. Obama’s proposed budget “fails to ask big, profitable corporations to pay their fair share of taxes,” he fails to mention his political-advocacy business disguised as a labor union is tax exempt. I wonder if Mr. Trumka understands his business’ tax-exempt status is one of those “loopholes” he allegedly dislikes.
I suspect Mr. Trumka’s definition of a “loophole” is a legal provision of the tax code he doesn’t like, probably because he believes it doesn’t benefit him personally or professionally. For example, if you didn’t like the home-mortgage interest deduction because you rent or your house is paid for, you would call it a loophole because the deduction reduces the tax liability of taxpayers who can use it. You would claim the deduction (loophole) allows some taxpayers to escape paying their “fair share” of taxes. When Mr. Trumka files his personal income tax returns, does anyone believe he doesn’t take advantage of every deduction, exemption, etc. the tax laws allow him to use? By doing so, isn’t Mr. Trumka avoiding his “fair share of taxes?”
“The Obama budget also continues to demand more sacrifice from federal employees than from Wall Street. Federal employees did not cause the Great Recession. They did not cause the deficits that resulted from the Great Recession. Yet their pay and their retirement keeps getting cut. Why?”
[RWC] Mr. Trumka wants us to forget leftist policies/programs he likely supported were at the root of “the Great Recession.”
You’ll note Mr. Trumka didn’t provide supporting evidence for his claims about federal employees.
“Putting aside the injustice of demanding sacrifice from the innocent while letting the guilty off scot free, the Obama budget falls short of putting our economy on a path towards higher wages and full employment. As we have said many times, the greatest economic challenge facing America is the jobs crisis, not the deficit. Yet the administration cuts the part of the budget that pays for investments in worker training and jobs, which has already been cut to its lowest level since the Eisenhower administration, by another $100 billion. This austerity budget is bad economic policy at a moment when the economy remains weak and we urgently need more job-creating investments.”
[RWC] Mr. Trumka has an interesting definition of “austerity.” Spending in the 10-year period (2014-2023) increases every year, from $3.8 trillion in FY 2014 to $5.7 trillion in FY 2023, an increase of 50%.
In case you didn’t notice, Mr. Trumka uses “spending” and “investment” as synonyms.
“The President’s budget does include several proposals worthy of praise. It aims to provide universal access to pre-kindergarten programs that are so important to our children. It strengthens programs to protect workers against wage theft, unsafe workplaces and employer retaliation. It closes the outrageous loophole that allows Wall Street financial managers to pay a special lower tax rate. And it reforms some of the tax loopholes that allow corporations to get away with shifting profits overseas to avoid U.S. taxes.”
[RWC] As for “universal access to pre-kindergarten programs,” the research is anything but clear. Regarding Head Start specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services concluded, “In the long run, cognitive and socioemotional test scores of former Head Start students do not remain superior to those of disadvantaged children who did not attend Head Start.”
Researchers at Georgia State University (GSU) found Georgia’s universal preschool provided no measurable benefit. GSU concluded, “The study sample does not differ from the entire kindergarten population in GKAP (Georgia Kindergarten Assessment Program) capability scores.
Mr. Trumka’s political-advocacy business is tax exempt and he complains of actual taxpayers who seek “to avoid U.S. taxes?” You’ll notice Mr. Trumka didn’t give us any examples to support his allegations.
“Last November, working Americans voted for jobs and growth, not for budget austerity and benefit cuts. We urge the President to drop these cuts and build support for investing in jobs.”
[RWC] If you paid attention to his record in his first term and still voted for Mr. Obama, you did not vote “for jobs and growth.”
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity. <g>
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