Make Them Call it a Tax Increase...

As the national debate regarding state deficits continues to rage, at least one commentator has come up with a novel approach to the situation; union supporters should reframe the debate surrounding public employee benefit clawbacks by describing them as tax hikes. Professor Neil Buchanan suggests that by doing so, union supporters would be able to score some easy rhetorical points in their fight against the mostly Republican legislators who are trying to reduce their benefits. Blawgconomics might not necessarily see eye to eye with the good Professor on every facet of the state budget debate. We nonetheless find his article an interesting read, and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in what is destined to be a long-faught battle.

The budget difficulties currently facing almost every state government in the country have led to calls for cuts in public employees' pay and benefits. While the dramatic political standoffs in Wisconsin and Ohio are ultimately not about budget questions, political leaders who are not trying to use budget crises as pretexts to wage a larger political battle against unions are nonetheless calling for cuts to public employees' compensation. For example, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City recently wrote: "If contract terms or labor laws from years past no longer make sense, we the people should renegotiate — or legislate — changes. Benefits agreed to 35 years ago that now are unaffordable should be reduced."

(continue reading at Dorf on Law here.)