Blue Politics Strangling California

[Valin]

Via Meadia:

Walter Russell Mead

8/9/12

 

California is rapidly running out of money to pay for even the most basic services; it’s the perfect time, think some in the Assembly, to add to the Golden State’s fiscal burden.

 

According to this scathing Sacramento Bee editorial, Assembly Bill 2451, which is sponsored by the state’s highway patrol and firefighter unions, “removes the statute of limitations for job-related survivor death benefits for peace officers and firefighters.”

 

So, more benefits for the families of cops and firefighters who die because of job-related ailments—what’s not to like?

 

Plenty, as the Bee points out. Under the new rules, for example, if a state worker retires at 60 and dies of a heart attack 20 years later, his widow or even children could claim a benefit of $250,000. This effectively amounts to a taxpayer funded life-insurance policy for state workers:

 

(Snip)

 

But surely a bill like this would never pass, you say. On the contrary, it has already passed the state Assembly by a 69-4 vote with strong bipartisan support and has had a similar response in early tests in the State Senate.

(Snip)