[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Structural Sacred Cows 7

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
Structural Sacred Cows 7
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1237734586.shtml


   It's time to round up the last of Gregg J. Cavanagh's list of
   structural Sacred Cows that today trample reasoned attempts to get
   control of our runaway State spending in Minnesota
    1. Cut the size of the Legislature.
    2. Eliminate the education monopoly.
    3. Turn off the welfare magnet.
    4. Place a moratorium on light-rail projects.
    5. Reduce or eliminate the corporate income tax.
    6. Outsource whenever possible.
    7. Repeal the prevailing wage law.
    8. Ban project labor agreements.
    9. Stop trying to run everything.
       "The state prevailing wage law requires nonunion contractors to
       pay union-scale wages and benefits on state-funded construction
       projects. It also forces them to adopt inefficient union work
       practices. It drives out competition and subsidizes construction
       unions with taxpayer funds. It performs no valid public function
       and should be repealed.
       "The state often requires nonunion construction contractors to
       become signatory to union collective-bargaining agreements in
       order to work on state projects. This practice drives out
       competition on such projects and subsidizes unions with taxpayer
       dollars. The use of such agreements should be banned."

   ***
   In a word, the favorite pastime of the Minnesota Legislature is
   meddling. In many cases like the above, it's for fun and political
   profit, too often the latter.
   Price-fixing is one of their favorites. In some cases it's overt, like
   telling private businesses not to lower gasoline prices or setting
   minimum wages. In most cases, however, it's indirect, by limiting our
   options. They tell us who we can hire, as in points 7 and 8 above.
   They rig K-12 education funding so that few families can afford
   anything but the "free" public schools. Naturally, those who benefit
   from such favored treatment show their appreciation to those
   responsible and/or send delegations to encourage them to stay the
   course.
   Some of it is just feel-good, to satisfy some inner calling to do what
   they feel we constituents are too stupid to do for ourselves, like
   buckle our seat belts. It seldom dawns on them that they might be the
   ones that are too stupid to comprehend the situation, as in the "Baby
   Huey" bill to require car seats up to age 8. Add a measure of hubris
   and you get the Smoking Ban; the scientific research does not matter.
   The point is, this all costs us money. Money to pass and enforce the
   law. Money paid in needlessly higher prices. Money lost in reduced
   economic activity, which also means reduced tax revenue to the state,
   exacerbating the budget deficit.
   Even non-taxpayers suffer from this interference in our lives. They
   may get an inferior education, a prisoner of their failing school to
   which they have no feasible alternative. They may get an inferior job,
   or no job, the de facto union requirements for many jobs and projects
   having sawed off the lower rungs of the economic ladder.
   What they will get is welfare and a pat on the head, leaving them to
   think that it's not their fault they're not getting ahead. They might
   be right.