THERE IS ONE WAY to make sure firefighters and teachers know they are valued: maintain their healthcare benefits and pensions. But Joel Hussey, the Republican candidate for the 45th Legislative District’s House of Representatives Position 1, would have none of that if elected. These necessities – health benefits and pensions – are luxury items, according to Hussey, that must go.
Hussey spoke during a recent neighborhood meeting about how public sector employees are merely a drain on Washington State’s budget. During the gathering (which was recorded and posted to YouTube), Hussey proclaimed that, if elected, he would slash firefighters’ and teachers’ pensions and health benefits. These public employees, according to Hussey, have had it too good for too long.
These public sector employees are simply, in Hussey’s words, enjoying undeserved “gold-plated pensions” and “gold-plated healthcare plans.” According to Hussey, firefighters and teachers “have a lot to lose” if he wins the election and if the Democrats lose.
While speaking with his supporters, Hussey didn’t show any empathy for the fact that teachers and firefighters depend on their pensions for retirement and depend on their healthcare plans. To Hussey, it just doesn’t matter if those public sector employees suffer under his policies because, in his own words, he doesn’t need to buy into a pension plan because “I have a 401K.” (Don’t worry public sector employees, if elected, Joel Hussey is going to be just fine.)
It's utterly confounding that Hussey does not give teachers and firefighters the support they deserve. Then again, Hussey’s failure to support our public sector employees is not surprising given his background. Hussey claims an educational prowess citing his experience serving on the Bellevue Christian School board. But Hussey strategically omits the needed asterisk to that statement, which is that Bellevue Christian School is a private institution that is not part of Washington’s public education system.
And what’s more disturbing is that Hussey treats public sector jobs as though they are not real jobs. Firefighters, teachers, police officers – these are essential service positions that sustain to our community. But Hussey ignores the fact that our unemployment rate will rise if public sector employees’ jobs are cut in the same way as if private sector employees’ jobs are cut and instead Hussey wants to demote these positions to expendable dime-a-dozen resources.
Joel Hussey’s lack of respect for Washington’s firefighters and teachers is yet another reason that Roger Goodman deserves our vote this November. If you are a teacher or a firefighter, or if you know a teacher or a firefighter, then say NO! to Joel Hussey and say YES! to a better quality of life for our public sector employees.
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Trent Latta is an attorney and Kirkland resident. He can be contacted at TrentLatta@gmail.com
Here are some of his ridiculous statements for which he offers no substantiation: "Hussey spoke during a recent neighborhood meeting about how public sector employees are merely a drain on Washington State’s budget." Of couse they are a "drain" on government budgets... but did he really say "merely a drain". Of course not... that's Trent's way of demonizing without justification. And what does this mean: "Hussey does not give teachers and firefighters the support they deserve." ? or "Hussey treats public sector jobs as though they are not real jobs" Nothing.. Just Trent ignoring that there is a real discussion to be had, but instead merely wants to demonize any Republican candidate by assigning movtives to them which he cannot, and does not, justify with facts.
The result of this problem is that we pay too much for many services and we have “negotiated” away the ability to have the type of management oversight that assures high performance from the highly paid public sector. Many cities have been bankrupted by wage and benefit contracts and pensions that union-supported politicians keep approving because they need the financial support provided by the public sector unions. Public sector jobs are essential to our society. Overpaying for public sector jobs due to the conflict of interest is lethal to our society. If Hussey has a plan to combat this problem, I'm all ears!
The more Latta writes, the more ridiculous he comes. Anyone so biased and not willing to give honest disclosure of who he is - not merely an activist but a biased Democratic chair http://wa-demchairs.org/kcdems/districts/officers.php?ld=45 - is asking to be ignored.
I could never stomach that kind of implied extortion, but for your 'die hard' union boss, it's just business as usual.
Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, the CCPOA lobbied the state government to increase California’s prison facilities — since more prisons would obviously mean more jobs for corrections officers. And between 1980 and 2000, the Golden State constructed 22 new prisons for adults (before 1980, California had only 12 such facilities). The CCPOA also pushed for the 1994 “three strikes” sentencing law, which imposed stiff penalties on repeat offenders. The prison population exploded — and, as intended, the new prisoners required more guards. The CCPOA has been no less successful in increasing members’ compensation: In 2006, the average union member made $70,000 a year, and more than $100,000 with overtime. Corrections officers can also retire with 90% of their salaries as early as age 50. Today, an amazing 11% of the state budget — more than what is spent on higher education — goes to the penal system. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed privatizing portions of the prison system to escape the unions’ grip — though his proposal was met with predictable (union supported) political opposition. From: http://ofbuckleyandbeatles.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/the-trouble-with-public-sector-unions/ with edits
http://woodinville.patch.com/events/45th-legislative-district-candidate-forum-for-house-pos-1and-2-95b669c9
Our state's economy is struggling and our jobless rate is one of the highest in the country. Although we're seeing signs of recovery in some industries, it is far from robust, and businesses struggle to grow under a burden of regulations. Yet, through one of the most difficult periods since the Great Depression, as many families dealt with layoffs, business failures and other hits to their income, the actual amount of revenue that the state collected did not drop. The State recently issued their budget forecast for the 2013-15 biennium. Despite an assumed 7.2% increase in state revenues over 2011-13, we are still facing a $1 BILLION budget deficit. This is before we address the impact of the McCleary decision and the Supreme Court's mandate to fully fund education! Spending continues to rise faster than revenues and simply raising taxes is not the solution. Washington's citizens have repeatedly voted to limit tax increases to only those passed by a 2/3 majority of the legislature, and will likely affirm this again in the upcoming election. This means that in 2013 the legislature will need to do a better job of prioritizing spending if they are to close the budget deficit and also begin to address education funding.
I am a product of the Everett public school system. My father spent his entire career in public education as a teacher, librarian and principal. And my sister is a public school teacher. My experience growing up as the child of an educator, coupled with numerous conversations with public school teachers, administrators and parents, has provided deep perspective into many of the issues faced by our public education system. This perspective is further enhanced by my experience as a private school board member. I believe private schools face challenges similar to public schools in delivering a high quality education on a limited budget. We must remember that many families attending private schools make significant sacrifices to cover the additional cost of private education, because they believe it is the best education option for their children. I have great respect for teachers and the work they do with our kids. Mr. Latta said that I am only out to cut teacher pay and benefits. That's not true.
If we continue on our current path, will our kids receive the education they deserve? I don't think so, and that's why I'm running for office. I want Washington State to be a place where our children and their education are once again our top priorities.
Joel Hussey lists a lot of generalizations – taken mainly from his stump speech – in his response to this blog post. But what he does not do is striking: he does not deny the fact that, if elected, he intends to slash teacher and firefighters’ health benefits and pensions. And notably, Hussey adds that, not only are these benefits on the chopping block, but you can expect that teachers’ salaries will be cut too!
Hussey’s attack on teachers and firefighters shows his poor choice in budgetary priorities. Hussey claims our state’s “Spending continues to rise faster than revenues,” and his answer is to cut teachers and firefighters’ healthcare and retirement? For Hussey, it’s a matter of dollars and cents: he doesn’t care if you are a teacher that depends on your salary and healthcare for your children – he cares about a balance sheet. And Hussey doesn’t care if you are a firefighter who depends on the pension you’ve been promised – again, he cares about a balance sheet. And it’s not that our budget isn’t important: it is. But taking from teachers and firefighters is not the budgetary answer we need. And Hussey simply fails to appreciate the significance that healthcare benefits and pensions have for our public teachers and firefighters. (Don’t worry, Hussey’s gonna be just fine.)
Hussey’s comment also emphasizes his lack of connection to Washington’s middle-class. Hussey announces from 30,000 feet that many families make great “sacrifices to cover the additional cost of private education.” I’m sure some families do sacrifice something to pay for a private education. But for MOST families, sending their kids to private school is so far from a fiscal reality that it’s a joke. To send three kids to this year at Bellevue Christian School (where Hussey served as Board Member), it costs more than $31,030 per year! To send those three kids to four years of private high school would cost at least $124,120. That Hussey would consider private education a viable alternative for Washington’s family demonstrates his lack of regard for the real issues facing our community.
Finally, Hussey’s defense of his claimed educational expertise nose-dives into disappointment. Hussey dully claims that his expertise on public education issues derives from: (1) his childhood experience; and (2) his “numerous conversations with public school teachers, administrators and parents,” i.e., Hussey’s dad was a teacher and he’s talked with some people about education. Those experiences do not allow Hussey leeway to go about slashing entitlements on which teachers and fighters depend. The choice is clear: if you are a teacher or a firefighter, or know a teacher or a firefighter, or if you ever have benefited from having a teacher or a firefighter in your community, then I urge you to vote for Roger Goodman.
What Hussey, along with many other candidates has said, is that excessive compensation and pension packages will worsen the budget crisis and must be resolved. We need people to discuss solutions, not bomb throwers like Latta who uses these issues merely to politically demonize candidates who are courageous enough to tackle serious issues before Washington becomes the next California.
But once again, it's clear it only matters " If you are a teacher or a firefighter, or if you know a teacher or a firefighter,", so it's ok to vote for Joel Hussey if you had or have a mother. (FYI, the 'mother' note is just like the 'having a teacher' appeal - ridiculous)
Your comment does not make much sense. But I have been following the Greece situation and one thing is clear is that the austerity measures imposed by Germany have not helped the situation. Even a cursory analysis of the lessons learned following our Great Depression reveal the problems with austerity. Indeed, Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman and the economist Martin Wolf frequently criticize the irrational commitment to austerity that people like yourself (and Joel Hussey) make. I recommend reading their work on the matter for a more detailed analysis. Trent
Do you even read what people write or do you just blabber and perpetuate lies to misguide voters?
Even a cursory analysis of Greece's history would have revealed the real problem. Totally different from the Great Depression Trent. Suggest you do some due diligence before you make more incorrect statements. Guess how this relates to your desire to not change future "healthcare benefits and pensions". Like I said, you don't know the history at all and only are aware of the 'solution' stage that Greece is in now. Do you think that keeping the pensions status quo is the solution for Greece? How exactly are they going to pay for this if there is no money? You are aware that some retired at the ripe old age of 50? FWIW you again reference material that has nothing to do with my comment. Putting words into people's mouths is a common tactic by disingenuous politically motivated persons.
I was at the town hall meeting at Wilder and most agreed that we need to look at a general overhaul of the tax system. The voters, who you claim would support a reasonable tax increase voted down an income tax and repealed the tax on soda and looks like, for the 5th time, will pass an initiative requiring a 2/3rds majority for tax increases. For the most part what came out of the panel was the legislature needs to come up with a blue panel idea to make the system both fair and more stable and predictable in the revenue. As Mr. Hussey said, as a small business owner, the one thing you do not want is uncertainty, not knowing what the tax rules will be. My question that was asked regarded the B&O tax. 2 years ago at the same town hall, the candidates sat up there and talked about how unfair it was. 2 years later nothing has changed. This time they said the same things. Rep. Goodman specifically called it a confiscation. Not sure why he did not do anything in the last 2 years to fix what he tells us is a horrible system.