The Bottom Line Is This: There Is No Money

When Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels took office six years ago, he rescinded collective bargaining rights for state employees and implemented merit pay.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Daniels slashed the state work force and turned a $600 million deficit into a $370 million surplus in one year. Indiana currently has an $800 million surplus.

Public-sector unions can prevent such all-out assaults by helping rather than hindering the process. For example, here in Washington, legislators passed a law allowing state services to be contracted out to private companies, but the process is essentially controlled by state employee unions, so it goes nowhere.

That’s not real reform.

The bottom line is this: There is no money. Business as usual is not an option. Rather than stand at the barricades fending off change, public-sector unions should use their experience and talents to help make government more efficient, effective and affordable.

That’s a solution that works for both the private and public employees.

Excerpt from Unions must be part of the solution as money dries up by Don Brunell president of the Association of Washington Business