Government Spending

The "Special Interests" That Rarely Get Called as Such

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In fairness, it's only another $50 billion this time

At the Washington Examiner, Timothy P. Carney makes and documents an important point:

Government employee unions — through their employees and political action committees — have contributed more money to congressional candidates this election than all the PACs, executives and employees of the entire oil industry, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Because 92 percent of public-employee union money goes to Democrats, President Obama's party has raised more money from these unions this cycle than Republicans have raised from Wall Street.

Along the same lines, local and state governments have spent more on lobbying this year than the health insurance industry or defense contractors.

By any measure, local and state governments and public sector unions are an entrenched special interest. By any measure, they are also the prime beneficiary of President Obama's latest $50 billion spending proposal. […]

Whatever the supposed virtues of this huge handout to profligate politicians and bloated bureaucracies, it is, objectively, a proposed $50 billion transfer of wealth from ordinary taxpayers to a politically connected special interest that overwhelmingly and aggressively favors the party in power.

Link via Carney's great Twitter feed. Reason.tv's "3 Reasons Why Public Sector Employees Are Killing the Economy" below: