Sacramento’s establishment springs into action.
The race for CA governor is in full swing as the rent-seeking unions and corporations that capture the lion’s share of $500 billion per year of state spending are starting to announce their endorsements. I’m keeping a spreadsheet. Here’s a screenshot of endorsements so far by some of Sacramento’s leading rent-seekers:
The first column lists the name of the rent-seeking organization. The second column is an estimate of dollars captured by the rent-seeker directly from the state and indirectly from other recipients of state spending. The third column is a list of the principal legal codes the rent-seeker seeks to influence. The fourth column reports the name of the endorsed candidate.
Eg, California Professional Firefighters (CPF) captures $3.6 billion – $4.2 billion of taxpayer dollars per year, prioritizes bills such as AB 1383 that would boost unfunded pensions, and has endorsed Eric Swalwell. Another example is California School Employees (CSEA), which captures $10.5 billion – $11.8 billion of taxpayer funds per year, leads efforts to shift money from classrooms to retirement debt service, and has endorsed Tom Steyer.
The spreadsheet is a work in progress but hopefully you get its drift. If you’re looking for change in Sacramento, you’re not likely to find it in a candidate endorsed by a rent-seeker who simply wants more of the same. That’s why nothing changed under Gavin Newsom despite more than $3.7 trillion of spending and nearly 6000 new laws enacted during his tenure. He too was endorsed by CPF, CSEA and other Sacramento rent-seekers.
Stay tuned for more.
