Democratic Aristocrats

Democratic Nobility

I could not bear to watch the Democratic party debates for more than a few minutes. It was a truly embarrassing spectacle for all involved. Nevertheless, I did come away with one impression. Although our Constitution does not allow “titles of nobility”, the candidates were all aristocrats of varying degrees of nobility. 

For example, when President Obama uttered his now famous line, “If you like your medical plan, you can keep it,” it was true as far as most of these candidates were concerned. Members of Congress were supposed to enroll in Obamacare, but they apparently found a way to stay in their old Federal “Cadillac” plan. They profess to be concerned about health care for the people, but they took care of themselves first.

Moreover, news reports indicate that leading candidates Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and even Socialist Bernie Sanders are millionaires. Biden has just reported that he and his wife had income of over $14 Million since leaving office after the 2016 election. They also used an S-corporation to minimize taxes.

Where is Shakespeare when we need him? It would take someone like him to tell about Kamala, Duchess of California, Elizabeth, Duchess of Massachusetts, Kristen, Duchess of New York, or Amy, Duchess of Minnesota. Their seats in the Senate are so safe that they might as well be considered hereditary. 

What about the men? Bernie Sanders, the aged Duke of Vermont, who will apparently hold his position for life, has somehow managed to become a millionaire despite his avowed Socialist and income re-distribution principles. His wife was President of the College of Burlington in Vermont where she pulled down a salary of about $150000 a year with generous retirement and severance benefits. How did her compensation compare with the pittance that colleges routinely pay to adjunct professors? 

Cory Booker, Duke of New Jersey, despite his privilege upbringing still portrays himself as an aggrieved black man. He is also a sacrosanct politician since any criticism of him or his ideas would be immediately portrayed as racist.

Even the lesser nobility have thrown their hats into the ring. There is Bill de Blasio, Earl of New York City, as well as Pete Buttigieg, the young Earl of South Bend, Indiana. Earl de Blasio presides over a city of great income inequality where homelessness goes hand in hand with astronomical housing costs. Buttigieg is well-loved in a South Bend suffering from urban blight, and where students at Notre Dame  are strongly advised not to go off campus.

Finally, Joe Biden, the Prince of Wilmington, is a truly Shakespearean character. For years, like Britain’s Prince Charles, he has waited to ascend to the Crown. He might have thought that once he became vice-President under King Barack Obama, his time had finally come. However, Queen Hillary, the wife of former King William, exerted her “divine right” and claimed the Democratic nomination in 2016. Little did she suspect, like Lady Macbeth, that an unforeseen opponent heading a mob of “deplorables” would storm the castle and seize the throne.

Now Prince Joe resembles Julius Caesar. The first debate showed that noble conspirators are planning his political assassination. 

Perhaps the candidates should brush up their Shakespeare.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

###

Connecticut: Democracy or Aristocracy

This week the Connecticut State Senate narrowly approved a package of labor concessions that had been negotiated by Governor Dannell Malloy in a last ditch effort to close the State’s enormous budget deficit. The whole process should be examined as a lesson in how democracy really works in Connecticut, the State that used to brag that it was the first colony to govern under a written constitution.

Connecticut is one of the bluest states in the country and the legislature has been dominated by Democrats for years. This year, however, while the House of Representatives is still largely Democrat, the State Senate is split equally between Democrats and Republicans 19 to 19. For almost a year the Governor and the Legislature have been struggling to close an enormous budget deficit but although the State constitution requires that the budget be balanced, they were not able to come up with a solution. Somehow, it was possible to ignore the State’s constitution and let the Governor govern by executive order.  

As a result, the Governor called the Legislature back into session and presented them with the public service union “concession” package that had been negotiated behind closed doors by his staff. Details of the package were not shared with the people of the state or with their representatives until the various unions involved approved them. In other words, the union members got a chance to review and vote on the package while the people of the state were kept in the dark.

Apparently the various bargaining units approved the “concessions” by a margin of over 80%, a sure sign that their leaders realized that it was a very good deal despite the so-called concessions. Although Governor Malloy is not running for re-election in 2018, he has effectively tied the hands of his successor with a five year, no layoff agreement. Moreover, the deal extends the union contracts for a full ten years. Control of the public service unions has been effectively taken out of the hands of the legislature for the next ten years.

In return, the unions agreed on temporary wage freezes, some furlough or no-pay days, and slightly higher pension contributions. The union members were not required to accept any fundamental changes to their very generous pension plan. They did, however, agree to throw new union members or public service employees under the bus by creating a defined contribution plan for them. After years of railing about the horrors of defined contribution plans, the current union membership overwhelmingly accepted them for new state employees, as long as they could keep their own privileged defined benefit plan.

This defined benefit pension plan is the elephant in the room that no Democrat politician wants to see or touch. The vast majority of Connecticut’s citizens who must pay for the pensions of their so-called public servants do not have retirement benefits even close to those enjoyed by the State’s union employees. The Social Security benefit of ordinary citizens is based on their average pay over 30 years, not on the average of their highest three years pay. Moreover, an ordinary citizen cannot get the full Social Security benefit until age 67. State employees get a fill pension at age 60 or after 35 years of service.

Union leaders often argue that pensions need to be generous since their members do not participate in Social Security. However, the mere mention that they switch from the Connecticut system to Social Security is enough to send them into shock. Does anyone ever realize that ordinary citizens pay for the pensions of State employees but that these same employees do not pay a dime into the Social Security system?

So, if the Governor can negotiate behind closed doors and keep the legislature in the dark, can this really be called a democracy? If the Governor must go hat in hand to the unions and beg for concessions, who is really in charge? Does the Governor ever submit his proposals to the people for their approval? When he threatens to cut services does he seek anyone’s approval? When he threatened to force the towns to pay for State employee pensions, did he ask the towns to approve the plan?

Actually, Connecticut is more an aristocracy than a democracy. The aristocracy are those members of the public service unions who enjoy benefits that are out of reach of most ordinary citizens.  These aristocrats do not have titles of nobility but they have become the ruling class. The newly approved concessions package guarantees that they cannot lose their jobs or their benefits for the foreseeable future. In retirement many of them will even be able to move to Florida to escape paying State income tax on their pensions.

The Social Studies curriculum in Connecticut’s schools should be changed to indicate that the government of Connecticut is an aristocracy; a government by the privileged few and for the privileged few. The unit could include a comparison with France on the eve of its Revolution. Governor Malloy is planning to leave office before the full impact of his concessions will hit his successor. He could easily be likened to the French King who supposedly said, “Après moi, le deluge!”***

###  

***Click on this link for a witty portrayal of pension aristocrats or just view  the video below.