In preparation for the release of the employment phase of the 2012 Census of Governments, I downloaded some Employment and Wages data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics last weekend. According to the data, if one excludes the high-paid Finance and Insurance sector the average annual pay per private sector worker increased 6.1% in Downstate New York from 2008 to 2012. The inflation rate for the period was 6.6%, meaning that in “real” dollars average annual pay fell. This confirms the American Community Survey data I cited earlier in this post, showing most New Yorkers have gotten poorer. For the same period, most unionized city workers received 8.0% wage increases, and those represented by the United Federation of Teachers received a retroactive pension increase that, for those who benefitted, was worth far more. And yet they want even more money for those years, at the expense of those unrepresented people who would have to pay for it.
So we are going to find out what being a “progressive” means today. The original progressives, a century ago, were against the abuse of ordinary people and the common future by those who had gained concentrated power in our institutions. Not only the corporate “trusts” busted by Teddy Roosevelt, but also the political machines with their patronage workers providing poor services. Progressive Democrats wanted more fair and effective government so it could do more things. Progressive Republicans wanted more fair and efficient government so it could do the things it must do at a lower cost. Back then progressives weren’t people who thought that instead of having just some people get ahead of others at their expense by manipulating the business world, additional people should be able to get ahead of others at their expense by manipulating state and local government. That was Tammany Hall. The public employee unions, contractor organizations, and unions representing workers employed by contractors, have taken its place. And if there are any reductions in public services, and any tax increases that don’t go exclusively to additional services, and/or any increases in public compensation beyond what most other New Yorkers are receiving, what was once machine politics will now be “progressivism.” That will be true even in another recession. Additional commentary, and a spreadsheet, can be found on “Saying the Unsaid in New York.”