The Boogy-Man Is Coming

During the campaign for County Supervisor in the 2nd district I’ve read a lot of the fertilizer that has been spread around by John Moorlach, and the other haters of public employees and their collective bargaining groups (a.k.a. Unions). We have been demonized in Orange County Register editorials and on several of the political blogs, such as the OC Blog and the Orange Juice Blog. We have been criticized for standing up to the myths and lies spread by Moorlach and his friends, and now, having failed to keep Moorlach off of the Board of Supervisors he has threatened our very livelihoods and futures.

Well John Moorlach and his gang of thugs may have won this first battle, but that does not mean, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.” In response to Moorlach’s election night threats my fellow coworkers, the more than 18,000 employees of the County of Orange, and I have a message for John Moorlach. BRING IT ON!!!

Moorlach claimed in his Candidate Statement that: “Union leaders and the majority of the Board of Supervisors have agreed to unfunded future pension benefits that may take the County generations to pay.” He called our benefits “a ticking time bomb.” Moorlach warned that these bargaining agreements will “have serious financial repercussions” and that the “liabilities now exceed $3 billion” and that “those responsible for this giveaway refuse to talk about it.”

John Moorlach is an ignorant idiot. His predictions of doom and gloom, as well as his claim that the recently negotiated benefit enhancements have created a ticking time bomb are simply FALSE.

That is not me saying so, it is the Orange County Employee’s Retirement System (OCERS) saying so. To quote from their website Paying for Recently Changed Benefits “Before employers adopted a new formula for general employees OCERS’ actuary developed an estimate of the cost for the new benefit. Required contributions must take into account the additional liability. Under the new formula County employees’ contributions are increased to pay most of the additional cost directly. County employees agreed to adjust other items, such as medical insurance, to cover additional cost.”

So exactly what is John Moorlach talking about? What doom and gloom is he trying to protect us from? The answer is nothing. All his claims, all his posturing, all his grandstanding, are nothing more than campaign tactics to make people think the Boogy-Man is coming and that he is the only one who can slay the Boogy-Man and save Orange County from bankruptcy.

Moorlach preaches doom, gloom, and bankruptcy at the hands of greedy union bosses who are hell bent on destroying the County by providing out of line benefits to county workers. Conversely, the more than 18,000 county employees, their unions and OCERS all claim that county employees have paid for their enhanced retirement benefits by paying more into the retirement system and giving up pay raises for the last 2 years and other benefit concessions. So who is telling it like it is and who is shoveling a pile of bull?

There is a simple way to resolve this poker standoff. Moorlach please show us your cards and reveal the actual data that supports your assumptions. Make sure you cover in your calculations the 6%-7% annual salary savings over the next 30+ years and the increased contributions from eligible employees, and the health care cost concessions county employees have given to the taxpayers of Orange County. Do the math and I think you will find one of two things…

Either the money saved through delayed salary increases and increased employee contributions has met the need or come real close, or the County employee unions have negotiated unsustainable benefits that will ultimately bankrupt the county and cost their members jobs. (Does anyone really think that unions would be dumb enough to bankrupt their employer? It just doesn’t add up and neither do the numbers.)

Now, on the matter of who picked a fight with whom?

John Moorlach and his thugs have been attacking County employees, their pensions, retiree medical costs, and pay, since well before he announced his run for Supervisor. John Moorlach has behaved like a schoolyard bully. Everyone knows you don’t stand up to a bully who has threatened and attacked you by turning tail and running. You stand and fight. You punch him in the nose a few times and you stand your ground. Even if you loose the initial battle, at least you’ve staked you position upon the bedrock of principle and gone down fighting. Sorry we hurt your feelings John, but you threw the first punch.

Public employees and their unions are not the definition of the Boogy-Man. John Moorlach fits that description a lot better. His goal, like the Boogy-Man, is to keep people in a constant state of fear. Moorlach seems to be intent on misleading the people of Orange County into believing that he is the only one who can save the day. He created the current Boogy-Man. He is the Boogy-Man.

I proudly stand with Nick Berardino, Orange County Employee’s Association General Manager, who in response to a recent OC Register editorial says “we will continue to fight if necessary and we will be even more vigorous (economically and otherwise) in the future.” Somebody must stand up and counter the lies and misinformation that John Moorlach and other uninformed union haters are spreading. That somebody is, and will continue to be, the Employee/Taxpayers of Orange County.

This message is brought to you by a local public employee who is a proud union member. You remember the unions don’t you? They’re the same people who brought you overtime, paid vacations and sick leave, your lunch break, social security, pensions, and the weekend.