Trump Is This Close to Saving the Blue States - WSJ

Trump Is This Close to Saving the Blue States - WSJ
"Call it the Jerry Maguire moment in blue-state politics.

Struggling under the weight of financial promises they’ve made to public-sector unions, governments in places like New Jersey and California need to help Donald Trump help them.
The President is doing just about all he can to enable reform in profligate jurisdictions... 
Lower fee income will mean less powerful government-employee unions.

The Empire Center observes:

This is a groundbreaking win for public employees... in New York and other states where they have long been compelled to support inherently political activities as a condition of employment. Roughly 200,000 New York government workers who chose not to join unions immediately stand to save over $110 million a year. Another one million who signed union membership cards, believing they’d have no choice but to pay the union, will have the option to reconsider.

Across the Hudson River, the New Jersey School Boards Association notes that along with liberating non-union members from the obligation to support organizations they oppose, the decision also prevents unions from automatically enrolling people who have never expressed an interest in membership...
Combined with rising state revenues and new incentives to reform state tax systems resulting from the federal tax law Mr. Trump enacted in December, the country’s most expensive governments suddenly enjoy the flexibility to pursue economic vitality. 

There is finally an optimistic case for the long-term prosperity of places like New Jersey, where workers currently suffer the country’s worst business tax climate, economic growth that has been almost nonexistent, and massive unfunded liabilities for public sector pensions and benefits.
But it may take a while to liberate blue-state politicians from the union bosses who have played a dominant role in funding political campaigns.
Theoretically, elected officials represent all of their citizens. 

When it comes to negotiating pay and benefits for public workers, the pols should be on one side of the table representing the general interest, while the union bosses on the other side represent the special interest..."

Huge, read all!