In the Golden State, the California Teachers Association has all but become a branch of state government. Its exertions have given the state some of the worst schools in the country - and the highest-paid teachers. California's prison guards have a powerful union - and also the highest salaries in the nation. The state instituted a reckless pension plan for public employees in 1999 that means more than 5,000 of them get more than $100,000 a year during retirement. It's not a coincidence that California was reduced to issuing IOUs to cover its obligations for a time last year.
Government by and for the public-employees unions is bankrupting, both fiscally and ethically. In his post-Massachusetts explanations of why health-care reform stalled, Pres. Barack Obama vaguely acknowledged a few lapses in transparency. But he never mentioned the grossness inherent in inviting union bosses to the White House so they can exempt their members from a tax. That would cut too close to the bone, since it's hard to tell where the unions end and the Democratic party begins.