Radio Host Blames Unions For Calif. Economic Woes

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MADELEINE BRAND, host:

Democrats here in California are worried that when the dust settles, lots of people will be kicked off the welfare rolls permanently.

Our next guest says, well, that might not be such a bad idea. He says there's a lot of waste in California's welfare system.

(Soundbite of radio program, "The Capital Hour")

Unidentified Man: The voice of reason. Eric Hogue.

Mr. ERIC HOGUE (Host, "The Capital Hour"): I don't ask for your belief, just your intention.

Unidentified Man: Intention. Capital Hour.

BRAND: Eric Hogue is the host of the conservative radio talk show "The Capital Hour." He joins us from the studios of KTKZ in Sacramento. Welcome to the program.

Mr. HOGUE: Hey, it is great to be here. Thank you for the offer.

BRAND: So, we just heard in that previous piece, really, a moving story about a family who receives benefits from a variety of state programs, but still has a lot of problems, can barely make ends meet. So wouldn't the governor's plan to cut welfare benefits just be disastrous for poor families?

Mr. HOGUE: You know, I think it would be obviously a good move in the rank and file of accountability. I mean, California right now has 12 percent of the country's population and 30 percent of the country's case workload when it comes to welfare. And we have a lot of people who are living on welfare past the five years.

If you go back to the Clinton administration, the welfare-to-work rules that he enacted, they've never been followed up in California. And so what the governor is trying to do is to make welfare work in California. For those families, like the piece we just heard, those who need it, they'll get it. The money will be there. They won't face an IOU down the road. And they can do it with great accountability, not living on it for a lifetime being dependent upon it, and then having their kids learn how to be dependent upon it.

BRAND: So is this a big topic on your radio show?

Mr. HOGUE: It is. It's huge. I mean, California is looking at a cliff. It's been a problem for eight years. We've been warning the politicians that it's coming, they do nothing but sit there and play with brand new contracts with the public employee unions, make more and more financial mandates with initiatives in small print, all of this at the expense of the taxpayers and business.

BRAND: Okay, well, you mentioned unions, let's switch to that topic. And I want to play a little clip from your radio show.

(Soundbite of radio program, "The Capital Hour")

Mr. HOGUE: Hogue News is up, full of stuff today, just full of stuff today. My attempt to create a coup inside of the state workers force with the unions -enemy number one, by the way.

BRAND: Okay, enemy number one: the unions. But aren't the unions really bearing the brunt of the problems and the pay cuts, the furloughs, the layoffs? The largest union of state workers has already received a 15 percent pay cut.

Mr. HOGUE: In a word, no. Actually, I'm enemy number one.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Mr. HOGUE: They're after me because of what I'm saying, so I'm enemy number one. And no, the public employee unions aren't hurting. The unions are causing this catastrophe in California. They've got furlough days, sure. They still have their jobs. They still have their full pensions. They still have their full health care.

But how many state workers' jobs have been lost in this recession in California when right now in the state we're looking at 11 and 12, and if you talk about the valley, some areas 20 and 25 percent unemployment? They're going unscathed. The public employee unions have to be controlled. They got to be removed from their steroids here in Sacramento.

BRAND: What kinds of distinction are you making between the union rank and file, the workers and the management in terms of responsibility for this budget? Because I think a lot of the workers are saying, hey, we can't take any more cuts.

Mr. HOGUE: I'm making a great distinction between the two. I like state workers. We have government jobs when we need them. They shouldn't compete with the private sector. If we have legitimate government needs for infrastructure, then we put up, you know, job opportunities and people take them.

There shouldn't be a waiting list for government jobs. Now, that means we have too many people who want to work for government. It should be people who want to work in the private sector run after profits, not run after pensions. And that's what's going on in California, and it has to change. They are driving this state off the cliff.

BRAND: Eric Hogue, host of the radio talk show "The Capital Hour." It's heard in Sacramento on radio station KTKZ.

Eric Hogue, thank you very much.

Mr. HOGUE: Thank you. Appreciate the time.

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