POLITICS: KILLING THE GOLDEN GOOSE

Am I Next? California. Killing the Golden Goose. AB 1250

The two greatest threats to our communities, states, and our nation are political corruption and the rise of the self-serving “professional politician.”

Politics is not a “team sport” where you support and root for one side, but a serious business that can affect your life and future. It has been often said that the wisest course of action is to vote, not for your political party and not for activist-led special interests, but for the prudent, common sense, politician who understands that government is not and should not be a self-perpetuating business putting its own existence and needs before the needs of the people they purport to serve.

Here in the formerly golden State of California, we see a perilous precedent develop in California’s legislature with the introduction and promotion of Assembly Bill A.B. 1250 which affects “Counties: Contracts for Personal Services.”

Mostly this bill is designed to prevent counties from contracting services to those best qualified in the private sector in favor of keeping these jobs within the government and staffed by unionized workers whose salaries, perks, medical, and pensions are slowly bankrupting government entities on all levels: local, state, and national.

Proposed Law: AB 1250 would establish standards for the use of personal services contracts by counties, specify contractor disclosure requirements, and identify circumstances under which a county may contract for services. My comments appear in [brackets.]

Specifically, this bill would do the following:

"Prohibit a county from contracting for personal services currently or customarily performed by that county’s employees unless it makes specified findings, and all of the following conditions are met:

  • The board of supervisors demonstrates that the contract will result in cost savings for the duration of the contract, as compared with the county’s actual costs of providing the same services. [Since many of the government's costs are artificially created, it may be impossible to verify the underlying data or methodology of computing such costs.]
  • Contract proposals are not solely based on savings related to lower contractor pay rates or benefits, and contractor wages are at the industry’s level and do not undercut county pay rates. [This provision keeps wages artificially high and at the level of county workers to eliminate any significant cost savings to perform the work in the private sector.]
  • The contract does not displace county employees, as specified, or cause vacant positions to remain unfilled. [This is nonsensical because the goal is cost-savings beneficial to the taxpayers and not a full employment opportunity act for unionized government workers.]
  • Contract savings are large enough to ensure they will not be eliminated by normal cost fluctuations, the amount of savings clearly justifies the size and duration of the agreement, and the potential for future economic risk to the county from rate increases is minimal. [There will always be some form of adjustment that must be made to deal with unforeseen economic circumstances like the shortage of materials, etc.] 
  • The economic advantage of contracting is not outweighed by the public’s interest in having a function performed directly by county government. [The public is not well-served by overpaid and non-productive government workers who are immune from being fired for malfeasance and incompetence.]
  • The contract is with a “firm,” it may be terminated by the county for material breach, it is awarded through a public competitive bid process, and it includes provisions pertaining to the qualifications of the staff that will perform the work. [It is amazing that the qualifications to perform work do not similarly apply to government workers, many of whom are grossly unqualified for the jobs they hold.]"

Of course, the politicians who introduced the legislation saw fit to exempt the City and County of San Francisco from the bill’s provisions and ensure that the legislation does not impact current government services.

“Specify that the bill does not apply to contracts for architectural or engineering services, public transit, street sweeping, solid waste hauling, or construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, or maintenance work that is considered a public works project.”

For those wishing to read AB 1250 in full and in context, it can be found here.

NO LOVE AT PROVIDENCE HEALTH & SERVICES (11/18/25)

Am I Next? Job Layoffs at Providence Health & Services

NOVEMBER 18, 2025 — 296 SWEDISH EMPLOYEES

Providence Swedish will implement a 3.8% reduction in force in early 2026 that will impact employees in Providence Swedish locations in Puget Sound, including hospitals and clinics in First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Issaquah, Washington.

According to Swedish Health Services President and CEO Dr. Elizabeth Wako, “We all know health care is a broken system, and right now I’d say we’re in the middle of a perfect storm. And it’s heartbreaking. This wasn’t an easy decision.”

Wako noted that the decision was driven by reductions in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements, new state taxes, delays in insurer payments, and fewer surgeries, including Washington’s new business and occupation tax and caps on insurance payments to hospitals for care provided to public and school employees.

AUGUST 15, 2025 - 126 WASHINGTON STATE EMPLOYEES

As part of an organization-wide restructuring, the company will lay off 126 Washington State employees in early October 2025, including 60 employees in Spokane, Washington, and the remainder at various locations across the state.

CFO Greg Hoffman noted, “Thanks to the dedication of all our caregivers and the discipline we are bringing to our sustainability initiatives, we’re seeing meaningful improvements in our performance, bringing us closer to breakeven. At the same time, the passage of H.R.1 and other external pressures continue to challenge the entire health care sector. These headwinds reinforce the urgency of our transformation and our commitment to adapt, so we can sustain our Mission and ensure continued access to high-quality care in the communities we serve.”

AUGUST 29, 2017 — Original Post

One of Oregon’s largest private-sector employers has suffered significant operating losses and is now embarking on a cost-cutting campaign that will feature a reduction-in-force by approximately 210 employees against a workforce of about 111,000 employees. This does not include employees lost to normal attrition or consciously leaving administrative positions unfilled. 

The real extent of the layoffs may not be readily apparent as the enterprise turns toward using higher-cost professional staffing agencies and contract employees to augment staff when necessary and to provide a level of flexibility in staffing. It appears that the trend in a number of major industries is to use staffing contractors to isolate companies from the legal responsibilities of dealing with layoffs and other critical personnel issues.

Like most major health care operations, one of the biggest complaints in low Medicaid reimbursement levels. Some states have deliberately increased their Medicaid population knowing that the federal government would pick up all or at least most of the tab under the Affordable Care Act. It appears that Medicaid patients seem to require a greater level of care than those who were previously covered by insurance, especially those who are seeking long-delayed medical treatment for pre-existing conditions. An aging population is also exerting stress on the health care system. 

Let us not forget that Providence established a $150 million venture capital fund with about 100 employees that is headed by a former Amazon executive, Aaron Martin, and runs its own business incubator. By investing in other companies, Providence believes that it can profit from innovation as well as improve and enhance existing healthcare services. Hopefully, these innovations will be more than just another tracking app with little or no real medical-level accuracy or use.