Myth Buster’s Myth Busted

Over the years we’ve learned that boldfaced spin and self-serving regurgitation of misinformation is a regular indulgence for those union mouthpieces over at the Liberal OC. Like most, we quickly grew tired trying to make sense of the noise emerging from the OCEA’s propaganda machine and so we’ve learned to ignore it. But every once in a while someone new comes along and gets sucked right into the blue vortex.

A few weeks ago, Chris Prevatt wrote this blurb supposedly “Busting the Myths” about how public employee pensions don’t cost us hardly anything and the real problem is… well something somewhere else. He backed that up with the audacious claim that public employee compensation only sucks up about 10% of California’s budget, a dubious statement which was then re-quoted by OCEA booster Nick Berardino in this letter to the OC Register.

Well somehow our perplexed new Friends over at UnionWatch.com stumbled upon Prevatt’s steaming pile and decided to break down this mythbuster’s logic. In a lengthy post based on conservative figures and some elementary math, the unnamed blogger discovered that the LiberalOC was off the mark by a factor of six. In fact, conservative calculations pinned public employee compensation at about 67% of California’s budget, far more than Prevatt’s 10%, putting public employees right back at the top of the lineup as a primary suspects in the case of California’s budget woes.

So nobody really knows if it was Prevatt or Berardino who initiated the transmission of this blatant error, but it doesn’t really matter. It served their purposes for a few moments and a couple of union adherents probably sucked it up and will continue to pass the falsehoods along. At least now the rest of us know better.

20 Replies to “Myth Buster’s Myth Busted”

  1. At the risk of sounding like a broken record……This guy lives in LA COUNTY, shops and pays taxes there.

    Whats with the interest here. If OC is so special to Chris Prevatt, move there. otherwise he comes across as a hack, disingenuous and really just a fake.

    Why the interest in OC???? what gives?

    1. I almost forgot! Sean Mill stole my Green Bay Packers jersey and I want it back. You think that a guy who runs half marathons would be thinner.

  2. Travis, good post. Of course UnionWatch got it wrong that this cretin is an influential blogger. He’s just an annoying one. A union lackey jiggering the numbers? Is the Pope Catholic?

    If you leave the back slider open the pestiferous fly will exit your house, eventually.

  3. Great catch. Obviously this Chris Prevatt guy doesn’t have enough sense to properly use toilet paper but using a photo of a guy with Down Syndrome to suggest Mr. Prevatt is somehow mentally handicapped is low. Just post a photo of Prevatt and leave the disabled out of the argument. Prevatt does enough damage to his point on his own

  4. At the risk of sounding like a broken record……
    At the risk of sounding like a broken record……
    At the risk of sounding like a broken record……
    At the risk of sounding like a broken record……
    At the risk of sounding like a broken record……

    1. Junior,

      Nice. Taking avoidence lessons from Jubal now?

      Everybody but a select few seem to ignore this glaring inconsistancy.

      JM

  5. I am shocked that an award winning journalist such as Chris Prevatt could get his facts so wrong. Does the Orange County Press Club know about this? Will they take their award back from God’s gift to blogging?

    Or is this just another spiteful post from a fringe blogger and “unqualified” planning commissioner?

    How dare you Travis!!! Just wait until Dan and Chris get ahold of your Form 700. They’ll make you pay for this!!!

    1. And I’m shocked that you could keep a straight face when Tinajero voted to support anti-obesity efforts in Santa Ana. When is fat Sal going on the Biggest Loser and will you be joining him?

  6. DKMFAN,

    No avoidance here – I agree with Travis that the pension information provided by Chris P was probably inaccurate.

    But, I am tired of the “he doesn’t live” blather.

    1. And yet you never seem to tire of Chris and Dan’s blather regarding myself and Art Pedroza. Funny how that works “junior” aka Mike Tardif.

    1. “junior” aka Mike Tardif,

      The readers here aren’t up on your angry blog speak via initials…Why not share your angry screed with everyone.

      Stay classy fella.

      1. Because Sean is the very definition of classy. Is that what your mom wrote in your one in your lunchbox today sweet baby?

  7. You gotta love sock puppetry as performed by Dan Chmielewski. The real DKMFAN thinks he’s a dick too…But then again so do most rational thinking people.

    1. Wow. You guys see the FibOc or RedCounty in everything critical. How will Sean react when he finds out Pedroza threw him under the bus in settlement talk?

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