The Nillabyte Perspective: U.S. & Politics
Wisconsin Insanity: Unions Vs. The Public
by
, February 18th, 2011 at 01:28 PM
It all comes down to simple math. There is more outtake than intake in the Wisconsin budget, and Governor Scott Walker is actually trying to do something about it. The rage that the unions have billowed is unjustified and sinister, the state senators who fled the state to avoid the vote are cowards and should be fired, and the protesters need to understand that they are fighting to have more bone-crushing debt.
The bill that is being protested by unions and teachers will strip public workers of collective bargaining rights for benefits. Contrary to what President Obama and some in the media are saying, this bill will not destroy unions. Unions still could represent workers, but could not seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum. Public workers are only being asked to pay 5% towards their pension and 12% for superb health care coverage. Boo-hoo! Most employees in the private sector have to pay more for their own benefits in addition to paying for the benefits of public workers.
The teachers, other workers, and unions protesting this bill aren't striking against a private employer, they are striking against the public--the tax payers. They are trying to demand and bully their way with unions in order to force the tax payers to shell out even more taxes that the public can't afford. The current structure in Wisconsin can't be sustained. Cuts have to be made. That's the bottom line.
If the cuts are not made, the lemming-like students who are ignorantly protesting this bill will be the people who will suffer. They are the future tax base and they will be the citizens paying for pensions and other benefits for public workers. The teachers who had their students leave school in order to protest against this bill should be fired. They aren't doing their job that the taxpayers are already paying them to do.
Lavish pensions and benefits for public workers far surpass those of private sector employees. Why should those private sector employees be forced to pay for the benefits and pensions of public workers? Teachers should receive pay and benefits that reflect their performance, not by what union thugs dictate. If a teacher performs well, and there are many that do, they should receive pay and benefits that reflect their good performance and what the taxpayers can afford. If a teacher performs poorly, and there are many that do so, they should not get the same reward as those teachers who perform better. If teachers don't perform at all, like those skipping work to protest, they should be let go. That's how the private sector works. What the unions have done is protect the bad teachers while destroying the incentive for good teachers to become better.
In high school, I had two teachers, a music teacher and a math teacher, who went out of their way to make sure I was receiving the education I needed. These are the teachers who should be rewarded with pensions and benefits. I had dozens of teachers who appeared to only be there for the paycheck, but still taught somewhat adequately. I also had several, mostly in college, who didn't teach me a thing and were only a teacher for the pension, tenure, benefits, and the stature. These are the educators who should have no benefits and should be let go. But no. The unions have ensured that there is plenty of deadwood in the education system.
The bill, contrary to how some feel, doesn't go far enough. Public workers should not be allowed to unionize at all. Unions should not be allowed to bargain against the public. What unions of public workers do is usurp the political process, telling the taxpayers that we have no right to determine where our taxes go or how much we are taxed. Our country is not a mobocracy, but a republic.
I have several family members who are educators in public schools, they are hard-working and deserve to be paid based on their hard work. But they are public employees and can only be paid according to what the public can afford. If they want more money, they need to ask the public through political channels, not through unions who have incestuous relations with politicians.
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