Is Wisconsin the Spanish Civil War of the campaigns to come? I’m not sure I like all of the implications of that metaphor. But I understand the point — that it’s going to be viewed as a crucial battle for the left, and it’s why the White House has been willing to be unmasked in its devotion to it…
21 thoughts on “An Interesting Metaphor”
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If what is needed was to cut public employee salaries by about 8 percent, the Governor could have pretty much said, “Look people, we are going to have to cut your salary 8 percent” and have gotten away with it. But the Budget Repair bill is much more than that. It is also about Right to Work, which in union lexicon means Bust the Union.
How do I know that? Earlier this week I saw union leaders on the television news pleading, “Why didn’t you just bargain with us first”, as much as saying that they along with everyone else realize the seriousness of the financial situation and would have to agree to reductions, but that it is important to them and their membership to maintain the union as the agent to bring this about.
You don’t have to agree with unions or believe in unions to know that there is a lot of history behind unions and strong feelings behind unions. I don’t agree with the tactics of the protests against Governor Walker, but I could have and would have told you that a public employee salary reduction, announced without consultation with labor leaders, and coupled with Right to Work provisions, that such a move would stir up a hornet’s nest.
Do you think, perhaps for a moment, that Governor Walker “got rolled”? The man was not even in office, he was simply 2 days after getting elected, when he as much as demanded of the lame duck Governor to 1) cancel the Milwaukee-Madison passenger train project, and 2) break off contract negotiations with the unionized state workers.
What I thought odd at the time was the quickness with which outgoing Governor Jim Doyle complied.
Yeah, yeah, the Republican landside and the will of the people. But Jim Doyle, outgoing Governor and one-time Attorney General is no dummy, maybe his thinking was, “You want the authority to negotiate with the unions, be my guest!”
A disclosure: I work for the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Engineering educator. I teach “that course where Mechanical engineers learn op-amps and about power factor” and hence am not a popular instructor. I am a software developer with expertise in signal processing. I am a political activist with conservative leanings who comments frequently on blogs, although I do not have a blog of my own. If anyone around here doesn’t know any of this, it would take them all of 5 seconds to find this out.
I don’t like the prospect of seeing my pay cut by 8 percent, but if I were working for Motorola and faced the same pay cut, I would be unhappy about that as well. I am not out protesting and consider it counterproductive to the cause.
As far as the public school teachers who are protesting, the proposed Budget Repair bill affects every single last person in public service, from the State level on down. The teachers have been the most vocal.
As a Conservative activist, the outpouring of anger to all who are in public employment is a bit disquieting. I don’t support the protests because I think they are counterproductive. I do support the 14 Democratic Party State senators — what they are doing is a resourceful application of parliamentary procedure with historical precedent going back to Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois legislature — to at least slow down the train wreck that is taking place.
Are people going to read me out of the Conservative movement for being in public service or for not sharing the enthusiasm that is building for pushing Right to Work as part of the response to the budget crisis? So be it. But as Mr. Obama’s efforts to couple a highly idealogical left-wing agenda to the economic crisis have resulted in push-back, I see a right-wing version of Mr. Obama’s style to have the same effect.
Paul, there is a useful distinction to be made between unions and public-employee unions. The latter should be outlawed.
As a Conservative activist, the outpouring of anger to all who are in public employment is a bit disquieting. I don’t support the protests because I think they are counterproductive. I do support the 14 Democratic Party State senators — what they are doing is a resourceful application of parliamentary procedure with historical precedent going back to Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois legislature — to at least slow down the train wreck that is taking place.
You’re also “concerned”, right? And I like the Lincoln talking point. Except Lincoln later came to regret his “resourceful application of parliamentary procedure”, but I guess that doesn’t fit the narrative, does it?
I love how whenever the Progressive Left doesn’t get their way, they throw one of these tantrums and then expect the rest of us to accept it as if it’s somehow normal. But I guess we should be thankful for one thing: 150 years ago, when the Democratic Party lost an election, they tried to create their own country and ended up starting a war. At least these days they just run and hide like some juvenile delinquent who’s heard his pa wants to have a little “talk” with him when he gets home.
I agree with Rand. Public employee unions should be outlawed, including police and firefighters. The latter two are apparently not included in the proposed Wisconsin legislation, but they should be.
Unions are a zero sum game strategy, they use a monopoly to steal money off the rest of the middle class and then give some of that money to the workers they represent. Because this is an inherently inefficient market the net effect is also to decrease the average wage of the middle class. The private sector middle class pays the dominant proportion of taxes, hence unions steal from the private sector middle class.
In an ideal world unions would be prohibited from monopoly positions and anti competitive behavior – just as the private sector is. This does not necessarily prevent collective bargaining – just monopoly backed collective bargaining.
The ethical pathway to higher wages in the public sector is through greater productivity of both the public and private sectors – unions do not seem to be so motivated and have actually been bringing down average wages. Teachers would earn substantially more if productivity, as assessed by a free market place, increased.
When a union wins greater benefits, above what a free labor market would naturally give, it is stealing that money not off the super wealthy, not off the government, but off the private sector employees of the middle class. The middle class has just cause to be greatly upset about this, especially in current times and especially considering that they have been taxed dry the last couple of decades and have seen their real incomes actually decrease. The middle class has just cause for rebellion against unions.
Paul, do you think perhaps some of this ‘disquieting’ attitude towards public employees and their unions might be due to the corrupt entanglement of those unions with the Democratic Party? Or maybe some of it is linked (however unfairly) to the great expansion in the size of government over the past two years and the promises of more to come?
As for arguments that amount to “Walker just rammed this through without consulting us!”, the only rebuttal necessary is “Obamacare”.
Not that I believe those making the argument that they would have cooperated had they been consulted beforehand — they may for all I know be speaking the truth, but union people have so little credibility with me that I instinctively read that as a self-serving lie.
I just linked Pete’s comment at the Ticker Forum. I’ve also been busy there during the last day or so, and there are now 20 pages of comments.
The Ticker Forum focuses on economic issues, and members range across the political spectrum. They include liberals, conservatives, libertarians, and anarchists. Needless to say, that can lead to spirited discussions in the comment threads.
The GOP has lacked a backbone which is why we are here today. The evil party is acting as expected. We will now see if the stupid party has both wised up and got the guts for a fight. This is a test.
Unions made sense at a time when workers were being treated very badly. They can’t make that claim anymore. They’ve overplayed their hands and this is the result.
Reagan fired the air traffic controllers. That would work in this case as well.
Paul, you’ve heard the expression Those that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind? Sorry to hear you’re caught in the backwash. I don’t doubt that a lot of good people will be.
Do you think, perhaps for a moment, that Governor Walker “got rolled”? The man was not even in office, he was simply 2 days after getting elected, when he as much as demanded of the lame duck Governor to 1) cancel the Milwaukee-Madison passenger train project, and 2) break off contract negotiations with the unionized state workers.
What I thought odd at the time was the quickness with which outgoing Governor Jim Doyle complied.
It’s worth recalling that canceling the train project and fiscal conservatism were key parts of Walker’s campaign. I don’t see any surprises in what Walker urged and got. Doyle’s hands were tied as well. If your successor tells you that he will drop Wisconsin’s involvement with a big rail project and not continue a set of negotiations with a union, there is no point to doing so. These weren’t projects that would wrap up under Doyle’s tenure.
Continuing either could have endangered Doyle’s future chances as a politician in Wisconsin. It’s one thing to “stick to your guns” and another to inflict costly obligations on Wisconsin and its voters just to spite your successor.
My view is that canceling the rail project made a lot of sense. It is the worst kind of spending that can come from the federal government, namely, the kind that comes with a lot of risks and long term obligations (“strings”). Any cost overruns have to be paid by Wisconsin and maintenance of the line becomes the responsibility of the state. Further, the provisions for backing out of this rail project, should things turn bad, are onerous. Wisconsin would have to forfeit prior federal spending on the project.
As to public employees like teachers, I too don’t recognize any right on their part to collective bargaining. There are simply too many conflicts of interest to permit it.
Paul, I live in a right to work state (AZ.) Sure it’s nice to work knowing you can’t be fired but that’s the reality for almost everybody else in a free economy. I certainly do not wish you personally any employment difficulties.
‘Right to work’ prohibit agreements between labor unions and employers making membership or payment of union dues or fees a condition of employment, either before or after hiring according to Wikipedia.
It doesn’t prohibit unions themselves and they can certainly continue to collective bargain as they continue to do in AZ. It does reduce their power a bit which seems a good thing.
http://maciverinstitute.com/2010/03/average-mps-teacher-compensation-tops-100kyear/
“The average salary for an MPS teacher is $56,500. When fringe benefits are factored in, the annual compensation will be $100,005 in 2011.”
I am not sure how accurate that is or what the benefits cover but if the union bosses control health care and pensions then the union members are getting ripped off. Heck, if the politicians are controlling it, then the union members are getting ripped off.
According to the video there is a $2.2b unfunded liability for retiree health care.
If you gave the individual $43.5k to spend on health insurance and retirement planning, they would be doing fairly well come retirement time. They would also not be at the mercy of politicians or union bosses but they would have market risk just like everyone else.
“I don’t like the prospect of seeing my pay cut by 8 percent, but if I were working for Motorola and faced the same pay cut, I would be unhappy about that as well” Welcome to the party, Paul. My employer already gave us our haircuts – way back in 2008. We also pay 25% percent for benefits.
I fear that Ft Sumter may be a better analogue than the Montaña barracks. While I happen to agree politically with Gov Walker and the Republican majorities in the Wisconsin Legislature, I also recognize what both they and the unions are doing as classic baby-boomer brinkmanship. Those of you who have read Strauss & Howe will have an excellent understanding of the phenomenon:
“Add in the fiery passion of the more evangelical last-wavers, sharpen everyone’s moral conviction, reduce everyone’s level of tolerance, subtract the active presence of any adult Adaptives — and that is the leadership awaiting America …”
(Written in 1990, I note.) Paul Milenkovic’s description of the current situation is perfectly in accordance with this model. We are in for a rough ride, and we may know a lot more about just how rough by midafternoon today.
Except that Walker is Gen X, according to the book, that should make him “reactive”, unless being conservative means an upgrade to the previous generation.
Oh, they get to play, too — but I expect the vast majority of the leadership involved on both sides was born between the mid-’40s and the early ’60s.
When unions gain the power to say “You Will join or you will Not get this job”, they gain both a monopoly power against the employer and a power to tax employees who may not feel represented by the union. Right to Work is a necessary check on such an abuse. Majority consent of the members for the union to exist is not enough of a check.
The mentioned conflict of interest between public employee unions and government is good cause for public employee unions to be further restricted, if permitted at all.
As for the 14 Democrat (no -ic) Party State senators, they are abusing a point of parliamentary procedure to thwart democratic process. Quorum rules exist to insure that business isn’t conducted in secret, excluding those who might argue objections to a motion. In this case the democrat senators are well aware of the bill on the floor, and have every opportunity to raise objections and cast a vote against.
I don’t get the metaphor. Wasn’t the Spanish Civil War a bad-guys-vs-bad-guys conflict?
Claims about WI teachers’ salaries can be fact-checked here:
http://dpi.state.wi.us/lbstat/newasr.html
I clicked the link for school administrators’ 2010 salaries – this is the list getting attention at other sites like Michelle Malkin’s. WI employs 4327 school administrators. Average salary is 77.8K, median salary $83,969. Almost 20% of them make six figures. Total compensation for school admins (counting benefits) is $465 million.
Click the “2010” link under the “Teachers” heading and you’ll see average salaries and fringe benefits for each of the WI school districts.
Evidently the Tea Party is rising to the challenge and staging a counter protest in Madison, Wi
…meaning we can look forward to left-wing agent provocateurs, no doubt.
The only domestic policy of FDR’s with which I agreed.