When you give away tax cuts to the rich someone else has to pay.
That's why in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, with behind the scenes help from the billionaire Koch brothers, recently managed to gut the collective bargaining rights of the states public employees. The state couldn't afford them, he pleaded.
If balancing the budget means eroding the quality of public services that make local communities functional and attractive, so be it. What Walker didn't anticipate was the consequences.
Here's how the Wall Street Journal put it: “In Wisconsin, where lawmakers voted in mid-March to end workers' collective bargaining for future employment contracts, 3,362 people have applied to retire this year, a 73% jump from last year. And 10,975 people since the beginning of the year have taken the first step toward retirement—flooding the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds with requests for estimates of their potential benefits. That's up 134%.”
Teachers are demoralized, fearful and they want out. They realized they were just collateral damage in a larger power grab.
Let's remember America's teachers didn't cause the economic melt down and recession we've just lived through. Wall Street did. The rich called for the free wheeling deregulation that eventually led to the crash.
So where is the public anger at the record breaking bonuses Wall Street titans are awarding themselves after almost destroying the nation they held to ransom? Why pick on teachers when they're such insignificant players in comparison?
America is not broke. Scott Walker isn't broke. The Koch brothers most certainly are not broke and neither is Wisconsin's quite substantial moneyed class.
Instead, as has become increasingly clear, what Walker really hoped to break was the public employee unions, a major source of funding and volunteers for Democratic candidates.
How do we know this? In Walker's recent 20-minute phone call with a man he believed was David Koch, he openly agreed that Wisconsin would be the first domino in a much wider campaign among current Republican governors to neutralize public employee unions.
Walker's strategy is simple as it is time honored: divide and conquer. Walker pitted worker against worker, all the better to lose sight of who was really pulling the strings.
Here's an example of a Walker stump speech: "Every factory worker I talked to this last week, who is paying 25 to 50 percent for their health care premium, who doesn't have a pension, who has to pay into a 401(k) and in some cases had that suspended, every one of them looks at this and says, 'You know what? Not only do I not get that, I have to pay for it.' That guy has to pay the difference. He has to foot the bill for everyone else."
When a Republican in a Brooks Brothers blazer and gold cufflinks is suddenly tearing up over his deep concern about workers conditions and the cost of their health care, you should tighten your grip on your wallet. But when billionaires have mobilized against you, you better fear for your future and your nation.
The truth is America is flooded with cash. In fact it's possibly the greatest time ever to be rich in America. The sad fact is that none of that money is in your bank account - but do not doubt for an instant that its out there, by the truckload.
Remember that in Wisconsin, cuts to the unions were suggested because Walker had blown the budget with tax cuts for the wealthy. And Walker's aim, wrote Paul Krugman recently, is to make Wisconsin and eventually America less of a functioning democracy and more of a third-world-style oligarchy. He isn’t interested in making a deal with the unions, he wants to end workers’ ability to bargain.
Take away the voice of the people through their unions and you can dominate them more effectively. Manipulating a crisis is just a time honored and handy way to achieve your ends with the minimum effort.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.dipperloop | Apr 14, 2011, 07:45 PM EDT
Please if you are a reporter, stop with your bashing of Republicans....PLEASE
maloney | Mar 30, 2011, 02:42 PM EDT
hollowbuttcow..get a life, on another planet.
hollabackgurl | Mar 28, 2011, 01:38 PM EDT
2bornot2be, people might take you seriously if you didn't feel the need to express yourself with the rhetorical flourishes of a third grader. You want to sound caustic but you actually sound like a heel.
pilib04 | Mar 27, 2011, 05:52 PM EDT
By the by, the Wisconsin budget was balanced until Walker got in and declared a massive tax cut for the super rich. Probably a kickback to Koch or the Fitzgeralds (they are the leaders of the house and senate in wisconsin).
pilib04 | Mar 27, 2011, 05:49 PM EDT
The vicious attack on unions and collective bargaining by Republicans in a number of states could have been predicted. They have been waiting to blame America's woes on the Unions. As if Unions had anything to do with the Bank/wall street thefts! I just want to know who is going to be willing to spend $100000 to get a masters in education and then be paid peanuts???
Jeannie0121 | Mar 26, 2011, 02:05 PM EDT
1st- my district does NOT buy their insurance through WEA Trust-not all Wisconsin districts do. 2nd- Yes, many teachers are retiring to maximize their benefits(you would, too), but many districts are not going to fill the vacancies. The teacher's job will just be absorbed (larger class sizes, less teacher prep time, less classes for students to choose, teachers with less expertise and experience...) I know,but who cares about that-- it's all about our benefits. We don't deserve them, right? Everyone knows teachers went into the profession because they're greedy. When I was in college I thought which profession would make me rich? hmmmm teaching... How would you like to work for a company for 25 -30 years and lose your senority? IF you're doing an excellent job, why should you have to look over your shoulder and worry about school board member's niece that just graduated with a teaching degree. If you say this won't happen, you're naive. I wouldn't encourage my child to go into education. Would you? There are too many unknowns... @ McNabb, you're right, the budget cuts will not go into effect until July - just in time for the next school year. I may be off base, but I'm going to guess if you have children they are either out of school or in private school. I suggest you attend a local school board meeting and listen to what is happening in your district OR better yet, sub in a classroom for a week. Well, I have to go and write a college recommendation letter for one of my students. Ive written eleven this year. I know, I know-- it's high time I earn my massive salary and pay off my graduate degree.
McNabb1966 | Mar 26, 2011, 12:18 PM EDT
@allentown...That's exactly right. And, of course, the reason they're opting for early retirement is because they want to maximize their very generous benefits package. But there are plenty of job-seekers ready to take their places.
allentown | Mar 26, 2011, 11:09 AM EDT
Over 14,000 public employees putting in for early retirement. I read that as 14,000 public employee job openings in Wisconsin.
McNabb1966 | Mar 26, 2011, 10:13 AM EDT
With so many distortions and idiotic non sequiturs in one article it's difficult to know where to start spraying the disinfectant of truth. But let's start with this bit of reality in Wisconsin: According to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, if the budget that ends on June 30, 2011 had been strictly adhered to then there would be $121 million in the bank. However, thanks to the Democrats who were in control until a couple of months ago, the state is facing $258 million in unpaid bills or expected shortfalls in programs such as Medicaid services for the needy ($174 million alone), the public defender’s office and corrections. Additionally, the state owes Minnesota $58.7 million under a discontinued tax reciprocity deal. When you do the math you realize that Governor Walker is correct that the state will wind up in the hole by $137 million. As PolitiFact pointed out (when it debunked the myth of Wisconsin’s “budget surplus” as touted by Lefty shills such as Rachel Maddow) the shortfall would be closer to the $340 million figure if the amount included the $200 million owed to the state’s patient compensation fund, a debt courts have declared resulted from an illegal raid on the fund under former Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat. A court ruling is pending in that matter, so the money might not have to be transferred until next budget year. As for the much-maligned Walker tax cuts and how they affected Wisconsin’s budget problems the simple answer is that the tax cuts have nothing to do with the current crisis. They don’t even go into effect until the NEXT budget cycle, which begins on July 1. Walker is not responsible for the budget shortfall but he IS faced with the challenge of cleaning up a mess created and left behind by Democrats, who are routinely in the pockets of Big Labor.
Pittsburghkid | Mar 25, 2011, 10:26 PM EDT
Wait a minute: Property Taxes pay for teachers. In America, your house and land our taxed to pay for very high teacher's salaries, pensions, and healthcare. The Teachers Unions force the School Boards to buy Healthcare from the Union's healthcare insurance company at a high cost. The pensions are very expensive for the homeower's of Wisconsin. The Unions have a problem. There are more tax payers then union members, so the unions will lose at the polls. I hope Walker is Irish. Walker is one of those names that can be Irish or English. Regardless, I proud he's an American like me.
Jeannie0121 | Mar 25, 2011, 08:01 PM EDT
I'm a Wisconsin teacher with a Master's degree. I am also a Wisconsin tax payer. Think of a teachers' salary and benefits as 5 fingers- we negotiated to have 2 fingers: salary, 2 fingers: health insurance, 1 finger: pension. We choose to make a smaller pay check because we have a good benefits. It is true we don't work summers, but we're not paid through the summer either. We also do not collect unemployment. Many teachers teach summer school or work a summer job to make ends meet. Our bills don't stop just because our job does... . We knew this going into the career. In any given year, the turnover rate of teachers is 15% - 25%. 85% of these teachers are not retiring; they are leaving for more attractive careers. Both Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan speaks of "elevating the teaching profession" and attracting high quality individuals to the profession...but then they remain quiet while Walker disrespects and demoralizes us. We've become Wisconsin's #1 villian! Everyone has their opinion. One district in WI reduced everyone's salary to a starting teacher's salary...$34,000 a year. Imagine working 25 years for a company and being reduced to a beginners' salary. Districts need to make up for Walker's reduction of state aid to schools - $900,000,000. That's right, 900 million! We didn't start the fire......... I hope I have a job next fall, but like most teacher's in the state... who knows?
| Mar 25, 2011, 04:35 PM EDT
Walker and all those other Republican Governors, together with the likes of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, are trying desperately to establish a type of dictatorship. I hope that the citizens of the United States wise up pretty quick and put a stop to all the Republican nonsense.
mocmanic | Mar 25, 2011, 04:24 PM EDT
Right on target! You should also check out what is happening in Michigan. Much less publicity but perhaps even more sinister than Wisconsin.
olovely | Mar 25, 2011, 03:46 PM EDT
The sight of the Kock brothers telling working people of Wisconsin they need to tighten their belts is what's hard to take.
hollabackgurl | Mar 25, 2011, 03:38 PM EDT
It amazed me how many working class people decided that it was a good idea to let billionaires dismantle their own collective bargaining rights. That's turkeys voting for Thanksgiving.
EphraimKibbey | Mar 25, 2011, 02:35 PM EDT
I just saw that the AP sued Walker for his emails under the freedom of information act and got the emails that he said supported him and his illegal union busting bill in the vast majority. The AP released the real numbers - 5 to 1 against him and his bill. Now either he is not a product of public schools and is therefore math challenged or, like some office seekers before him, was not taught about lying by his parents. Over a decade and a half ago there was a saying about republicans that I believe is appropriately applied to many (not all) of the newly elected republicans that pretended to be interested in finding jobs for Americans and are, instead, privatizing everything that we, the public, own, wiping out jobs, lowering salaries and giving tax breaks to the obscenely rich and corporations that are sitting on vast profits. It went: "How can you tell if they are lying? Their lips are moving." In Ohio 40% of the OEA affiliated teachers were fooled and voted republican. You can bet they will not make that mistake again. Many other union people have been solid republicans in the past and now see that the party has stabbed them in the back as the republicans bow to their real masters. Vote your wallet!
Nicomax | Mar 25, 2011, 01:27 PM EDT
It's clearly 'them' versus 'us'. The 'them' for Walker don't look or act at all like him and the rest of his 'us'. It remains a Calvinistic approach to social structure. God meant some to be wealthy, wise and wonderful, while others were not deemed so. Get used to it, and be happy with the crumbs we choose to brush off our polished tables.
brondell | Mar 25, 2011, 12:47 PM EDT
To all of the Copperheads who have been ragging on the liberal, Christian belief in social justice, inform yourselves of the Church's teaching, from Rerum Novarum (1891) to Caritas in Veritate (2009), and then look up "cognitive dissonance"---Please.
jamthecat | Mar 25, 2011, 11:54 AM EDT
Truth spoken...only to be ignored and derided by those who've chosen to drink the Tea Party's Kool-aid and love all things GOP, no matter how bad it is for them. It would be sad if they weren't so close to destroying everything America stands for.
eiriamach | Mar 25, 2011, 11:52 AM EDT
In 1947, with 31.4 members per 100 workers, US union membership reached its pinnacle just before the Taft-Hartley Act became law. By 1975, the number was 26.4, and in 2000 just 14.1, and the decline continues. The unions have been pillars not only of the Democratic Party, but also of democracy itself. By the late '90s, women comprised 40% of union membership, as we shifted from industrial-worker base to the public sector and service workers. Most workers have gotten a free ride on the achievements of unions, as unions battled for sustained employment through recessions, for safe working conditions, against child labor, against employers' discrimination, for an 8-hour, 5-day work week, and for higher wages and health and pension benefits. These successes have benefited all workers and families, not only those who pay dues. Unions were once among the most important educational institutions, teaching skills and English to immigrants, improving literacy and civics, and helping newcomers to assimilate. Without state support, it is unlikely that this remnant of the American Labor Movement--one of our great democratic movements--can long survive. As Gerald Friedman writes in "Labor Unions in the US" (EH net), "[W]hen American employers broke unions, they revived when a government committed to workplace democracy sheltered them from employer repression. If we see another such government, we may yet see another union revival." Soon, I hope.
BocaRatso | Mar 25, 2011, 11:37 AM EDT
Mr. O'Doherty nails it! The Republicans are out to kill what's left of the middle class. I've worked union and non-union and only union jobs made it possible for me to retire with a pension and health care. The companies forgot about me as soon as the job was finished. For all they care, I can live on cat food. Some care about people, others only about profits. I know whose side I'm on.
joan1954 | Mar 25, 2011, 11:10 AM EDT
The unions don't speak for me. The higher ups get more than what is needed. The greed that permeates this country from the top down is the cause of a lot of this nation's distress. But whether the Dems liked what Wisconsin did is beyond the point, they ran like chickens and were not willing to stay and fight. In effect broke the law.
McNamara31 | Mar 25, 2011, 10:00 AM EDT
Of those unqualified borrowers" More than 1 in 7 homeowners with loans in "excess of a million dollars" are seriously delinquent or "just walking" away from their loans. I don't think "most millionaires" make their loans with Freddie or Fannie as some would like you to believe. In 2004 the Bush administration after being lobbied by Goldman allowed the banks to increase their debt from 12 to 1, to 40 to 1 and the banks then made many loans that they would never have approved during the regulations of the lower debt ratios feeding the collapse which then destroyed middle class housing markets, college funds and 401's. The effects of those losses are "now" drastically impacting state and town budgets. The GOP wants you to believe these deficits should be closed up again on the "backs" of the middle class. When are we going to wake up and see the facts as they truly are.
mayoman | Mar 25, 2011, 09:59 AM EDT
Its the intention of Gov. Walker and Radical Republicans like him to destroy unions, simply because the unions are an essential pillar of the Democratic Party. Rather than attack unions, we should all be checking the influence of the socially regressive Koch Brothers; two very wealthy men that possess an extreme and unhealthy distrust of the Federal Government, and who are willing to use their vast wealth to subvert democracy. (And thanks to the Roberts Court they can now do this with greater ease.) I can only hope that Gov. Walker, this pathetic shill for the rich, is soon recalled by the people of Wisconsin, and sent packing. Perhaps he could drive David Koch's car, or answer his mail.
floridafinn | Mar 25, 2011, 09:55 AM EDT
Thanks for spelling it out for those who can accept what is actually happening. JGH apparently has the money to spurn the collective bargaining interests of the gov't employees. I have worked at almost every level of gov't and can assure you, they need the strength of numbers vs. big money. Some benefits were too liberal in the 80's especially with health benefits. Then the health insurance industry made it's moves for higher profits which forced gov't to take a look to better health management. But the insurance industry did not have that motivation---it was just greed. As for pensions, all should contribute, but how does one ensure that those with the power aren't investing them in higher risk entities because some Wall Streeter told them to do it! How did those pension funds lose so much money in the crash?!!! Shame on the rich guys getting greedier! Just how much is enough money to meet their needs? Or is just the gamesmanship? STOP THE KOCH BROTHERS (and thank your Supreme Court Justices!)
DLW12183 | Mar 25, 2011, 09:42 AM EDT
This article is nothing but left wing BS. TO JOHN G HOGAN-you are right on. Go Wisconsin-other states take a look and consider it a lesson in economics-so many dollars in and only the same number can be spent-taxing the rich is not the only answer.
John G. Hogan | Mar 25, 2011, 09:30 AM EDT
Blame???........start with Carter, Clinton, Dodd, Frank, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, etc........how can a person buy a house if that person can't afford to pay for it. Just because you string a lot of words together, doesn't make the sentences true.