Whine With Cheese
Observing the antics of the public sector unions in Wisconsin has gone from amusing to sublime. A little over a month ago, the new incoming governor of that state, Scott Walker, embarked on a necessary program to rescue that state’s dire financial condition. The state was over 3 billion dollars short of funds and drastic action was needed to stem the red ink. At the behest of the voting public, who put Walker in office specifically to address the fiscal malaise, he proposed cutting back the power and influence of public sector unions in the wage bargaining process.
What resulted was the comical abdication of duty of the Democratic members of their legislature who en masse fled the state to avoid voting on the contentious bill as if they were 4 year olds avoiding cough medicine. They became a group mug shot on milk cartons in the Midwest. Shame and ridicule did not bring them back to do their jobs, but the threat of legally compelling them to return, did. Consequently, they were forced to participate in the voting process and predictably, they lost. The curtailing of public union powers was enacted, at least by vote.
The rescission of public union rights drew condemnation from the usual and expected entitlement groupies; organized labor, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, the delusional Michael Moore and of course, the President himself. From the bleating and wailing eminating from these champions of the people, you would think Walker was trying to impose modern slavery upon oppressed and unwashed factory workers. In fact, one of the key proposals by Walker was that public sector unions be compelled to contribute as much to their pension funds as anyone else in the private sector. Was there no reasoning with this man? What next, make teachers work 6 hour days?
Unhappy with the legally enacted legislation that neutered the public unions’ longtime extravagances, the most recent union tactic is the default reversion to thuggery. Ah back to union roots. As the article describes, non supporters of the union position will be ostracized as far as business patronage. Apart from the obviously juvenile tantrum this type of extortion represents, the tactic makes no sense in real life. The biggest effect will be of creating very obvious divisions within their own community. It’s pretty hard to depict this in any other way than as selfish and puerile pouting.
It’ll be amusing to see how long this campaign lasts. It’ll be fun to have them try to buy milk and cheese that is sourced only from non-union cows. This is no small issue if you’ve ever seen a resident of Wisconsin. Will they make their own bread instead of frequenting non union bakeries? Will all restaurants go out of business because of lack of union patronage? Will they give up their likely non union gardeners? Obviously shopping at Wal Mart is out because that’s a non union operation. In a very short time, it’ll be obvious that what they propose is the equivalent of holding their breath until they get their way. I think the public will wait them out. It’ll become obvious that the people they seek to distance themselves from are the ones that pay their wages through taxes. At the very least, the unions should change their description from serving the public, to doing the public.