The trouble in WI reminds me of an episode of the Simpsons. Springfield is a dry town again. Homer has gotten into the moonshine business and become the number one distiller. All the while an ace police chief is doggedly trying to catch him in the act. At one point the lawman stands on a hill overlooking Springfield and vows out loud that he will catch Homer. Up from the distant town below floats a faint retort from Homer, “No you won’t.” His determination clearly showing, the lawman replies that he will…only to again be met by the same response.
The unionistas are very much like the lawman. They are used to lots of success and very determined. However, in the current situation it won’t be enough. Because they were initially demanding not to pay more towards their retirement or medical insurance, they lost many potential supporters. Most people don’t begrudge those that earn their pay or benefits, but it has become clear that many unions haven’t earned theirs honestly. This was highlighted in neon flashing lights when Democrat state senators fled rather than do their duty, all to protect their union buddies. Lost was the ability of union members to say they hadn’t been the recipients of quid pro quo.
It doesn’t stop there. Thanks to alternative media and FOX it’s become obvious that this is not a grass roots uprising as is being claimed. This has been organized by high level Democrat or Democrat supporting organizations. People seeing this are disgusted with how they are being lied to. Then when they are exposed to footage of teachers calling in sick to protest and getting fake doctor’s notes, their desire to see the union’s special privileges yanked only grows stronger.
The final coup de grace to the hopes of the union protesters is that there simply isn’t any more money to be had. Unemployment is officially around 10%. Unofficially it may be as high as 18%. Most people have seen their pay cut, their hours cut, or even their jobs eliminated. They are adapting and making sacrifices in order to survive and take a dim view of those who refuse to face reality while demanding someone else pay for their ill-gotten gains. By all means though leftists, please keep doing what you are doing. We couldn’t have done any better if we’d planned the whole thing.
Reminds me of the Hispanic activists who a few years ago whipped up the their people to demonstrate against AZ 1070, the immigration bill. They marched by the tens of thousands, encouraged by Latino radio in Phoenix and Tucson carrying Mexican flags, displaying American flags upside down, with their obligatory hitler and Nazi swasticas on pictures of public officials, screamed and shouted for all who were not paying attention to see. We all know how well those demonstrations went for them. Today new more strict laws are being moved through the AZ legislator, clamping down on illegals who receive AZ benefits and the people who hire them or provide them housing or teach them. So my counsel to the teachers and unions who have kept under the radar of public opinion. Keep it up, we notice you, and more and more tax paying citizens will notice that it is not all about the children, but about you, and what you have quietly through the years stolen from us and our children.
I think you clearly laid out the situation.
What Scott Walker tried to do would have actually worked with less people fired and more teachers keeping more jobs in Wis.
But other politicians under financial stress are trying other tactics.
In Providence, R.I., all of the teachers got dismissal notices.
All of them.
The political rationale was to give themselves the most leeway to solve their budget shortfall issue.
This allows a potential for keeping only the really good teachers, or, keeping only the really cheap teachers, or, for keeping only the teachers who are willing to renegotiate their terms, and so on.
Naturally the union is against this.
I loved this quote by their leader:
“The district has a legal obligation to educate all of its students, regardless of budget considerations.”
He added:
“You have so many students. You need so many teachers. You have a student-teacher ratio of 26 to 1. Do the math.”
That, in the light that Detroit just decided to close 50% of their schools, making their new class size 60 students per classroom.
I appreciate the innovative thinking we are seeing regarding this problem.
Unions and teachers are stuck in stone.
They will lose in many different ways.
I just wonder how any rational-minded people, anywhere, can believe that it’s a good idea to allow the teacher’s union, of which the teachers pay dues based on pay, to continually dump money to democrats, who continue to vote in favor of the teachers, including pay increases, which increases the amount unions have, to give more to the democrats, who give more to the teachers, meaning more for the unions, and etc., etc., etc. And the people who pay for it all include the hard working employees of private corporations and businesses, all the while seeing their health-care premiums go up and the erosion of other benefits.
Public employee unions are some of the biggest rackets out there in terms of political give-aways. We aren’t talking about the working poor, in regards to teachers, but people who are well-off compared to most, and all gained on the backs of the true “working man”.
D’oh! Good post!
Great Simpsons pic. Helps make the article!
BTW, the lawman chasing Homer didn’t catch him.
Governor Christie said today that Walkers and WIs financial issues are not only confined to Republican governors. Everyone will have to do something. IL asked for a federal bail out and Republicans laughed. I think school vouchers is a very likely outcome from this. This is a severe crisis. Hope we do not waste it! LOL
@Randy: I live in Illinois, when did our tax and spend Gov. ask for one? It sure didn’t make the news here, unless I missed somehow. Not doubting you, just asking when it happened.
@anticsrocks: http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/3959464-418/top-u.s.-house-republican-rejects-federal-guarantee-for-ill.-pensions
Here is the source,
Obama tried to get around the Republican House to give bailouts to his Democrat-controlled states, like Ill.
His technique was a guarantee for state bonds.
Basically we, federal taxpayers, were supposed to cover all the interest on bonds IF the states can sell them.
But only for certain states, liberal states.
Like CA, Ill, and a few others.
One story:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/02/23/illinois-governor-seeks-federal-guaratees-state-debt/
Looks like Obama-fail, again.
Wow. Check this out courtesy of Michelle Malkin.
http://michellemalkin.cachefly.net/michellemalkin.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/ZZ5828E051.jpg
And this:
On top of being one of the state’s most dominant political forces, with an ability to influence legislation and elections, Wisconsin’s teachers unions have a direct effect on teacher quality through the role they play in local contract negotiations and representation of teachers targeted for improvement or dismissal.
By adhering to pay schedules that fail to distinguish between low- and high-performing teachers, protecting ineffective teachers from dismissal and fighting for work rules that provide more benefits for their members than for children, teachers unions stand in the way of improving the profession, critics argue.
…According to figures from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, WEAC’s political action committee has spent more than $9 million in unlimited independent expenditures on behalf of political candidates between 1998 and 2008, with only $17,136 of that amount spent to help a single Republican candidate – one who was challenging a GOP Assembly incumbent.
In the November elections, the WEAC political action committee spent nearly $1.5 million to help Democrats in just four state Senate races, only to see three of them lose.
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/02/22/rank-and-file-teachers-speak-truth-to-prog-power/
Isn’t this a blatant slap in the face, common occurence with all union bosses, partying on union dues, wonder when these teachers are going to wake up.
From New York, lavish habits of union leadership…taken care of…. because…..they deserve it, sure they do. sarc/:
More stomach churning union greed, a must read to see how out of touch these idiots are and how far from “the working man” they’ve become. This isn’t just UFT or New York, it’s across the board, across the country with these priviledged
groupsthugs:http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2011/02/24/2011-02-24_lessons_in_livin_large_uft_brass_having_a_ball_as_teachers_face_layoffs.html
@ Missy
That UFT president is ignorant.
Teachers are not heroes because they teach. They become heroes to young people when they go above and beyond the job itself to make a difference in kid’s lives.
It goes beyond just the teachers though. When public employee unions donate the massive amounts of money to politicians who return the favor with higher wages and benefits paid for off the backs of the true “working man”, it is nothing more than thievery against the tax payers.
@Randy: Thanks for the link, Randy. 🙂