The Fraud of Wisconsin’s Political System, Youth Political Activism, and a Possible Future for the State’s Concept of the "Public"
The furor over Wisconsin’s budgetary “crisis” continues to escalate, demonstrated by the fact that as I write this, the state’s law enforcement is searching for Democratic legislators who have crossed state lines and gone into hiding as a way to stop passage of the bill or at least force serious negotiations. The budget bill, now infamous across the country, would force state employees to pay into their pensions at a higher percentage, would raise the price of health care for said employees, and also effectively end collective bargaining rights for state-level public employee unions. Of course, much of this debate is not about budgetary crisis, but about how to move towards
I have been following with great interest the spiritedexchange between my colleagues Harold Meyerson andChuck Lane over Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's proposals going after the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions. I think Walker is wrong on this, and here's why.
Harold, Chuck and I, I think, can agree that when states, counties or localities face big budget shortfalls, it's not unreasonable for the politicians who lead those jurisdictions to ask for givebacks from public employees: Wage freezes, higher pension or health-care contributions, furloughs, which amount to wage cuts, or even, in dire circumstances, outright wage cuts. Yes, and there are always layoffs. We might disagree among ourselves over how much is reasonable to ask of public employees in various circumstances, but I don't think there's a
Posted: 7:01 am CST February 18, 2011Updated: 7:16 am CST February 18, 2011
February 18, 2011 by gatorbonbc
Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, confronted with thousands of protesters outside of the state capitol in Madison, says “it would be wise for the president” to stay out of his state’s business.
“I think we’re focused on balancing our budget,” Walker said on Fox News Friday morning. “It would be wise for the president and others in Washington to focus on balancing their
Wisconsin needs to be fiscally responsible.
There is no question that these are tough times, and they may require tough choices.
But Gov. Scott Walker is not making tough choices. He is making political choices, and they are designed not to balance budgets but to improve his political position and that of his party.
It is for this reason that the governor claims Wisconsin is in such deep financial trouble that Wisconsinites should view this as a crisis moment.
In fact, like just about every other state in the country, Wisconsin is managing in a weak economy. The difference is that Wisconsin is managing better -- or at least it had been managing better until Walker took over. Despite shortfalls in revenue following the economic downturn that hit its peak with the Bush-era stock market collapse, the state has balanced budgets, maintained basic services and high-quality schools, and kept employment and business development steadier than the rest of the country. It has managed so well, in fact, that the
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