supporters knew that they would face strident opposi-
tion to Walker's plans to restore responsibility and
sanity to Wisconsin's finances and economic morass;
they didn't, however, expect a siege at the Capitol by
an army of public union members, public schoolteachers,
(unionized, of course) and an impressive assortment of
flakes, nuts, thugs, and left-wingers of various degrees,
camping on the grounds of and inside the Capitol itself.
Madison, the Badger State's capital, never had this
much bedlam --- even during the late 1960s with the
Vietnam War protests.
So why the brouhaha? It's all because Gov. Walker
wants state workers to pay for some of their pension
costs as well as a bigger portion of their health care
coverage. Walker isn't planning to eliminate any of
their jobs, or even furlough or lay off any state em-
ployees; faced with a $3.6 billion state budget deficit,
our new governor simply wants state government
employees to pay their fair share like the rest of us
Wisconsinites. Also, Gov. Walker wants to end
collective bargaining over these pensions and bene-
fits that they receive, with exceptions for police, fire-
fighters, and state troopers. State workers would still
be able to engage in collective bargaining for wages,
but will not receive any wage increases above the
rate of inflation unless an exception is approved by
the people in a referendum. After all, these workers
are supposed to be working for us, the people of
Wisconsin. We have long footed the tab for these
beyond generous benefits for the state employees,
even though most of us, in comparable jobs, don't
receive nearly the pay nor the goodies that these
public sector folk get.
Public employee unions could still represent state
workers, but will not be able to make them pay dues.
This means more money in the workers' pockets,
and it is a measure to prevent the unions from using
the workers' dues for purposes other than the unions'
operational expenses; many workers have complained
about their dues monies going into campaign coffers
of candidates for public office which they would, if
given a choice, would not have contributed their
monies to. If the unions were to agree to this, Gov.
Walker would not terminate, furlough, or lay off any
workers. But to hear the howling and wailing by the
unionized state workers, you'd think that Walker and
the Republicans are out to do some union busting ---
and in fact that is exactly what they are claiming!
Schoolteachers from the public school systems in
Madison, Monona, Milwaukee, and several other
cities and towns have joined the state employees
in protest at the Capitol, accompanied by a grab-
bag of left-wing yahoos! They've been at it since
Tuesday last week!
You know, my beloved readers, we have been
lectured, scolded, hounded, and harangued by the
Left for years about the supposed need to pay
our "fair share" in taxes, giving up copious sums
of our income, to support government at all levels
and to pay the people administering it. Left wing
politicians pass legislation to grow government in
size and scope during both good times and bad;
even though we in the private sector have to cut
our expenditures in our households and businesses
in the bad times, our governmental overlords, both
elected and appointed officials and government
employees, feel no compunction to do the same;
they firmly believe that they are above doing that
because they also firmly believe that they are above
us. Their arrogant, elitist attitude can best be summed
up by paraphrasing the late hotel queen and tax dodger
Leona Helmsley: Only little people have to sacrifice.
These public sector unions, aided by their Democrat
pals in state legislatures around the country, are
causing states to go broke. Nationally, state and local
government workers in these unions have a 45% total
compensation advantage over their private sector
counterparts.The former pay zero (as in "0"!) in their
pension contributions and little more for their health
insurance. We in the private sector, even those among
us who are in private sector unions, don't have nearly
as much gravy on our plates!
Teachers in the public schools are doing very nicely as
well. In some school districts around the country there
are some teachers making salaries of over $70,000 ---
just salaries mind you, benefits not factored in, for
working just nine months out of the year! I know
some business managers and even some executives who
don't get that much in salary! Your outraged peasant is
nearly apopleptic at this information! Adding insult to
injury, most, if not all of these teachers joining this
disgusting display of arrogance and greed staged a
"sickout" to be able to attend. A sickout is an illegal
tactic employed by some unions to skip work in order
to protest some action proposed by management with-
out necessarily going out on strike. The teachers who
are engaging in this activity have, as of this posting,
been away from their classes for six straight school
days, causing some entire school districts to close
their schools for those days. So much for their concern
for and dedication to the children unfortunate enough
to be their students! There are even doctors, actual
doctors(!), writing out sick leave notes at the protest
for any teachers who want them, dated in advance(!!)
for the days the teachers want to be at the Capitol!
These teachers should be fired, and the doctors
illicitly aiding them be disciplined by their profess-
ion's conduct board!
And as if this weren't enough drama, on Thursday
February 17, all fourteen Democrats in the senate fled
their chamber and their offices, scurrying down to
Rockford, Illinois to deprive Gov. Walker and the
Republicans of the necessary numbers for a quorum
in order to take a vote on Walker's budget package.
20 of 33 senators are required to be present for votes
on spending bills, and the Republicans, though in the
majority in that chamber, hold just 19 seats. Wiscon-
sin Senate rules allow for law enforcement agents
to round them up and return them to the Senate to
do their duties, and your indignant Peasant would
love to see these cowards brought back in handcuffs
and leg irons! They likely got this self-serving notion
from eleven Texas Democrat state senators who fled
their state to deprive Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his
GOP majority a quorum for voting on a 2003 redis-
tricting measure. Apparently when the going gets tough,
Democrats get going --- over the hills and far away!
This is how the Left behaves when it doesn't get its way.
When we tell them "Enough!" they throw a tantrum, yell
invective, and behave in ways which make four-year-
olds look mature and sophisticated. But not to worry,
there are lots of Tea Party activists at the Capitol as
well, countering these greedheads by demonstrating
their support for Gov. Walker and the Republicans
who control both legislative chambers. They are
standing up for us, and our Tea Party folks are in turn
standing up for them.
In the days to come your dependable Peasant shall
have more thoughts on this event to share with you,
my wonderful readers. In closing, public sentiment
is heavily in favor of Gov. Walker and the Repub-
licans and their efforts to craft a state budget that we
can all live with, causing the least amount of pain and
discomfort possible all around. Any sympathy that the
public might have had for these union crybabies has
dissolved in a wave of outrage over their orgy of self-
ishness, self-importance, as well as hatred for an
electorate who have had it up to the sky with these
ingrates.
As your faithful Peasant concludes this post, there
is a similar battle taking place in Indiana, with a
swarm of public union members and their supporters
occupying that state's capitol building and grounds
as well. More such scenes are coming to a handful of
other states in the days ahead. Stay tuned.
MEM
