I'm about the most anti-union liberal you'll find, but Governors Walker, Kasich, and Christie must be on crack if they think anyone other than complete idiots believes collective bargaining by public employees is the cause of today's state budget struggles.
I can't blame them for trying. To quote one of my favorite movies:
"They got this depression on. I gots to do for me and mine."
And as another character in that movie says,
"Hard times will flush the chumps. Everybody's looking fer answers."
Here's an answer: It's a recession (and it has nothing to do with collective bargaining rights)
I don't want to get into the arguments about whether or not raising taxes increases or decreases revenue, (although Walker's office's own figures make pretty clear that he's offered Wisconsin corporations, whose taxes are already ridiculously reduced, more in tax cuts - over two years - than their one year gap needs) but I will get into some of the myths you have to buy in order to think Walker... or Kasich (who's been a lot quieter with his union-busting plans since the protests in Wisconsin grew so loud)... or Christie are on track with this wacky idea.
Myth 1: Public employees make more than private employees
I know, I know, two charts in a million-page BLS report showed this was true, but those two charts don't prove much other than the old saying, "figures lie, and liars figure." If you look beyond those two charts made famous in USAToday, at some of the rest of those million pages in the BLS report, you'll note that simple adjustments for little things like education, or the size of the employer, tell us what common sense tells us: public employees still make between 5 and 15% LESS than private employees.
Here are some examples from a Rutgers study that dug a little beyond the two BLS charts:
Average National Salaries by Education
Public ..... Private
$44,000 ..... 44,000 ... high school diploma
$56,641 ..... 89,041 ... bachelors degree
$79,330 ..... 157,141 ... professional degree (lawyers, doctors)
(note how teacher and professor salaries tend to hold the high end of this down! NICE! What do they do to create jobs?)
Yep, those public employees are ROBBING us with their out of control salaries.
OK, you say, but what about retirement benefits? Well, if we're talking about states like Wisconsin, the benefits currently being paid to retirees of the state of Wisconsin are being funded out of the salaries of current Wisconsin employees, as is the case in most retirement systems, including Social Security.
In fact, another study by University of Wisconsin Econ professors showed after adjusting for education and employer size, public sector employees make 11% less than their private sector counterparts.
The Economic Policy Institute says it's more like 4.8% (8.2 until you factor in benefits)... but it's still LESS. Public employees make LESS than their private sector counterparts. No one's saying they're underpaid or overpaid, just that they make less. LESS. L-E-S-S.
What these big business, dare I say Koch-addled? governors are telling us simply isn't true.
Myth 2: Unions won't discuss cuts in desperate times
Bullshit. Like the auto industry showed us, management gave away the store rather than bothering to negotiate with unions during the good times. This same shortsightedness leaves them searching for someone to blame during the tough times. How much discussion has Governor Walker had with the unions that represents Wisconsin public employees? Collective bargaining simply means that management and labor DISCUSS these cuts, not that cuts can't be made. In fact, government intervention that prohibits such discussion sounds like just the opposite of what Republicans came to Washington to do. It sounds like bigger government forcing itself into matters where it doesn't belong.
Myth 3: Eliminating collective bargaining is the ONLY way for Wisconsin to balance their budget
Well, let's check in with free-market, high rolling, big business Texas, who did away with their public employees' collective bargaining rights years ago. Oh wait, maybe we shouldn't, since their deficit is bigger than Wisconsin's!! Hmmm, must have been something else wrong there. OK, how about we look at Federal Air Traffic Controller salaries. Seems like I remember some little incident wherein they gave up their rights to bargain. Oh, that's right, FEDERAL employees are even MORE overpaid than state and local employees. Sounds like doing away with the bargaining rights might just have the opposite effect Governor Walker is looking for in their case. So we'll skip them too.
OK, let's look at some of the numbers in Wisconsin. They're facing a one year shortfall of about $140 million. Governor Walker would have us believe that doing away with collective bargaining rights so he can cut the salaries of public employees is the only way to fix the problem. In essence, he wants to TAX - that's right, I said TAX 175,000 Wisconsin residents (public employees). How else would you describe taking money from their paychecks to run the government? But I thought he wasn't going to raise taxes?!
Before you look up what percentage that is of Wisconsin's total population, let's point out that the governor's own figures claim they'll cut $165 million just by restructuring debt. The governor won't discuss the fact that a 1.5% tax increase on just the wealthiest 2% of Wisconsin residents and corporations - a far smaller chunk of the population - would more than cover their woes even during this recession... even if these hikes were temporary, because he won't discuss raising taxes. Not even 1.5% on the wealthiest 2%. (but wait...he'll raise them by a far higher percent on 175,000 public employees??) Never mind the fact that corporate tax revenue to the state has been cut in half since 1981. Never mind the fact that the Wisconsin Department of Revenue reports 2/3 of Wisconsin corporations pay NO taxes. NONE. NADA. ZIP. In what kind of world is it right for corporations to have more rights than actual citizens? Is this what he won't discuss with public employee unions? Is it because these corporations don't use the public roads, utilities, police and fire protection, or other services the state provides? (seriously?) NO. (you weren't actually thinking about that were you?) It's because these corporations funded the governor's campaign.
All right, all right. I got off the rails a little there. The point is, it sure seems like there's a lot more wiggle room in this budget than the governor is letting on.
Myth 4: Public employee salaries are insulated from and therefore do not reflect what the market would support
Have you been following this story at all? OK, even if we use the most conservative figures, public employees make about 95% of what their private sector counterparts make, less when compared equally by education, less still when comparing by size of employer, but let's go with 95%. So this means that they make about 95% less than what the free market supports in the outside world. In other words, the marketplace has determined these salaries are about where they should be. So... why then are these free-market governors trying to intervene with what the free and open market has established. Isn't this exactly the opposite of what they came to Washington to do? Oh wait, that's right. They only manipulate the free and open market for the banking industry and the hedge fund managers who made $1.5 million PER HOUR last year! We certainly can't discuss raising their taxes even temporarily to close the recession induced gaps. After all, we can squeeze a little more out of teacher and garbage collector pay before we have to burden those guys!
So... tell me one more time how doing away with collective bargaining rights of public employees solves the recession-induced budget woes of the state of Wisconsin?
Or is this just a political move capitalizing on desperate times in order to bust the union and claim a quick, hollow victory to brag about in the next election cycle? Hmmm... maybe it's that kind of shortsighted thinking that helped Wisconsin get into this mess in the first place. Or maybe it just has something to do with the worst recession in 75 years.
Shhhhh, my common sense is tingling.
Luth
Out
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