Wisconsin's new Republican governor on Friday will propose sharply curtailing the bargaining rights of public employee unions and other cost-saving measures to rein in the state's budget deficit.
The proposal, which would allow unions to bargain only on wages and not benefits, drew a critical response from Democrats in the state, which has a $137 million budget deficit in the fiscal year ending June 30.
Governor Scott Walker, who was set to announce his plans Friday morning, wants to push his plan through the Republican-controlled legislature as soon as next week.
"The governor and legislative Republican's plan is a misguided, radical, overreach to strip workers of their rights to bargain with their employer," Senate Democratic Leader Mark Miller said in a statement.
"If Republicans get their way, workers will no longer be able to negotiate over the hours they work, the safety conditions they labor under or the health insurance and retirement benefits they and their families depend on," Miller said.
Elements of proposal, which Walker briefed to select state officials on Thursday, include state employee wage increases limited to the rate of inflation unless agreed to in a voter referendum, larger employee contributions to their pensions and health care, refinancing of state debt, and changes to the Medicaid program.
As I've said before, state employee wages are one of the best direct government stimulus vectors out there. That money gets immediately spent right back into the local economy, at local businesses. Cops go to the grocery store. City clerks buy clothing and shoes. Firefighters buy baby formula. It's not like money spent on public employee salaries vanishes into a black hole, never to be seen again. Republicans talk about public employees like the money is 100% wasted and taxpayers receive zero benefit from it. Oh yeah, and public employees still have to pay rent, property taxes, water, sewer, power, cable, phone, all that. That's taxpayer money going right back into the local economy.
Cutting this is the least efficient way to save tax dollars. What's better, paying a cop's salary or paying a cop on unemployment benefits? Both use taxpayer money. I'd know what I'd rather be seeing done with it.
Which brings me to Scott Walker going after public employee unions. For all their talk of freedom and American exceptionalism and how Democrats are evil fascists, it sure is interesting to see the heavy hand of Republican government tell people what they're allowed to earn. If it's fair to say the people have the right to vote on public employee salary increases, shouldn't they get the same right on private businesses in Wisconsin (the shareholders getting to vote on salaries, at the very least?)
So here's my question for Gov. Walker: How does cutting salaries for state employees create jobs?
...it sure is interesting to see the heavy hand of Republican government tell people what they're allowed to earn.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just any people, it's public employees. You know, people who work for the government. So it makes sense that the employer, the government, gets to decide how much it is willing to pay its employees in money and benefits, don't you think? It's a government of all the people, not a government of all the public employees.
If it's fair to say the people have the right to vote on public employee salary increases, shouldn't they get the same right on private businesses in Wisconsin (the shareholders getting to vote on salaries, at the very least?)
No, because people, with the exception of the owners of the businesses, don't employ private employees.
Cutting this is the least efficient way to save tax dollars. What's better, paying a cop's salary or paying a cop on unemployment benefits?
Didn't you read the piece you linked to?
The proposal, which would allow unions to bargain only on wages and not benefits,...
Elements of proposal, which Walker briefed to select state officials on Thursday, include state employee wage increases limited to the rate of inflation unless agreed to in a voter referendum,...
According to the parts you quote, no wages are being cut. Those in unions can still have their unions engage in collective bargaining agreements for higher wages. What are you reading?
I wish I could vote on salaries at the corporations whose stock I own!
ReplyDeleteTwenty times the pay of the lowest-paid employee would be the max, and that's if their performance reviews were really, really good.
In Sacramento, the extended 15% paycut on state workers killed dozens of downtown restaurants, retail stores and other service providers who relied on state workers as customers. So sales and income tax revenues decline, leaving less money to pay state workers, and so it goes in a death spiral that makes SteveAR's limp little vienna sausage spurt mayonnaise.
ReplyDeleteOh, and also too, our last governor swaddled himself with security goons, and flew his own private jet back and forth between his home in Southern California and the suite he occupied at the Hyatt Regency across from the Capitol.
ReplyDeleteJerry Brown just made a trip to LA, flew alone on Southwest (senior discount!) and stayed over at a friend's home.
The grownups are finally back in charge.