Friday, February 18, 2011

They Ran Away--Democrats STOP the democratic process.

You did hear what the Democrats in the state legislature did yesterday, didn't you? They bailed. They didn't phone in sick, like the teachers unions did. They just left town. In the Wisconsin Senate at least 20 out of 33 senators have to be present in order to do any business and vote on any bills. The Republicans have the majority of seats in the Wisconsin Senate, but that majority is only 19 seats. This means they need to have at least one Democrat Senator in chambers before they can do business. So what if the Democrats do? They didn't show up! They left town! In fact, they left the state! They went to the Best Western Clock Tower Resort in Rockford, Illinois. They left the state because the governor has the authority to call out to the police and force lawmakers into session in order to reach a quorum. So how's that for the legislative process in Wisconsin? Don't you love it when Democrats lose an election and control of the legislature? One Democrat senator told the media that the Democrats were going simply to prevent the Republicans from engaging in any business. Another Democrat senator said that they were staying away in order to give the union demonstrators more time to change the minds of Republican legislators. In other words, the Democrats were abandoning their legislative function so that the mob could wield influence in their place. Now, since the Democrats are completely owned by labor unions, this should not surprise you, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't disgust you.

Make no mistake, my friends, this is a war. This is a war between the taxpayers of this country and the government sector unions that have been plundering the taxpayers for years. From California to New York we have state governments who were in dire financial straits principally because of the benefits that had been negotiated through collective bargaining by public sector unions. In a union negotiation with a private business owner, the business owner has some skin in the game. The business owner knows that if he gives too much to the union, it may jeopardize his very business. When a government employee union negotiates with the city, county or a state government, the government officials who are engaged in the negotiation have NO skin in the game. They know that whatever benefits they negotiate with the union they will just be able to pass off on the poor suffering taxpayers. They also know that negotiations involving grandiose fringe benefits for government union workers will seldom reach the awareness of the taxpayer, but will always earn the gratitude of the union member. This means votes. This means union contributions. This means reelection. This means the continuation of the politician's life of power, prestige and perks.

You might have detected that I don't like unions. That's because I don't like mobs. I'm an individualist. I believe in the sanctity of the individual. Mob action is almost always irrational and self-defeating. Having said that, I can understand and can verbalize a positive role to be played by unions in our country. Let's say, for instance, that a worker refuses to handle a piece of machinery because he believes it to be inherently dangerous. His supervisor becomes so irate with the workers' obstinance that he fires them. A new worker is hired and subsequently is gravely injured by the malfunctioning piece of equipment. In a union environment, there would have been protection for the whistle blowing worker. Those same protections can be afforded through law without the need for mob action however. I would not support any law that outlaws private sector unions. Nor would I support any law that requires a worker to be a member of a private sector union. But it is well past time that we outlaw government sector unions. These union workers in Wisconsin seem to be fond of comparing Gov. Scott Walker with Adolf Hitler. That's rather ironic when you consider the fact that the man who did actually fight Adolf Hitler, FDR, was a steadfast opponent of government sector unions. I guess that little nuance is lost on the Madison mob.

So, today in America far more taxpaying citizens have had their eyes opened to the power and the threat of government employee unions. They see the mobs descending on Madison, Wisconsin, and they asked themselves if this is what they really want to pay for with their taxes. Unions are massively overplaying their hand in Wisconsin. It's a beautiful thing to see.