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3/4/2011
Time for Gov. Walker to talk more about the cake

Figure this one out – from Rasmussen poll results released yesterday, Wisconsin voters support “significant pay cuts for state workers” – but don’t support weakening collective bargaining rights.

Most Wisconsin voters oppose efforts to weaken collective bargaining rights for union workers but a plurality are supportive of significant pay cuts for state workers. Governor Scott Walker is struggling in the court of public opinion, but how badly he is struggling depends upon how the issue is presented. There is also an interesting gap between the views of private and public sector union families.

Hitting on the same dichotomy, political analyst and RollCall contributor Stu Rothenberg hit the nail on the head yesterday.

[Governor Walker] hasn’t explained nearly as clearly and effectively as he needed to why changes in collective bargaining are… necessary. [Emphasis is mine.]

(Just as an aside, another interesting thought from Rothenberg in the same piece: “I get tired of hearing conservatives complain about the liberal domination of the media, but can you image what the coverage of Wisconsin would be like in the national media if Republicans were hiding out so that Democrats couldn’t pass their agenda?”)

The message that somehow must get through to all hardworking taxpayers in Wisconsin? You simply can't have your cake and eat it too.

1. Yes, a reduction in state employee benefits is critical to solving Wisconsin’s multi-billion dollar budget deficit problem.

2. A second critical piece of the governor’s budget proposal is the reduction of local aids to municipalities and school districts by over a billion dollars. That is real money and a major piece in reducing Wisconsin’s huge budget deficit.

3. It will be impossible for most municipalities and school districts to absorb major cuts in state aids without benefit concessions from municipal and school employees. And without changing many of Wisconsin’s unique collective bargaining rights, it is absolutely impossible to reduce local labor costs without layoffs.

Rothenberg is right on. Governor Walker, agency heads, Republican legislators and spokespersons everywhere simply aren’t getting that message across. Until they do, Wisconsinites will continue to believe in magic – reduce inflated public employee benefits – but do it without touching collective bargaining rights. After spending over eight years trying to balance budgets in Milwaukee County, Walker knows this. So does every local elected official throughout the state. It’s time those officials schooled the electorate.

Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net

COMMENTS

Among the issues that the public are generally illinformed on are the inherant conflict of interests in the typical public sector union negotiation, the inevitable long term unsustainability of defined benefit pension plans, (or for that matter, what a defined benefit pension plan is), and the fact that collective bargaining is not a right. Collective bargaining was a legislative creation and as such the practice can be legislatively prohibited. It seems to me that if there is a violation of rights, it is of those who would rather not join a union not being given the choice.

D Martin (Fri Mar 04 12:42:02 2011)

Jo, I hope you are not saying that “significant pay cuts for state workers” are automatically required because the workers had collective bargaining. That extrapolation may indeed be true, but that's not how the poll-takers interpreted the question.

I only wish I could trust Walker that this act is not simply union busting. My gut tells me that we have some overpaid workers but not all are guilty. And I agree that Walker could have done better, like asking the legislative Fiscal Bureau to do an unbiased study of the pay differences between public and private workers. But he didn't want to take the time and thus just barged right in.

But somebody on the right should do a good-faith study of this paper before we nail those that maybe shouldn't be nailed.

Jack Lohman (Fri Mar 04 15:09:07 2011)

Hi Jo,

Gee, From your title;

Should walker tell them to eat cake?

Dean Weichmann (Sat Mar 05 10:08:26 2011)

This is a good article to have read. The news media only is focusing on the bad polling numbers, but when you get to internals, the polls aren't as bad. If the question were asked,

"Do you want a tax increase to balance the budget?"

That would get a resounding NO! So yes, Wisconsinites want what Walker is doing, they just don't like having to do it.

Walker should copy talk radio a bit and go through examples of how collective bargaining is costing us money. IE: Racine DPW sues the city because the city hired private contractors to help in a blizzard. WEA Trust and what that insurance costs taxpayers. Prison guards abusing sick call ins and then working the next shift for time and a half. ETC.

Government workers should be chanting Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! then You Pay! You Pay! You Pay!

Rohn W. Bishop (Sun Mar 06 08:03:11 2011)

Message to Gov Walker:

“Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God”

Do not throw the baby-boomers under the bus and give our children and grandchildren (teachers) the protection and incentive they need to provide all children with a good education.

OFR (Sun Mar 06 14:42:43 2011)

Gee Rohn, Suprise!!! You can get the response you want by phrasing the question to get that response.

How about asking do you want to educate children or cut taxes?

Do you want good roads or less taxes?

Should we reduce police to reduce the debt?

Dean Weichmann (Sun Mar 06 16:26:03 2011)

"How about asking do you want to educate children or cut taxes?"

Dean, Some quick math tells me that my school district is spending $300,000 per year per classroom, yet they want me to believe that they can't afford a teacher. The real question is, Where Is The Money Going!!!?

It's the same old tired meme, mention cuts of any size and the first to go are teachers, police, and firemen, as though government is so lean and efficient that nothing could possibly be cut anywhere else.

D Martin (Mon Mar 07 08:15:07 2011)

What were the Senate Republicans doing during the 2 week vacation the Dems (and Repubs)? The whole masquerade party by the Dem Senators was covered by the Republicans who sat on their hands and did the same damn thing- Nothing. They had a golden opportunity to pass a lifetime of legislation and they did not do squat.

http://patriotupdate.com/3927/democrats-to-end-union-standoff?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d7527e8c91f21ee%2C0

I told you this would happen. It's safe for them to come back now. The public unions got time to vote themselves a new contract taking more of our money.

If you don't believe the Republicans were complicit in this, you might as well believe the official accounts of 9-11, JFK, Pearl Harbor, and Hulk Hogan vs. the Iron Sheik.

Another thing hit me about the rule that was passed requiring the Dems to have to come back and pick up their paycheck personally - PAYCHECK? They abandoned their job and still are collecting paychecks? I wonder if I can get away with that.

Jo, the very Republicans you have continually supported are no different than the Commies on the other side of the aisle. I don't know if you are paid by the Republican shills or you are just mis-informed, it makes no difference. You are supporting criminals. Please wake up and smell the coffee. Sure, Walker talks a good game, I am willing to bet he will cave on the collective bargaining and he will come whining to the voters who elected him telling us he did the best he could. George Bush Jr the 2nd.

Scott Hamilton (Tue Mar 08 00:32:48 2011)

Why is it up to the public employees to make all the sacrafices.They aren't the only ones that live in Wisconsin .Only the ones Walker can bully.
What Don't you understand?...

darlene welch (Wed Mar 09 13:29:52 2011)

just wondering why I cannot get an answer to one simple question...why, when this is rammed thru, will I have to mail in my union dues...why will this act make it ILLEGAL to have my VOLUNTARY union dues simply taken from my paycheck??...or is this simply a way to help with Scooter Walker's union busting agenda????

JZ (Thu Mar 10 09:09:34 2011)

This article is absolutely right on the money.

And what is lost in all the "lost collective bargaining rights" commentary is what local government and school districts have gained (unless you are in a community who foolishly rushed forward to settle contracts).

School districts who have been forced to buy insurance through the very expensive WEA trust insurance company owned by WEAC will now have the opportunity to shop around....union reps will say this decreases the quality of the insurance...baloney...

Suddenly school districts will actually be able to take student performance in to account when evaluating teachers (as opposed to simply years of service). Teachers will still have civil service protections so decisions can not just be made based on pay.

And most importantly this has flipped the entire organizational chart at local school districts to the order that it actually should be with kids and taxpayers on top instead of on the bottom where they have been for the last 40 years.

A lot also has been made of the Governor's budget and the reduction in revenue caps and quite frankly, with these new abilities, if boards act responsibly (and again those that have rushed to settle have not) they should not be afraid to go to the taxpayer and sell the need once these inequitable benefits have been brought under control.

In addition to educating the public on the upside of these changes, local government and boards need an education as well. They have been so used to riding shctgun with the unions that even after this bill passes, I fear they will continue to head to the passenger door of the car.

This does not make the decisions that need to be made any harder than they ever have been. It just forces local boards and government to make the decisions that they should have been making all along and takes away some of the biggest roadblocks that prevented them from being made easily. Boards and local government will still need to "do the right thing" and will still be accountable to the voters if they don't...and that is what really matters.

Robert (Sun Mar 13 07:28:54 2011)

YOU know what, JO, we're still waiting for that cake talk. Why do Republicans grimace and whisper when they explain the budget virtues of collective bargaining reform? This is not some bitter pill, it's sweet release.

timbo (Sun Jun 19 12:11:18 2011)

Is anyone else disappointed this article didn't get into as much of a discussion of cake as the name implied it would? I love cake, and I don't appreciate that the media in general ignores the cake-related issues facing America today.

Heather H (Fri Jun 10 11:26:29 2011)

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