Legislature and Demonstrations

I don’t like the habit legislatures and cities have of giving tax breaks to try to entice businesses. Either the business climate is good and the prospects are good, or they aren’t—and if they aren’t the state should perhaps ask itself why. So I come down on the "firmly opposed" side of recent Wisconsin "job creation" legislation—I know of no reason to believe it to be anything other than extra goodies for companies.

The cuts in school funding are vociferously objected to. But come and let us reason together—the state spends most of its money on salaries, and if you want to cut expenses that means either lower salaries (like me) or cuts (like me). There isn’t any magic category called "waste" (with the exception noted in the previous paragraph). Of course you can always try to raise taxes, but that’s not so popular with some of the fixed income folks I know. If the pain is shared at least reasonably equitably I don’t see basis for complaint.

The proposal to remove collective bargaining rights from state employees is what is really getting the attention and pulling the attention-hungry celebrities from the woodwork. I will annoy some folks with this, but I think the move is inevitable.

A public workers’ union is inescapably political. Want a raise, bennies, different job conditions? Your employer is, in the end, the people, and uses tax money which they want a say in the use of.

A public workers’ union, as implemented, uses the adversarial model. Who are the union’s adversaries? Not private business owners—the state: us. It’s kind of rich to call for maintaining a "we’re all in this together solidarity" in that sort of situation.

A public workers’ union, as implemented, has a vested interest in expanding the public sector. Period. Private sector workers’ unions are limited by the economic health of their employers, but the temptation (often succumbed to) has been to regard the taxpayers as an infinitely elastic source of money.

In good times people may be willing to ignore the conflict, but when the budgets start to really get hurt, they’re more interested in examining structural problems. Like public workers’ unions.

I think the proposal should have had more public hearing. The demonstrations would be just as angry and intense, and they’d last even longer, but it would be the right thing to do. Just like teachers bringing kids from their classes to the protests is the wrong thing to do.

UPDATE: I read elsewhere that the bill doesn't disestablish the unions, but changes the subjects permitted for negotiation, requires that unions collect dues themselves, and requires that the union be recertified periodically.