Why do liberal politicans and union leaders have their panties in a twist? Common sense budget planning by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker pummel the liberal tax-and-spend philosophy.
The huff is about Walker’s Budget Repair Bill. What does the bill actually do?
- Ask government workers to pay half the cost of their pensions – still less than private employees pay for their pensions
- Ask government workers to pay 12% of their own health insurance premiums – the national average for the private sector is over 20%
- End collective bargaining for government unions for pensions and benefits. Allow bargaining only for raises that are less than inflation.
- End forced union dues, collected by the state. Union dues would become voluntary.
- Union members get to vote yearly on whether to keep their union.
Common sense plans to cut spending, reduce deficits, live within a budget, and to cease taxing everything — including the air we breath — no wonder liberals don’t get it. Their elitist pedestal is about to disintegrate into a pile of dust. Why? Because this isn’t just about Wisconsin, it’s about all 50 states and the promises made by a new breed of conservative politicians to halt spending, reduce government size and return our country to The People.
To freeze these sensible reforms, the unions and their Democratic allies are pulling out all the stops, including President Obama waving a few punches at Governor Walker. Perhaps Obama should stop worrying about Wisconsin and get his own house in order.
Some would call the Democratic state senators cowards for fleeing the state to stall a vote…but name calling is reserved for the lamestream media and like minds when they can’t produce an intelligent rebuttal to argue their pitiful tax and spend case. The good news? Wisconsin has a citizen recall of elected officials and Tim Phillips, Americans for Prosperity, has heard petitions are being circulated to kick the senators who have fled the state out of office.
Yes, the eyes of the country are on our far northern neighbor, Wisconsin. What happens in Wisconsin will set in motion the future of each state in the nation and the return of government to The People.
Need a few kitchen table talking points? Americans for Prosperity prepared a great talking points list that I’d like to share with you, Quick facts about Wisconsin’s Budget Repair Legislation, as prepared by Americans for Prosperity:
- The plan is about reform: Wisconsin’s Budget Repair legislation is about enacting modest – but critical – reforms to public sector entitlement programs that are long past due. The proposal takes on some of the most egregious violators of taxpayer dollars including public employee unions and public sector pensions.
- Ending public sector collective bargaining: The plan would end the practice of public sector union bosses strong-arming politicians for exorbitant benefits and absurd contract concessions. The plan rightly calls for an end to the ability of certain public sector unions to band together to pressure policymakers into unnecessary contract concessions.
- Respecting the taxpayer: When public sector workers – who are paid with taxpayers dollars – resort to bullying tactics to gain sweetheart contracts filled with plush benefits unheard of in the private sector the taxpayer loses every time.
- Respecting the public’s trust: When teachers choose not to teach purely to pad their already lavish contracts with taxpayer dollars they are violating a sacred public trust. Using students and their parents as leverage in contract disputes is a tried and true practice of teacher’s unions that must end.
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Stopping out-of-control benefit costs in the public sector: The proposal would prevent unions from forcing extravagant pension and health benefits on the state that only serve to further cripple state budget.
- Also, the plan would make the commonsense change that public sector wage increases could not exceed a cap based on the consumer price index (CPI) unless approved by voters. Also, some contracts would be limited to one year and wage rates would be frozen until the new contract is settled.
- Also, the plan would make the commonsense change that public sector wage increases could not exceed a cap based on the consumer price index (CPI) unless approved by voters. Also, some contracts would be limited to one year and wage rates would be frozen until the new contract is settled.
- The public vs. private sector: In Wisconsin, private sector workers make 74% of their state-level public sector counterparts. This is the 48th worst pay differential in the nation and clearly shows that the public sector employee unions aren’t hurting for better pay or benefits.
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Paying a fair share: The plan also would help ease the tremendous financial burden placed on the state by its bloated pension plan by finally requiring some public workers to pay their fair share into the program.
- Overall, public employees would fund 50 percent of the annual pension payment – a total that would require a modest contribution of 5.8 percent of 2011′s salary.
- Overall, public employees would fund 50 percent of the annual pension payment – a total that would require a modest contribution of 5.8 percent of 2011′s salary.
- More needed reforms: the plan also makes much-needed reforms to other problems complicating Wisconsin’s fiscal future. Among them, restructuring the state’s debt burden will help reduce debt service costs by $165 million in fiscal year 2010-11.
Bravo. I support Scott Walker. He was elected because we needed a leader to do the job of taking back this state. Walker is the man for the job, despite what the opporsition says.