...how fiendishly clever.....

[ewagner]

With deepest apologies to Eddie Izzard)

I’m a little slow witted I guess but I just figured out the cleverness and, consequently, the dastardly nature of Governor Scott Walker’s strategy. Like a lot of others, including the “liberal” news media, I thought I had been remarkably insightful in recognizing that Walker’s Budget Repair Bill wasn’t about money at all; it was about killing collective bargaining rights. When this was exposed, Walker stubbornly held to his mantra that it was economic. We laughed and derided his comments but the laugh is on us. It turns out it is economic But in ways that are so contemptible that a normal human being could not have fathomed it.

Here’s how it works:

He knew he was going to cut budgets for education, local shared revenues and Medicaid. That was what he ran on and what he promised. Nobody in any of those fields would have stood silently for those cuts. There was going to be a backlash of some kind. Unless. Unless you were offering to local officials something in return…something they’ve secretly lusted after for years. …something like busting up the unions and being able to totally eliminate work rules that protected workers for years.

So Walker handed them the “tools” in exchange for granting locals revenge against unions. But how does that make up for the budget cuts? It actually doesn’t prevent layoffs from happening on almost all levels of local government. But the clever part of it …the FIENDISHLY CLEVER part of it….is that by eliminating the work rules …specifically seniority…from being valid items of collective bargaining, local officials can lay off the most SENIOR and HIGHEST PAID workers, teachers, staff, etc and keep the younger, lower paid workers resulting in a net reduction of overall payroll.

It’s a sweat shop owner’s wet dream.

I’m not of the right mindset to contemplate all the horrors that could accompany this act. I’m sure there’s more to it and I’m not going to try to figure it all out. I just know that this isn’t the end of it.

This is no longer a political dispute over two different philosophies about the role of labor in society. The tactics and rhetoric coming out of the Governor’s office (and the Republican party) now sounds eerily like threats and pronouncements coming from the management side of a management/labor dispute. The lock-outs, the imposition of fines, the reassignment of staff of the opposing Senators and (for crying out loud) taking away parking privileges are all tactics that management would use to break a strike by a stubborn union. That’s what democracy in America has come down to: Management (Republicans) vs Labor (Democrats) God help us.

[dragonlady]

1. Budget bill, in many respects, isn't about money either

Ending early release for certain inmates? More expense for the prisons, no saving there. Forbidding local schools to have a residency requirement for teachers? Nothing to do with money, and haven't Republicans always said they favored government closer to the people? Smoke and mirrors.

[Hokahey]

2. Collective Bargaining

It might be good to give some credit to Administrative bodies around the state who have gone on record saying that they DO NOT favor the removal of Collective Bargaining Rights in their municipalities/school districts.

I know for sure that the Wausau City Council has met in special session to go on record and draft a letter to Walker. I also believe the Eau Claire city council, county board, and school board has also done so. I believe the Madison school board has also gone on record. Please correct me if I'm wrong. These are bold moves as they all have to work with the state in the tough years ahead and they most likely will face roadblocks from the governors office.

Please post any others you hear of. It believe it will bode well for our cause.

[sybylla]

3. That's true. Eau Claire did it, too. As have some school boards and other municipalities

But, that doesn't mean that what ewag is describing is what Walker intended. Clearly it's a plan that has backfired on him in major ways.

And it doesn't change the fact that some municipalities and school districts won't gleefully do exactly what ewag is predicting - dumping the skilled employees with seniority while keeping and maybe hiring cheaper labor.

[Viking12]

4. Add Oshkosh City council to that list

My mayor has expressed opposition to Walker's BS in private conversation but no public statements to date.

[goddess40]

6. so did the Wausau city council

and it was unanimous, which just about shocked my boots off.

[ewagner]

7. I know of

several Local Elected Officials who are smacking their lips to "even the score" with Unions...

sick...totally sick...

[goddess40]

5. if we cut everyones salary in half, we might not need layoffs

I am not advocating that but I think that is part of Walkers plan (by that I mean the Koch brothers plan)

[wislib]

8. Walker's Character

He seems to be an especially petty vindictive person. We'll have to be careful
until his recall

[ewagner]

9. petty. vindictive?

yeah

that pretty much covers it....

welcome to DU :hi:

[sybylla]

10. Don't forget sociopathic.

And narcissistic.

[ewagner]

11. my bad

forgot two important traits!!!