Paul Krugman: Wisconsin Power Play

[Ellipsis]

snip...

But Mr. Walker isn’t interested in making a deal. Partly that’s because he doesn’t want to share the sacrifice: even as he proclaims that Wisconsin faces a terrible fiscal crisis, he has been pushing through tax cuts that make the deficit worse. Mainly, however, he has made it clear that rather than bargaining with workers, he wants to end workers’ ability to bargain.

The bill that has inspired the demonstrations would strip away collective bargaining rights for many of the state’s workers, in effect busting public-employee unions. Tellingly, some workers — namely, those who tend to be Republican-leaning — are exempted from the ban; it’s as if Mr. Walker were flaunting the political nature of his actions.

Why bust the unions? As I said, it has nothing to do with helping Wisconsin deal with its current fiscal crisis. Nor is it likely to help the state’s budget prospects even in the long run: contrary to what you may have heard, public-sector workers in Wisconsin and elsewhere are paid somewhat less than private-sector workers with comparable qualifications, so there’s not much room for further pay squeezes.

So it’s not about the budget; it’s about the power.


more...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/opinion/21krugman.html







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[sabrina 1]

1. It's about the Corporations for whom Walker works.

It's a longtime dream of greedy corps to bust unions and if the people of Wisc. don't prevail and force Walker to back down, this will spread across the country.

Power, probably Walker cares about power, but it's way more than that.

[Ellipsis]

4. His overlords are the Wisconsin Manufacture & Commerce Org.

WMC is a business association dedicated to making Wisconsin the most competitive state in the nation. Currently, the association has nearly 4,000 members that include both large and small manufacturers, service companies, local chambers of commerce and specialized trade associations. Promoting a healthy business climate since 1911, it is a merger of the Wisconsin Manufacturers Association, the State Chamber of Commerce and the Wisconsin Council of Safety.

http://www.wmc.org/AboutWMC/superpage.cfm?category=7



With lots and lots of Union members.





.

[bjobotts]

25. It's about ridding the income and shoe leather source of the dem party

[bjobotts]

26. The wealthy have already outsourced most of the union jobs, now attacking the few left

[bjobotts]

27. Same with why they wanted tort reform.Trial lawyers were big dem donors.

[bjobotts]

28. Just look at what repubs tried to do to the DoJ when they were in power last time.

[bjobotts]

29. Walker would have used the tea party as 'brown shirts' exceptthey were so outnumbered

[bjobotts]

30. The wealthy want a nation of serfs & no taxes or regulations.Complete control.

[bjobotts]

31. Demonstrated by their willingness to punish the victims of their greed

It was Bush that put us into massive debt with spending designed to enrich the already wealthy. Obama's spending is to help the people who are suffering and for the good of the nation to keep us from going off the cliff. The time to control borrowing and spending is not when a tornado has just blown the roof off your home. Repair the roof first. Repair our economy and our unemployment disaster first before worrying about deficit or debt.

Only an idiot thinks they are helping unemployment and the economy by creating more unemployment and taking money out of the economy. The idiots just want to make you think they are tough when really they are just big mouths and stupid.

They should go after wall street and the banks with as much fervor...they knowingly created this mess.

[Ellipsis]

2. I think Walker is in for an interesting week.

[Aerows]

3. Of course it is

I'm not sure how anyone could see it as any different. It's refreshing to see someone speaking up about, it though, since they have essentially been forced to do so.

[Ellipsis]

5. Welcome to DU.

[Aerows]

9. Thank you! n/t

[spanone]

6. k&r

[moondust]

7. Oh boy.

Krugman is talking about the oligarchy.

:popcorn:

[Ellipsis]

8. .

[lonestarnot]

10. K & R!

[underpants]

11. Great article

[Solly Mack]

12. K&R

[deacon]

13. Yep. It's allllll about power. Pure and simple.

[WillyT]

14. HUGE K & R !!!

:kick:

[Ellipsis]

15. .

[Hannah Bell]

16. kr

[suffragette]

17. Krugman nails it

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/opinion/21krugman.html

There’s a bitter irony here. The fiscal crisis in Wisconsin, as in other states, was largely caused by the increasing power of America’s oligarchy. After all, it was superwealthy players, not the general public, who pushed for financial deregulation and thereby set the stage for the economic crisis of 2008-9, a crisis whose aftermath is the main reason for the current budget crunch. And now the political right is trying to exploit that very crisis, using it to remove one of the few remaining checks on oligarchic influence.

[JDPriestly]

18. K&R

DUers need to read the entire editorial. It is brilliant. It pretty much sums up the truth about our society. It's about the power. The wealthy oligarchs want it all. They want to destroy democracy. That is what we have in common with other ordinary people all over the work. We are all the victims of one single oligarchy. They are self-satisfied, self-righteous, self-centered and completely selfish.

Even their charitable organizations and activities serve one purpose -- to feed their selfish craving for undeserved respectability.

[JEB]

19. Local businesses

had better wake up and support the union or they will have no customers left. The SOB GOP Tea Baggers won't be happy till Walmart, big oil, insurance and banks are the only ones getting slices of pie.

[hay rick]

20. K&R

[riderinthestorm]

21. Robert Reich has been saying the same thing now for days. Just heard him again on NPR this afternoon

saying it again!

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge Krugman also saying it - the more this truth gets out to the general public, the better.

[DeSwiss]

22. K&R n/t

[walruswasrob]

23. K & R

Thank you for posting this. Krugman, once again, gets it right.

[myrna minx]

24. K&R n/t

[leftstreet]

32. K&R