Walker Recall Election: A Boost for Conservatives

For those following the Wisconsin recall, the result is a resounding success to conservatives across the nation. It renews a sense of hope that is so often dashed by the mainstream media. Do you know what happened in Wisconsin??  Two years into his term as Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker was making big changes, taking on the labor unions, which have strapped their state economy (not unlike my home state of Washington). Do you remember hearing how the state democrat legislatures fled to Illinois to avoid votes on cutting pensions and requiring unions to contribute a very moderate (and totally reasonable) amount to their benefits? (Sidenote: I think they should have all been fired. How many people who face tough choices at work can choose to just avoid it altogether and NOT show up, yet are still employed after they decide to return? It's completely ridiculous and shameful.) Walker stood up despite the critics and forced real change in his home state, he created results, his opponents (hello Big Labor) came back and forced a recall, which out of the THREE recalls ever to occur in our history, he was the first to remain in his seat.  

For a great summary article from The Heritage Foundation, click HERE.

I've highlighted a few great points below:

"...Reformers who come armed with the strength of their convictions can carry the day - even against the mobs, labor unions, Hollywood, the media, academia and everything else the left throws up these days. All reformers need to do is lead." 

"It was a historic recall election that focused nationwide attention on what has become an existential threat to state governments - the problem of public-sector employee pensions and benefits running states into the red. Walker unabashedly confronted the threat without straddling a fence or tiptoeing around Big Labor's Maginot Line.

"One of Governor Walker's reforms included giving government workers the option to choose whether they wanted to pay union dues. When given the option, tens of thousands of members chose to leave the union. And according to exit polls, a third of union households backed Walker.

"Since Walker took office, the state unemployment rate has fallen from 7.7 percent to 6.8 percent - well below the nation average of 8.2 percent. And last year, Wisconsin employers actually created 23,000 jobs.

"Walker's victory will send shockwaves across the county...[He] stood for reforms that curbed spending and got the state's budget under control - without raising taxes. Despite facing a recall election, Walker was ultimately rewarded for a job well done.

This amps me up for the elections this fall. Think twice about what you hear in the media, it is most likely tweaked to the max. All we were hearing was Walker was in trouble, and yet he won by a wide margin. To my conservative friends, don't think you are so far in the minority...most people out there care about the same things you do. We must come together to elect officials who will bring about REAL CHANGE this fall. Without change, the next four years may prove to be disastrous and bring our nation to the brink of failure. Stand up like Walker! Keep your chin up and your voice heard. Don't be discouraged, Walker just gave us a great boost.

Source: The Heritage Foundation, 06.06.12 http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/06/morning-bell-a-historic-win-for-reform-in-wisconsin/

1098 Union Power

At issue on this Washington ballot is how government is to respond when it is spending more money than it takes in.  The answer may help tell the rest of us whether our future is to be government of the public employee, by the public employee and for the public employee."

 - William McGurn, WSJ

Have you heard the phrase, "FOLLOW THE MONEY"? 

Finding out where the money is coming from and where it's going can give a person the truest sense of what's really going on.

With I-1098, the money here is VERY important. The Wall Street Journal has a great piece by William McGurn today about how Unions are (by far) the largest supporters of the "Vote Yes" campaign for 1098.

Just a few great snippets from McGurn:

"Far from a civil war among the rich, the push for I-1098 is being led and financed by unions. In a day when organized labor claims more members in government than in the private sector, it's not surprising to learn that public-employee unions are front and center. Their leadership raises a question asked by beleaguered taxpayers across America: Do state budgets exist to serve their citizens or their government employees?"

"The unions are involved in this initiative because they see it as the only way to maintain vital health-care and education services."

"Of the roughly $6.2 million raised by the lead group urging a "yes" on 1098, $4.1 million comes from unions. The largest chunk of this money comes from two unions and their local affiliates: the Service Employees International Union and the National Education Association (the teachers union)." 

"In a recent article for the Seattle Times, one local businessman pointed out that 60% of the state budget is untouchable because it relates to salaries and benefits for public employees that are governed by union contracts. At a time when the government is facing shortfalls totalling $4.5 billion, he says that the government unions 'have more control over our state budget than we the people have.'"

Doesn't it make sense the Unions are all over 1098? The livelihood of their outlandish health care benefits and retirement packages are all based on a tax structure that can keep up with their demands. And who is responsible for the bill? Private sector taxpayers who fund these benefits while getting by with their more market-driven benefit plans. 

Do you see a trend here? The Unions have P-O-W-E-R...more than you or I realize. 

Just today, Boeing announced increases in 2011 health care contributions for their non-union employees.  The unions, however, are untouched because they are bound by union contracts. And you can bet the unions will put up a huge fight when negotiations begin and an increase in personal benefit contributions are at the table (can you say strike?). 

Yes, Bill Gates is out there saying 1098 is such a good thing (and in my opinion he can go ahead and write a bigger check to the government out of the goodness of his heart if he so chooses), but the real backers of 1098 are Unions who refuse to accept a contraction in their way of life. 

But where does that leave you and I? 

Sources:

WSJ: William McGurn 10.19.2010

Boeing Raises Health-plan Costs for Most NonUnion Workers, 10.19.2010

A Union Snippet

"I don't think Boeing's in a position to make us pay more for our health care and stuff."

 - Casey Ferguson (Member of the Machinists Union)

Mr. Ferguson is right.  Boeing has had very little bargaining power when it comes to union negotiations.  And whilst health benefits are contracted for salaried employees and layoffs abound, the company is at the mercy of meeting the union demands to keep the company afloat...until now.  Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing's Commercial Airplanes Division was discussing the leverage the company has by adding a second production line in South Carolina.  If the Machinists Union in the Puget Sound chooses to strike, guess where the work goes?

South.  Both literally and figuratively.

Puget Sound union members will be out of a job, and the nuts and bolts of the work will proceed in South Carolina.

I don't believe Mr. Ferguson will be as confident if his union chooses to strike and Boeing says, "Fine. See ya!"

In January, Daniel Henninger had a great Op Ed in the WSJ. He gives a brief history on Unions and how their collective bargaining power has crippled the government's ability to choose how to spend OUR money. I think the application is equally important in terms of the challenges Boeing faces with the somewhat unpredictable Machinists Union.

Here are a few of Henninger's quotes:

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy planted the seeds that grew the modern Democratic Party.  That year, JFK signed executive order 10988 allowing the unionization of the federal work force...Kennedy's order swung open the door for the inexorable rise of a unionized public work force in many states and cities.    

They broke the public's bank.  More than that, they entrenched a system of taking money from members' dues and spending it on  political campaigns. Over time, this transformed the Democratic Party into a public-sector dependency.

Feeding the public unions' wage demands starved other government responsibilities.  It ruined our ability to have a useful debate about any other public functions.  

In the words of my friend, "Public Service Unions will bleed this country dry."  And the sad part?  Union members have little choice when deciding to join. It is their only hope for not being black-balled in the market. But once workers join, they lose control. Members work at the will of the Union and their dues are spent on campaigns with which they may not personally agree...creating the problem Henninger illustrates above.

With a large population of Union workers, these members most always: vote for increased taxes (federal and state union workers), fight school vouchers (Teachers Unions), and promote Health Care Reform (Cadillac Tax exemption for Unions).  When they do, members often avoid a real debate of the issues, but rather choose to preserve their own jobs and salaries.  It becomes self-serving at the expense of the non-union public.

Our government is at the mercy of the unions.  It's no wonder our President has a cabinet full of public-sector gurus.  Not one of them is from the private sector. Who's best interest do they have in mind? [Sidenote: that says a lot about why they don't know how to run this country]

Such a large portion of federal funds are spent in a "public-sector vortex". Campaign contributions come at a price and with the Unions it's a heavy one. One that requires the use of my money to repay.

I'm glad Boeing is making some headway in exerting pressure on the unions and thereby taking greater control over the long-term health of their company.

Our government, unfortunately, is not.  

Sources:
King 5 News - Jim Albaugh
WSJ - Henninger
On Life and Lybberty

Who's Picking Up the Tab?

"Our people were very very pleased by it."

Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

There's a lot going on with Health Care. It's hard to get the facts. But what happened today is no surprise. It involved more closed-door, secret meetings, but at the end of it all the labor unions gave their approval for ObamaCare.

You gotta love all this transparency, am I right, or am I right?!

A big gap in the bills has been what to do with so-called "Cadillac" health plans. Most union plans fall into this category, and because they are tied closely with the Democratic Party, you can imagine they were upset when they found out they would be taxed (up to 40%) on their health benefits.

Well, have no fear. Unions are now exempt until 2018. They also upped the threshold for what is considered "Cadillac." They came out of their clandestine meetings today giving everyone high-fives and saying they will NOW put their stamp on Obamacare.

So, now two things:

(1) What about MY family? - We aren't represented by a collective bargaining agreement (aka union). Why am I on the hook beginning in 2013 and not them? In a country claiming to make health care "fair" am I the only one thinking this isn't fair?

(2) Who is paying for the shortfall? - With the unions exempted, there is now $60 billion of revenue the government needs to find elsewhere. Of course, no one offers any important hard-core facts as to where that money will come from. It appears to be a secondary issue compared with the "success" of one less group of people clearing the way for ObamaCare.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/14/obama-summons-dems-white-house-late-night-health-reform-talks/