Governor Walker finishes off corporate America, then swallows Wisconsin state senators use the nuclear option; Governor Walker’s blow job to Corporate America is nearly complete.
No doubt you’ve heard that Republican state senators used the nuclear option in Wisconsin, eliminating any remaining pretense that their “mandate” to dismantle collective bargaining had anything to do with fiscal austerity. Meanwhile, Governor Scott “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Just Fuck the Unions” Walker could hardly contain his enthusiasm:
“I applaud the legislature’s action today,” he gushed, “…to stand up to the status quo and take a step in the right direction to balance the budget and reform government.”
Translation: “I applaud the corporate doormat-whores who stood up for the rights of mega-conglomerates to strip public-sector workers of their last remaining vestige of defiance against Corporate America’s continuously-tightening chokehold on the bottom 99.1% of Americans.”
One theory I’ve been toying around with is that Walker’s damn-the-torpedoes crusade against teachers represents some twisted reprisal for his own educational miscarriage: He never graduated from college. Although stampeding through several semesters at Marquette University with a commanding 2.59 GPA, Walker evidently decided that his achievements—including a doomed campaign for student body president that ended with his disqualification for violating ethics rules—were sufficient enough.
The truly heartbreaking aspect is that those who stand to benefit from this union death-warrant are the very entities responsible for detonating the pension funds to begin with. For a truly disgusting case-in-point, take a look at Ohio, whose legislature passed similar union-busting measures:
Meet Ohio Governor John Kasich. After a courageous career of defending big-business interests in the House of Representatives, Kasich was rewarded with various cushy corporate gigs, including a stint as managing director of Lehman Brothers. Given his political background, Kasich managed to broker arrangements between Lehman and a number of Ohio union pension funds, including Ohio Police and Fire (OP&F) and the Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS). By 2008 and the eve of the financial crisis, hundreds of millions of dollars of Lehman-managed pensions were tied-up in extraordinarily risky collateralized loan obligations.
After Lehman tanked, Ohio’s largest pension funds hemorrhaged, according to the Associated Press, a reported $480 million, including an $80 million hit to the State Teachers’ Employees Retirement System; $18.5 million to the School Employees Retirement System; $11.2 million to the Police & Fire pension fund; and $2.4 million to the Highway Patrol Retirement System. Yet Kasich, evidently unaware that he was largely responsible for these toxic arrangements, blamed everything on greedy teachers and firefighters.
And remember that really sketchy conversation between Governor Walker and who he thought was David “I’m Literally the Embodiment of Evil” Koch? Most pundits dismissed the prank as liberal hijinks, but let’s take a closer look at the language nestled deep inside the Wisconsin collective bargaining bill:
“Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state-owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state.”
In other words, the bill authorizes Walker to unilaterally privatize any of the state-run plants that power, heat, or cool public facilities such as the University of Wisconsin. Moreover, Walker could hand them over, without bids, to whomever he chooses. Is it a coincidence that David Koch—owner of one of one of the largest energy conglomerates in the world—enjoys a cushy relationship with Gov. Walker?
I’m not denying that many public-sector unions need to sacrifice a little. But there is a fundamental difference between negotiating with unions and effectively eliminating their right to exist.
March 10, 2011 at 10:12 pm, pkelley1 said:
I think what everyone is missing in all this is the fact that it’s not a democrat/republican issue. This is a problem ingrained in our lack of trust of government in all forms (and rightly so). The media and critics that make this a republican-democrat issue, are just following the “sheeple” of our country. We focus so much on left and right, but in the end this fight is a social issue, this is between the vast majority of people and the very limited number of people benefiting from special interests lobbying.
I think the democrats are idiots for walking out.
I think the republican are idiots if they think they can ram this through.
I think the people are idiots for not following the herd and playing to these peoples interests.
Republican or Democrat they are all on the same special interest pocketbooks and until that changes (probably never) we will continue to polarize and divide ourselves to the benefit of all the powerful people playing from the shadows.
“United we stand, Divided we fall” in this we are losing the battle and until both sides are willing to compromise, based on the interest of the people as a whole we will keep falling.
Today is a sad day for America, not because of the striping of union rights, but because of the extreme polarization this will cause. The travesty is the inability of our lawmakers to compromise, and the victim is the american people
March 12, 2011 at 12:09 am, Sbjonez said:
You hitthenail on the head pkelly1. Since the time of the New Deal, since the time when corporations were granted all the protections of personhood, the main battle front has always been the line between those who have and those who have much less. Basically all other distinctions, e.g. black vs.white, christian vs. non-christian, north vs. south, foreign vs. domestic, liberal vs. conservative; all these categorizations are part of the smoke screen, part of the scam, the illusion designed to dupe the public into a state of righteous indignation and rage against the wrong targets.
March 11, 2011 at 6:49 am, Sbjonez said:
It can’t be emphasized enough that the false idea that the trouble these public sector pension funds are in right now is the result of greedy labor unions unjustly demanding too much from the states is a deliberate creation of those who, contrary to what they’d have us believe, are more interested in eroding the social and economic infrastructure of the country so that they themselves can rake more off the top at the expense of everyone else.
In truth, the pension funds are in trouble because of the 2007-2009 collapse of the economy where trillions of dollars worth of ‘value’ disappeared virtually overnight. It is also true, though one would never know it from establishment media coverage and opinion-mongering, that the pension fund shortfalls right now comprise less than 1% of state budgets across the country and that all of them are able to pay out at full measure for many years based on trillions of dollars held in trust for that purpose now.
These are the basic truths that set the stage for those responsible for, as Mr. Bromley puts it, “…detonating the pension funds…” in the political arena.
These corporate bigwigs and authoritarian ideologues masquerading as concerned politicians have been lying about all of this all along, and, sad to say, the establishment media dutifully performs its stenograqphic duty, never challenging the claims made by the few at the top of the heap that have their claws firmly attached to the levers of power and the politicians and media gasbags in their pocket.
March 11, 2011 at 2:37 pm, john charles webb jr said:
An excellent piece of journalism , Nicholas Bromley , very well written .
.
March 12, 2011 at 2:33 pm, dkw said:
To quote the article:
——————————–
“I applaud the legislature’s action today,” he gushed, “…to stand up to the status quo and take a step in the right direction to balance the budget and reform government.”
Translation: “I applaud the corporate doormat-whores who stood up for the rights of mega-conglomerates to strip public-sector workers of their last remaining vestige of defiance against Corporate America’s continuously-tightening chokehold on the bottom 99.1% of Americans.”
———————————
It’s not really journalism if it tells you how to interpret a phrase or speech. “Excellent” is the wrong word.
March 11, 2011 at 3:04 pm, Jimthom51 said:
My dad always said that the unions would ruin this country. He said they will ALWAYS have to ask for more and more and more to be viewed by the workforce as necessary. Where I believe unions have a place in society, I STRONGLY believe it should be to work toward FAIRNESS IN THE WORKPLACE and not toward asking for so much that it breaks the back of the company. Look at General Motors, otherwise known as “Generous Motors” – they had the BEST OF THE BEST. If the company tried to lay off for a while to try to recover losses, those with enough seniority got paid 95% of their wages. Their retirement, medical and other benefits FAR EXCEEDED most workers in the U.S.
Unions need to stop giving people the idea they are ENTITLED. Just because you have seniority does NOT make you the best candidate for a promotion–one example only.
March 11, 2011 at 4:37 pm, NB said:
Give me a break. Seven percent of the private sector workforce is unionized. Compare that with about 35% back in the 1960s, an era of unprecedented economic growth and >80% tax brackets. GM tanked because they had shitty management that designed shitty, gas-guzzling vehicles. Since Henry Ford, auto workers have enjoyed very generous benefits. Why? So they can buy the cars they build.
You and your dad need to lay off the kool-aid.
March 12, 2011 at 9:31 am, Fkin Sheeple said:
your dad is just mad he got fucked his entire life by NOT being allowed to bargain with his employer for fair wages
March 12, 2011 at 12:48 am, Jbcarr70 said:
Get a clue…in no way does this bill eliminate the union unless it’s member decide it is not in their best interest to be part of it. Further more, in gives the school boards and local governments the ability to reward and keep those employees that have shown the work performance rather than some fat slob that has been sitting at his/her job for 20 plus years and has decided to mail it in because the union protects them by seniority. It also eliminates that the mandatory withdrawl of union dues from the paychecks and lets each employee decide when and if they want to pay their dues. That is what this is really about, the union knows all to well that when the employee has the ability to vote with his or her own checkbook, they will be short lived. Why do you think so many union leaders from across the country have converged on Madison and spent millions of dollars her running ads trying to stir the pot. Sorry, but the conservatives finally pulled a democrate and used the rules to our advantage. If the Democrats can run away like a spoiled teenager, then they will be shown the door. Come back and let democracy have it’s day was the theme for 3 weeks. They were offered deals for weeks as the e-mails show and in the end, they had no intention of coming back. I have a dream. One day emboldened Conservatives across this country will open their eyes and say we too can take back our government. No more are the days of endless public debt, endless government spending and expanding government. Let the private sector create jobs and let our govenrment protect our borders!
March 12, 2011 at 12:59 am, NB said:
Open your eyes, kid, and take a real close look at who’s pulling your strings.
March 12, 2011 at 9:30 am, WTF said:
wow you must be high off smoking the koch brothers dicks
March 12, 2011 at 1:11 pm, Jbcarr70 said:
Typical response from a liberal who ca’t put together a logical thought. Take a look at the behavior of protestor’s in WI and you will see sheep following an agenda for the last 90 years that requires them to suck the benefits of government. It is these policies of both Demecrats and Republicans that have created 14 trillion in debt and trillions more in unfunded liabilities that will never be paid without deflating our dollar beyond belief.
I have accepted the fact that I will never receive social security benefits in the form that my parents will, even though I have paid in for over 25 years now. It is called a PONZI scheme, last in gets nothing. If changes are needed and cuts are required for us to get back to a prosperous country, then I suggest we make them now. We may have already reached a tipping point of no return. The agenda in WI is built on this platform and if it hurts the feelings of the minority, then so be it. Tough times call for extroadinary measures and policies that won’t be popular. Popular policies are what have gotten us in trouble. I suggest that you wake up, put together some thoughtful and logical comments and contribute your views in a positive constuctive manner.
March 12, 2011 at 3:57 pm, NB said:
Our current debt problems are largely a result of “government” failing to regulate the a highly leveraged ticking time bomb, otherwise known as Wall Street, during the late 90s and 2000s.
We have a fiscal problem, no doubt about it. Nevertheless, interest rates on our debt are at historic lows, meaning investors remain confident about our ability to repay debt. We do not have a short-term crisis like Greece. We have a long-term problem; one that requires a long-term solution.
As much as you seem to think penny-pinching with unions is going to somehow fix all of our problems, the root of the problem is the exploding cost of health care. It really all boils down to that. Social security can be fixed with the stroke of a pen, literally. You may have to retire a year or two later, pay slightly higher premiums, or contribute at higher income brackets; but the point is can be fixed.
Health care cannot be fixed this way. You can’t make the cost of a kidney transplant suddenly cheaper by passing an amendment. Maybe you think that a government providing health care to its citizens is “socialism” or “communism” or “.” I think it can be fixed, but not until we get a saner congress.
Tipping point of no return, really? Let’s see some evidence. Let’s hear some numbers.
March 12, 2011 at 9:31 pm, Jbcarr70 said:
NB, first of thank for putting some thought and logic into your response. You are correct, we have a huge fiscal problem in this country and no I don’t think penny pinching with public unions are going to solve all our problems. It is a start though, even FDR said that public unions would not work and shouldn’t be considered. It is never a good idea to allow employees who provide essential public services to band together to hold hostage the citizens who employ them. Even Federal employees cannot collectively bargain for rights like they could in WI and other states.
You say that interest rates are low and that means investors remain confident about our ability to repay debt. Please, do some research on this manner. Look up the trem POMO and research how it works. Ask yourself why the Chinese and other countries are unloading our debt as quickly and quietly as they can so that it doesn’t spook the market. If investors are so confident, then why did Bill Gross (who is considered the guru of bond investing) dump every last treasury bond from his PIMCO Total Return Fund in January. Does that sound like investor confidence.
We are running a yearly deficit of 1.45 TRILLION every year. The only reason interest rates are low is because the FED is purchasing nearly all the debt issued by the Treasury. It is a shell game called POMO and the world is catching on. The thing about tipping points; by the time you have realized it you are past the point of no return. Austerity will come to this country and we will ask; how did we get here?
You want numbers:
14,231,916,000,000 US Debt which is $128,243 per Taxpayer
14,615,245,000,000 US GDP = Nearly 100% income to debt ratio (Sounds Like Greece doesn’t it, but we aren’t done yet)
112,922,000,000,000 Total of Unfunded US Liabilities (this is on top of above debt)
Future unfunded liabilities of the new health care bill that can’t be determined.
The US has NEGATIVE net worth of roughly $44,000,000,000,000 with no end in sight and no way out.
We will either default on our debt or deflate our money by printing so much of it, that it will literaly become worthless. Either way we are in serious trouble and just keep kicking the can down the road. In the 70′s and 80′s I can remember smart men with ideas that said we needed to protect our future by limiting spending, locking up SS and taking other measures to insure our way of life. All these were dismissed as to radical and that we will never see the problems that other countries have experienced. Our time of reckoning is here…it is what we do with our opportunity now that will determine our place in history.
March 12, 2011 at 7:05 pm, john charles webb jr said:
“Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state-owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state.”
well said :
I wonder what the Governor’s stock-portfolio contains : ‘blind-trust’ is a fiction :
.
March 12, 2011 at 11:18 pm, Mbromley2 said:
great writing NB keep it up. Looking forward to seeing more.
March 14, 2011 at 4:30 pm, RTILDEN4 said:
Unions are a front for the radical left side.TO BIG TO FAIL, TO SMALL TO CARE Thanks from (WE THE PEOPLE)
March 14, 2011 at 5:27 pm, Greyghost said:
WI taxpayers are fighting over millions and billions while being robbed of trillions?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/view/ Why the financial crisis came to be.
Get with Obama who isn’t in WI, Congressmen, and Senators and demand answers? Why isn’t Bush held accountable for the blunder in Iraq? He was going to Iraq on a personal vendetta no matter what! http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/13/60minutes/main20042166.shtml?tag=contentMain%3BcbsCarousel
Social Security has been robbed of trillions. ask them yourself. Get directly with the Social Security Trust Fund.
http://www.ssa.gov/history/hfaq.html The SS Trust fund doesn’t have trillions of dollars in a lock box, DC polticians spent it, and we owe ourselves trillions!
http://zfacts.com/p/318.html
March 14, 2011 at 5:29 pm, Greyghost said:
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/22685.html DC gets $5.5 back for every dollar paid in, Idaho, reddest state in the nation gets $1.21 back while WI gets 86 cents back for every dollar paid in!
Why is WI paying ID taxes?
Look at state’s populations, red or blue, what they get back compared to paid in, budget shortfalls, and ask a few questions?
http://www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html
Population:
Wisconsin: 5,654,774 million gets back 86 cents for every dollar paid in to fed gov
Idaho: 1,545,801 million gets $1.21 back for evert dollar paid in to fed gov.
DC: 599,657 NOT even a million get $5.5 back for every dollar paid in!
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/02/20/1535065/a-reform-plan-a-long-time-in-the.html
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/02/19/1533942/albertsons-heir-cashes-in-on-online.html