Coming soon to your state, a Wisconsin-style day of reckoning

Union heavyweights are making a power play in Wisconsin, with some school districts canceling classes because teachers called in sick and Democrats playing hooky from the state legislature. Like many other states, Wisconsin is struggling with budget realities, trying to ward off the day of reckoning that is already occurring. Liberals in that state are painting Republican governor Scott Walker as everything from a “Hitler” to a dictator, with some protesters carrying posters showing the governor’s face in the sights of a gun.

Aside from the official teacher “sickout,” Capital Newspapers (Madison)  indicated the politicization in the classroom—about 100 students walked out of their classroom in Stoughton to support the unions.

NewsRadio 620 WTMJ (Milwaukee) said, “Hundreds of teachers called in sick, forcing a number of school districts to cancel classes. Madison schools, the state's second-largest district with 24,000 students, closed for a second day as teachers poured into the Capitol.”

Private sector employees would likely be fired for giving a phony excuse for not coming to work and then showing up at a political rally.

What are teachers and other public workers upset about? To a conservative, it looks like they’re rabble-rousing because the gravy train is ending. WTMJ said, “In addition to eliminating collective bargaining rights, the legislation also would make public workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage -- increases Walker calls 'modest' compared with those in the private sector.”

Translated for the taxpayer, that means the public would still pick up 50 percent of contributions to pensions and 87.4 percent of healthcare costs. That’s still not good enough for the unions.

In 2007, data published by the US Census Bureau found Wisconsin teachers in 19^th place when compared to salaries in other states, with an average annual pay of $47, 901.

There was a time when workers benefited from unions, but the organizations have, in my opinion, done much to damage the teaching profession and education. What kind of organization gives de facto approval to a student walkout over pensions and perks?

What taxpayers must ask—can we really afford unionized public sector workers? Furthermore, is it time to privatize education, considering the dismal results we see on testing?

In the video below, provided by the Wisconsin GOP, it’s obvious that many leftwingers don’t practice what they preach when it comes to hate-filled rhetoric.

Wisconsin might ask the public employees what will happen when the state runs out of money. With full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (loosely called ObamaCare), most states will confront billions in deficits. It is likely most of the public employees have not studied the budget but rather have fallen in line behind union commandos whose own salaries and power rest on the union.

States can face their day of reckoning now or in the future. We may have civil unrest now, but it is nothing like what we will confront when the state and the federal government coffers are empty.

Additional Reading

Protests rife with Hitler, gun targets, death threats
Fox News

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Feb. 17, 2011)

Update on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 4:34PM by Kay B. Day, Editor

American Majority is sponsoring a support rally for Gov. Scott Walker. Details and signup are posted on the group's Facebook page.

Update on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 5:40PM by Kay B. Day, Editor

Politico said Organizing for America is "playing an active role" in organizing the protests against Republican governor Scott Walker. OfA was instrumental in President Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency, and all are aware of the strong support unions have shown Obama and Obama has shown the unions.

Will big media label these protesters in the negative manner they've labeled tea party protesters? Probably not. We know how big media swings in this country.

So far no one's concerned about hate-filled rhetoric or encouraging protesters to reach across the aisle.