Conservative
Type 40
- Jul 1, 2011
- 17,082
- 2,054
Wisconsin gov
Wisconsin struts onto the stage Tuesday in the drama known as the crisis of the entitlement state in the Western world. The state’s recall election of Gov. Scott Walker upstages, however briefly, the story line of Illinois trying to come to grips with its unfunded $83 billion liability in government employee pensions, the comedy of Gov. Jerry Brown pursuing an extravagantly expensive high-speed train to nowhere as California sinks under a $16 billion budget deficit, and the starring role of Greece in the wrenching euro zone tragedy.
The curious thing is that, judging from the campaign rhetoric, the issue that prompted today’s recall election, Walker’s reform of public employee unions, isn’t at center stage in the debate. It hardly got mentioned in the closing weeks of the campaign by Democrat Tom Barrett, mayor of Milwaukee, to unseat Walker. Rather than campaign on collective bargaining, Barrett talked about the economy and jobs, women’s issues and an investigation into Walker’s aides during his previous elective office in Milwaukee.
The reason for that is quite simple: Walker’s collective bargaining reforms turned out to be a resounding success.
- Public service employees are finally making reasonable contributions to their pension and health benefits
- Government employee unions no longer dictate work rules
- Local school districts and governments with new latitude to renegotiate contracts have saved Wisconsin taxpayers $1 billion
Taxpayers have grown weary of financing generous benefits that most of them never see in their lives. President Barack Obama must recognize that voter attitudes on this are changing. Despite the appeals of Wisconsin Democrats for a big show of support, the closest Obama came to Wisconsin was flying over the state recently on his way to a fund-raising dinner in Minneapolis.