Rich Lowry: The New Wisconsin Idea

National Review ^ | February 18, 2011 | Rich Loway

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The old so-called Wisconsin Idea was that government would collaborate with experts drawn from the state’s university system to craft progressive legislation. The new Wisconsin Idea is that the state is broke.

Gov. Scott Walker is bringing austerity to the intellectual breadbasket of American progressivism, and seeks to break the grip of the public-sector unions in a state that had a large hand in empowering them. His effort could become a national model for recalibrating the relationship of state governments to the unions that are bankrupting them.

To attempt this anywhere brings yelps of outrage. To do it in Wisconsin, practically the inventor of liberalism as we know it, adds insult to injury. It’s a little like heaping abuse on the Kennedys in Massachusetts, or telling Texans to forget about the Alamo.

[snip]

This savagery has been directed at a governor who invariably says the state has “good, hardworking, decent employees.” But he’s frank that the state can’t continue to give its employees free and cut-rate benefits. “I don’t have anything to negotiate,” Walker said the other day, not by way of bravado, but in a flat statement of penury.

Walker supports denying public employees — with the exception of police and firemen — the ability to engage in collective bargaining over anything but wages. This would make it harder for unions to boost compensation with ever-more-generous benefits that, in the near term, don’t seem to cost anything. And he wants to end the practice of the state deducting union dues from the paychecks of its employees. Unions would have to collect dues themselves, and state employees might opt not to pay dues at all. Walker, in short, wants Wisconsin to stop participating in a conspiracy to fleece itself.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Scrooge-ism in Wisconsin, part 2 [excerpt]The pas-de-deux between Chuck Lane and myself, which has now become a long day's journey into night and the subsequent morning, has touched on a number of topics raised by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's attack on public-sector unions -- but not on the full range of political consequences that will follow if Walker's denial of collective bargaining rights is enacted. Walker argues that it's fiscal necessity that's driven him to his stance, but a dispassionate look at what he's actually proposed suggests the real reason is political opportunity.

For one thing, Walker's proposal lets police and firefighter unions retain their collective bargaining rights and, thereby, their institutional clout, even though their taxpayer-supported pensions are among the most generous in the state. Not coincidentally, a number of police and firefighter unions supported Walker in the last election, and such unions tend to endorse more conservative candidates than, say, teachers' unions. So what Walker is really doing is going after unions that support Democrats.[end excerpt]

JUST ONE PROBLEM WITH HIS ARGUMENT

[Cincinatus' Wife]

[Crawdad]

And he wants to end the practice of the state deducting union dues from the paychecks of its employees. Unions would have to collect dues themselves, and state employees might opt not to pay dues at all. Walker, in short, wants Wisconsin to stop participating in a conspiracy to fleece itself.

Alabama just did this with teachers' paychecks. It will decimate the teachers union.

[SonOfDarkSkies]

Just as technology is sweeping aside many existing jobs in the modern world, it is about to make sweeping changes in the world of education. And at the very time teachers are breaking the bank with their salaries and benefits (without any connection of same to performance), technology is reducing the value of individual teacher input.

Not a good time for educational Luddites.

As an aside, I remember in college when professors used to deliver the same lecture class after class. Even then I asked why this lecture wasn't just recorded, in quantity, on video tape and made available at the library. The university was insulted. Now that we have youtube, computer programs, and the internet, perhaps the university won't be so insulted when change is forced upon it.

[phockthis]

you weren’t suppose to notice these minor details...

[Jim from C-Town]

Easy solutions to the Firefighters problem. PRIVATIZE THEM. Put their jobs up for competitive bids and allow private companies to operate employ and administer the fire services in the local communities.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

.....It will decimate the teachers union.

It will decimate union political activism through confiscated wages.

[CPT Clay]

Right On!!!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

......The university was insulted...

Interesting. Jared Loughner, the Tucson shooter, wasn't expelled from Pima Community College until after he made a video calling the college a "genocide college." All the other stuff scary, crazy things he did in class never rose to the level of expulsion but insulting the institution did.

[pabianice]

It’s “workers’”, not “workers,” you schmucks. Can’t even spell.

[ncpatriot]

wow...that’s a great idea

[PapaBear3625]

And he wants to end the practice of the state deducting union dues from the paychecks of its employees.

Currently, the Dems fled to prevent a 3/5 quorum (which is needed for tax and appropriations bills).

If the Repubs were serious, they would declare a quorum for non-appropriations legislation (only majority needed, which they have), and pass the "no-dues-deduction" as a stand-alone bill for the Gov to sign. Then pass the various anti-civil-service provisions as stand-alone, non-appropriations bills.

I don't think they will, because I don't think they're serious. i think they want to posture without actually passing anything which would get unions pissed off at them.

[Alberta's Child]

One problem with privatizing something like firefighting is that there is an inherent distortion in the marketplace when you're dealing with a job function that serves the public interest best when it is done the least. Just think about it . . . from the standpoint of public interest and public safety, the best scenario imaginable is one in which the firefighters never have to respond to a single fire.

This is one reason why it is so hard to privatize public functions that are largely "preventive" or "responsive" in nature. New York City used to do this back in the 19th century, and they had to put a stop to it because they ended up with competing fire companies running around setting fires just so they could work more.

[Arm_Bears]

“The intellectual breadbasket of American progressivism?”

I just threw-up in my mouth a little bit.

[Senator_Blutarski]

I don't think they will, because I don't think they're serious. i think they want to posture without actually passing anything which would get unions pissed off at them.

In light of the fact Walker has the Republican votes lined up to pass his proposal, how can you possibly say that? The Democrats left town so the Republicans couldn't vote and pass the bill.

[PapaBear3625]

In light of the fact Walker has the Republican votes lined up to pass his proposal, how can you possibly say that? The Democrats left town so the Republicans couldn't vote and pass the bill.

I'm not sure if you read my posting. There is a need for a 3/5ths quorum ONLY for tax/appropriations bills. For bills that do not involve Wisc spending money, only a simple majority is needed for a quorum.

All the Repubs need to do is word their bills as non-appropriations bills, pass them, and send them to the Gov for signature. Bills like removing a need for the state to forward union dues is not an appropriation.

[KansasGirl]

[And he wants to end the practice of the state deducting union dues from the paychecks of its employees. Unions would have to collect dues themselves, and state employees might opt not to pay dues at all]

Those state employees really are useful idiots to be out there opposing this. Wonder how many of them would be pleasantly surprised when the union/Democrat fleecing of their paychecks stop?

[KansasGirl]

[i think they want to posture without actually passing anything which would get unions pissed off at them. ]

The unions are already pissed off at them and support Rats every election anyway. What do they have to lose?

[Uncledave]

I don’t agree. I think they’re “all in” now — backing down is as good as resigning at this point.