It's Time for the Public Sector Unions to Stop Being Selfish

It’s happening in Wisconsin, where the Democratic Party and the Public Unions* are doing their darndest to recall Governor Scott Walker. It doesn’t matter, of course, that the state of Wisconsin; by asking the unions to pay a small portion of their own pensions (an amount similar to what most private citizen’s 401k plans are matched by their company), asking them to pay a $10 copay for doctor visits (the rest of us pay upwards of $20) and some other modest reforms; has closed a massive budget gap and put Wisconsin on the right track. 

Now those same unions want to recall Walker rather than (to borrow a favorite catch-phrase from the Left) “paying their fair share.” (By the way, I define “fair share” very differently.  I define it as paying YOUR OWN SHARE that is for yourself.)  Except those Unions aren’t even paying what the rest of us have to pay.  That’s not good enough though.  They’re just too selfish.

And now, friends, I’m going do something I swore I’d never do:  I’m going to defend a Cuomo. Governor Andrew the Cuomo is trying to do something similar in my own state, New York.  New York, like Wisconsin, is in an awful lot of trouble.  Andrew the Cuomo is, unlike his father before him, a pragmatic man. He understands, like so few of his fellow liberal Democrats, that money doesn’t grow on trees, even if one convinces themselves it is really super-duper important.  So he’s gone and passed a series of measures to cut $80 Billion from the New York state budget. 

For about a month, the same unions have run commercials talking about how unfair it is, how unions have to stand up for their “rights.” (Because free pensions and making more than your employers, the people of New York State, is one’s right, apparently. Since we’re making up rights, I declare my right to baseball.)  They’re telling tales about how 401k plans “failed” a few years ago.  Actually, the only people who 401k plans failed were those who were foolish enough to be both close to retirement and yet still keep their money in high growth funds.  For the rest of us, like those of us in our late twenties and early thirties, are buying into our 401k plans for pennies on the dollar and we’re going to see a phenomenal return in the future for our investments.

Both Governor Walker and Governor the Cuomo realize the truth.  They’re different men.  Governor Walker is a Tea Party Republican, Governor the Cuomo is a fairly reasonable liberal Democrat (in fairness, the Cuomo’s liberalism stands mostly on social issues). But both of them understand the reality and necessity of asking the REAL people who aren’t “paying their fair share,” the Unions.  Both of these men realize that their states are going to continue to lose jobs to outsourcing if they don’t stop trying to take more and more money that still isn’t theirs from businesses.  Not the kind of outsourcing you’re thinking about, friends, not to China and India and Mexico, but rather outsourcing to South Carolina, and Tennessee and Florida and other states that don’t think the purpose of those who have succeeded and started businesses is to buy votes for liberals.

It’s time for Public Sector Unions to stop being so selfish and demanding that their employers, the people of their states and of the nation, pay them exorbitant salaries beyond the employers ability to pay and beyond what similar private sector employees earn for similar work.  I get it, Union members, it means you have to give up some of your current benefits.  I understand.  I went four years without a raise, by the way, thanks to this economy, meanwhile you’ve gotten four plus better benefits than I could dream of receiving.  It’s time for Public Sector Unions to pay their legitimate fair share. It’s time for public sector unions to stop being selfish.

*Private Sector Unions, for now at least, you get a pass.  In this blog my beef is with your public sector counterparts.