Unions Protest Budget Cuts in Madison WI

Protests, signs, angry screams, chants and threats of violence; are continuing today. And no I’m not talking about the mid- east, I’m referring to that workers paradise that is Madison, Wisconsin. I hate protests. I don’t even like protesting for things I support. One never goes home from a demonstration with a sense of accomplishment. I vote so I don’t have to demonstrate. The protesters in Madison are proving the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished. The states and feds have been caving to unions like the National Educators Association (NEA) for so long, that their members now have way overblown senses of entitlement. In the face of a dire financial crises, the Wisconsin voters chose a governor on the basis that he would takes steps to cut the state budget. Various unions (particularly the teachers union) are now objecting to the state’s re-budgeting on the basis that it cuts too deeply into their benefits, even though private sector benefits and pensions are experiencing even greater hits.

While the state of Wisconsin is doing what it can to protect existing jobs, the money to keep all those benefits going out simply doesn’t exist! One union rep spoke nebulously this morning about upper class citizens (who he claimed contribute nothing), paying their fair share. When questioned by the host conducting the interview as to who these tax free wealthy were, he was of course unable to produce any names or numbers. It didn’t stop him from stumbling on with his rant however. Personally I’m sick to death of the same old class warfare. We as a society have got to stop giving into the loud and obnoxious minority that makes demands on the rest of us. The fact is the Wisconsin electorate chose a government that would work to bring the state’s financial house in order. It is a comparatively small group demanding that the wishes of the majority be ignored on the basis of its own sense of entitlement.

I’m sure the Wisconsin demonstrations will not be the last. As the economy continues to suffer, more and more states are going to be forced to reduce costs, this is going to mean jobs and benefits lost. But we cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated by union terrorism. If the question is between whether or not the NEA gets paid or my son eats, guess what… He’s going back for seconds!