Public Sector Unions On The March In Denver

The Marxist rhetoric from the left continues. (HT Atlas Shrugs)



This latest astroturfed event was sponsored by your friends at Organizing for America, along with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Made possible by the union dues that the SEIU, amongst others, confiscated from their rank and file. From Atlas Shrugs:

"Teamsters and other workers were bussed in to the State Capitol in an increasing effort by the White House to interfere in relations between states and public sector unions.

Union protestors seemed to have taken to heart President Obama’s admonition to “get in people’s faces”. Thankfully, they did not act on Rep. Michael Capuano’s (D-Mass.) words to union members today, when he told them “Every once and a while you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary.” If not for the presence of state troopers who controlled the howling union goons, this protest could have had a violent outcome.

Nonetheless, Obama’s supporters put on a disgraceful display of incivility and paranoia-fueled administration propaganda, which is exactly what Obama and Organizing for America have been encouraging."

Another prime example of the left being who they truly are. This is why they were shellacked in November. The biggest issue taxpayers have with public sector unions, is that im many cases, the results of their labor don't justify what they already have.

"Just about half of Colorado students in grades 3 through 10 are below proficient for their grade levels in writing test scores. And it’s worse than that for math. These union workers understand that their paycheck depends on getting money out of the productive sector of society. The more people are taxed, they believe, the more benefits and pay increases they can expect in the future. Unfortunately, what states like Wisconsin have discovered is that bloated bureaucracies and entitlements become unsustainable when you run out of other people’s money to spend."

The unions know full well the schools they run are underperforming, which is why they so viciously fight any efforts to implement merit based pay. Shouldn't parents be protesting them for such poor quality? Instead, they send their kids to other typs of schools, or homeschool their kids. Look for more of that in the future.

Of all the signs displayed at this union protest, this one stood out the most to me:



That's Collectivism Personified.

Background Reading:

Atlas Shrugs: Moochers and Looters vs. Producers In Denver
Colorado Springs Gazette: CSAP: Annual test results reveal poor writing scores

17 Year Old Gets The Wisconsin Issue

On Wisconsin. (HT 50States.com)



Something very interesting happened yesterday. From RushLimbaugh.com:

RUSH: We have Lena on the phone from Madison, Wisconsin, 17 years old. Am I pronouncing your name right, Lena? Is that it?

CALLER: Yes, you are.

RUSH: Thank you very much. Great to have you here.

CALLER: Yes. I'm so excited. I was at the capitol all week this week for a government leadership class, and as we were walking around the capitol one of the main signs that the union it printed out said, "Care about our educators the way they care about your children," and I found that incredibly ironic, since what they were essentially saying with all their other signs is -- other than your student will feel the brunt of this bill -- was that they weren't going to teach as well if they had to pay a minuscule amount of their pensions and their insurance costs. And I just found that ironic that they said that they cared about them so much that they wouldn't teach them as well if they didn't get as much money. I found that incredibly ironic. Also another thing I was saddened by was that one of the nights that they stayed overnight, they had doughnuts the next day, and they had such disrespect for our state constitution that they put their doughnuts and coffee on top of it. I was just so saddened by that, amazed that there they were saying that they were exercising their rights, but they didn't want their --

RUSH: So they actually...? I want to go back to the first part of your comment. They have signs that say, "Be as respectful of us as we are..."?

CALLER: "Care about our educators the way they care about your children."

RUSH: Well, but they don't care about the students! It's obvious! They're lying about calling in sick.

CALLER: Exactly!

RUSH: They're not sick. They're leaving you up for grabs, and you're not in school.

CALLER: I'm actually homeschooled, so I was just amazed. I'm like, "Really? You don't even care about them enough to give them your same work ethic even if you're not getting as much money?"

RUSH: Wow, that's amazing. This is encouraging. You're 17, did you say?

CALLER: I am, yes.

RUSH: You got teachers running around here. If they cared, if the teachers unions cared about the kids, their scholastic scores wouldn't be in the toilet. Your scholastic scores are pretty high, I'll bet.

CALLER: Mmm-hmm.

RUSH: You're doing well in your grades, right?

CALLER: I am.

RUSH: This is interesting. Well, look, I'm glad that you called. This is just wonderful to hear from you. She's 17 years old and she nailed it.

CALLER: (giggles) (garbled)

RUSH: Lena, you know, you're able to spot the irony, the hypocrisy right in front of you. Congratulations. I appreciate the time you've taken to call here. That's why when people say, "What can we do to involve the yutes," get 'em to tune in to this program. Homeschool them; get 'em to tune in to this program. Just like in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood wants Scott Walker to tear up the Wisconsin Constitution and write a new one. That's exactly what's happening here.

What stands out to me about Lena's comments was that she saw the hypocrisy in the union slogan, "Care about our educators the way they care about your children." Very perceptive. What also stood out is her noticing the Union protesters "disrespect for our state constitution that they put their doughnuts and coffee on top of it." They don't respect themselves, much less the law of the land.

My Take: The Unions care for the children is in doubt. Especially when graduation rates and test scores are low, scandals keep coming out about financial corruption amongst school board and union leaders, and teachers shutting down classrooms in part by lying about calling in sick so they can "protest".

Background Reading:

RushLimbaugh.com: Seventeen Year Old Nails It

The Sad State Of Illinois

The flag of the Land of Lincoln & Reagan.



From The NY Slimes:

"For the last few years, California stood more or less unchallenged as a symbol of the fiscal collapse of states during the recession. Now Illinois has shouldered to the fore, as its dysfunctional political class refuses to pay the state’s bills and refuses to take the painful steps — cuts and tax increases — to close a deficit of at least $12 billion, equal to nearly half the state’s budget.

Then there is the spectacularly mismanaged pension system, which is at least 50 percent underfunded and, analysts warn, could push Illinois into insolvency if the economy fails to pick up.

States cannot go bankrupt, technically, but signs of fiscal crackup are easy to see. Legislators left the capital this month without deciding how to pay 26 percent of the state budget. The governor proposes to borrow $3.5 billion to cover a year’s worth of pension payments, a step that would cost about $1 billion in interest. And every major rating agency has downgraded the state; Illinois now pays millions of dollars more to insure its debt than any other state in the nation.

“Their pension is the most underfunded in the nation,” said Karen S. Krop, a senior director at Fitch Ratings. “They have not made significant cuts or raised revenues. There’s no state out there like this. They can’t grow their way out of this.”

Few budget analysts are surprised to see Illinois, with a limping economy and broken political culture, edge close to the abyss. Two of the last six governors have served jail terms, and a third is on trial.

“We are a fiscal poster child for what not to do,” said Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a liberal-leaning policy group in Illinois. “We make California look as if it’s run by penurious accountants who sit in rooms trying to put together an honest budget all day.”

The biggest reason for the financial mess? In a word: Unions. When you sell out to big labor, this is the result. Paying public sector union salaries and benefits packages is pushing the state to the brink. I lay this squarely at the feet of Illinois Democrats. They've been running the show for the last few years, resulting in the state being run into the ground. Conservatives need to take this state back, and follow the path of Chris Christie in New Jersey. Standing up to the unions is the fastest way to get the state's checkbook back in order.

NY Times: Illinois Stops Paying Its Bills, but Can’t Stop Digging Hole