Wisconsin: The Little Ripple in a Big Pond

Since I posted my last entry, I've done a bit of soul-searching. I've wondered what it is about the Wisconsin governor's battle with his state's teachers' union that has pushed me—a card-caring, bleeding-heart liberal—over to the dark side. I've received some feedback from a fellow liberal entreating me to try and see the "big picture," the ripple effect that could impact labor unions around the country if the Wisconsin legislature is able to strip away its public sector unions' bargaining rights.

I replied that sometimes the big picture needs closer inspection.

Last August, the headlines out of Wisconsin read a bit differently: "Teacher's union fights for Viagra".

To put this in its historic perspective, last August our country was still reeling from one of the worst recessions in its history. The national unemployment rate was at 9.6%. Thousands upon thousands of private sector jobs—union and non-union jobs alike—had disappeared. From auto workers to iron workers, concessions had been made, yet private industry had been forced to slash their cost to the bone in an effort to simply survive in the bleak economic landscape.

For several years, families around the country had been forced to bear substantially more of the burden in the cost of their health insurance. They had cut their coverage or had been forced to give up their insurance entirely as the cost continued to spiral higher and higher and....

And here comes the Wisconsin teachers' union suing for their Viagra coverage. Really? This is how they chose to use their collective bargaining power? Really? Three months before the elections when taxpayers around the country would vote in a landslide for fiscal conservatives to manage their state budgets, the public sector unions couldn't read the writing on the wall—had absolutely no empathy for the financial hardships taxpayers had been suffering for several years? All this arrogance piled on top of the fact that the unions continue to shelter weak, ineffective teachers is the proverbial straw and a camel's back for many.

I hope—believe—this ongoing crisis in Wisconsin has served as a wake-up call to public sector unions around the country. Unfortunately, I fear it may be too late for some.

 

Now, about that "big picture": this isn't just about the ripple effect that could be felt in labor unions around our country. This isn't even just about us...the U.S. I've written about the impact our global connectedness has had on the economies around the world. Ever since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the western world has enjoyed unprecedented prosperity. Today, however, as products are increasingly manufactured and traded around the globe with scant regard for borders, competition is keen. In the "big picture" we're going to feel some pain in the pocketbook until our economies and our populations begin to achieve equilibrium.

Take a look at today's headlines—from Wisconsin, to Tunisia, to Egypt, to China, to Libya, to Bahrain—on and on, people around the globe are impacted as they either struggle to escape abject poverty or keep the wages and benefits they've enjoyed for so long. Ultimately, the little ripple in Wisconsin is just part of a larger wave sweeping the globe. 

~ Robin