Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his alliance of anti-worker politicians and media pundits, who make sport of attacking teachers, nurses and other working people, seem to think that by repeating their lies over and over again, they can somehow make them come true. Thank goodness there are responsible writers out there reporting the facts that the governor would prefer you not know.1. Public sector workers aren’t paid as well as private sector workers. Read “Bob Pollin Busts the Overpaid Public Employee Lie.” This article, published in Truthout, uses the latest research of Economics Professor Robert Pollin to prove that “public sector workers in fact are not paid as well as similarly skilled private sector workers–not in Wisconsin, not in Washington, not anywhere in the country.”
2. Wisconsin’s pension fund is not in fiscal crisis. Read “Despite critics, Wisconsin’s pension fund is as healthy as they come.” This article demonstrates that “the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) is … by all accounts one of the most solvent.” Of course, Walker says otherwise, and he’s directing his budget team to look into taking away workers’ retirement funds. For people like Bert Dodds, this is a serious matter. Dodds has worked for the State of Wisconsin for 20 years, is 54 years old, and suddenly doesn’t have any assurance that he’ll be able to retire with dignity.
3. There’s lots of wealth in the U.S. – it’s just not in the hands of ordinary working Americans. So if public service workers aren’t getting rich off the state, who is? For answers, look no further than this informative piece by Richard D. Wolff, who shows that years of tax cuts for the wealthy mean “the richest Americans have done by far the best over the last 30 years.” Which brings us to the Koch Brothers, the “secretive” billionaires who contributed mightily to Governor Walker’s election campaign and who use their billions to fund murky, anti-worker political interest groups that “worked behind the scenes to try to encourage a union showdown” in Wisconsin. If you want to know more about these shady and self-interested operatives, read Billionaire Brothers’ Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute.
These SHAMEFUL attacks on the working class need to end. The ONLY way that will happen is if we VOTE these clowns out of office, or recall their sorry butts out. The ONLY reason this is happening is to weaken the unions created to PROTECT the working class. Wake up folks, the uber-rich want to get even richer, taking money from the pockets of the poor and middle class ! Tell them NO, they have gone TOO FAR !!