Make no mistake about it, what is going on with the protests in Wisconsin is a very BIG DEAL!
OK, so it is not as dramatic as what is going on countries like Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, and Tunisia. Some have wanted to compare Governor Walker to Mubarak or Gadafi, and compare the protests in Madison to the protests Tahrir Square. These are not the same thing. Not even close. Anyone who compares Walker to Mubarak, or Hitler, or any other dictator are blowing things way out of proportion. And no one who is protesting in Madison is risking their lives like the people protesting in Northern Africa or the Middle East.
Now that I have that out of the way, let's get back to the point that what is going on in Madison is still a BIG DEAL! Make no mistake, what Governor Walker is trying to do is more than just a save money in the Wisconsin budget. It is not as if the public-employee unions in Wisconsin are just being selfish, and aren't willing to compromise. Everyone understands these are hard times for state budgets, and the unions in Wisconsin have acknowledged this. But what Walker is trying to do is bust the public-sector unions in the state of Wisconsin.
This story is not only about the future of unions in Wisconsin, but it is also the beginning of a greater battle for the future of unions in the United States. By no means are unions perfect, and I will not pretend that every union that has ever existed has fairly represented the interests of it's members. Indeed, I will not pretend that I don't have some issues with the union I belong to. Nonetheless, I understand that the value of unions are too important, and I am still damn proud to be a member of a union. All things considered, unions are really the only groups left of any relative influence in our political process that can claim to stand up for the interests of working Americans, and not big business.
Why are unions so important? Well, here is a video put out a few years ago by a group in Australia regarding some of the things unions have fought for over the years. Some of what is discussed are exclusive to Australia, but a number of these things exist in the United States as well because of unions.
Last week, Rachel Maddow did a piece on her show about why the story in Wisconsin is so important to the future of labor, and why unions are so important to our republic, both now and throughout modern American history.
Finally, I recommend this piece by Paul Krugman on the situation in Wisconsin. Here is an excerpt:
In principle, every American citizen has an equal say in our political process. In practice, of course, some of us are more equal than others. Billionaires can field armies of lobbyists; they can finance think tanks that put the desired spin on policy issues; they can funnel cash to politicians with sympathetic views (as the Koch brothers did in the case of Mr. Walker). On paper, we’re a one-person-one-vote nation; in reality, we’re more than a bit of an oligarchy, in which a handful of wealthy people dominate.
Given this reality, it’s important to have institutions that can act as counterweights to the power of big money. And unions are among the most important of these institutions.
You don’t have to love unions, you don’t have to believe that their policy positions are always right, to recognize that they’re among the few influential players in our political system representing the interests of middle- and working-class Americans, as opposed to the wealthy. Indeed, if America has become more oligarchic and less democratic over the last 30 years — which it has — that’s to an important extent due to the decline of private-sector unions.
And now Mr. Walker and his backers are trying to get rid of public-sector unions, too.
There’s a bitter irony here. The fiscal crisis in Wisconsin, as in other states, was largely caused by the increasing power of America’s oligarchy. After all, it was superwealthy players, not the general public, who pushed for financial deregulation and thereby set the stage for the economic crisis of 2008-9, a crisis whose aftermath is the main reason for the current budget crunch. And now the political right is trying to exploit that very crisis, using it to remove one of the few remaining checks on oligarchic influence.
So will the attack on unions succeed? I don’t know. But anyone who cares about retaining government of the people by the people should hope that it doesn’t.
As I am writing this, I worry that someone who comes across this piece might think I am writing some type of left-wing propaganda. Yes, I am a proud liberal, and I am sourcing two very prominent American liberals in this post (Maddow, Krugman). But please, if you are reading this, I hope you will look at the bigger picture of what is going on with this story, regardless of what your politics are. This is one of those issues that is beyond left and right. It is more than a state budgetary matter. It is about the influence of big business and corporations, and the future of working class Americans. Whatever your politics are, if you are a working American, I ask you to understand the importance of this story. Then, Get Mad! Then, Get United!
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