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Memo to Snyder: Don’t stop the radical reforms now!Unions and their collective disregard for taxpayers
February 27th, 2011 | 
Author: 
Herman Cain
The mayhem in Madison, Wisconsin over the last two weeks has highlighted the determination of organized labor unions to continue to restrict workers rights, and to try to intimidate Gov. Scott Walker and the taxpayers into some more unsustainable demands.
Madness.
Choosing to join a union versus being forced to do so as a condition of employment is a restriction on a worker’s rights. Joining a union or any other organization should be an individual’s choice. And the desire of the unions to continue to make unsustainable demands on local, state and federal government irrespective of the devastating financial impacts is totally illogical, not to mention being a collective disregard for the nearly 90 percent of the workers and taxpayers who pay them.
For years in some states, the unions have consistently helped elect Democratic governors and legislatures who have said “thank you” by passing union-favored legislation for the benefit of the unions and the re-election of their Democratic friends. The Democrats would then find ways to pass these favors and demands on to the taxpayers in the form of higher taxes. And when the Democrats could not raise taxes high enough and fast enough, they would create deficits and future commitments to force future tax increases.
Little by little, this political favoritism has made the disparity between total compensation for public-sector employees and private-sector employees bigger and bigger – and unsustainable.
Then in Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker and a Republican state legislature got elected after eight years of Democratic control in the governor’s office and the state legislature. Governor Walker announced to the public that Wisconsin is broke! Instead of letting the state’s credit card continue to go past its spending limit, he proposed a solution, which does not include raising taxes as the unions have forced the Democrats to do for many years.
The unions went ballistic and then launched a protest at the state capital. Their protests are intended to gain public support for their claims of destroying their collective bargaining rights, but there are no chants of how the unions have also confiscated the rights of their members, or how their demands will bankrupt the state.
Read the bill! Collective bargaining for wages is in the bill. The unsustainable benefits that would create a $3.6 billion deficit for the state of Wisconsin over the next two years, and tie the hands of local governments to balance their budgets, are changed. The proposed changes would still have public sector workers paying about half what their private-sector counterparts pay in contributions to their benefits packages.
And! Gov. Walker’s proposal would return the decision to join a union to the workers, which is the case in right-to-work states.
There are 22 right-to-work states. Their average GDP growth is higher than non right-to-work states, their unemployment rate is lower, and most of the private sector workers are happy with their employers. Otherwise, more of them would have joined private-sector employee unions based on the choice to do so, free and open elections, and the opportunity to cast secret ballots.
Even at the federal level, the unions have been trying to restrict workers’ rights by taking away the secret ballot in union elections with the proposed Card Check legislation. And although union bosses would deny it, eliminating the secret ballot would give them another avenue to intimidate people into voting for unionizing.
The courage of Gov. Walker to truly represent the people paying the bills is showing up in other states. The taxpayers who pay taxes to their state and the federal government are tired of all the chairs around the negotiating table being all on one side of the table.
Taxpayers are now being represented on the other side of the table.
Posted in Herman Cain
15 Responses to “Unions and their collective disregard for taxpayers”
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Um…union members are workers, they ARE the taxpayers…corporations don’t pay much tax anymore, rich people get the tax breaks…
Maria,
The truth of the matter is that the top 50% of the so-called rich pay 96% of taxes in this country. How can you say corporations don’t pay much tax? Of the 30 countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development the United States is #2 on the list when it comes to corporate tax rate. Between federal and state taxes corporations pay between 35-42% of their gross in taxes. Then you have to consider operating costs and such. Why do you think so many jobs get shipped overseas. It’s not cheap and easy to run a business but it’s easy to be a union slob and demand much from the tax payers.
@Maria…don’t tell me corporations don’t pay much in taxes. My husband and I own a business…so spare me the liberal talking points that we don’t pay much in taxes and we are by no means wealthy. Next time, make sure you know what it is you’re saying before you say it.
Maria, union members are the taxpayers but you’re paying into your own account. I don’t care where you put your money, but I don’t like being forced to contribute to your account. You are bankrupting the country and it affects people like me, not the rich, greedy (so called) corporations. Rich people are paying through the nose, that’s why the jobs are going anywhere but America. I’m not rich, but I do have a brain, and I can see where the problem lies.
Maria – public union members do not generate revenue. Since 45% of this country don’t pay taxes, you are left with the middle class and “rich” people to pay taxes. “Rich” people will change the way they earn “income” (capital gains, interest, dividends,etc.)to maximize their wealth. Does your government know the best way to spend your money – usually not? Warren Buffett and Bill Gates have pledged to give away most of their wealth – close tp $100 million. Should we give to to Congress to spend or rely on their ability to place the money where it is needed most? Corporate taxes are a pass-through. If your state charges a 10% corporate tax increase, most corporations will pass it along to their customers. There is no such thing as a corporate tax.
No kidding union workers are tax payers Maria. You should be well aware of the status of each state and that of our country. WE ARE BROKE!!! And concessions must be made. I believe unions are good but with limited power.
Maria,
You are correct about a couple of things, large Corporations may have more tax breaks, however, their is a large number of others that don’t pay taxes either. Married with no children, double incomes carry a large load of taxes and small business owners that actually employ more people than corporations. I believe we either need a flat tax so everyone pays a percentage of their income or a federal sales tax. (Not on food or drugs) That is the only fair way to tax. Please remember the “rich” fund missions, arts, Boys and Girls Clubs, etc; Be careful about the hand you bite.
Um, labor unions (both public and private) make up only 12.3 percent of the total workforce in the United States.
And the public sector labor unions make nearly twice as much (salary & benefits) as private sector non-union workers. And considerably more ($39.83 / $27.49) than their private sector labor union counterparts.
So yes, 87.7 percent of taxpayers are paying the unaffordable salaries and benefits that are bankrupting the states and the federal government if you care to admit it.
So why shouldn’t the public sector labor unions be subject to the same market forces where the cost of labor is concerned as everyone else? It’s pretty hard to justify why taxpayers should pay more for government labor when they don’t have to. Especially when there’s no money there to pay for it.
It does represent a collective disregard for taxpayers.
Please give me a break. This country was built on the backs of the workers. The workers are the taxpayers. I ask you to look around at the other countries of the World. The workers there don’t have a voice and see what the politicians and no unions have done for them.Politicians don’t need a union because they can vote themselfs a raise or 100% health insurance or lifetime retirements after a few years. I would like to have that gig for a while. Blame it on the unions but you will find that your voting public is the union.
The need for a public union comes down to this question: Do you have a boss who wants you to work harder for less money? In the private sector, the answer is yes. In the public sector, the answer is a big, fat NO.
Government unions have nothing in common with private sector unions because they don’t have hostile management on the other side of the bargaining table. To the contrary, the “bosses” of government employees are co-conspirators with them in bilking the taxpayers.
Far from being careful stewards of the taxpayers’ money, politicians are on the same side of the bargaining table as government employees — against the taxpayers, who aren’t allowed to be part of the negotiation. This is why the head of New York’s largest public union in the mid-’70s, Victor Gotbaum, gloated, “We have the ability to elect our own boss.”
Public sector workers are now making more with better benefits than private sector workers. With a down economy, they have not had to take the hit that many private sector employees have, ie: decreased hours, decreased pay &or benefits or lay-offs.
When a private sector employees use a union to get better benefits &/or pay, they are getting money from their employer that would otherwise become profit. But when public sector employees use the union to get better pay/benefits, where does the money come for. Government produces NO product or services that create profit…so the money comes from taxpayers. We all are taxpayers, even corporations but when the taxes go up for a corporation, the price of their product/service goes up to cover their increased costs. It is the individual who in the long run pays for all the taxes and increased costs of a business. It really is time reconsider the values of unions in today’s economy. Perhaps they have out grown their real usefulness for worker and just become organizations of power and cronyism for those who run the unions.
Unions should concentrate on violations of workers rights and holding employers responsible including governmental agencies. Currently employers are violating many employees rights due to the bad economy. Unions have a big advantage now with the advancement of the information age.Unions have for too long supported employee abuses because of the political power that can be gained by voting in thier own. they have also gotten greedy by increasing union dues of thier members just further political agenda. Unions need to go back to making sure all people regardless of their race get their fair share of jobs. Unions should fight to make it fair for all workers not just firefighters, police, teamsters members.
Hm, I am ok with this but nonetheless not totally positive, thus i’m going to research a touch more.
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