On Wisconsin! (Read 2075 times)

Thanks, MoBro! I learned a lot from your post.

MoBra.

Thanks, MoBro! I learned a lot from your post.

If you'd like to see another side (or just have the crap scared out of you...), check out the Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund and its pending tsunami. We taxpayers are on the hook for what may be trillions in future pensions for private companies as well.

"Last year, PBGC paid nearly $5.6 billion to about 800,000 retirees. We are also responsible for future benefit payments to 700,000 workers who have not yet retired.  The agency is responsible for pension benefits owed to 1.5 million people in 4,150 failed plans."

"At the close of FY 2010, the single-employer and multiemployer programs reported deficits of $21.6 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively, roughly the same as last year. As explained in more detail in the Annual Report, the obligations [“liabilities”] that we have and will pay in the decades to come exceed the assets currently available to pay them. We had single-employer assets totaling $77.8 billion, an increase of $10.2 billion from the close of the previous fiscal year."

"In Wisconsin, many local school districts are required to buy their health insurance through the WEA Trust (which is the state teachers union’s company). When our bill passes, these school districts can opt to switch into the state plan and save $68 million per year," Walker said in a televised statement this week.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/briefs/articles/90036329?Wisconsin%20assembly%20passes%20anti-union%20bill#

I do not know it will matter as the Democrats have been hiding in IL - They have already started running adds trying to shame individuals into coming back -

It is what Walker said he would do if elected - The strong arm tactics to shove it down the throats of the Democrats feels a little like how Obama started his administration.

video of the vote below must be seen to be believed.  what the hell?  Is this the UK or something?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGDp581g9t0

Holy crap!!

Good summary, MoBram.

 

And what's been the catalyst for the market tanking in the last couple years?

(Hint: it ain't teachers, unions..or even politicians.)

Your timing of the market tank might be a bit off. The market has been in a strong upswing for the last two years. But I get your point. Before that it tanked.

Greedy bankers.

 

But to be clear, the problem is with the fixed benefit plans and with the imbalance of power created by collective bargaining.  One thing that hasn't really been mentioned is that while most public employees are represented by state-wide and unions, they are actually employed by the cities and towns.

 

Wisconsin teachers belong to the Wisconsin state pension plan, which requires a 6.8% employer contribution and a 6.2% employee contribution.  Not bad, but according to the collective bargaining agreement in place in Milwaukee the district actually picks up the employees share as well, for a total of 13%.  There are similar discrepancies for health care for current employees and for retirees (retirees healthcare is a benefit pretty much only seen in the public sector any more.)  The average Milwaukee school teacher makes $56k in salary but their total benefits package is over $100k.  The public pays 74 cents in benefits for every dollar of salary.  For private employees that numbers is about 24 cents per dollar of salary.  The smaller towns usually have even a harder time because they have less bargaining power to begin with and they have fewer options for raising capital.

 

Here in MA we have the same problem.  The average state employee pays 15 to 25% of their health insurance premiums, but many municipal employees pay much less--virtually nothing for extremely generous health plans--due to their agreements with the towns.  Cities and towns want the option of joining the state plan but can't without public employee union approval.  In a town of say 25,000 residents and a total of 650 public workers, 450 of which are school teachers, the entire administrative staff of the town is a couple dozen people with an all volunteer school committee and board of selectman.  Those 450 teachers are represented by a union of more than 100,000 members, with a full time staff of hundreds of lawyers and an annual budget in the millions.  Of course the town has no shot.  The town doesn't have the power to move its own employees to a less expensive healthcare plan and save half a million a year.  But they can lay off 5 teachers...the union doesn't seem too concerned with that.

Very informative.

I would add to the very first line that it wasn't just greedy bankers...it was also greedy large investment funds seeking returns they should have known could not be obtained legitimately, and the greedy bankers taking advantage of greedy everyday citizens who could not exercise the self-control and fiscal discipline to live within their means and got themselves over-leveraged to begin with.  Lots of blame to go around on that one...the bankers are blamed for removing the brakes but that doesn't remove blame from the drivers taking it up to 100mph in a 50 zone approaching the hairpin turn.

MTA:  Of course, a lot of the general public I may fault had to ride the car over the cliff while both parties of politicians have seemed very willing to provide golden parachutes for the bankers et al (witness GM's sweetheart tax deal recently reported).

Well, since people are saying it's just like Egypt, it would be more effective for these guys to lighten up. It might put a little spring in their steps.  

Sometimes you gotta just let it all hang out.  I just hope they don't hit il-hasish too hard.   

These are great. 

Zoomy,

Cool, huh? Today at 4pm the Capitol will close for cleaning (you can imagine how badly that's needed after nearly 3 weeks of sleeping/marching/drumming/eating/drinking and no off time for cleaning crews). But some protesters may try some civil disobedience and stay. Stay tuned.

I was out there yesterday on the biggest day of protests yet, with my contingent of librarians. I saw some signs that cracked me up and some that inspired me, including the ones from business owners/self-employed/private sector employees saying they support public unions because unions lift all boats. I'm amazed by people who fight for others' rights in addition to their own.

A thank you, too, to the protesters nationwide who rallied to support us. My friend attended one in NY state.

For inspiration, a little video.