I may be a bit late in coming but given my first-hand knowledge of
the situation, I thought I should finally commit my thoughts on the
Badger State Brouhaha to words. It's just taken me a while to figure
out exactly what to say and focus on, since there's so much to write
about and so much has been said already. Given that, I think there are a
few things worth mentioning, and a proverbial 800-pound gorilla that no
one seems to be talking about - the effects of the national defense
budget on state government shortfalls.
First, I have
never been a conspiracy theorist, but the more I witness the current
behavior of the Tea Party crowd, the more I am convinced that this
campaign is a concentrated effort on the part of rich conservatives to
pit the middle and working classes against each other, so that they
might push through policies they want while the rest of us are haggling
over who's getting the bigger shaft. The policies and spending cuts
contained in the Wisconsin state budget pit working class against middle
class, public sector vs. private, union vs. non-union, etc. Meanwhile,
if you are a wealthy businessman who can easily afford good health
insurance and to send your kids to elite private schools, you make out
like a bandit. Instead of those who are most able to contribute to the
dire financial situation being asked to pitch in a little more, it's
time to go after teachers et al, those "part time fat cats" who dare to
make as much as $50,000/year on average in Wisconsin. Unbelievably,
many who have drank the Tea Party tea readily accept that is in in their
best interest (many who make less than teachers) to support the
interest of millionaires at the expense of teachers and public safety
workers.
Granted, the climate is ripe for such class
warfare. Average wages for private-sector employees have not really
risen over the past 30 years, even as many households are supported by
two (or more) incomes. Meanwhile, public sector wages, due to laws and
statutes governing them, have risen with inflation and largely continue
to offer good benefits. You won't get rich working for the government,
like you might in the private sector, but you'll have a secure job with
decent pay and nice fringe benefits. The Tea Party has seized on this
disparity in order to get the private working class to despite the
public middle class and try to pull them down to their level in a
potentially catastrophic race to the bottom of American wages.
There
are two reasons for the relative decline in private sector wages that
connect to the relative stability of public sector wages. First, the
traditional view of the labor market no longer applies. With the
globalization of the labor force, workers are never in scarce supply,
and thus are not in a position to demand better working conditions and
higher wages - not when your job can be outsourced to India, China,
Mexico, etc. for a fraction of the cost. Conversely, and fortunately
for public workers, their jobs are somewhat outsourcing-proof. I fear
for the day when our kids are taught by a teacher on a TV screen being
beamed in from Mumbai.
Second, in the early and middle
parts of the 20th century, private sector unions helped workers get
good-paying jobs that would set them up to be financially secure for
life. Now, I would not claim that unions are perfect and have never
caused any problems, but that's beyond the scope of this post. The
point is, those private labor unions began to be dismantled at about the
same time the labor force was globalized - suddenly labor had no
bargaining power, and the unions were no longer there to exercise power
on their behalf either. Compare that to the public sector, where unions
are relatively newer but still around in many parts of the country and
powerful lobbiers of government.
So while it is true
that public workers are generally better off than private workers
nowadays, why does that mean it's time to punish them while leaving the
wealthy untouched? Public workers are highly trained professionals who
will never get rich in their positions, and in some cases put their
lives on the line to serve others. They deserve a decent way of life.
Hurting them will hurt everyone else, but especially those who depend on
their servicNes - for example, public schools. If a highly qualified
teacher has a decision of working at an under-resourced public school or
making a great deal more at a neighboring private school, it becomes
easy to understand why sometimes it seems lousy teachers have pervaded
our public schools. A lot of the good ones, besides some truly
dedicated souls, have sought greener pastures elsewhere.
So,
if we acknowledge that public sector workers deserve a decent living,
how do we repair the government deficits that are sweeping the country
like the latest YouTube meme? Now's the time to talk about apes. Many
state budget problems can be traced back to the federal government,
which has reduced funding for many programs while passing on other
unfunded mandates (some argue No Child Left Behind is such). Meanwhile,
no one would ever think of reducing the size of the federal defense
budget, which is about a third of the national total. The figure stands
at about $670 billion annually, and that does not include VA costs,
intelligence, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are approved
separately as budget supplements. Just think of what trimming that
budget just by $100 billion could do for schools, infrastructure, and
small businesses across the country (by comparison, the total all-funds
Wisconsin budget is about $30 billion annually). But no one wants to
say cut defense because that looks unpatriotic or that we aren't
supporting the troops. Well I hate to say it, but perhaps it is time we
acknowledge that the U.S. is no longer in the position of global
hegemony that it was in as recently as 15 years ago, and that it might
be time to reevaluate our national priorities accordingly. If we
continue to insist on projecting a global military presence with a
defense budget that is many times that of many other military powers
combined, we may end up spending ourselves into ruin - sort of the
strategy the U.S. employed against the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War.
With that in mind, I believe a scaling back is in order - let's spend
some of that money on schools and roads instead of the latest in
military tech. Yes, I realize that shrinking our defense budget might
have some negative effects on some sectors of the economy - but putting
that money back into areas where everyone can benefit might be the best
way, in the long-term, to keep America competitive in the global economy
of the 21st century.
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