This page was created for discussions about the June 5th Election in Wisconsin.
Keep it civil, keep it friendly, thank you!

The silent majority was heard LOUD and clear in Wisconsin yesterday. It is a great morning.....

Ditto FJL it is a great day.. I know we should write that on the political page, but be realistic who goes there anymore since I don't post there.?

Are we allowed to ask here if there are any available women in the local area who would like to meet a man & see socially.? Or dose a special page need to be started.?

Please contact webmaster Charlie Hopper at chopper@pasty.net regarding this question. Thank you.

Well FJL and David, here we go; My question is; why are unions such a bad thing? We are retired and doing good on a Pipefitter's pension and getting medical benefits. Unions have more positive points than negative.

I am not sure how I feel about this new movement, especially for the teachers and all union members. If you feel that unions are corrupt than why not government? We are getting more benefits from the union than the government.

Isn't this a repeat of history?

I also agree, the conversation should stay here (What'sUP page), isn't that what "What's Up" is all about?

The What'sUP page states: "This area is for other friendly conversation."
Whereas the Politics and Religion... page was created for discussions that are of political and religious in nature. The majority of visitors to the site do not care to read through discussions such as these when they come to Pasty.com, so designating a special discussion page for the these topics works best for everyone.
Thank you for continuing to respect the polices that have been set forth to operate the webpage.

The recall was about the public sector unions not the private sector unions.........

Doesn't matter FJL, unions are unions.

Never thought I would agree with Hollidays, but the unions are why most people have a living wage. The non union people have a better life because the companies want to keep unions out so they pay similar wages. A strong union makes a strong management.

I am also grateful for unions. Thanks to the electrical union, we are still able to collect a paycheck even though my husband can not do the work any longer. The benefits are great! We both still have medical coverage for as long as we live. I thank God my husband joined the union every day!

I hear you, Deb. The union has made a difference in the lives of my
parents and in-laws. Without the unions they belonged to, they
would not have been able to live decently in their "golden" years.
I'm sure that's been true for many of the people on Pasty Cam.

Public sector unions use dues paid by public employes with tax dollars to elect board members who they then bargain with for wages and benifits.

Private union sectors bargain with company rep's.

Totally not getting your point here. What's the difference??

Mr. Deb

When the Public unions want more for wages and benifits than the budget allows, the city then raises taxes to compensate.

When the Private Union sectors demand higher wages and benifits and the company isn't able to meet them and can't compromise, the company may have to close.

The differance between the two is clear.

Well put, FJL. And the consequences between the two are most clear when states have an unsustainable budget to maintain and the legacy costs of private companies overrun their ability to pay.

Wisconsin's Governor is setting a trend that is being admired by other states in the same boat. Instead of kicking the can further down the road and ending up as California, etal., he made the tough, unpopular decisions. For that my grandchildren will be grateful.

I don't have a beef with unions per se, as there are many operating within the monetary limits imposed by current business climates. However, as in some organizations, a culture of power and indifference to those paying the bills takes place, and that's when the trouble starts.

Changing times requires the changing of thought processes. In the global economy we now depend on, the old economic models won't work. Walter Russell Mead has written an excellent explanation of this titled "The Once and Future Liberalism".

Here's a link to that article:
http://www.the-american-interest.com/article.cfm?piece=1183

In order to determine the direction we must travel, we must know where we are coming from, or we'll never get out of the woods.....

FJL, I got straightened out over the teachers' union. I did not know that, thanks for enlightening me. Now I understand. Sorry for not researching before posting.

Thanks Heikki for the link.

FJL, when a company can't come to an agreement with its
unionized employees they do not close the move oversees or out
of the area. Rarely does a stall in the union negotiations result in
a closure.

As for a change in the times is true while cutting pensions do
you feel that all pensions of state employees be cut equally?

The teachers and teachers unions have become a whipping boy
for republican policy. "The States broke blame the teachers
union". While in actuality Gov. Engler made the state go broke
long ago. He moved more money between accounts that I would
not be surprised some of it got "lost".

The SISD superintendent sat down around 2000 and told them
the state is in series fiscal trouble. Governor Engler had virtually
bankrupted the state and its going to be over a decided before
we ever are going to look like we are recovering. 12 years late
Michigan has the number 1 fastest growing economy. Snyder
was not the reason we are bcd on track Granholm spent 8 years
rebuilding Michigan and Snyder took 100% of the credit in the
first month of office when Michigan's economy had its first good
break since 2000.

As far as the public school unions,the teachers are very selfish people. The school wants them to pay some of there health care cost and they fight that,they want the school to pay all of it.And who is the school system, it's the taxpayer. And why should the taxpayer have to get stuck with there health care cost. How many taxpayers have no insurance or have to pay for there own. Private industrie can no longer afford insurance for there employes. If it is any company state or local where it is funded by the taxpayer the unions are after everything.