Matthew Rothschild: The Madison Protests Are About Union Busting, Not Budget Cuts

[marmar]

from The Progressive:



The Madison Protests Are About Union Busting, Not Budget Cuts
By Matthew Rothschild, February 18, 2011


I’m fed up with the corporate media’s coverage of the great fight-back in Wisconsin.

This is not about a budget crisis. Actually, the current budget is in surplus to the tune of $54 million, according to the Legislative Research Bureau.

And to the extent that the budget may get worse later, Gov. Walker has no one to blame but himself because he kissed goodbye $800 million in federal money for high speed rail, and he gave the rich tax breaks worth $117 million.

And this is not about whether public sector employees would be willing to pay more for health care or pensions. Their unions have said they’d be willing to negotiate on this. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.progressive.org/wx021811.html