Grading Texas

Texas is a so-called “right to work” state, has been since 1947 and, in all likelihood, will be for many years to come. That partly explains the enthusiasm for worker-bashing that prevails among many state legislators and also points to the absurdity that such worker-bashing represents.

To be sure, this worker-bashing includes teacher-bashing and a similar attack on thousands of other school employees whose work is critical to preparing the next generation for a successful future. And, in the closing critical days of the legislative session, this attack has become embodied in one piece of legislation, Senate Bill 1968, which would deprive educators and most other public employees of the simple security and convenience of having the membership dues they give to TSTA and other unions and professional organizations automatically deducted from their paychecks.

Payroll dues deduction is a benign administrative practice that has been going on for years, and there is absolutely no public policy reason to repeal it. Membership in unions or any other organization is voluntary, and dues can’t be used for political contributions. School districts aren’t demanding a change, and some districts have even gone on record against the bill. Yet the Senate, which has approved a long list of bad legislation this session, has approved this measure, and its fate will be determined in the House within the next few days.

Like other public employees in Texas, teachers can’t bargain collectively and can’t strike. But they should have the right to control what happens to their own paychecks.

Through no coincidence, Senate Bill 1968 would allow certain organizations, including the openly political 501c4 “dark money” groups, to continue to be funded through payroll deductions. These groups don’t have to divulge their funding sources, despite the fact they or their related political arms actively attempt to influence legislation, including the promotion of bills to spend our tax dollars to privatize our public schools.

Educators and other public employees are experts in their professions and, as such, are a strong threat to these privateers. So Senate Bill 1968 seeks to punish them.

It is outrageous to campaign for any public office, especially for president of the United States, on a record of attacking teachers, health care workers and other public employees who provide essential, everyday services to millions of people, often at subpar wages.

Yet that is exactly what Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is doing as he travels the country, bragging about his record of attacking unions and cutting taxes in his home state. When Walker brags about attacking unions, he actually is bragging about attacking teachers, bus drivers, school nurses and thousands of other employees caught in his rampage through Wisconsin state government a few years ago.

(Remember, he also compared teachers, nurses and other public employees to “terrorists” when he claimed, not long ago, that he could handle the Islamic State because he had taken on union protesters in Wisconsin. Were it not for the seriousness of international terrorism, some national political correspondents may still be laughing at Walker over that one.)

Walker hasn’t officially announced for president yet, but he likely will, joining several other presidential wannabes whose main interest in government seems to be enacting policies to further enrich the rich at the expense of everyone else.

In truth, Walker’s policies in Wisconsin were largely a disaster, especially for the middle class, and things are threatening to get worse because Walker’s previous spending cuts haven’t produced the rosy budget picture that the governor promised.

So, while Walker is off on the presidential campaign trail, he has asked his Republican allies in the Legislature in Wisconsin to cut some more, including further reductions in public schools, universities and many other programs, according to the article linked below in the Washington Post.

But, in his topsy-turvy sense of priorities, Walker wants to keep a state tax break for manufacturers and farms and issue $220 million in bonds for a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks NBA franchise.

Although Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is below the national average, its rate of private-sector job growth is among the worst in the country, and wages have remained stagnant, the Post reports. The article also cites a recent study by the Pew CharitableTrusts, finding that Wisconsin’s middle class – households making between $34,500 and $103,000 a year – has shrunk at a rate faster than any other state.

That latter finding may be the most damning result of Walker’s legacy to date. The middle class – the working class — used to be considered the heart and soul of America, before the Scott Walkers of this country began to do their number on it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/will-scott-walkers-budget-troubles-hurt-his-potential-2016-bid/2015/05/12/5b70fe90-f578-11e4-b2f3-af5479e6bbdd_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1