it's so nice to see that this thread has degenerated just as we all knew it would. with no real leg to stand on, the advocates for public sector unions swerve all over the map, avoiding any arguments of substance. they can't seem to decide whether to minimize the argument and concentrate only on the plight of teachers or to expand their defense to include unions everywhere, so they do both and hope that something sticks. yes, we all know that private sector unions have been responsible for speeding along many reforms, but what the hell has that to do with the extravagant pensions of janitors at the capitol?
this isn't about handicapping labor, it's about paring down a bloated bureaucracy. those of you that insist on comparing this to the revolutions in the middle east or to the abomination of slavery should be ashamed of yourselves. this isn't about the destruction of our basic human rights and it certainly isn't a matter of life or death. it's about cutting the legs out from underneath a segment of the virtual monopoly of government service. you may pat yourselves on the back and claim you're striking a blow for the working man, but it isn't the working man we're talking about. these people are as much a part of the government as the political animals that try to control our every move and all you're doing is promoting the larcenous ways of government run amok. the least you statist fools could do is admit what you are advocating, the destruction of the private sector. i doubt you'll be happy until we are all working for the government and then it will be too late for you to realize that there is no one left to pay the bills.
congratulations, your beloved unions have greatly expanded the middle-class. we now have a middle-class that includes janitors, bus drivers, housekeepers and glorified babysitters. we are well on our way to abolishing the need to improve one's self in order to succeed. all that is needed is to perform the bare minimum of substandard labor and extort higher wages through union chicanery. the american dream is now "something for nothing", indolence promoted as virtue by the liberal establishment. it's no wonder the middle-class is being strangled in these unstable times. though the wealthy may sustain the bulk of the tax burden, the middle-class must still pony up to support both the dependents of the welfare state and its attendant bureaucracy. as more and more of our wealth flees to escape an increasingly unfriendly business environment, the burden of an ignorant, largely uneducated, taxpayer funded middle-class can no longer be supported.
i know, i know - your answer is to further tax those of the wealthy who have not yet abandoned us. all you are going to do is further shrink the ranks of the private sector middle-class. the wealthy who do wish to stay can always afford to find the loop-holes and write-offs to maintain their wealth. those tax codes were, after all, written by the political elite, who designed them to protect their own wealth. the poor not only don't pay any taxes, but are actually supported by the government plantation system and paid to stay poor. the public sector unions won't allow their pensions and perks to be touched, no matter whether there is any funding for them or not. so all that's left is for the workers of private industry to bear the brunt of the public sector's excess. just how long do you think that will last?