It’s unfortunate that what we see happening in Wisconsin may well be the beginning of a national movement. The fight in Wisconsin is similar to fights that will be taking place in state legislatures across the land. On the surface it is about balancing the current budgets, but the reality is it’s about the power of public employee labor unions to cripple local governments. Republican elected officials are talking about the impossible task of funding employee benefits and pension plans for the long term that must be paid with current general fund dollars. Today we are finding that we made promises previously we can’t keep. And there’s the rub!
The current recession and economic crisis in our country is exposing the weakness of a system very much a Ponzi Scheme. We pay yesterday’s promises with today’s dollars knowing that eventually the payouts will be greater than the income and the system will collapse.
The Democrats want to talk about the cost as a percentage of unknown growth in the economy. If you can be sure that there will be inflated revenue streams down the road then they believe it’s worth the risk.
So what strategy should we employ when every budget scenario we try produces the same general result?
Elected Officials today can’t make promises to employees that create unfunded liabilities to successors down the road. And that is the solution if there is one. If benefit and pension obligations for the future are set aside today from current revenues then there is a better chance that money will actually be available when retiring employees are ready.
The down side is that there is no money left for programs and projects that benefit the public today. The money is all tied up in employee overhead.
Elected officials in every jurisdiction in our country should be huddling with their managers and finance people to assess their long term commitments and their ability to fund them. Every time a labor contract comes up for negotiation unfunded obligations have to be considered.
If voters and taxpayers express their willingness to have their taxes raised year after year by electing council members, commissioners and legislators who solve the problem by tapping taxpayers then there should be no complaints. If my councilmember comes out in a hearing and tells the public that we need to raise taxes because we agreed to benefits and pensions we can’t afford I might think about who I elect. So those elected officials are more likely to tell you they need to raise taxes for books, fire trucks or pothole repair.
In Wisconsin the Democratic Senators fled from the capitol to prevent a vote on an issue they are sure to lose. They are saying that they won’t return unless the Governor agrees to talk about it and be prepared to compromise. They are outraged that the Republicans are taking advantage of the power they won in the last election.
Do we need to be reminded of that day not too long ago when President Obama turned to Senator John McCain and said quite pointedly “There are consequences of elections. We won!”
Who could argue that there weren’t consequences of the 2008 elections any more than anyone could argue that after the 2010 elections there might also be consequences?
I don’t remember too much compromising in either house of the Congress when the Health Care Reform Act was approved without any hearings. I don’t even remember too much outcry from the media when Speaker Pelosi stood there and told us that we needed to approve it before we found out what was in it.
I am sure that teachers, firefighters, police and other state workers in Wisconsin are fine people just like they are here in Washington, but I also know that the leverage they have from their collective bargaining agreements puts the taxpayers in that state and every other state in peril not commensurate with the private sector.
Voters sent a strong message in the last election cycle. They said they wanted to reverse the course set by Democrats to increase the size and power of government to take our dwindling resources to pay for commitments out of line with trends in the private sector.
Voters were clear that if what President Obama delivered after promising a change for the better, they wanted no part of it.
Republicans were elected to return our government to a path of long term fiscal solvency. It is our jobs as citizens to be as vigilant in holding their feet to the fire as we were in campaigning for their election.
No Loss for Words 
Leadership Happens at the Front
by Steve DanaSo I am watching The O’Reilly Factor and Bill is interviewing Sarah Palin, talking about Social Security and Medicare Reform. He asks her what specifically she proposes to modify the system and she launches into some spiel about everyone having to shoulder some of the burden which didn’t even partially answer Bill’s question. He tried to get her back on track and she continued to evade his questions until she finally had to offer something.
Sarah Palin isn’t likely to get an easier questioner than Bill O’Reilly and she couldn’t come up with better responses than “nothing speak”.
If Sarah Palin (or anyone else for that matter) expects to be taken seriously as a candidate, it will be necessary for her to come up with better answers than that lame drivel.
If Sarah Palin has any chance of being elected president, it will slip away quickly if she isn’t prepared to address issues like O’Reilly’s with answers that speak to the issues. Governor Palin is entitled to act like a politician, but our country needs a leader. The reason Americans should support her is because she has good ideas she can articulate to solve problems plaguing our country. So is she just a politician or a leader?
The double speak of politicians who are afraid to tell the truth because they are afraid of losing votes make them losers from the get go.
Governor Chris Christie isn’t running but he has ideas he is willing to share. All Governor Palin would have to do is echo Christie’s comments. Something like: “I think Governor Christie made some good suggestions the other day; raising the retirement age to 65 for early retirement and 67 for full retirement for folks who are younger than 57 today and to 67 and 70 for folks who are 47 or younger today. I could support a solution that included those changes, recognizing that means testing and payroll contributions might also be on the table.”
Leadership happens at the front of the formation. The person who ultimately is nominated to run against Obama must take on the problems in the public debate with decisive answers to the questions and clear plans to address the problems. If they are afraid to offer their solutions as a candidate there is little chance they have any. Period!
I question whether Sarah Palin can be elected. I appreciate her passion in addressing Conservative issues many of us support and she connects really well with common folks who have been out in the cold for a long while so I want her to be a part of the process, but I think her best contribution would be as a GOTV operative.
Chris Christie is popular with Republicans and Democrats because he addresses problems head-on with solutions that are painful but that make sense. He has consistently been honest with his constituents and the rest of us at times when he addressed national issues; unlike the too many to list here who are always testing the wind (or the water) before offering their thoughts. In the vernacular, he “Walks the Walk!”
If Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid are the entitlement programs with the greatest impact to the budget drain then that is where the spotlight needs to be.
Since we know that elected officials tend to want to be re-elected, they seldom take big chances that might endanger re-election.
My sense is that Americans are looking for leadership in dealing with the big gorillas and evading the issues just serves to identify those potential candidates who aren’t leaders.
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