By Bryan Morales
Republican Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin accomplished his mission last Thursday by cutting bargaining rights for state workers and increasing employee contributions to health insurance and pension plans.
The new law, created and passed by the majority Republican party, has caused many angry protesters to contribute nearly $360,000 in support of a recall in which Walker could be removed from office and replaced.
Wisconsin Democratic Party leader Mike Tate said, “From a policy perspective, this is terrible,” and I wholeheartedly agree. The entire world is facing hard times as the economy is trying to recover, but increasing the cost of health insurance and pensions to state employees is only going to make deficits harder to overcome.
Protesters yelled “Shame, shame!” outside of the Wisconsin State Capitol as the bill was passed and the surrounding area was shut down for some time. Media outlets have reported that there was unfair treatment by police officers outside of the assembly, as Democratic legislators attempted to get inside for the vote. The New York Times said, “Some lawmakers were locked out, and the police ignored their pleas to let them in so they could vote.” Lawmakers shouldn’t be pushed away, they have every right to vote on the bill, but the fact that they were denied a vote only goes to show how the government system works.
“We were going to get the fiscal place in order, [and] this is the first piece of the puzzle,” said Republican Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald of the Wisconsin State Assembly, “We’re broke.”
The top one percent of wealthy Americans become wealthier, while the bottom keeps getting poorer. Every state is facing problems with their revenues, jobs and public programs because the government can’t afford to pay for it. If those top wealthy just receive a tax increase, then that money can go back into state funds. Forcing the less fortunate to pay more money that they don’t have isn’t helping anyone.
While the new law goes into effect March 26, Democrats in Wisconsin continue to fight for a recall of the governor. The crowds and rallies will most certainly continue in Madison to stress the simple message that this law just isn’t fair.