Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Push Poll

USA Today reports:
MADISON, Wis. — Americans strongly oppose laws taking away the collective bargaining power of public employee unions, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. The poll found 61% would oppose a law in their state similar to such a proposal in Wisconsin, compared with 33% who would favor such a law.
Below the headline we read the actual question that was posed to those polled:
Would you favor or oppose a law in your state taking away some collective bargaining rights of most public unions, including the state teachers union?
Interesting. Here is how I would have worded the poll:
Would you favor or oppose a law in your state that requires government workers to pay for their own health benefits, like everyone else is already required to do?
And remember, the Wisconsin law merely requires public workers contribute 12% towards their benefits. I don't know about you but I have to pay 100% towards mine. And if I had to ask the original question posed above, I would have asked this first:
Do you even know what "collective bargaining rights" are? If not, then please do not answer any more questions.

6 comments:

Barstool69 said...

Pat it's my understanding that the unions have already agreed to the Governor's numbers you cited. They just haven't agreed to losing their bargaining rights.

This guy offers an interesting compromise:

http://www.forbes.com/2011/02/23/wisconsin-teacher-collective-bargaining-leadership-managing-standoff.html

Patrick said...

My question is why compromise when you already have control of the legislature and the governor's mansion? We need to take the ball and run with it.

Honest question, how many of you have "collective bargaining rights" at your job? I know I don't. I'm just not sure why government workers are given special treatment. I know it can be grueling working 9 months a year and getting 2 weeks off for Christmas and not having to contribute anything towards your benefits and being able to fake calling in sick so you can go protest for over a week at the statehouse, but maybe it's time government workers were actually subject to the same discipline that, say, private sector workers were. God forbid.

Charlie Dodson said...

Public school teachers, in Georgia at least, don't need unions. Benefits here for teachers are great, and it's near impossible to get fired. There's little incentive to "do your best". If you change grades or something for instance, you aren't fired, you're sent to a desk job making almost six figures. It's one of the big problems with our education system: teacher accountability.

Patrick said...

Proposed solution: get the government completely out of the education business. Stop funding of all public schools and replace it with a $5,000 voucher for each child living in a household with income below, say, $50k that would go toward tuition of any private school.

Won't happen but that would pretty much solve 90% of the problem. Notice how the US has the best colleges in the world (because people actually have a choice where to go), but the worst K-12 schools (because there is little or no choice).

Patrick said...

Great editorial on the history of public sector unions and how they have benefited society in no way whatsoever:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldberg-wisconsin-20110222,0,4678423.column

Frank said...

I wonder how many teachers who are conservative by nature and vote conservatively (probably a lot) know AFSCME gave $40,000,000 almost exclusively to democrats from 1989-2004.