Remember the adage of the willow tree that bends in the wind, but does not break? That profound little witticism was written before the invention of the chainsaw.
In Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker has revved up his chainsaw with a budget bill that proposes state workers pay half of their pension costs -- or 5.8 percent of their salaries -- and 12.6 percent of their healthcare premiums. Unions, asked to close a $3.6 billion budget gap, have agreed to those terms, but balked -- and shown up in the state capital by the thousands -- as the governor proposed going beyond fiscal trimming and girded the tree.
Walker's proposal includes sacrificing collective bargaining rights until 2013 for all issues except for pay. For unions, that is a deal-breaker and one so obvious it is also a head-scratcher from a political point of view. In effect, what the governor's proposal says is, "We get to balance the budget on your backs and, oh, by the way, we don't like you." Politicians usually know how to present a lemon as if it were a gold nugget. This is a governor who missed that day in school.
As a consequence enough Democratic state senators have left the capital -- which is to say, all 14 of them -- to avoid presenting the governor with a quorum that would allow a vote on the bill.
There are 19 Republicans in the state Senate, but they need 20 members to hold a vote. Any Democrats who cross over risk having their names attached to the word "scab" for all eternity.
In Washington, President Barack Obama has not only weighed in on the issue, he has the White House political machine Organizing for America coordinating opposition to the suspension of bargaining rights in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, The Washington Post reported. In addition, similar fights were expected in Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Post said.
The president called Walker's proposal an "assault" on unions.
"I think everybody's got to make some adjustments, but I think it's also important to recognize that public employees make enormous contributions to our states and our citizens," Obama said.
For many, that's a fairly romantic view of unions. Nevertheless, from a historic point of view, unions are what separate the United States from China and collective bargaining is what separates a union from a mob. If the governor takes collective bargaining away, he simply moves the mess -- and the fighting -- from the state Capitol to break rooms and parking lots of public agencies across the state.
Collective bargaining, among other things, eliminates chaos. Without it, it's every man for himself, the governor included.
In international markets Monday, the Nikkei 225 index in Japan rose 0.14 percent and the Shanghai composite index in China gained 1.12 percent. The Hang Sent index in Hong Kong fell 0.47 percent and the Sensex in India rose 1.25 percent.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.74 percent.
In midday trading in Europe, the FTSE 100 index in Britain shed 0.21 percent while the DAX 30 index in Germany slid 0.62 percent. The CAC 40 in France fell 0.41 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.51 percent.
Markets on Wall Street are closed Monday for Presidents' Day.
