{"id":367,"date":"2012-06-05T08:53:58","date_gmt":"2012-06-05T12:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=367"},"modified":"2012-06-05T09:32:54","modified_gmt":"2012-06-05T13:32:54","slug":"on-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=367","title":{"rendered":"on Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s the day Wisconsinites gather for more than a Packer game.\u00a0 (Granted, Lambeau Field seems far more unifying.)<\/em>\u00a0 Today is the recall election for the state\u2019s chief executive.\u00a0 For more factual details on what has progressed to this point, please read our week old post entitled \u201cDiscerning What Is Wise.\u201d\u00a0 Today\u2019s respectful opining focuses instead on what\u2019s actually at stake.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In order to genuinely discern what\u2019s at stake, step one is to whittle away the rhetoric.\u00a0 If you read hyperbolic editorials or listen to the latest rhetorical robo-call, you may hear the following, actual claims:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Final Battle In The War Against Unions Is Underway\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWisconsin Can\u2019t Wait\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGovernors Declare War on Nurses and Teachers\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor of the Year:\u00a0 Scott Walker\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe Hate Walker!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Scott Walker has been Wisconsin\u2019s CEO for only 18 months, and yet, in that brief period of time, \u201cAmerica\u2019s Dairyland\u201d has been transformed into the national hotbed of polarized politics.\u00a0 What\u2019s synonymous with polarized, political hotbeds?\u00a0 Rhetorical abundance.\u00a0 Factual manipulation.\u00a0 Limitless passion.\u00a0 Record distortion.\u00a0 And a total disrespect of dissenting opinion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Note:\u00a0 more people in Wisconsin need to read the Intramuralist.)<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clearing away the rhetorical chaff, there exists no Wisconsin \u201cwar.\u201d\u00a0 Last I observed, while American armed forces fight bravely in Afghanistan, there is no war on women, no war on teachers, no war on Christmas, contraception, etc.\u00a0 Let\u2019s not disrespect our troops by claiming military conflict where it doesn\u2019t exist.\u00a0 Hence, there is no \u201cwar\u201d in Wisconsin.\u00a0 The origin of this conflict rests in the question of whether or not collective bargaining should be limited.\u00a0 That is not war; that is a question… a question on which reasonable people disagree.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is the long term impact of union contracts on state government?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And a secondary question that all reasonable people must also wrestle with:\u00a0 do labor unions funnel money to their candidates who, if elected, then return the favor by approving overly generous contracts?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stop.\u00a0 Take a deep breath.\u00a0 Refrain from emotional argument.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our opinions on the appropriateness of collective bargaining limitations say nothing about how we feel about teachers.\u00a0 That is an emotional argument simply serving to ratchet up the rhetorical volume.\u00a0 I had some great teachers; in fact, thanks to clever Mr. Cunningham, I\u2019m now consistently utilizing my genuine interest in current events!\u00a0 And allow me to not speak solely of my own experience, as I\u2019m also incredibly thankful for my sons\u2019 educators, especially those who unselfishly empower my youngest, having special needs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yet how we feel about our teachers does not correlate to the relevant question.\u00a0 What is the long term impact of union contracts on state government?\u00a0 How have public employee pensions and insurance affected state budgets?\u00a0 Those questions must be asked and answered without all the rhetorical and emotional interference.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Notice California \u2014 a beautiful state currently strangled by massive debt.\u00a0 Public pensions have been a significant contributor to this noose. (FYI:\u00a0 Be careful when researching this issue; many partisan writers will claim an inaccurate percentage, omitting the key accounting issue of underfunding pensions, with some state funds scheduled to run out as early as 2017.) <\/em><\/a>\u00a0 According to Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA), \u201cThree times as many people are retiring as are entering the workforce. That arithmetic doesn\u2019t add up. In addition, benefits, contributions and the age of retirement all have to balance. I don\u2019t believe they do today. So we have to take action.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Agree or disagree with the approach, the origin of the Badger political hotbed is a result of one state taking action.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gov. Walker asked public employees (exempting law enforcement and firefighters)<\/em> to pay 5.8% of their salary toward pensions and a minimum of 12.6% toward health insurance premiums.\u00a0 Previously in Wisconsin, employees paid little to nothing for pensions and an average of 6% toward healthcare.\u00a0 While the jury\u2019s still out on long term implications, in these short 18 months, a clear majority of objective sources conclude that Wisconsin\u2019s economic climate has improved.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thus, the question:\u00a0 what is the longterm impact?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If rhetoric stays out of the way, today Wisconsinites might be closer to answering that question. \u00a0The rest of the country will most likely also answer it soon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Respectfully,<\/p>\n

AR<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s the day Wisconsinites gather for more than a Packer game.\u00a0 (Granted, Lambeau Field seems far more unifying.)\u00a0 Today is the recall election for the state\u2019s chief executive.\u00a0 For more factual details on what has progressed to this point, please read our week old post entitled \u201cDiscerning What Is Wise.\u201d\u00a0 Today\u2019s respectful opining focuses instead … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “on Wisconsin”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[31,24],"class_list":["post-367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event","category-current-issue","tag-scott-walker","tag-wisconsin-recall-election"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=367"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions\/378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}