Monday, February 14, 2011

Unrestrained Power Is Democracy Denied

The central question around Scott Walker's proposed destruction of collective bargaining rights for tens of thousands of local, state, county and school system employees is whether one person and several dozen allied legislators should exercise that much power even if it is within their technical reach.

I keep expecting to see Tea Partiers in front of the State Capitol, recognizing a true power grab and fearing the slippery slope.

This is not a question of "big government" versus "small government."

The question is whether unrestrained government in the hands of a sharp-edged syndicate should be allowed to unload on citizens, let alone without warning or negotiation.

The answer is "no." It's not democratic. Its dangers far outweigh a perceived short-term gain.

It's not the Wisconsin way.

3 comments:

Reagan's Disciple said...

Unload on the citizens? Walker may be unloading, but he is unloading on the government workers, not the citizens.

He is unloading on the gov't workers who are employees of the citizens. Unfortunately, over the years it has become the citizens who have become beholden to these state employee unions.

Time to take WI back and this is a good FIRST step.

Hopefully he takes a page out of Reagan's book and fires anyone who decides to strike or comes down with a form of the "Blue Flu."

Anonymous said...

How is this be any different than the handful of elected officials who created these "rights" in the first place?

To the determent of the vast majority of Wisconsin taxpayers.

If any public sector employee does not like it, we do have a free society that allows them to quit their jobs and find employment elsewhere.

James Rowen said...

Common to these comments is great antipathy towards public employees - - the vast majority of whom are modestly-paid friends and neighbors of yours who plow your streets, teach and look after your children, perform life-saving tasks as fire and police officers, collect your trash, and so on.

They are not the enemy.