Unions

            The protesters massing in Madison's capitol have been compared to the protesters in Cairo by union sympathizers. They have got it exactly wrong.

            Union members have called Governor Scott Walker a Nazi and a Fascist while carrying signs that portray him as Hitler and Stalin. But just who is it that is refusing to cede power? The real despots, it seems to me, are the union bosses who have bullied their way to power and who unleash their goons to enforce their dictates.

            The crowds in Cairo wanted freedom. Union members should have freedom, too. The one thing union bosses fear the most is the freedom of their members to choose. Their loudest protests are against Governor Walker's proposal to have union members write their own checks to pay their union dues rather than the government doing it for them.

            Why? Because given the choice, some members would choose not to pay their dues. Why not? Because not all union members approve of the way union bosses spend their money. Specifically, they do not want their dues supporting the Democratic Party exclusively so that Democratic legislators can return the favor. Why else would Democrats in the Wisconsin legislature leave the state to avoid voting on bills unfavorable to their union supporters? There are no secrets here.

            We can argue all day about the pros and cons of unions. There is much to be said on both sides. But the reality is that states with public sector unions are going bankrupt, because they can no longer afford to pay for the sweetheart deals their members got on benefits and pensions, not to mention salaries that far outpace those in the private sector.

            Governor Kasich of Ohio has it right. He has seen his state lose hundreds of thousands of jobs to Right to Work states and to states with no income taxes. He wants those jobs to come back to Ohio. And the only way he can do that is to make Ohio employer-friendly. But what employer is going to want to build a plant in Ohio after seeing the vicious thuggery of union protesters massing in Columbus?

            I believe we have reached a seminal moment in American history. We will either make the tough choices necessary to rescue this country and the states from collapsing into intractable bankruptcy, or will blow a goodbye kiss to the good old USA that we've all known and loved.