It's illegal in America now to buy or sell a human being, but a recorded telephone conversation between a Republican governor and a guy he thought was a billionaire benefactor shows that it's still possible to own a politician.
Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker didn't have time to talk to Democratic leaders or union officials about his anti-union legislation -- a proposal that has incited protests by tens of thousands for more than a week in Madison. But he jumped on the phone for 20 minutes this week when told the caller was billionaire David Koch, who was Walker's second largest campaign contributor, who provided $1 million to a GOP fund to attack Walker's opponent and who bankrolls radical libertarian organizations and the Tea Party.
Republicans like Walker, owned by billionaires like Koch, are fulfilling demands from corporate interests that government "free" enterprise by slashing corporate taxes and regulation. Over the past three years, America has suffered the consequences of a government under-funded after tax breaks to the rich and under-performing after years of lax regulation. The result: a growing federal deficit, the Wall Street collapse, the BP oil spill and the deaths of 29 Upper Big Branch miners. Still, Republicans want more government atrophy. That would leave only one restraint on corporate control of the economy, environment and government.
That one restraint is labor unions. A union is workers using their constitutionally-guaranteed freedom to assemble, the right to get together as a group, in this case a labor organization, to negotiate collectively with employers for better wages, benefits and working conditions.
Workers who gathered together in unions over two centuries in this country have succeeded in raising their wages, as well as the wages of non-union workers in competing industries. Union workers secured improved working conditions so fewer were killed on the job. And they achieved creation of the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, which protects the safety of all workers. Over the decades, unions played a major role is obtaining legislation barring child labor, standardizing the 40-hour work week, and creating both Social Security and Medicare.
Similarly, studies show union successes enhance the lives of all workers in a state. In anti-union states, the average worker earns $5,333 less a year, the proportion of people without health insurance is 21 percent higher and the rate of workplace death is 51 percent higher. In addition, there's evidence that union workers improve quality. Currently, after receiving an education from union teachers, Wisconsin youngsters collectively score second highest in the nation on the ACT/SAT college admission tests. By contrast, the five states barring teacher unions rank at the bottom of the pack: South Carolina dead last at 50th; North Carolina, second last at 49th; Georgia third from last at 47th; Texas fourth from last at 47th, and Virginia ever so slightly better at 44th.
Still, Wisconsin Gov. Walker wants to destroy his state's teachers unions. Two studies determined that public workers, that is those employed by governments such as teachers, firefighters and police officers, earn less than their counterparts in the private sector when both benefits and education are factored into the calculation. It wasn't union workers, in the public or the private sector, who caused states' financial crises. That was gambling on Wall Street, which ravaged the economy. Still, Republican governors across the country are demanding that government workers pay.
The government workers in Wisconsin already agreed to accept Walker's financial demands -- that they pay more for their pensions and health care. This negates Walker's contention that this dispute is about the budget. The governor is demanding more than those financial concessions. He wants the legislature to cripple the unions' ability to bargain for improvements in the future. In his "budget repair bill," he would strip government workers of their right to negotiate over working conditions and benefits. They'd be able to discuss wages but could never get an increase above inflation.
This is union busting. At the demand of corporate interests. And Walker is joined by Republicans in Ohio, Indiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and others in attempting to do it, both to private and public sector workers.
This is not about money. It's about controlling America. Corporations have bought Republicans, who now chant the corporate mantra that government coddles its citizens with the likes of mine and food safety rules.
Walker's eagerness to talk to David Koch illustrates this. Koch and his brother Charles own the second largest privately-held company in America. Only the fortunes of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates exceed the Kochs' $35 billion. They've used that money to finance the supposedly-grassroots Tea Party and conservative groups like the Americans for Prosperity Foundation (APF) that have funneled money into anti-reform policies -- including attempts to reverse environmental and health care legislation.
It's a giant circle. Koch got Walker elected. The Koch-backed Tea Party now rallies in Madison against the public employees. The Koch-financed APF bought $320,000 in TV ads against the public workers. Other Koch-financed GOP governors are sending letters of support to Walker. In his few weeks as governor, Walker passed legislation to lower tax rates for and limit damage awards against businesses like the Kochs'. In addition, tucked into the anti-union bill is a provision that would enable Walker to sell the state's power plants to the Kochs without bids or state agency review.
Corporations are accomplishing their goal of shriveling government to the point of ineffectiveness so "enterprise" is "free" to run rogue. Now with their purchased politicians, corporations are trying to do the same to unions -- the only organization other than government that has traditionally effectively defended working Americans.
In the recorded conversation between Walker and a liberal blogger posing as Koch, Walker accepted an offer of a vacation trip from the "billionaire" if he "crushed" the public employee unions and said his effort was to get "our freedoms back."
That's exactly right. This is a contest between the excesses of "free" enterprise and the constitutionally-protected freedom of assembly. And getting "our freedoms back" means wresting them back from corporations.
Follow Leo W. Gerard on Twitter: www.twitter.com/uswblogger
William S. Lerach: Blame Wall Street, Not Hard Working Americans, for the Pension Funds Fiasco
REPUBLICANS = wholly owned subsidiary of big business
DEMOCRATS = partially owned subsidiary of big business
Note, I referred to it as big business instead of Corporate America because a lot of these corporations are not even really American ones! A wholly owned foreign corporation can now give money to the Chamber of Commerce and influence our political process. This means we are no longer a sovereign nation because foreigners with substantial resources can now influence our political and economics from outside using these front groups. The "Citizens United" decisions opened "Pandora's Box."
Answer:
movetoamend.org
and a nobel winner in economics:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/06/us-deficit-cut-austerity-alternatives
Radical libertarian organizations? Oh, yeah: The folks who would ACTUALLY end the wars, ACTUALLY cut the military budget, ACTUALLY support marriage equality, and ACTUALLY legalize drugs.
Wow: They ARE radicals.
Koch money supports the Drug Policy Alliance to end drug prohibition. They oppose the wars and support same-sex marriage.
In fact, they support social and equality issues that even the Democrat party doesn't support.
Sounds like they are FAR more than just economic Libertarians.
They've got those making $30-$50 thousand a year attacking people making $30-$50 thousand a year.
So we don't notice they're taking EVERYTHING.
Here's a picture to help you understand:
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-grap
- Thomas Jefferson
I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
- Thomas Jefferson [What would Jefferson say today?]
With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.
- James Madison
"The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."
-Thomas Jefferson
"The Tenth Amendment is the foundation of the Constitution."
- Thomas Jefferson
In the final sum of the constitution a Republic was formed, not a democracy.
500.00 brake repair....9% sales tax.....add insult to injury.
http://artvoice.com/issues/v10n8/getting_a_grip
You have evidence of this? The fact that most WI corporations don't pay any tax at all has nothing to do with it?
A source for this "fact"?
Incidently, no corporation "pays" taxes. Taxes remitted to the government by corps are part of the price charged to the consumer
So sad. Such sad logic. Gov. Walker gave corporations a $1 billion tax break then claimed to have a $1 billion deficit that he wants public workers to fill. GOP mantra (paid for by corporations like Koch): take it from the middle class and give it to the rich. And dupes like you fall for it.
Can you cite his responsibility for the multi-billion dollar deficit in WI's upcoming 2 year budget?
RIGHT NOW:
Gross Federal Debt - 15.5 Trillion dollars
State and Local Debt - 2.4 Trillion dollars
Unfunded pension obligations - 3.5 Trillion dollars.
Current fedral budget borrows 40 cents on every dollar it spends.
And we know the dire situation at state and county levels.
Many state residents are electing politicians who promise a cap on property tax.
We have ended the phase of talking, which we have been doing for a decade!
What gives?
Problem solved.
Then explain this:
"There is a kernel of truth in Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's claim of a "budget shortfall" of $137 million. But Walker, a Republican, failed to tell the state that less than two weeks into his term as governor, he, with his swollen Republican majorities in the Wisconsin legislature, pushed through $117 million in tax breaks for business allies of the GOP. There is your crisis."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stanley-kutler/what-gov-walker-wont-tell_1_b_827104.html
Sounds like the only people he's concerned about ensuring a bright future for are the corporations that do business in Wisconsin.
"Paying Union bosses salaries that exceed the President of the United States is an excellent example of how much profit there is in having politicianÂs on the Union payroll."
David Koch is worth about $19 Billion. How is that not more offensive than Union bosses making over $400K?
Koch has lobbyists to do his bidding for him and politicians at his beck and call to ensure that his net worth keeps increasing. Teachers have unions to advocate for them. Why let Koch keep his lobbyists and his corrupt political connections and take away the only way that teachers have to represent themselves when it comes to decisions that effect their livelihoods? It seems awfully unbalanced and unfair.
http://artvoice.com/issues/v10n8/getting_a_grip
A good article about these rankings is from Student Activism.
http://studentactivism.net/2011/02/20/sat-act-unions/
They've managed to pit the "workers" against each other while we should all, in reality, be fighting against them & their cronies.
To quote Michael Niman and I've linked his article : "Democracy is nothing more than an impedance to an unfettered corporate agenda. Break the unions and you break the most powerful supporters of democracy."
http://artvoice.com/issues/v10n8/getting_a_grip
So they can arrest you for anything and YOU must prove your Innocent !
While you also must prove the Corporation is Guilty over and over with more restriction with each appeals court the case reaches.