How would you characterize a government that made promises to people and then reneges on them? Some people might say that that just a politician at work. If a politician’s mouth is moving, then a lie is being told. With the situation in Wisconsin, a Governor comes in and decides to renege not only on promises, but on contracts. With teachers, there is an unwritten contract that the government job will pay less, but there will be more stability than a private sector position. When teachers take the job, they are trading earning potential for stability. There is an implicit understanding that comes with taking a teaching, law enforcement, or fire fighter position. Yet, when a state like Wisconsin suffers an economic downturn, the Governor of the state decides that he doesn’t have to honor agreements made to the employees of the state.
This is a question of honor.
When you think of governments that unilaterally break contracts, Americans think of the Soviet Union and China, not Middle America. Governor Scott Walker is acting more like a communist dictator than a leader, and frankly it is a sad moment for America. While the country’s financial sector and the Federal Reserve crafted actions to created the fiscal mess, the government felt it necessary to bail out the banks although the rest of the economy is in the toilet. The actions of Walker break a covenant with people who have served the state in good times and bad. Teachers and other public employees did not make millions in real estate sales or by reselling mortgages. They did their jobs and while unions did negotiate on their behalf, most teachers are not in the job for the money. One of the implications of getting a teaching job is that he or she will suffer economically, but the job is stable and there will be decent benefits.
How much does a teacher in Wisconsin make? According to Department of Education statistics, in 2009 the average K-12 teacher in Wisconsin made $50,231 per annum. Over twelve months, that averages $4186 per month before taxes. Before you all run out to get your teaching certificates, an examination of Wisconsin’s attempt to take away the voice of teachers (and other public employees) will destroy the covenant that draws people in to teaching. Teachers and other public employee have already had their wages cut as they pay more salary to health care premiums. Yet, on top of this fact, Wisconsin’s teachers have also lost when their salaries are measured against the Consumer Price Index. Inflation has outdistanced Wisconsin’s teacher’s salaries by 3.4 percent since 1969-70. Thus, in a profession that has put in more hurdles, yet the salaries have remained stagnant, or more accurately, regressed.
As we march into 2011, the Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, has walked into the job and decided to show the unions and teachers who is boss. The problem is not that Governor Walker is taking on the Unions, it is that he is destroying the fabric of America itself. This is not the Soviet Union, and people that are covered by lawful contracts should not be abused. The State of Wisconsin agreed to support its education system and the data suggests that teachers are not unfairly compensated. The legislators made agreements that they want to destroy. The problem is, we don’t live in the Soviet Union. As far as I know, we still live in a country that allows negotiations to occur. So Walker not only threatens to breech contractual agreements, he also wants to destroy the workers’ freedom of speech. Thank God we live in a place where we honor personal rights. If Governor Walker wants to bring this sort of leadership, he is in the wrong country.
The United States is a country where a person’s word means something. The written agreement of a contract is the basis of our economic system. We do not tear a contract because it is inconvenient; especially to people who have served the state. Not only is every school teacher in America following the events in Wisconsin, so will every person considering education as a future occupation. There is a larger moral question at stake and it drives at the very heart of the American way of life.
It is quite astounding that the federal government will bail out corporations who have acted reprehensibly while standing aside while its public servants are set up as scapegoats. Governor Walker does indeed have the right mindset to lead, but it should under a different time and place. He seems misguided about the moral fabric of leadership. He seems more suited to lead under the banner of hammer and sickle, but not the stars and stripes.
