It’s Not the Teachers – It’s the Unions

I guess I’m guilty.  I often use the worst behavior of the occasional bore to define a group.  I search out debate and I invite debate.  As in everything in life, there is a bottom 10%.

I often, in conversation with my close conservative friends, refer to Liberals as Libtards.  It’s impolite and kinda reduces me to the level of folk that I’m teasing, but part of the humor is the irony of that.

Anyway.

You know when you debate a liberal and you just have to stand back in awe of his inability to discern reality from tribalism?

Check this out.

The current debate is public sector unions and their devastating impact on the cities and states they serve.  The debate is about how unions are exempt from many laws that govern anti-trust; they’re free to conspire to gain a monopoly position for the sole purpose of driving up price.  This debate is about those unions using their legal power to elect the government officials who will sit opposite them in the negotiation room.

This debate is NOT about the merits and pure awesomeness of my 4th grade math teacher.  Or my biology teacher.  Or my algebra I teacher.

It’s about: If YOU were going to build a system that made sure we got the best workers in the right positions and incented them to continue to do their best how would you do it?!?

Instead it turns into this:  Hat Tip Carpie Diem

That is SO exactly like how many to most of my conversations go with my Liberal friends when discussing this exact topic.

You just have to walk away.

12 responses to “It’s Not the Teachers – It’s the Unions

  1. Pino,

    I’ve been there (I also left this comment back on the wrong site — Whoops ;-))

    Witness this extraordinary exchange in the comment section:

    http://reflectionsofarationalrepublican.com/2011/02/20/rallying-against-the-red-menace/

    It was like talking to a wall and the wall lost.

    • It was like talking to a wall and the wall lost.

      ‘Ol Ben.

      I long read his stuff and actually tried to comment there. He’s good for entertainment but not really useful when it comes to arguments and data. I was actually considering him or the Canadian for my example. I could easily have used ’em both.

      The sad thing is that I resonate with their intentions. I really don’t think that they mean to make things worse. I really honest to God believe that they thing by passing legislation that incents people not to work that we’re helping poor people get better paying job.

      I mean, if there are poor in the world, we should just take money from those that have lots of it and give it to ’em.

      Anyway, for a good healthy debate with someone representing the Left, check out Scott Erb. He often comments here.

  2. By the way. Thank you for discovering the animation software that made the video above possible.

    I am currently cooking something up that just might appear on my blog sometime later today. 😉

    Stay tuned.

  3. Put it is teachers — and fire fighters, snow plow drivers, state accountants and others, relatively underpaid, with decent benefits, but not making out big. Meanwhile the wealthiest get more of the pie, and the rules seem to be “tax cuts for the super wealthy — with Fox commentators denying that $250,000 is really rich — while state workers are blamed for the problems (and the unions are the workers)? Cut benefits for mostly underpaid teachers (again, Maine average is $40,000) but keep tax cuts for those making over $250,000. Give billions of tax cuts to the super wealthy while blaming the mess on middle class workers who serve the public. Can’t you at least see the rationale for the anger of a lot of people who until now weren’t very politicized?

    And I’ve still not seen any proof that the problems we face are caused by state workers. After all, if it wasn’t for corporate and individual tax cuts, Wisconsin wouldn’t have a budget crisis. It appears to a lot of us that the GOP wants to give to the rich and take from the middle class. With the super wealthy earning an ever larger share of the pie, sooner or later people will say “enough is enough” and you will have a backlash. This could be the start of it.

  4. Just a comment on the “rich” thing:

    Where my friend lives, an average MLS listing is $800,000. $250k a year doesn’t do much for you there. In NYC or SFO, $250,000/year doesn’t take you very far either, but in cities like Las Vegas or Dallas where I am (normally), it’s a very comfortable living. I think they should have raised the bar a little on what they considered to be “rich” when they wanted to “tax the rich”

    • Just a comment on the “rich” thing:

      Long on my “To post” list is something that would show all the wealth distribution numbers if we took away what statisticians call the “outliers”.

      Simply removing Gates and Buffet would reduce that number significantly.

      By the way, Outliers is a MUST read book!

  5. Well done on the male vs. female wage debate, Pino. I read the blog that you linked to. I think some people are afraid to take “discrimination” out of the wage issue for fear of losing their job or pay based upon actual performance.

    Re: the “Lefties” that comment on your blog, I assume “The Canadian” is The Arbourist? (I’m 1/2 Canadian, fyi!) I enjoy conversing with Arb, even though we are almost always on opposing sides of an issue. She takes a very academic approach to the issues and within her opinions is actually some original thought that she is able to articulate extremely well from a very educated background. By her own admission, though, she does not have much (any?) experience outside of academia or inside a business so a “theory vs. reality” standstill often occurs.

    I see OBH as the opposite. His “academics” only go as far as the articles he reads, and as soon as he’s challenged for original thought (i.e. challenged beyond parroting something that Paul Krugman just said), he resorts to playground taunts and insults. His “you’re a liar!” feces that he throws like a monkey is akin to the “you’re a communist!” crap that the “Righties” throw back which gets everyone nowhere.

    • Well done on the male vs. female wage debate, Pino.

      Thanks.

      No one takes into account the different jobs men and women do; or for how long.

      “The Canadian” is The Arbourist?

      No. I’m referring to the host. He’s French Canadian. Very similar to Ben; though a bit more creative. Pitches out populist crap and moderates comments like crazy.

      • My mistake. Her and Ben don’t match up hardly at all in my mind, so I should have known that there might be another Canadian you were referring to. Either way, well done in the debate.

        The debate itself, however, confuses me. They don’t want a double standard, and yet I think they’re the ones holding on to one. Wage inequality may have been a gender discrimination issue 25-50 years ago, but not today. Today I think it simply comes down to dollars and cents. How does the saying go? A dollar knows no discrimination?

  6. That video is AWESOME!!! Haha! The voice quality is of course … weird… but the content and argument is excellent! 🙂

    I’ve got to repost this!

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