Haves vs. Have-Nots

by Keith Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, March 3, 2011

There is a clear danger to unity in the United States. Strategies designed to drive a wedge of division between American citizens are increasingly evidenced throughout the political landscape. The current use of state budget constraints as a weapon against targets like unions and public education is only the latest in the mechanism designed to maintain the “us versus them” climate that contributes to our dysfunctional two-party system. Partisan politics has pitted us against one another and turned complex issues that impact real lives into black and white oversimplifications that are manipulated to inspire fear and rage.

With the U.S. economy still recovering from the massive recession ushered in under the Bush administration, one particularly effective conflict is designating a chosen group as “haves” and another as “have-nots”. In America’s post-industrial era, when corporations are outsourcing decent jobs and the shrinking middle class is feeling the sting of downsizing and unemployment, an interesting division has developed. Public workers and schoolteachers with average salaries of $50,000 per year are now being called the “haves” and they are being criticized for their greed, and personally attacked by conservatives (including politicians and pundits as well as misguided common folk).

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has described the people of his state as two distinct classes; those “who receive rich benefits, and those who pay for them”. One might think he was talking about corporate fat cats, who enjoy huge bonuses and ballooning salaries, and the working class who see their wages stagnate as their jobs are shipped overseas. Nope. He was referring to the public employees of New Jersey.

And New Jersey isn’t an isolated case. Wisconsin’s highly-publicized standoff with protesting public employees and their unions is all about painting those workers as the haves, and the poor taxpayers of Wisconsin as the have-nots. But wait. Isn’t the issue that the state is experiencing dramatic budget shortfalls and simply can’t afford to provide benefits like health care and pensions for public employees?

Well, I’m certain that Wisconsin (like most states) is facing budget deficits. But that oft-repeated mantra doesn’t come close to telling the whole story.

Seldom reported is the fact that two-thirds of the corporations operating in Wisconsin enjoy the public services provided by state and local governments but pay absolutely no corporate taxes. Recapturing this lost revenue would go a long way toward bridging the budget gaps. “Aha!,” I can hear my brother Gordon say. “Asking corporations to pay their fair share will only worsen the plight of the working class by drying up jobs.” The fact of the matter is that regardless of taxation or lack thereof, businesses are outsourcing jobs. And not just across state borders. Continuing to cater to these corporations isn’t retaining jobs and is impacting the Wisconsin budget.

Furthermore, public sector unions and employees agreed to make financial concessions to help meet budgetary demands. Unfortunately, Governor Scott Walker refused to negotiate the terms of the bill he proposed, which has far-reaching and permanent impact on the workers’ rights to organize and on the power of the governor (who would be free according to the terms of the law to declare a state of emergency and fire any union or non-union state employee). No. It appears that the only thing that will fly in Wisconsin is a union-busting measure that denies collective bargaining.

The picture would also not be complete without looking at David and Charles Koch. These powerful billionaires not only contributed thousands of dollars to help Walker get elected in Wisconsin, they’re currently spending millions to put anti-union ads on the air and are exercising enormous influence over the governor and the Republican Legislators in the state to push through this damaging bill. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why corporate power brokers would want to crush any union.

And what about these greedy public employees who are overpaid at the expense of the taxpayer? Public schoolteachers are professionals who leave college with the requisite degrees for employment and with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans that they must repay on starting salaries of $25,000 or less. They are required to pay for their own certifications and much of their own teaching supplies (because public school budgets are constantly being squeezed). In exchange for accepting meager salaries schoolteachers and other public employees count on benefits like health care and pensions.

Of course conservatives point to some studies that show public employees surpassing the private sector in compensation. They have used these numbers to demonize public sector unions and because the private sector is feeling the misery of a failing economy, they are claiming success. But that isn’t the whole story either. I saw one report of 75 percent of Wisconsinites supporting retaining collective bargaining rights if employees agreed to absorb part of the health care and pension cost (a conservative source pegged the poll closer to two-thirds). Other reports dispute that public employees earn more. In fact, Wisconsin University Professor Keith Bender tells the opposite tale. According to an ABC news story he “and professor John Heywood found that wages and salaries of state and local employees are lower than for private sector workers of equal education, and further, that for the past 20 years those earnings have been in relative decline.”

I think it is important to consider the impact on the public school system, because that is the second front in this two-pronged attack. The clear intent is to use the current economy and tight budgets to weaken both the unions and public education. States and local governments everywhere are choosing cuts in education above other spending areas. The City of Detroit just announced this week plans to close half its schools and double class sizes to 60 students. This will have a devastating effect, especially on schools that are currenty struggling. If public education continues to be assaulted in this way, it will be crippled and the wealth imbalance will grow, with only those who have access to private education afforded the promise of the American dream. Scott Walker, Chris Christie and those who demonize unions and public employees must not win out or the middle class and working class will lose big.

The good news is that many are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with public employees. Organizers have planned demonstrations in all 50 states as a show of solidarity and support. People are paying attention. And as much as some politicians are behaving as if the Tea Party represents the majority, those who call for smaller government at any human cost remain in the extreme minority. Be vigilant and protect our public schools. They are the only hope of a democratic future in the United States.