Centrism, Ohio Style

The disappointing thing – I grew up in Speaker Boehner’s district, so forgive my expectation that Republicans have backbone – is the angst several GOP senators are displaying. Again, I don’t assume the bill is perfect, but the only hope of taxpayers and public employees finding sustainable middle ground starts with getting the unions out of the picture.

Mope and Change

Ah, that classic dance, the Victimhood Two-Step: cry over a policy you don’t like as if it were an ambush on workers/children/puppies/the elderly, and then shift the blame for whatever problem is being addressed. It’s easy, once you realize your complaints needn’t have any grounding in reality!

Public Unions for Higher Taxes

What you might not realize is that SB 5 revokes all Facebook, Twitter, and email privileges from public employees. If the bill passes, teachers and guidance counselors will no longer be permitted to speak with their principals or superintendents. All school board proceedings will henceforth be sealed from the public, and any government employee seen colluding with a local newspaper or television station will be summarily executed.

The Union Man: Act Two

Though the River City Boys’ Band has more members than ever, there is a stubborn insistence among some of the townsfolk that the group’s sound and marching have improved little since Professor Hill arrived. To be sure, River City loves their boys’ band… but there are rumblings that the boys’ parents pay for sheet music while the innkeeper, grocer, and pool hall manager provide band members with shiny trombones and tassled coats.

The Union Man: Act One

Professor Hill arrives at the River City station in a raucous passenger car of Boys Band United Guild (BBUG) brothers, eager to shine the light of collectivism into a suspiciously independent populace. He departs the station as the train steams further west, carrying a union rep to every town from the Mississippi to the Pacific.

Union Racket 101 – AFSCMEconomics

Here’s the snag in their solidarity shtick: unions like the AFSCME generally charge dues as a percentage of salary. Let’s say your salary is $30,000 — how important are you to the union? If your answer is anything besides “less than 1/3 as important as someone paid $100,000,” you might need to reconsider for a minute.

This IS Payback

SB 5 pays back the Ohioans who voted for a fiscally-responsible Senate. It’s payback to the hypocrites at the AFSCME and OEA who pay themselves millions of dollars every year to fight Ohio’s local governments, school districts, and state agencies. It’s payback for parents, teachers, and taxpayers whose voices are muted by the bullhorns of national organizations dedicated to failed Progressive policies.