In Wisconsin, a False Choice
UPI/Brian Kersey — Polarized: Wisconsin residents
Scott Walker’s confrontational style in Wisconsin isn’t the only model for achieving far-reaching results
Ron Brownstein, National Journal
Updated: June 7, 2012 | 6:34 p.m.
In Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker this week won a war of choice. But his victory doesn’t erase the question of whether he needed to wage the war at all. Or whether this kind of scorched-earth political combat offers the best model for resolving the comparable challenges awaiting the next president, as some may now insist.
Walker faced a genuine challenge when he arrived in office in 2011: a $3.5 billion state budget deficit swelled by the sustained economic downturn. But he responded with a consciously confrontational solution that ignited two years of unprecedented and unstinting partisan conflict. The fact that Walker’s opponents responded with excesses of their own (including, arguably, the recall election itself), or that he’s left standing after the last shot has been fired (at least until 2014), shouldn’t be confused with proof that he was wise to initiate these hostilities. Victory in an unnecessary battle isn’t really a victory at all; ask the generals at Verdun.
Walker, more than anyone else, pointed the state toward this abyss by responding to the budget crisis with a sharply ideological plan that targeted its pain almost entirely at Democratic constituencies. He closed the deficit solely with spending cuts, particularly in local aid to education; reduced, rather than raised, taxes despite the shortfall; and reached far beyond the immediate challenge by severely curtailing collective-bargaining rights for public employees. Predictably, his agenda passed without support from a single Democrat in either state legislative chamber.
Walker’s plan undeniably brought some needed changes. Using the flexibility it provided, local governments have negotiated union contracts that demand more-reasonable contributions from public employees toward their health care and pensions. As Mike Ford, the research director for the conservative Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, wrote recently, “Though initially painful for many, [Walker’s budget] removed barriers to effective and sustainable local governance to the future benefit of Wisconsin residents.”
(More here.)
Updated: June 7, 2012 | 6:34 p.m.
In Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker this week won a war of choice. But his victory doesn’t erase the question of whether he needed to wage the war at all. Or whether this kind of scorched-earth political combat offers the best model for resolving the comparable challenges awaiting the next president, as some may now insist.
Walker faced a genuine challenge when he arrived in office in 2011: a $3.5 billion state budget deficit swelled by the sustained economic downturn. But he responded with a consciously confrontational solution that ignited two years of unprecedented and unstinting partisan conflict. The fact that Walker’s opponents responded with excesses of their own (including, arguably, the recall election itself), or that he’s left standing after the last shot has been fired (at least until 2014), shouldn’t be confused with proof that he was wise to initiate these hostilities. Victory in an unnecessary battle isn’t really a victory at all; ask the generals at Verdun.
Walker, more than anyone else, pointed the state toward this abyss by responding to the budget crisis with a sharply ideological plan that targeted its pain almost entirely at Democratic constituencies. He closed the deficit solely with spending cuts, particularly in local aid to education; reduced, rather than raised, taxes despite the shortfall; and reached far beyond the immediate challenge by severely curtailing collective-bargaining rights for public employees. Predictably, his agenda passed without support from a single Democrat in either state legislative chamber.
Walker’s plan undeniably brought some needed changes. Using the flexibility it provided, local governments have negotiated union contracts that demand more-reasonable contributions from public employees toward their health care and pensions. As Mike Ford, the research director for the conservative Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, wrote recently, “Though initially painful for many, [Walker’s budget] removed barriers to effective and sustainable local governance to the future benefit of Wisconsin residents.”
(More here.)
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1 Comments:
Wisconsin was the opening volley in what I see as a coming battle between those who receive public employee benefits and those who have to pay for them. Walker’s actions were necessary and to think otherwise would be to ignore consistent union demands for more, more, more.
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