March 6, 2015

Your World with Neil Cavuto presented another union-bashing segment that put one relatively passive liberal against three very misinformed union-busting bullies. This is the format on Fox News: have a token liberal on there and prevent him or her from making a cogent argument. Today's subject? Why Scott Walker's Right-To-Work state is terrific for workers even thought that's only true in an alternate universe. Remember, Scott Walker compared protesters of his savage cuts to workers' wages to ISIS fighters. We aren't talking about a man with a firm grasp on sanity.

The one opponent of right-to-work states in this segment, Mark Brenner, explained that the people who Scott Walker is catering to are the 1% who fund his campaigns. They are the ones who have benefited most from his anti-worker policies. Salon writes:

Moreover, the meager earnings growth that has come to Wisconsin has mostly gone to the top 1 percent of earners. Another Wisconsin Budget Project report shows that the state hit a record share of income going to the very top in 2012, a year after passage of the anti-union law. That doesn’t include the $2 billion in tax cuts Walker initiated in his first term, which went disproportionately to the highest wage earners. (This is precisely the agenda Walker is likely to run on in his presidential campaign.)

Cheri Jacobus said,

"It's a winning issue for Scott Walker in his state and presidential politics. Polls show the American people, even unions and Democrats, support right-to-work...it's compatible with pro-union and pro-worker so that's a real problem for union bosses...with right-to-work, you have more of a say because the union bosses have to then be accountable to union workers."

So the people who used to make $25 per hour get to do the same job for $15 per hour. I'm sure that makes them happy. As far as Charles Payne is concerned, they should be happy

"to get any job in this economy."

But THIS economy, the Wisconsin economy, is surely not reflective of the nation as a whole. Today's February Jobs report: we added 295,000 new jobs. That's more than 1/4 the total number of jobs added in both Bush 43 Administrations. The Wisconsin economy, on the other hand, has performed absolutely abysmally.

Scott Walker has essentially gutted workers' wages and will continue to do so. Salon writes:

In the state where public employee unions got their start, public workers see no need to stay enrolled, since unions cannot by law effectively advocate on their behalf. Membership in the Wisconsin affiliate of the National Education Association is down one-third; the American Federation of Teachers dropped by one-half; the state employees union fell 70 percent.

The consequences for workers are statistically unfavorable. The anti-worker goons at Fox News ignore the real statistics.

These laws drive down wages for all workers, including non-union members, women, and people of color.
Workers living in right-to-work states earn about $1,500 less per year than workers in states without these laws. The wage penalty is even higher for women and workers of color.

Workers in right-to-work states are less likely to have health insurance.
The rate of employer-sponsored health insurance for workers in right-to-work states is 2.6 percentage points lower than in states without these restrictions.

Right to work makes workplaces more dangerous.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of workplace deaths is higher in right-to-work states.

Payne, Cavuto and Jacobus simply overpower anyone (Brenner) who comes armed with real statistics and real facts. Their lies seem to be getting more egregious and their viewers are none the wiser for it. At one point, Cavuto praised unions for creating better workplace safety and better wages, yet the whole purpose of the segment was to denigrate unions and distort the truth about unions. Unions take care of their workers and their abolition leads to more poverty and despair.

Scott Walker's hubris will eventually have dire consequences. He's on top of the GOP presidential hopefuls list and he seems to think that's a spot he'll keep for the long haul.

Now, I recognize that all politicians tend to have a massive ego, but Walker has himself convinced that he is already president and is talking about his present job in the past tense.

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