Who's at fault for our current state of affairs

Compensation for public workers in WI

Debunking the myth of the over-compensated public emplyee

The data analysis in this paper, however, indicate that public employees, both state and local government, are not overpaid. Comparisons controlling for education, experience, hours of work, organizational size, gender, race, ethnicity and disability, reveal no significant overpayment but a slight under-compensation of public employees when compared to private employee compensation costs on a per hour basis. On average, full-time state and local employees are under-compensated by 3.7%, in comparison to otherwise similar private-sector workers.

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THIS warms the cockles of my heart...

I love it when a plan comes together, and here a bunch of good people are joining in solidarity to fight the insanity of the Republicans in Wisconsin.  From Crooks and Liars.

Wisconsin workers are marching on the capital today to protest Governor Scott Walker's effort to crush their bargaining rights through the back door. Their newest ally? The Green Bay Packers, past and present, who signed a letter in support of the workers.

The statement reads:

"We know that it is teamwork on and off the field that makes the Packers and Wisconsin great. As a publicly owned team we wouldn't have been able to win the Super Bowl without the support of our fans.

"It is the same dedication of our public workers every day that makes Wisconsin run. They are the teachers, nurses and child care workers who take care of us and our families. But now in an unprecedented political attack Governor Walker is trying to take away their right to have a voice and bargain at work.

"The right to negotiate wages and benefits is a fundamental underpinning of our middle class. When workers join together it serves as a check on corporate power and helps ALL workers by raising community standards. Wisconsin's long standing tradition of allowing public sector workers to have a voice on the job has worked for the state since the 1930s. It has created greater consistency in the relationship between labor and management and a shared approach to public work.

"These public workers are Wisconsin's champions every single day and we urge the Governor and the State Legislature to not take away their rights."

Excuse me while I go pull our cheeseheads out of the garage and wear them in solidarity with the Packers and the Wisconsin workers.

Update: Wisconsin police and firefighers have joined the protest in solidarity, despite being exempt under Walker's proposal. Also, 400 students walked out of class today to protest suppression of their teachers' bargaining rights. Private sector unions have also offered support.