there's things in collective bargaining...

the wisconsin gop started their spending cuts by giving large corporations a $113 M tax cut. then declared a fiscal crisis and a plan to resolve it by breaking unions in the state. the unions agreed to the fiscal demands of the governor, but were turned down. in terms of salaries, eg. the average teacher, i believe earns $54K per year, higher than the median salary in the state. but i'm sure it's not higher than the median salary for jobs requiring a master's degree and continuing education after that. the benefits, as in any job, are part of the salary package. the gop has stated clearly that the object here and in as many states as possible, is to cripple the democratic party's support. why so many people have bought into policies which are against their own interests are a mystery to me. teachers' unions typically are targeted by cost cutters and maybe rightly so, but why not demand that the cost cutting be even handed?

I've had this discussion many times in the last week. So I will say no more to you, except that I've had issues that go a long way back with the dirty dealings of the unions. They are NOT for the working man and they have a very liberal and damaging influence on politics. They're out for political power and have a liberal agenda. You want to be a part of that, it's your choice. I'm sick of hearing 'the against your own best interests' slogan..propaganda, I could puke. Sorry, I don't know you and you're getting the frustration of a weeks worth of talking to union drones. I apologize.

@sam-your argument about the salary of teachers is pretty flawed if you take the time to look at it. For one thing, tell the teachers in North Carolina or many other states that they will ONLY be making $54K/year! They sure wouldn't be complaining. The cost of living in many of the places in North Carolina (where I live) and Wisconsin are not that different yet teachers in Wisconsin are making around $20K/year more than teachers here. Another thing you mention is the cost of the teacher's education. Last time I checked, it's not a requirement to have a Master's degree to teach Kindergarten through 12th grade...and it's not even required in some cases to teach at a Community College. Sure the Master's degree increases your opportunities and salaries, but it's not required like you assume. I'm all for rewarding teachers because they have an incredibly hard and important job, but the things you said were just incorrect. As far as your comments about the GOP in Wisconsin. I understand that you will never (and most Democrats included) admit that the GOP has done anything right or that you agree with what they have done, but you need to get over it already! How much have you complained about the Democrats and the current administration for the unbelievable amount of spending since coming in office? I understand that we weren't in the best position when Obama came into office and that has been argued into the ground, but the fact is this: Obama has done NOTHING to help the situation! When are you going to complain about that? The GOP in Wisconsin (and many of them from throughout the country) have kept their promises to go to extreme lengths to cut spending and deal with the financial mess we are in, but the people standing up complaining about this are the Democrats! It's sickening really!

Actually they've been throwing money at the teachers and education for ages now, and many kids are graduating for a loong time now not even knowing how to read. Maybe because they ae too busy teaching some for of [political correctness/ political bias.