From my email inbox comes this gem from the Wisconsin Club For Growth:
“Government unions exist chiefly to enable those who seldom produce anything of value to the real economy to take freely from those who produce value every day.”
Apparently the folks at the Wisconsin Club For Growth aren’t big fans of the services provided to society (and the contributions made to the real economy) by firefighters, police officers, probation & parole agents, corrections officers, trash collectors, nurses, and teachers, just to name some of the government employees represented by government unions.
The last time I checked, the protection against widespread fires breaking out – fires that would no doubt negatively impact the economy – certainly seems to provide something of value to the real economy.
While I’m at it, what about police protection? Does police protection provide something of value to the real economy? To borrow a phrase from Sarah Palin, “You betcha!” After all, without police protection businesses would no doubt fall prey to robberies, burglaries, etc., which would obviously negatively impact their ability (and willingness) to do business and grow the economy.
The benefit (or value) provided to the real economy by the employees represented by government unions is very definitely tangible and critical, despite what the morons at the Wisconsin Club For Growth want their followers to blindly believe.
folkbum has his own take on this.
The benign names of groups and organizations always amuse me. People seldom question which Americans they seek to prosper in “Americans for Prosperity”. And so on. “The Wisconsin Club For Growth” sounds so noble, doesn’t it? We love the word “growth”. Now, ask yourself who’s growth? Growth of what, exactly? Some guy’s wallet? A select group of bank accounts?
Does anyone know who these people really are? I am particularly interested, as resident of Sun Prairie, to know who picks up the checks from their P.O. box in the UPS store on Main Street.
Eleanore Hawley is the treasurer of the WI Club For Growth PAC.
I believe Eric O’Keefe is a member of the WI CFG’s board of directors, and according to a 990 filed for 2009, Charles Talbot is listed as the principle officer for WI CFG.
I’m sure that the thousands of scientists employed at NASA, EPA, NIH, NSF etc., and all the public Universities around the country will be thrilled to hear that they seldom produce anything of value. No doubt the Wisconsin Club for Growth has no need for such paltry non-necessities as a cure for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimers, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, to name just a few silly and wasteful endeavors undertaken by such nerdy ‘non-producers’. No doubt the Wisconsin Club For Growth has benefited not one jot from the myriad products that arose from the Space Program. I’m sure they don’t care that the Manhattan Project was run by public employees and gave America much of its weapons superiority – after all, what possible value did THAT have?
It amazes me how restricted a view these knee-jerkers have of what the term ‘public employee’ actually means and I would be delighted if all public services were taken away from them.
Gawd, this is beyond the pale. I seldom get dumbstruck anymore when dealing with the TeaGOP, but this just is despicable!