Buyers' Remorse

With special election for governor coming up soon in West Virginia, citizens need to give extra care to how they cast their votes.  Ten or more states around the country are suffering buyers’ remorse after electing Republican governors, when these governors started signing legislation that attacks unions, public services, and voting rights.

Most egregiously, perhaps, are attacks on voters’ rights.  Such as demanding photo ID, even of long-time voters, as in South Carolina where an estimated 178,000 persons have no such documents; shortening the period allowed for early voting; eliminating same-day registration/vote, as in Maine, where in 2008, 60,000 such votes occurred, and another 16,000 in 2010 midterms; rescinding the law giving felons who had served their terms the right to vote, as in Florida. 

But can anything surpass the attack on public workers, union workers that is, throughout these states.  Using them as scapegoats for budget problems, cutting tens of thousands from the payroll and eviscerating union rights, such as collective bargaining rights, for hundreds of thousands.    Wisconsin is the most notorious example, where Gov Scott Walker not only cut public employees, cut wages and benefits, he stripped public workers of their collective bargaining rights, except for firemen and police, who had supported him during his campaign; Governor Kasich of Ohio restricts the collective bargaining rights of 350,000 teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees; New Jersey  passed what has been called the worst anti-union bill in the country, while Governor Chris Christie flings insults at teachers;   Maine’s Governor LePage wants to bust unions, cut taxes while slashing public services, gut employee benefits and pensions, and raise the retirement age from 62 to 65.  Both Maine and Wisconsin flout child labor laws by lowering restrictions on the hours and days teenagers can work—how is that going to help the unemployment situation among adult workers?  Governor LePage of Maine has really shown his animosity toward unions by removing a labor-themed mural from the state’s labor department, claiming that it was not “balanced.”   Governor Rick Perry of Texas wants the state to opt out of Social Security.  But then, of course, he has also suggested the state secede from the union. 

Governors are cutting taxes for millionaires while cutting spending for education and other services—Florida’s Rick Scott cut $4 billion in spending for public services, while cutting corporate taxes by 5%, $1.4 billion, cutting education by 10% and reducing teachers’ salaries by $2,300 a year; he is requiring 600,000 government workers, including police, firefighters, teachers, judges and retirees to contribute five percent to their retirement.  In Maine, the 1% of households earning over $300,000 will have taxes reduced by an average of $2,700, while education and other public services are cut, employee pensions and benefits are gutted, and unions are busted.  Pennsylvania’s Governor Corbett wants to cut public education by $1 billion, higher education by $625 million; Michigan’s  Governor Rick Snyder cuts corporate income taxes by 81%, $1.8 billion, while increasing taxes on poor, elderly, and middle class by 36%, pensions of seniors will be taxed as ordinary income; Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer has cut taxes by $538 million over the next six years, while cutting funds to provide organ transplants to 98 citizens, two of whom have died since the passed that law (talk about “death panels”);  she also cuts $72 million from health services and other services for poor children.  New Jersey’s Chris Christie cut $820 million from education budgets, but then restored  $150 million for wealthy suburbs;  Texas Governor Rick Perry wants to slash education by $10 billion, and to fire 100,000 teachers.  Maine’s Governor Paul LePage rolled back consumer protections against health insurance companies, which can now raise premiums on individuals by up to 10% a year; Florida’s Rick Scott rejected $1 billion in stimulus funds to implement health care reform; New Jersey cut $9 million in health care for the working poor, $8 million for women’s health care, $8 million in AIDS funding, and $9 million in mental-health services.

Two governors have turned down high-speed rail:  Florida’s Scott turned down $2.4 billion for high-speed rail; Ohio’s Kasich also canceled the program.

Both Florida and Ohio governors are turning public parks into private golf courses.

Michigan has established “emergency financial managers” with the power to disincorporate whole cities, fire elected officials, close schools, void union contracts, close public parks and turn them over to business cronies to turn into private golf courses.  So much for democracy.

As to environmental issues, Maine’s LePage opposes state legislature’s aim to ban BPA in plastic food and beverage containers, though he admits that “The worse case is that some women may have little beards”; Pennsylvania’s Corbett opposes any restrictions on gas drilling permits or increases in taxes on natural gas industry; he has given a coal company CEO unilateral authority to overturn laws and pass out drilling permits as he sees fit.   He says:  “Let’s make Pennsylvania the Texas of the natural gas boom!”

Rural Broadband is being targeted for cuts by Wisconsin’s Gov Walker.  Other states, such as North Carolina, are also looking to kill community broadband.

Buyers’ Remorse, indeed.  In at least some states, notably, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan, there is blowback from citizens.  There may be more.  Watch.