The president was in full campaign mode yesterday finally using his bully pulpit to get his message out. And all the major news networks not only picked up his speeches live they reported on them extensively this morning. The only problem is that his message continues to be that progressive policies are in large part to blame for the problems facing this country.
During the debt ceiling debate not only did Obama refuse to take cuts to social security, medicare, and medicaid off the table his administration proudly embraced such cuts. Yesterday the president decided that in addition to attacking the programs that seniors, the sick, and the poor depend on he should also go after the middle class by attacking unions.
After being asked a question about the unions that helped him get elected in 2008 part of Obama's response was this:
I do say, though, to my friends in the public sector unions that it is important that you are on the side of reform where reform is needed. Because the truth of the matter is, is that at a time when everybody is belt-tightening, there is nothing wrong with a union saying to itself, you know what, we know budgets are hard right now. Let’s sit down and say we’re willing to negotiate so that we’re making some sacrifices to maintain the number of teachers in the classroom and keep class sizes at a reasonable level. We’re willing to make some modifications in terms of how our pension systems work so that they’re sustainable for the next generation of teachers as long as it’s a conversation, as opposed to it simply being imposed and collective bargaining rights being stripped away.
So I think it’s important -- remember we talked about shared sacrifice and burden sharing. Well, this is an area where there’s got to be burden sharing as well.
Obama added:
If a public sector employee is able to retire at 55 with 80 percent of their wages, and the average public sector employee has got a 401(k) that they’ve just seen decline by about 20 percent and they have no idea how they’re going to retire, and they’re feeling burdened by a lot of taxes and they don’t feel like the public sector employers are making any adjustments whatsoever to reflect the tough economic realities that are facing folks who are not protected, then there’s going to be a natural backlash.
I would love for the president to provide examples of these public sector employees that get to retire at 55 with 80% of their pension. Maybe part of the back lash toward public sector employees has something to do with the lies being spread? Such as the lie that they can retire at 55 with 80% of their pension?
In Obama's world he wants the unions to share in the sacrifice. But I don't think this president quite understands the concept of sharing. So far our poor and our seniors have sacrificed by taking major cuts in heating assistance, food stamps, and many other programs they count on. And now they have to have the worry of having social security and medicare cut since this administration is actively embracing such cuts. Union workers have sacrificed for years with cuts in their pay, their pensions, and their benefits. But the rich people that crashed our economy and were then bailed out by our tax dollars haven't had to sacrifice a damn thing. Their profits are at record levels and under the Obama administration they have seen their taxes get cut to historic lows.
Knowing all this the president has the nerve to suggest that unions share in the sacrifice. Maybe his new plan for 2012 is to run in the Republican primary.
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