Demonizing Public Employees

The right wing is attempting to shift the blame for the economic recession/depression away from the banks and onto the backs of public employees. I watched the Larry Kudlow Show on CNBC (a good source for right wing propoganda) the other night. Larry was ranting about how Public Employees make so much more than employees in the private sector and have enormous pensions as well. He had confirmation for his observations from Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Senator Mitch McConnell.

Their plan is to split the working class and cut spending on public sector workers, either by cutting their pay and benefits or reducing their number. The budget crisis is the perfect opportunity to accomplish this. Also this divide and conquer strategy is being used against public school teachers by the Charter School movement. Here the attempt is to divide teachers from the Community. We are being told that Teacher contracts, aside from being expensive, protect incompetent teachers and thus further disadvantage poor mostly non-white students.

So are we going to have a "race to the bottom," which will be called a "race to the top"? See: here. Or will the working class finally wake up and seek alliances and recognize their common enemy?