By Dr. Larry Moses

No one asked me but…The state of Wisconsin is in a battle with their state employees. This fight has been brought on by the Governor. This is not a budget issue; it is a union issue.

The state employees have already agreed to all the salary and benefits cuts the governor needs to balance his budget. The workers are in the streets because the governor wants to take the worker’s right to bargain away from them. That is a right that is near and dear to the hearts of workers in states like Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana where unions have been a viable player in the political world for generations.

It is sometimes hard for us out west to understand the union mentality. We pride ourselves on our independence and our refusal to herd up. The western mystic is wrapped around the strong individualist and we are repulsed by the group mentality. However, easterners have been unionized for longer than many westerns states have been in the existence.

Governor Walker denies his goal is to break the unions. However, if that was not the case, why does he not accept the concession already given and move on.

For those of us who have a tendency to abhor unions, it would be good to remember that even non-union workers have benefitted by the efforts of union members. When I was growing up my father was the manager of the only non-union lumber company in the city of Des Moines, Iowa. This company paid above union wages and gave better benefits than the union lumber companies in the city. My father always told me that was because his company loved its workers, I have always believed it was because they didn’t want to bargain with the union.

I am not convinced that American workers would be living on the standard they are today without the unions. I am however, also, convinced that in many places unions have now become as dictatorial as the owners once were and would become again without unions.

Without a doubt, the most ideal work situation is when a benevolent boss takes care of his employees. However, that is not always the case and workers organized to protect themselves. In a perfect world, there would be no need for unions. In a perfect world, trickle down economy would work. In a perfect world, I would be a millionaire and that is not happening either.

In Nevada, the Governor has no power to say how much a teacher, fireman or policeman is paid. He does have a say in how much the state is providing to the various departments and districts. It is then up to the departments and districts to decided how to divide that money.

In the past, the school district has received their state per pupil allotment and added it to the rest of their revenue and put together a compensation package for teachers. They have sat down with union negotiators and said this is how much money we have for employee compensation and the two decided how it was to be divided between wages and benefits. What percent would be for salaries and what would be used to pay for insurance and retirement?

Teachers actually pay for all their benefits from money set aside for compensation. There is not one pocket of money for salaries and one for benefits. It is the same money merely divided into different areas. The negotiation are always in the bounds of money set aside for compensation and without additional monies from other areas.

No one asked me but… Just call me a prude; but I cannot jump on the pile attacking Harry Reid for his call to end prostitution in the State of Nevada. I find it amazing that anyone can defend an institution that degrades both the provider and the client.

However, I do find it disingenuous to attack this despicable business on the grounds that it hurts business in the State. I find it hard to believe that major corporations avoid the State of Nevada because it has a cathouse stuck out in the sagebrush or along a highway somewhere in the wilderness of Nevada.

It really hurts my libertarian leanings to say the government should regulate the behavior of consenting adults, however, I find little to defend here.

I suppose it is hard to deal with the immorality of the profession in a State whose founding fathers were mobsters. I am always amazed when I hear people try to explain Las Vegas by saying it is like living in any other town; we just happen to be the gaming capital of the world.

I always want to say, “yes. Las Vegas is like any other town; where you can see the top entertainers in the world seven days a week. It is like any other town where you can leave a gaming establishment at two in the morning, go to a city park and play city recreation league sponsored softball game. Upon completion of the game, stop by the grocery at four in the morning, shop, pay your bill, and drop your change in a slot machine on the way out the door, and still be a deacon in your local church. It is like any other town that graduates its senior class in a casino. Parents, while standing in line waiting for admittance to the graduation ceremony can drop a few dollars in the slots, pick up a drink served by a half-naked lady, and be entertained by a lounge band, on the way in. Folks, Las Vegas is not like any other town in the America.”

I would have a greater tendency to support Harry in this case if he had said prostitution as an institution should be banned because it is an immoral business that degrades the women involved, than it is a hindrance to the growth of the state.

We live in a state where it is illegal to fight dogs but not illegal to allow our daughters to engage in sex for pay. Does this not bother the good Senator? Is it only because he thinks it will hurt business?

Thought of the week…It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.

-Ronald Reagan