Tramps like Wisconsin state senate Democrats, "baby they were born to run."

There's a certain poetic rhythm, even cosmic alignment to their decision to hightail it out of Cheesetown and seek refuge in the land that practically invented political patronage, Illinois.  Well, maybe they get to take a refresher seminar on corruption at The Best Western where they're holed up.  Perhaps Blago is instructing.  It is always wise to learn from the best.

Apparently these state senators never heard of fighting the good fight.  Hard to blame them, though.  After all, not being able to convince a majority of the voters of the rightness of your position in what is arguably the most liberal state in the union could probably be construed as a bit of a red flag. 

So instead of continuing to make their case and ultimately letting the ballot box determine the outcome, they and their union constituents are choosing to follow the Al Gore playbook— "When you have the facts on your side, argue the facts.  When you have the law on your side, argue the law.  When you have neither, holler."

HOLLER!!!

One of the grand ironies in the Democrats' efforts to protect the status quo on wages and benefits for government workers is that it was Democrats who made compensation the central issue of the financial crisis.  The incongruity, of course, is that although the executive salaries in question were often excessive, unseemly, and inappropriate, they had absolutely nothing to do with the meltdown (not to mention no business of the government).  They were and are an infinitesimal blip on the corporate revenue and profit seismometer. 

On the other hand, by virtually every measure, government worker/retiree compensation is at the center of our local, state, and national fiscal calamity.  By and large, even after considering gross waste, fraud, and abuse, government entities are generally bringing in enough revenue to fund their bloated operations—that is, before one takes into account the outrageously excessive compensation packages that have been "negotiated" for current and retired government workers.

Federal worker benefits are nearly 400% greater than those given to private workers.  Their salaries are 50% higher.  State and local benefits are over 60% more generous.

Those enormous disparities might even be quasi manageable if the eligible recipients were current workers, rather than current AND retired—particularly when the retired far outnumber the current.

Clearly, such a system is no longer sustainable.  The day of reckoning has come.

Governor Walker is completely right not to fall for the union offer of one-time concessions.  Such concessions would do nothing to remedy the system's structural problems.  The unions would simply use their leverage in future contract negotiations to reignite the fiscal time bomb.

It's time someone finally attempts to break the un-virtuous cycle of campaign contributions and votes for the quid pro quo of shamefully extreme compensation packages.

"Together we could break this trap
We'll run to we drop, baby we'll never go back."

Let's see if the "broken heroes" make their way back to Madison "on a last chance power drive."