Wisconsin is in a state of concern. Like the NFL, it seems they are also having a problem with collective bargaining. Unlike the NFL, this is something that has escalated into protests and demonstrations. The people of Wisconsin have been protesting the Governor's budget bill, which would deny collective bargaining to union workers. The people of Wisconsin feel like they are being attacked by this bill and that this is a bill that is taking from the lower and middle classes and giving to the upper class. The bill is allowing the governor to profitize by selling state owned facilites to private entities. The G.O.P. is trying to bust up the unions and cover it up by saying it is budget balancing according to Paul Krugman's article "Shock Doctrine, U.S.A.". The point Krugman is trying to make in this article is that this bares resemblence to Iraq in 2003 when President Bush appointed their new leaders based on what he said to be for "loyalty and political reliability". This has gotten to the point that Wisconsin Democrats fleed to Illinois to get away from all of this. 14 democratic law makers of Wisconsin had been taking refuge in the Northern Illinois area. They were being overwhelmed by the number of bills trying to be passed that they felt the only way they could slow it down was to get up and leave, and so they did. The protests had started in Wisconsin but they have also emerged in Indiana and Ohio. Monica Davey reports in her article "Life on the Run For Democrats in Union Fights" states that "Those left in Madison this week, supporters of Gov. Scott Walker's plan to limit collective bargaining and cut benefits, agreed to a brand new rule about paychecks. Direct deposits to senators' bank accounts are now barred for anyone who misses two or more days of the legislative session. Those who wish to be paid their salary must collect their checks in person, on the Senate floor." This is bad news bears for those on the run because they are not going to be present to collect their paychecks if this keeps up.
The NFL is in a state of crisis at the moment, and that is if the union and the owners cannot come to an agreement within the next eight hours there is going to be a work stoppage and a lockout. That is what is going on right now in Wisconsin, there is a work stoppage. The owners in the NFL are mad because they think the players are greedy, and the players are mad because they think the owners are greedy. They are no where close to a settlement. We get that feeling about Wisconsin. They are already in a work stoppage. Union workers have already started protesting. The unions in Wisconsin feel that the governor is being too greedy. Which is true. He is trying to cover up his chances of profitizing by destroying unions and saying it is for fiscal purposes. This is a load of crap. His plan is to sell all of the power plants and heating and cooling companies to independents like the Koch brothers to make him a lot of money. He created a 144 page bill to hide all of the underlying details.
I am not claiming to be some expert on unions and if they are needed or not, but it seems that it happens a lot when there are unions who do not get along with the other side. I am not saying that it is the unions fault or the other sides fault always. In this case it seems as if it is the governor's fault because he is clearly just trying to make more money out of this. In the NFL, though, I think both the NFLPA (union) and the owners are both to blame. They cannot come to an agreement because neither side is willing to compromise. Nobody is ever going to get everything they want, so there always needs to be a compromise. Again, comparing this to Wisconsin, the unions of Wisconsin and the governor need to compromise. I do not know how they can do that because, like I state earlier, I am no expert on this topic, but the only solution is to compromise. It seems that in both scenarios the sides are on two completley different ends of the spectrum, and it has to be about negotiating. The only way to fix a problem is to sit down and talk it out. Each side states what they want and then bargain. This is the best and the most diplomatic way to do things.
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