-By Warner Todd Huston
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees chief Henry Bayer addressed a rally of Illinois unions members on April 21. During his harangue this man revealed the exact sort of logical disconnect in which union thugs everywhere wallow.
Bayer noted that 10% of the workforce in Illinois is out of work. OK, then what was his prescription to solve this situation? More taxes! How even higher taxes on the few lucky enough to have a job could help enlarge the workforce is the $64,000 question. The answer, of course, is that it can’t.
Catch this complete lack of common sense and logic in Bayer’s spittle specked rant…
“… so they (the legislature) can’t do their job, ‘you know we can’t raise taxes because people are hurting.’ And they are absoroo…lutely right. People are hurting. But let me ask you this: if we raise revenue for senior programs will it hurt the elderly? If we raise revenue for childcare will it hurt working families? If we raise revenue for community colleges and universities will it hurt students? If we raise revenue for programs for the disabled will it hurt will it hurt those individuals who get those services? If we raise revenue for public safety will it hurt our communities? If we raise money for schools will it hurt our kids? Yes people are hurting that’s why we need a tax increase!”
If this isn’t the most stupid blather I’ve yet heard from a union tough, then I’ve never heard any. Where does this guy think all those taxes are coming from if not the very people he invokes? Does he think no one that he is interested in pays state taxes? The very people he mentioned are already losing their services because government has spent itself into a hole the size of the Grand Canyon!
What this state needs is jobs and higher taxes defeats that quest!
Equally is idiotic, Bayer and his AFSCME unionists think that a legislator’s “job” is to raise taxes.
And let us not forget that this Bayer hypocrite is already representing some of the highest paid workers with some of the most luxuriously provisioned with benefits in the state. So, what he’s doing is requiring the very poor he claims to want to help to float his bloated union’s lavish lifestyle!
After this bit of foolishness, Bayer invokes “that great philosopher Muhammad Ali” to the effect that “they can run but they can’t hide.” Great philosopher? This guy invokes Muhammad Ali as a “great philosopher” in front of Illinois teachers? Apparently this guy needs to go back to school if he doesn’t know any real philosophers to quote!
Naturally after that bit, this union chief in his green gang T-Shirt goes on to threaten lawmakers that “we’re gonna chase you” and “we’ll be there” to force them to the union line issuing veiled threats of union thuggery.
It all amounts to the worst logical disconnect imaginable. After listening to this Bayer, I need an aspirin!
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, TheRealityCheck.org, Human Events Magazine, AmericanDailyReview.com, and the New Media Journal, among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events and is currently the co-host of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conservatism” heard on BlogTalkRadio. Warner is also the editor of the Cook County Page for RedCounty.com.
He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of PubliusForum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
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