In a bid to crush unions in Wisconsin,
Gov. Scott Walker and his allies have attempted to portray public
sector workers as a burden to tax payers. Pension funds are the
target of perhaps the most vicious slander. But the truth is that
pension funds are not publicly financed.
The money for these funds comes
entirely from the workers themselves. In public employees’
contracts, it is explicitly stated that the state is contributing a
portion of the worker’s earnings to the pension fund, not
taxpayer money from a general fund.
Walkers’ assertion that the deficit
can be addressed by reducing spending on pensions is absurd. Short of
stealing the money already in the fund, it is impossible to
contribute less than nothing.
Everyone has the right to retire with
dignity. After decades of providing vital services and creating the
wealth of society, workers in all sectors of the economy deserve to
spend the later years of their lives in comfort. The attack on
pension funds is an attempt to return to an environment in which
employers are free to exploit their employees well into old age
without regard to the psychological and physical stress this may
cause.
Efforts to stir up resentment towards
public worker retirement funds also serve an ideological purpose.
Walker and the capitalists he represents understand that these
union-busting measures will only pass if private sector and public
sector workers are pitted against each other. However, the massive
demonstrations in Madison composed of workers from all industries
have shown that solidarity can and will shatter these divide and
conquer tactics.
As the controversy over pension funds
show, attempts to scapegoat public workers are based on outright
lies. Capitalist attacks on the rights of working people can be
defeated if we organize and fight back, but this struggle requires
the highest degree of unity.
