This is a fight over lesser and lesser piece of the pie. In previous years, the Tea Party'ers would be protesting that they too should have similar rights as government workers.

But the economic policies, starting most notably in the Reagan administration, whose result if not the goal, was to create the US in the image of a third world country with the billionaire CEOs controlling society, government, and those who actually do the work.

The success of Reagan and Bush I in marginalizing and demonizing labor allowed them with little opposition to negotiate and sign the NAFTA treaty in December of 1992, and have it ratified in 1993 by Congress and signed into law by Clinton. It could only be done because labor, having been previously the only non-government institution that had the clout to prevent the decimation of the middle class had been neutralized, demonized and eliminated.

We've seen the inevitable results. Stock market way up, wages way down. Sky-rocketing individual debt, sky-rocketing debt and collapse and bailout of the investor class, for whom NAFTA was designed to place in control of the US and world economies.

Could we so soon forget that liberal labor and those who eventually became the conservative Tea Party'ers were vehemently opposed to the bank bailouts? 70% of Americans were opposed, and yet the bailout went through. That is, the massive protests against the bailout were ignored because there was not and is not a middle class based institution that could force the government to do otherwise.

Clearly Americans don't count because they can so easily be manipulated into fighting over truly marginal issues.

The brilliance of the ruling CEOs and their Republican allies in being able to rally workers (and small businesses) to oppose their own interests cannot be denied.

The cry from the Tea Party'ers that they're just glad to have jobs, rather than rallying to be paid a living wage and not be one paycheck away from destitution is a monument to that brilliance.

Labor unions and leaders have for years morphed into only caring about wages, benefits and working conditions, just because the laws limit negotiations with employers to those topics. Very short sighted.

The knowledge of their importance of being a non-government institution that could help control and influence government on substantive and policy issues, as they were in the 60's, and to act as a counter-weight when necessary to other non-govenment institutions (think big business and financial industries) was been lost, and we will continue to pay dearly for this.

Brian Hall is right. The unions in Wisconsin are fighting to preserve the past -- because the future couldn't be any bleaker.

thanks, Larry.

Things are certainly changing, but it is not just the (some) Republicans who are in league with big business (and big labor/big government), dems, including current Senator Kohl and former Senator Feingold, voted for decidedly pro (big) business tax policy, such as a 5.25% offshore deal:

http://www.zmetro.com/archives/003331.php

More here:

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13166.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/07/AR2010060703685.html

Finally, Matt Taibbi's latest is well worth reading:

http://www.schoolinfosystem.org/archives/2011/02/k-12_tax_spendi_181.php

Better tax policy, would, IMHO, simplify taxes all around so everyone plays the same game, not just those who can spin money to the political class. Myopic, for sure as indicated by Obama's dinner with Silicon Valley donors. The 2012 elections are well underway.

OTOH, I am much more optimistic than Brian Hall. Times of transition are difficult, but I believe we will see many new opportunities arise in agriculture, biotech, computing and energy. Of course, our children must be well educated to take advantage of such change - the purpose of this blog, after all!

big business running our government through either major party concerns me.