Desperate to Join the Club (or, “How to get the rich kids to let you hang out with them”)
No doubt you’ve been hearing a lot about the struggles for organized labor in states like Ohio, New Jersey, New Mexico, and of course Wisconsin. So I’ll spare you the recap.
What baffled me about Governor Walker (and his Republican gubernatorial cohorts) was one nagging question – what is the mentality of someone who takes money from the poor (or middle class, or average worker) and, under the obviously faulty logic of “fiscal responsibility”, turns around and gives it to rich people (who already have plenty of money and earnings of their own)?
This has been the trend everywhere lately. In every state I mentioned above, governors are trying to dismantle public worker unions and take away even the most basic collective bargaining options, all painted with the broad brushstrokes of “saving the taxpayer money”. But independent studies have shown that unionized public sector employees have, on the whole, done a more efficient and effective job at a significantly lower cost than private contractors (which is where many of these governors would like to see things headed).
You only need to look as far as Iraq and Afghanistan to know that private contractors are not the answer, are not the solution, and are generally not a very good idea is “efficiency” and “effectiveness” are truly your goals.
So, in the face of all this evidence, in the face of reason and logic, why in the world would anyone think this is a proper course of action?
I think I’ve finally figured it out. Scott Walker wants the “cool kids” (read: Rich People) to hang out with him. He’s hoping he might finally be allowed to join their club. And he’s willing to do anything to be considered among their “pals”.
You know how this goes. This is grade school mentality gone awry. The cool kids get some younger, dorkier kid to do their bidding with the promise (spoken or otherwise) of being allowed to hang out with them.
“Hey, I’ll tell you what, if you go in that store and steal us all candy bars, then maybe we’ll let you hang out with us later on.”
That’s the only explanation that I can think of.
Scott Walker was never the cool kid. And he’s probably got a lot more money than most of us, but still isn’t as disgustingly wealthy as the Koch brothers. And so maybe he’s desperate to join their ranks.
And he’ll do anything to be allowed to hang out with the rich kids.
He’ll take the ball (money, rights, etc.) away from the little kids (working class) and give it to the bigger kids (rich people), just to have it kicked or thrown away. Taken simply because it could be. Taken simply to be a bully to someone smaller, weaker, unable to fight back.
That is your explanation. Scott Walker is a putz. He’s the kid that no one wants to hang out with, because he tries too hard to fit in with one group while alienating another. He’s loathsome, but he’s also an effective puppet for the individuals that he desires to be counted with.
He’s the third grader who picks on and takes from the first graders at the behest of the fifth graders.
He’s a half-ass bully and a sad sack, all at the same time.
