"You think about the private-sector workers and what they've sacrificed. They've given up a lot," he said. "There needs to be equity."He said this at a press conference on Sunday; read more here. Again he's attempting to defend SB5 and explain why it's so very needed.
I've given myself a headache trying to figure out what private-sector workers have sacrificed that public-sector workers have not. Last I heard, private-sector workers were still eligible for pay raises (and gigantic bonuses for those private-sector workers who happen to run failing banks or investment houses or other Wall Street type joints that deserve a significant portion of the blame for the current economic woes that Kasich and Co. claim SB5 will help to correct) and weren't required to take 10 furlough days.
Don't get me wrong, I know things are hard all over. But to suggest that private-sector workers have been out there sacrificing while public-sector workers have been getting fat and sassy on the public teat is just laughable. That Kasich and his followers completely ignore the lack of pay raises over the past couple of years and the actual pay cut that was doled out to all in the form of furlough days makes it clear that SB5 is not about saving money but rather is a political ploy.
Whether their main goal is to get people so fired up over this that they'll be somewhat more docile over the coming budget or to break down a major source of funding for their opponents in future elections doesn't even matter.
What matters is that we don't let it work.
What matters is that we continue to make it clear that he has underestimated the people of this state.
What matters is that we keep sending letters to the media and to our elected officials.
What matters is that we keep showing up at the Statehouse.
What matters is that we do not sit silently, meekly waiting to see what "they" decide is best for "us".
What matters is that in this democracy, we must not go back to the apathy that allowed these people to attain office.
What matters is that we continue to make our voices heard.
Whether or not SB5 passes (in any form), Kasich and Co. misjudged us. It's a whopping two months into Kasich's term and he's doing one heck of a job... of dividing us, of disrespecting us, of weakening us. He cannot be allowed to destroy our great state.
So keep reading and writing and talking and sharing. Keep letting everyone know that we will not sit down and shut up and give up our futures to the self-crowned kings and queens in Columbus.
And most of all, remember that "we" and "us" is all of us. I am not a union member. I am, however, a proud Ohioan who will not sit quietly by as Kasich and his cronies destroy my home state.
The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.-Robert Hutchins
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