Wisconsin: A Road Map of the GOP's War on the Middle Class

The hypocrisy of the Republican Party's claims to want to aid the beleaguered middle class is stunning.   While remaining focused on tax cuts for the wealthy and in some cases raising taxes on lower income Americans, the GOP across the USA remains focused on destroying labor unions and returning workers to the status they faced during the days of the Gilded Age of a century or more ago.  That these twin agendas harm millions of Americans and often hit children particularly hard means nothing to the Republicans who make the Pharisees of the Bible look like upstanding folks.  Here are highlights from a New York Times op-ed that looks at the GOP war on average Americans:

In a nation where the long decline in unions has led to a pervasive slump in wages, Republicans’ support for anti-union legislation is at odds with their professed commitments to helping the middle class. Right-to-work laws do not attract businesses and create jobs, as proponents claim. Rather, they are linked to lower wages, fewer benefits and higher poverty. They win support among conservative lawmakers not because they are in the public interest but because cutting labor costs is a priority of far-right groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is tied to the Koch brothers.

Wisconsin is hardly alone; 13 other states have pending right-to-work bills, and in Illinois the Republican governor is trying to disable the state’s public unions by executive order. In addition, at the behest of the construction industry, legislation is pending in 18 states to repeal “prevailing wage” laws, which require private-sector bidders on taxpayer-financed construction projects to pay wages that are in line with those for comparable work in the locality. Prevailing wage laws, which are enforced by federal statute on federal projects and by 32 states on state projects, prevent lowball bids from depressing wages. Without them, taxpayer money would be routed away from workers’ paychecks and into corporate coffers.

One question is whether the maneuvering in the presidential race will tip the scales one way or the other between the pro- and anti-union forces. As has been the case in recent years, eyes are on Wisconsin to see if Republicans, including Mr. Walker, will continue to attack unions even as they profess to stand for good jobs.

When are voters going to wake up to the fact that the GOP is using religion and racism to dupe them into voting for Republicans who are against the interests of most voters?