What if Petoskey News-Review Employees Took to the Streets?

Ho-hum. The editorial viewpoint of my community's local paper is consistently status quo, consistently bland. No local conservative or independent thinker or concerned taxpayer has any real presence on the op. ed. page. Nor does anyone who doesn't sing the praises of the safety net society or of city workers.

This column, from the former editor of the PNR, is a prime example of what I'm yammering about. In it, Kendall Stanley complains about all the 'attacks' on public-sector unions by various state legislatures.

He writes, "When, one might reasonably ask, did the people who provide us with services become people legislators feel they have the right to vilify? It’s as if the entire economy of the country was being destroyed by public employees."

Now that you mention it ... the entire economy of some states, like tiny Rhode Island, is very much at risk due to public pension benefits. According to the New York Times (not some right-wing rag): "After decades of drift, denial and inaction, Rhode Island’s $14.8 billion pension system is in crisis. Ten cents of every state tax dollar now goes to retired public workers." Whoa!


Mr. Stanley also doesn't bother to mention the unprofessional conduct of, for instance, those firefighters, public school teachers, etc. in Wisconsin. Remember how they angrily took to the streets of Madison when their precious collective bargaining 'rights' got tweaked in order to avert a serious economic crisis in the Badger State?

By the way, I'm not advocating needlessly picking on government employees. On more than one occasion, I've been assisted by police officers and have encountered helpful city and town workers and elected officials. But the economic realities of our times demand that governors promote pro-active measures (like Right-to-Work) that benefit as many people as possible, not just a select few who are recklessly and selfishly pushing for increased spending. The operative word is parity - parity between the private sector and the public sector. Without a robust private sector, there is only recession, recession, and more recession.

Let's leave the puff pieces to the public relations people, Mr. Stanley. Try researching with Google next time you write, and try imbibing something more nutritious and bracing than Kool-Aid.

If you want to add your two cents, Kendall Stanley can be reached at: kendallstanley@charter.net