Coolie America at the DMV

Why should taxpayers be forced to treat people like human beings when no one expects it of the private sector?

That's the argument inherent in this assault on workers' rights across the states, as governors begin to unilaterally eliminate union agreements for state employees, with the argument that the granting of collective bargaining rights was only "by executive order". (In other words, noblesse oblige, she explained, as she held her stomach in a nearly vain attempt not to retch.) And remember--what the right hand giveth, the left hand can always take away:

Within hours or days of taking office this year, Mitch Daniels in Indiana and Matt Blunt in Missouri eliminated collective bargaining agreements for state employees, affecting about 50,000 workers. Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher did the same when he took office in 2003. In each case, the agreements had only been granted by executive order, not by law.
In Mississippi, where state employees don't have collective bargaining rights, GOP Gov. Haley Barbour supports a legislative effort to eliminate existing civil-service protections. In Oklahoma, the GOP-controlled state House approved a measure to repeal a law granting collective bargaining to municipal employees.
Blunt said the union rules of the business world should not apply to government. "Fundamentally, public employees are different than private sector employees their employer is the people of Missouri," he said on his first day in office. "Taxpayers should not be bound by collective bargaining agreements."

That's right. Why would I want my tax money going toward a fair wage and working conditions for the people charged with carrying out the work of the state on my behalf? Fuck 'em. If they don't like it, let them try WalMart. Why should I care if low wages, overwork, lack of resouces, and constant pressure to do more with less lowers morale and productivity, results in more sick time and higher turnover, and ends up costing me far more than just treating them decently in the first place?

This is America. This is the land of I've Got Mine, Jack. Like they say in the pulpit, "Them that's got shall get, and if they ain't got, they don't deserve gettin'."