President Threatens Unions: Downsize or "Over the Cliff!!!"

Sorry, did you get the impression that US President Obama had grown the cojones to tell public sector unions to stop destroying the US economy at all levels -- federal, state, and local? Ha! The president in question is Socialist Cuba's President Raul Castro. Whatever his faults, Castro, at least, has the wits and the testosterone to lay out the cold facts to public sector unions, and to make the hard decisions.

Cuban President Raul Castro told unionists to accept layoffs and reforms that open the way for private enterprise as necessary for the survival of socialism...“To defend and explain these measures, the working class must learn and be convinced of their importance for the survival of the revolution,” Castro said in an address to the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, the only union recognized by the Communist Party. “Otherwise we will fall off the cliff.”

Castro’s speech was published in the party newspaper Granma as Cuba prepares to dismiss 500,000 state workers by March, affecting 10% of the workforce.

The dismissed workers are being encouraged to go into business for themselves, and Granma said the central bank may offer micro-credits to new entrepreneurs as the island faces its worst economic slump since the former Soviet Union ended support in the 1990s. _MP

As for Obama, he considers Tuesday's election results to be a mandate for him to push his agenda for radical change even further and faster than he did when he had a sycophantic Nancy Pelosi as his private house maid, for doing his scutwork. Obama is taking a small vacation -- at a cost of $200 million a day -- to visit India in grand style. No -- Obama is not paying $200 million a day for his diverting vacation -- you are!

Somehow the new Republican House of Representatives leadership sees the recent election results a bit differently, than does Obama. It is possible that this slight disagreement may lead to a trifle of unpleasantness in Washington DC, from time to time. Wait and see.

If Republicans actually do try to press a "Tea Party" style agenda on the US federal government, they are likely to feel some "push-back" from public sector unions. Certainly the heavy Republican gains at the state government level -- with the majority of state governor's races won by Republican candidates -- presages some epic government vs. public sector union battles at the state level. Darrell Issa, Republican Representative from California, said this:

"The American people have sent a clear and direct message to Washington that they want less spending, limited government and more accountability," Issa said Tuesday night. "The mandate is clear: Advance an agenda that will create real jobs, not government jobs, but real jobs to get our economy moving again. Reduce the footprint of government in our lives, get government to live within its means and make government more transparent and accountable." _Govexec

To union bosses and enforcers, those sound like fighting words. Particularly when you think about what New Jersey Governor Christie has been doing in his state.

Expect some very interesting times ahead, with two diametrically different visions for the future -- one backed up by billionaire George Soros, public sector unions, leftists in academia, billion dollar lobbyists and hangers-on, etc, and the other mainly led by a grass-roots Tea Party movement that did not exist two years ago.

Previously published at Al Fin Central