Joe Scarborough: Wisconsin Public Unions Are ‘Greedy’ Free Riders

This is precisely the reason I do not watch Morning Joe

Think Progress

Showing solidarity in opposition of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) Budget Repair Bill, which would effectively eliminate collective bargaining for public employees, citizens have continued to flood Wisconsin’s state Capitol today. The Senate was expected to pass Walker’s proposal yesterday, but to support the workers, the Democratic members of the Senate left the state, leaving the Republicans unable to achieve a quorum for the vote

This morning, in apparent opposition of the protests, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said that the unions “free-ride” and are “greedy“:

SCARBOROUGH: Are you kidding me? They are shutting down the state. You see these young students, mike, instead of trying to end a war, they are trying to make sure state employees don’t have to pay off 3 percent of their salary to our — or 4 percent of their salary for health care benefits. They are trying to make sure that these people do not have to pay what every other American who works outside of government has to pay. Are you serious?

You’re going to shut down schools because you have a union that is so greedy that they want their people to be held to different standard than working class americans who sometimes pay 15 percent of their salaries to benefits? [...] hey, we are not going to let you get a free ride on benefits.

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5 Comments

Filed under Joe Scarborough, Wisconsin Unions, Wisconson Fiscal Crisis, Wisconson GOP

5 Responses to Joe Scarborough: Wisconsin Public Unions Are ‘Greedy’ Free Riders

  1. Moe

    Did anyone ask that ego in a sweater why the Wisconsin workers are not ‘working class Americans’? What are htey? Working class Italians?

  2. A Republican lecturing people on greed? Seriously?

  3. Glix

    The righties continue to ignore the fact that the unions have said they were willing to pay the additional money for their benefits as long as they get to keep their collective bargaining rights. The governor said no, thereby proving what thinking people had already figured out. It’s not about the money, it’s about union-busting.

    I’m pretty disturbed about what is going on. The Republican Party has declared all out war on the middle class in this country.

    • Glix, you’re right. Walker can no longer hide behind the Big Lie that it’s about “fiscal responsibility” since the Unions conceded to paying the additional money for their benefits. It is and has always been about dismanteling the middle class via the unions.

      • Glix

        There is a silver lining to all this. It took years of Bush&Co for Democrats to work up a big enough head of steam to defeat the Republicans in 2006. It’s taken only months for the Republican governors and congressional majority to get us riled up again.

        Some of these governors like Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida may even be recalled before their terms are up.