A lot of resentment of unions - especially public-sector unions - is they no longer represent the working class, but the middle and upper-middle class. A family with an RCMP officer and a teacher would be in the top 15 or 20 per cent of household incomes. In small communities, especially, the teachers, firefighers, and police are the most affluent families in town.
What strikes people as especially unfair is these comfortable, well-off middle class public servants will retire 10+ years earlier than their private-sector counterparts, with guaranteed pensions that those in the private sector can only dream about. And much of the cost for these upper middle class lifestyles and unparalleled security is being born by people who earn less and have less security. Or the costs are being kicked down the can for our kids to worry about paying for.
At the root of the issue is that arbitrators give no thought to how governments will pay for these salaries and pensions in the future. Governments are compelled to make deals that they can pay for only with greater and greater borrowing, and assuming more unfunded liability. Someday the whole house of cards is going to collapse.
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Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
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Last edited by CliffFletcher; 04-02-2018 at 09:25 AM.
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