Here is my take on things.. Now I have not finished reading all the bills and budget information for my state but am currently in the process of it.

The states around this area ( Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan ) have either all passed or are in the process of passing bills limiting the collective bargaining ability of Unions. The primary way they are getting these through is that due to the extreme of our two party system currently the Republicans control the government in these states.

I think also that one reason there is not more uproar about this is there is so much misinformation about public sector unions out there and with the recent history of the Auto Workers Union and how they were blamed for the downfall of Ford, GM, and Chrysler people who do not belong to one ( majority of America) they do not think it affects them. Unfortunately people forget about the history of Unions and how the working conditions and in some ways even the wages we earn today are due to them.

I don't know many public employees but I do know a lot of teachers who are also affected by these changes. The public perception ( either right or wrong) is that teachers in Michigan get free health care , free massages, and other perks due to being a teacher. This is actually true at some districts that have bargained for them but the majority of them do not get these freebies and do have to pay some of their benefits like the private sector. It all comes down to how those Districts bargained with the Teachers Union. Most teachers also spend between five hundred and a thousand dollars a year to provide materials for their classroom such as pencils, paper, crayons, and other items that you would think should be part of a schools list of items to have on hand for their teachers.

I know here schools have been hurting financially since the early to mid 90's when the Governor then decided to change how schools were funded. Originally they were funded through Property Taxes and since those went up slightly every year the Districts had a slightly larger budget most years. Their funding was then moved to being tied to the Lottery system here in Michigan and since then funding has declined every year.

I think we are in for a rough couple of years as with most things the pendulum seems to swing wide right or wide left for a bit before people finally figure out it is better to be closer to the middle. We may even see a third party emerge if things don't correct in the next couple of years.

I will stop rambling now..