Mike Huckabee will get a pension from the State of Arkansas which is already overwhelmed by the taxpayer-funded budget because, according to Huckabee, state workers are over-paid...and they are a burden on normal working people who earn significantly less than those greedy state employees. (Huckabee's dad was a fireman, so I suppose THEY are paid a fair wage and benefits, right Mike?)
After a career as a Baptist minister in Arkansas Huckabee once told his evangelist political supporters: “I'm just a guy over 50 looking for a job. I want to be the voice of the people who serve the food and drive the trucks. A lot of Americans wonder, does government understand what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck?” (Do you remember when you once did Mike?)
As Governor of Arkansas for 10 years Huckabee earned about $75,000 a year + very generous taxpayer-paid benefits. He also received $378,000 in consulting fees during 2006 while he was still governor of Arkansas. (You weren't living from paycheck to paycheck back then, were you Huck?)
Huckabee's major assets include: Bank and credit union accounts, stock, shares, money market fund and retirement account worth 297,000-$780,000. He has shares in 12 Stops Inc. worth $50,000-$100,000 and a $40,000 salary as an officer of 12 Stops Inc. He has bank accounts and other investments earning him another $10,000-$27,000 and business income from shares in Troufion Radio Network worth $10.000. He racked up "consulting fees" from the National Association of Music Manufacturers for $40,000 and then he published a book called "Do The Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America" (released on November 18, 2008) which became a New York Times Best Seller (earning him book sales and royalties $$$).
Then after Mikey got his high-paying gig at Fox News he started bashing state workers and labor unions. (Remember, his dad was a fireman.)
Governor Mike Huckabee has been on a whirlwind media tour lately complaining about the public unions. His biggest gripe seems to be that those who belong in public unions earn significantly higher wages than those in the private sector. And he's right, they do, but so what? There's a very good reason for that.
Most people in the private sector no longer belong in a labor union any more because mostly, for the last 40 years, corporations and the GOP have been actively union busting. Most people who worked in the private sector had no bargaining power with the companies they worked for. Hence the ever increasing disparity in corporate executive wages and their employee's. If common workers were lucky, they only had meager cost-of-living increases in their pay and benefits all those years, while corporate CEOs salaries have been rising dramatically. Read: Working Harder for Less
And also because politicians like Governor Mike Huckabee can't outsource a firefighter's job to China; but if all the fire trucks were being built in China, the good governor wouldn't complain if he profited personally from campaign funds that allowed for that.
Those who belong in public unions earn significantly higher wages than those in the private sector only because their elected politicians were forced to negotiate and bargain...unlike corporate CEOs who would outsource jobs overseas and to Mexico to escapee paying fair and honest wages. The political leaders of State governments can't outsource public jobs just to enrich their salaries. They can only take campaign bribes.
The political leaders felt compelled to give fairer increases in wages and benefits to public employees because they themselves were receiving their wages, healthcare benefits, and pensions from the taxpayers as well. How many State and Congresssional senators who have advocated cutting public service wages have also volunteered to cut their own wages to save on the cost of the budget? I count ZERO.
When was the last time Governor Mike Huckabee offered to sacrifice his taxpayer-paid pension, healthcare benefits, or expense accounts to save those poor taxpayers the cost in the state budget? Never.
The Republicans (who only favor the rich), always "talk the talk, but they never walk the walk" when it comes to government spending. They spend just as much as the Democrats, but the Democrats spend more on PEOPLE than the GOP leaders do. The Republicans love the military industrial complex because it's a $700 billion-a-year corporate grab bag with all kinds of goodies that Americans are supposed to need for their "defense". Both the Dems and the GOP have pet projects and earmarks; but they all earn too much, and most will lie to you too...just like Governor Mike Huckabee, the "good Christian".
Besides JUST the public unions, Governor Mike Huckabee (if he had REALLY wanted to be honest), would have emphasized that ALL people who work with ANY union representation generally earn significantly higher wages than those in the private sector. Corporations have been fighting against unions since the dawn of time, and they've been winning the class war. Union membership is significantly lower in the private sector, so it only stands to reason that wages are too. Why did good ole Mike fail to mention this vital point?
More American workers should be encouraged to join labor unions, so that THEY TOO could have the power to collectively bargain for fairer wages and better benefits. Governor Mike Huckabee uses the same old "divide and conquer" strategy that the rich have always used...to get the private sector employees angry at the public sector employees so that the majority will support the GOP's plan of cutting the budget, but only at the expense of the working-class (i.e. Social Security, etc) and the poor (i.e. food stamps and unemployment benefits).
READ: This Is Why Americans Vote Against Economic Self-Interest - "You’ll see this question posed on talk shows and in blog post comments: Why do Americans vote in a way that is contrary to economic self-interest? Why do Americans support policies that shift capital to the richest one percent of the population? Some think it’s the myth of American individualism: that anyone can be a billionaire – just work hard and riches will be yours."
The GOP (and many wealthy and/or "bought" Democratic senators) has always allowed the rich to get away with paying LESS to the deficit (extending tax breaks, tax loopholes, off-shore accounts, government subsidies, outsourcing, etc), then they complain about the deficit's cost and wants the private sector employees to hold public sector employees accountable. Then the GOP threatens private sector employees (who are the majority, but without union representation) with cuts to THEIR government services such as Social Security - and then tricks them into blaming it all on the public workers and the unemployed. This is all ass-backwards!
Ask not just the public sector unions (police, fire, and teachers), but also ask all the other labor unions as well...such as the UAW, Steel Workers, etc. - - - they will all tell you, nobody is just going to GIVE you a raise voluntarily. No corporation (in the interest of fair play) is going to offer fair wages and healthcare unless they are forced to.
Our elected officials (in both parties), instead of busting unions, should make it easier to join a labor union; but there are many other things that should be done as well.
Only vote for politicians who will pass significantly tougher laws against corporate union-busting (and have them sign a legal binding contract too, because we can't trust their weasel-like smiles and sweaty handshakes)...and diligently enforce those laws with heavy fines and penalties. Also penalize those who don't enforce these laws as well.
Outlaw the outsourcing of ALL jobs to foreign countries (not even ONE lousy job, such as sweeping a factory floor), or impose extremely punitive penalties (to bypass corporate lawyers) if they circumvent the law to do this (like they do to evade paying corporate income taxes, using corporate trickery such as using shell subsidiary companies, being "global multi-national companies", etc).
Eliminate all the corporate tax loopholes so that revenues cam be collected, taxes that are needed for paying down the State, federal, and local government budgets - which includes paying those FAIR wages for government workers that Governor Mike Huckabee has been whining about like a baby on behalf off all the greedy corporate and wealthy interests.
Revoke all existing trade agreements. PERIOD.
For all this to work we need to eliminate campaign contributions by the corporations to politicians, who then feel compelled to pass legislation only favorable to them, not to workers or consumers. The Supreme Court decision on this in 2010 was a travesty of justice to most Americans because the majority of them are just regular working people who want better for themselves and their families - but most are being manipulated by the media, the corporations, and the politicians. Unions contribute significantly less, but we can eleiminate those as well. Impose a $1,000 maximum contribution per person (18 years of age or older with a Social Security number) so that way, we can ALL have equal access to our government leaders.
There should be continued oversight of the unions as well, as we know what happens when organizations like the mob get involved. But usually it's the banks, corporations and politicians who need most of the oversight. Still, when pensions are involved, wherever there's money, there's also the usual human greed. History has taught us this very well, time and time again....so why do we keep forgetting?
Join a labor union, only buy American-made products (when and while you still can), and hold corporations to strict moral standards (corporate governance). It's not restrictive government regulations that's been hurting big businesses, it's been un-enforced (existing and non-existent) strict regulations that hurt average American workers and consumers...outsourcing their jobs, depressing their wages, and increasing their cost of living in housing, utilities, goods, and services.
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour (exempting new startups, small businesses with less than 100 employees, and businesses less than 5 years old). Eliminate the "go-arounds" of larger corporations (over 1,000 employees) by mandating 40 hour work-week positions instead of two part-time 20 hour positions to escape paying for healthcare and other humane benefits.
Governor Mike Huckabee complains about the taxpayer-paid wages that the public workers earn, but before he had his own gig on Fox News, wasn't "The Huckster" also a public worker receiving taxpayer-paid wages? I'm sure he was over-paid too, just like most other politicians. And Governor Mike Huckabee is probably a wealthy man too, but he even though he won't need the money, I'll bet you that he has (or will) file for Social Security benefits too...taking even more money from the already over-burdened federal budget. He won't be THAT concerned about the budget!
To me, hypocrites like Governor Mike Huckabee are just like most politicians, all the GOP pundits (like Glenn Beck), and the greedy corporate nad investment executives - when they themselves no longer belong to the working-class (and will never need Social Security to survive on when they're too old to work), they always turn their backs on the rest of us - the common working people.
Let all those politicians like the former "honorable" Governor Mike Huckabee, the wealthiest 3%, the big banksters and corporate CEOs, all the employees at Fox News, and all the idiots such as Ben Stein, offer to cut their pensions, raise their healthcare premiums, and cut their salaries FIRST - - - only then we can have an honest and open discussion/debate about making cuts to State and federal budgets on the backs of the common working people.
And another thing: Why are rich people usually always reluctant to publicly admit to us how much money they have? They know exactly how much money we earn. Are the rich afraid of getting mugged? Are they afraid we'll ask them to pay more in taxes? Or are they just ashamed?
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