DemoFact: Robin Vos and the Right to Work for Less
Today, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel used its "PolitiFact" to examine Republican boss Robin Vos's claims about "Right to Work for Less" legislation, which seeks to drive down wages for ALL Wisconsin wage earners to maximize profit for a greedy few. The paper made a number of errors in analysis, but its chief one was letting Vos off the hook for his totally misleading claim that crushing unions led to more jobs and to income-growth.
The fact is, those states that have the lowest rates of union membership have the lowest standards of living, and whatever growth they experience necessarily looks inflated, because the bar has been set so low.
Put a different way, does Wisconsin want to compare itself to Mississippi, which leads the nation in rates of illiteracy, infant mortality and poverty? Wisconsin, along with the other 27 free bargaining states, actually enjoys rates better than the national average in these key quality of life indicators. If the Republicans succeed in turning Wisconsin into the "Mississippi of the Midwest" we can expect to see an 18% increase in the infant mortality rate[1], a 75% increase in illiteracy rate[2], and a 34% increase in the poverty rate[3] to bring us in line with the averages in Right to Work states.
The Republicans did not run on their "Right to Work for Less" platform, but now that they are trotting it out as a bargaining chit in time for the holidays, it is worth learning the truth about the cost of corporate greed to working families, and exposing the lies of Republican bosses like Robin Vos.
[1] Matthews, TJ, M.S., et. al. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2006 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. Division of Vital Statistics. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol 58, No. 17, April 30, 2010. Based on Wisconsin’s reported infant mortality rate of 6.3% and an average infant mortality rate of 7.46% for the 22 states with so-called “right to work” statutes. Data available at http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=47&cat=2
[2] Based on Wisconsin’s illiteracy rate of 7% as reported by the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics and an average illiteracy rate of 12.27% for the 22 states with so-called “right to work” statutes. Data available at http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/StateEstimates.aspx
[3] Based on Wisconsin’s poverty rate of 10.8% as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau and an average poverty rate of 14.48% for the 22 states with so-called “right to work” statutes. Data available at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129908796
