The (Second) Most Important Election of 2012

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By Preston Cooper

Forget Romney vs. Obama for a moment. Forget Brown vs. Warren in Massachusetts and Mourdock vs. Donnelly in Indiana. Tomorrow, a historic gubernatorial recall election in Wisconsin will feature Scott Walker vs. Tom Barrett.

But this vote is really about Responsible Budgeting vs. Sclerotic Labor Unions.

The recall election is the child of a stormy affair last year between pro-union activists and a governor trying to balance his state's budget. Last year, Governor Walker limited collective-bargaining rights for public-sector unions, sparking a wave of protests and the walkout of fourteen Democratic state senators from Madison. Eventually Walker and his allies prevailed and forced the unions to take their cuts, but not without inciting the ire of the left wing.

If Walker loses the election, then the union bosses, who have scores of Democratic lawmakers firmly in their pockets, will get their way and demand outrageous benefit packages at the expense of Wisconsin taxpayers. Even more importantly, other fiscally responsible governors across the country may be reluctant to take on unions to balance their budgets, lest they befall the same fate as Scott Walker. The outcome of tomorrow's election may well determine the paths of state governments across the country.

There was a time when unions stood up for workers in a real way, protecting them from companies who tried to take unfair advantage. But now many unions, especially those in the public sector, have gotten out of control. An obscure law, the Davis-Bacon Act, mandates that government projects be contracted with unionized labor. With no competition, unions demand outrageous sums of money from the government in order to finance too-generous pension packages, leaders' salaries, scores of lawyers, and the campaigns of Democratic politicians. It's not about the workers anymore; it's about the power.

In the end, though, unions will become their own worst enemy. There will come a time when state governments simply lose the ability to write checks, because there is no money left and the debt has gotten too huge. And the unions will collapse of their own greed, dragging down workers with them.

That's why tomorrow's election is so important. Scott Walker wants the unions to take a little austerity now to avert the ax-stroke of crippling spending cuts when inaction inevitably forces them. I don't think that's unreasonable.