I read an article today about firefighters in Fremont California agreeing to take concessions to give up pay and accept furloughs for the next 6 months to help the city balance it's budget and to eliminate fire station closures. The firefighter union President stated that it was important for us to help in the community.
The question that instantly popped into my mind was why are the wealthy citizens in Fremont not being asked to contribute to balancing the city's budget by paying slightly more in taxes?
There seems to be a re-occurring theme around the nation where working class Americans in unions are asked to take pay freezes and/or benefit cuts to balance budgets while politicians are not asking those at the top to sacrifice at all. In fact politicians are busy cutting their taxes. What is wrong with this picture?
In addition to the concessions the firefighters have already made, it has been reported that the city is also going to ask the firefighters to make further concessions by reducing pension benefits for future employees.
When will those in charge learn that budgets cannot be balanced on the backs of the working class alone? Those who are wealthy must also be asked to sacrifice by contributing slightly more in taxes. Wages for the working class cannot be continuously lowered to a point where the salaries are no longer meeting living wage standards just so taxes can stay flat or be reduced for wealthy Americans. This economic approach does not work. The US nationally has been doing this for about 10 years now and all we have to show for it are large deficits and very few jobs.
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