When I woke up quite early last Wednesday morning, June 27, I turned on Fox News and was greatly surprised. Public (government) members of unions, just received a pay raise with the 5-4 SCOTUS decision re: Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, striking down the 41-year-old Abood v. Detroit board of education decision, which forced government union employees to join and pay dues to their union.
Partial Quote from FDR, August 16, 1937:
“All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has it’s distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees allike are governed and guided, and in many instances restricted, by laws which establish policies, procedures, or rules in personnel matters.”
President Trump’s Tax Reform Act, passed by Congress in December of 2017, and now, US public union employees, just got another pay raise. Once again, there is more money in the pockets of those who work, pay taxes and live the American Dream.
Also, yesterday’s SCOTUS 5-4 decision (can we all say Neil Gorsuch?) legally validating Trump’s travel ban from one and half years ago regarding countries openly hostile, including North Korea and Venezuela, to the USA, who provide no vetting of those entering our country; who they are and their reason for wanting to enter the US, validates the power and constitutional right of the presidency to protect the people of America.
When I’m asked by Trump supporters or those who don’t support Trump, “So what do you think of Trump now?” I say, “It’s just like Christmas to me, everyday!”
President Trump is the only former presidential candidate or president who can draw a crowd of literally thousands that not only fills the venue but with just as many people clamoring outside, wanting to get into the venue; speaking extemporaneously for 90 minutes to two hours, and electrifying the electorate, identifying and reminding America of our former values, and how we can return to those values, MAGA.
This frightens not only the Democrat party, mainstream media, Hollywood, but many so-called Republican/conservatives (Sens. McCain and Flake, George Will, etc.), because they have no one, absolutely no one, who can do what Trump can do.
President Trump is literally a politically phenomena. We only have a little more than six years left, assuming he’s reelected in 2020, of his leadership. In other words, the Hawaii Republican Party must make “political hay” while we still can.
Government employees, especially here in a big union state of Hawaii, are now pontificating as to the SCOTUS’ Janus decision and will be talking about what this means financially to them personally, and to their families, under Trump’s leadership. Wednesday’s, June 27, SCOTUS decision is a “political lance” through the heart of Big Government and the Democrat party
•••.
Steve Yoder is Kauai GOP county chair.
The truth is that in the long run this ruling will result in lower wages for everyone because it is an attack on labor unions that have been the sole source for fair wages. This is a typical Republican narrow, pro-corporate view that further erodes the middle class and enriches only the wealthy. This type of thinking is as misleading as the trickle down theory which has led to the great disparity of wealth in this country. Just like Trump’s tax gift to the rich, the rest of us will see no benefit because, instead of resulting in better paying jobs, it will be used by the oligarchs of America to increase their immense wealth.
You really think your moneygrubing, vengeful, hateful political message will hold water in the Aloha State? Not a chance!
Look to California where latinos used to vote like everyone else. Then the smug, selfish, hate filled republicans reached too far. In a couple years in the 1990s they passed propositions taking health and education away from the undocumented 1996 (struck down in court), banned affirmative action 1997, and banned bilingual public education 1998. In the years since, less than 10% of latinos vote republican. Republicans hold no important Statewide offices. They are a tiny minority in the State Leg. They may have only a couple Reps in DC later this year. CA is a blue wave. Even Orange County, a bastion of fat cat republicans obsessed with money, went to Hillary!
Keep beating up the immigrant; then look to California, it’s your future!
trump represents the elements of racism, sexism and religious bigotry. Supporting trump means also supporting those elements. If you liked his tax breaks or antiabortion or antiunionism or WHATEVER, it just means that you value your own agenda so highly that you can tolerate racism, sexism and religious bigotry in order to further it. It’s NOT your finest hour!
The VALUES we are returning to are the values represented on September 13, 1926 when over 30,000 robed Ku Klux Klan members marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. It didn’t make America great!
Rebuttal to “Just Saying” – You use California as a “goal Post” to strive for??!! California is the epitome of what I hope Kauai never becomes! California is Broke, promotes perverse political corruption and has recently been crowned one of the least favorable places to live. US Citizen are leaving California in droves……. The sheep are once again fascinated with Socialism and Communism as like 100 years ago and cloud the truth with lies. –point in fact , you refer to the KKK – it was in fact almost 100% democrat not Republican membership. President Trump is tasked with cleaning up over 100 years of corruption. I pray Mr. Trump excellent health, longevity and wish his next appointment to the Supreme Court Bench would be Try Goudy.
Gee Michael, you seem to be blinded by the orange glow coming off your fat, ranting baby man! You simply don’t see that California has become solvent under Gov. Jerry Brown. Try to keep up!
Now you and all the other cultists may be having a field day with a leader that’s openly racist, sexist, and prone to religious bigotry; but, History ALWAYS eventually comes down like a ton of bricks on such vile, disgusting behaviors! Michael, you’re on the wrong side of History!
Steve: Coal instead of clean energy? Pruitt? Zinke? DeVoss? The environment? Trade wars? Zero tolerance policy? Hoodwinked by North Korea? Eliminating women’s reproductive rights? Rampant racism? 1.4 trillion increase in deficit to give the rich and corporations tax breaks? No trickle down in increased wages for middle class? Harley Davidson moving jobs overseas? Lies, lies, and more lies from Trump and his henchmen and women. Etc, etc….. More like ruining America. When does the winning start? I already lived through the 1950’s and don’t want to go back.
Perhaps the finest letter written to the GI in it’s history. Thank you Mr. Yoder! Unfortunately, the hyper angry left is incapable of escaping their ill advised agenda, so they will resort to infantile tactics to attack your statements. But then, that’s a part of the world we live in today! Grown up children sired by drug induced hippies of the 60’s are in a simple minded class all their own!
So Gordon, do you recoil with disgust every time someone demonstrates the Aloha Spirit here? Are you screaming “Follow the rule of law” whenever someone stops to give way to a car in a driveway? Your politics are outnumbered 7 to 1 here among registered voters. Your mean spirited MAGA attitude doesn’t fit in here. What in the world are you doing here? You need to get a condo 10 miles East of Dallas!
Union employees can forget about getting a check in the future as time for retirement nears. No union dues… no pension from the union
Let’s have a look at Mr. Yoder’s star-grazed look at the man-child clown who is running our government.
I’d love to see the cost of government services go down. Who would not? But calling this decision a “pay raise” to government employees is misleading, After salaries and benefits to government employees diminish, who will want to work for the government? Will productivity results diminish, leading to privatization of all government services, including education? That is a slippery slope with corporate profit motives becoming the deciding factor in agendas and direction.
What exactly is Mr. Yoder talking about when he claims that Trump is reminding America of our former values. Racism? Internment camps? Sexism? Consolidation of powers throughout the corporate world? Our reliance on reality TV to get us through the day? This man-child represents the erosion of American values. My staunchly Republican Archie Bunker type father is rolling in his grave that Trump stole the presidency, against the wishes of the majority of US voters, and has proceed to dismantle the great nation that my day fought in World War II to protect.
Please everybody with a brain, and a heart, encourage everyone in your family to get involved in politics and help to show Mr Trump and his minions the door, starting in the primaries and mid-term elections.
So does this mean Hawaii’s good old boy Democrat network is on its last legs before collapsing?
7 registered democrats for every republican on Kauai PLUS the Aloha Spirit! when titanic trump sinks, it will be 20 to 1. I don’t think you should set of any early and celebratory fireworks today, Harry!
I don’t know what’s in your water but several Hawaii Republicans have either left the party of have condemned the behavior of this president. I doubt the R’s will gain seats in Hawaii.
Good info me Yoder. It’s not the Democrats that disagree with you. It’s the “haters” There are many people, including democrats that are beginning to see the light. Even many that did not vote for President Trump. It’s the “uninformed “ or “ill informed “ that need to open their eyes and perhaps their minds. They are totally brainwashed by the liberal media that intentionally uses their own ignorance to sway them.
Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels would give you a high five and three heils for that effort!
If only the Hawaiians knew for a fact that both Ige and Hanabusa both Democrats running for governor intends to sell off 1.8 million acres of ceded lands which rightfully belongs to native Hawaiians, while only Tupolu a Republican candidate is against it.
Both State houses, which is dominated by Democrats are not friendly to Hawaiian issues, for it is basically a local Japanese oriented body that has a bad reputation of promoting their own racist agenda and the primary reason why they represent over 67% of all State and County agencies, yet comprises of only 17 % of Hawaii’s population.
Greed and more selfish agendas are on their minds as they try to strip Hawaiian agencies like OHA and other organizations set up to address the wrongs did to them in the past as well as in the present. This is the danger of immigrants when they start to overpopulate the host nation of native peoples. Nothing good will result from Democrats as they have been in control for over 50 years. This election is an unique opportunity for the Republicans to expose the corruption and greed of Hawaii’s current Democratic agendas and they should spend much more to shed light on the true colors of deceit and deception.
Great article, Steve Yoder. And thanks to the Garden Island for providing some balance in its opinion pieces. I won’t even bother trying to respond to the Trump Deranged Haters whose only tactic is to scream bloody murder every time anyone dares to challenge their emotion-based pseudo-arguments. But I’m so so glad that the Loony Left is becoming so unhinged as to create new Republicans by the day. The head of the DNC said today that Ocasio-Cortez is the ‘new face’ of the Democrat Party! How wonderful! 2020 is shaping up to be a trouncing on the order of Walter Mondale’s in 1984. Maybe Ocasio-Cortez can have Mad Maxine Waters as her running mate. Go Dems! Keep on self-destructing!
Well stated. The silent majority will continue winning for 7 more years. Unions have a very limited function these days. Wet dreams of pensions from these ‘enterprises’ are overly anticipated. Once the dems stop listening to hype and rather start thinking for themselves, realizing the real love the president has for this country and its citizens with the overall LEAP in progress, maybe they will stop their negative hate campaigns. Maybe. Look past their propaganda and enjoy the ride.
Please do not confuse disagreeing with someone’s point of view as being either “ill-informed” or a “hater” or being “misinformed”. It is disagreeing with someone’s point of view.
When you can’t refute your guy is an immoral, racist, sexist,religious bigot (you’ll notice none of them did) you are forced to dismiss it all with “ill-informed!”