Your Job Participating In Health Care Revolution

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Three stories, all with the central theme of health care were laid out in 1-2-3 fashion in the Saturday’s edition (December 8) of the Janesville Gazette. The issue seemed to be one of those “agenda” drives designed in an ever so subtle way to steer the reader into a defensive frenzy over taxpayer funded benefits of teachers and local public employees.

The front page began with the headline title “Insurance looms in talks,” followed by the sub, “Teachers oppose paying part of premiums.”

JG Excerpt:
Evert said the board agrees that the district’s self-funded plan costs less than most school district plans in the state.

And…….

JG Excerpt:
Evert said that although the board is firm on premium sharing, it is willing to compromise in other areas of the budget.

The Gazette steadfastly perpetuates that the school board, in it’s efforts to protect the taxpayer is the agreeable party in the teacher negotiations. Flip the page over to the next one and on page 3A, the top headline was “Hiring freeze shrinks Milton police force,” sub-titled with “Union, city could face showdown over health benefit for retirees,” once again pitting taxpayer against the public wage earner over the cost of health care benefits, in this case over “gap” insurance to cover early retirees. The health care crisis it seems, is never directed at the health care sector, but only those who can’t afford it. But just turn over the page to the next one and the Gazette continued to pump up the same theme again with yet another top-page bold headline with the title “County might alter mid-level contracts.” This one snuck up a little differently because the reader had to at least read the first paragraph to get the gist of it all.

JG Excerpt:
Any mid-level manager thinking of working for Walworth County may have a decision to make: take the county’s health care insurance or take an annual $5,000 stipend.

The brightest spotlight is on the front page teachers negotiations in Janesville, and then finished off by the supporting cast of other top page headline players. The message of course seems to be that teachers shouldn’t feel singled out as the only victim of a hi-jacking, they are not alone. They need to go along to get along. All employees of the public and private sectors are being forced to forfeit or trade wages, benefits and protections for any sense of job security. The revolution is not in health care and it’s not being televised.