Are these US protests significant?

[greynotsoold]

If public sector unions are the root of all evil, then why weren't police pension plans included? In California, specifically, for well over a decade local governments have been complaining that police pensions, specifically, are over-taxing their budgets. I think that if the problem of public sector unions is to be addressed, then all public sector unions should be affected equally. Unless, of course, the intent is to create a police state, then by all means they should be treated differently.
And I'm self-employed and always have been.

[VictorCharlie]

I agree all public sector unions should be gotten rid of. It was interesting that Fire and Police were left out of the bill in Wisconsin. Maybe that was a bridge too far this time. It is not so much that public sector unions are evil rather that they can't help but exacerbate budget issues. If I want to work in that industry I have to join the union and pay a portion of my income to the union, which sure sounds like a racket to me. That portion of my income is used to pay union admin salaries and for political donations. Public sector unions donate a tremendous amount of money so more often than not the politician that negotiates the collective bargaining deal with the union is beholden to them for their elected position in the first place. Hence they do a crappy job of negotiating. Call me old fashioned but I'd much rather negotiate my own wage and benefits based on my personal merit rather than having what equates to an organized racket strong arming politicians.