Government should focus on unions

It's that time of year again - we are now going to set up the teams that will lead us into the election season. What type of voter are we? Are we the voter that says anyone who voted for health care reform is out?

This voter didn't realize he could only affect the outcome of the further employment of one House member - his own.

Our candidates, for state offices: governor, House members, state Senators want to balance the budget by cutting out waste and fraud from Medicaid. They all want to cut other unnamed programs. These candidates will not cut state pensions because they say there are union contracts that stop the state, county, and local city, school boards, park districts and other bodies from cutting wages and benefits.

These candidates never heard of General Motors, United Airlines, American Airlines, Chrysler and Ford. These companies' employees had unions, very strong unions with very expensive and very large legal staffs.

All the union contracts were gutted and the remaining employees were very happy they still had a job.

Every time a candidate says Medicare has fraud and waste, ask how you can cut waste from programs we don't pay for now, even though we are obligated by law to pay those bills. The government we voted for borrowed the money to pay just enough to put our economy further into a hole.

Ever wonder what township government does for us? Could these functions be done cheaper, faster and with less political baggage? Have you ever seen a township garage with all that really good looking equipment? The shiny, epoxy painted floors, almost spotless, makes you think that we primp and polish more than we do any work.

Ernie Ebner

Elgin