Patricia Hredzak – 10/24/08

This page was last updated on October 25, 2008.

Democrats needed to protect workers; Patricia Hredzak; Beaver County Times; October 24, 2008.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“Members of the editorial board could find no good reason to endorse a candidate for the 47th Senatorial District, so they choose the Republican Elder Vogel over the Democrat Jason Petrella so Beaver County could be represented by the majority party in the state Senate.

“That’s a poor reason that could have ramifications for many years to come considering the power of incumbency.”

[RWC] I agree with Ms. Hredzak on this point.

“Republicans in Pennsylvania have a supposed goal to make the state’s laws more business friendly. In doing so, they will actually be making the state’s laws less worker friendly with regard to workers’ rights such as unionizing, workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits.”

[RWC] Why do folks like Ms. Hredzak believe business-friendly and employee-friendly environments are mutually exclusive? The key is providing a free enterprise environment that allows parties to get what they earn, not what’s handed out to them.

As for “unionizing,” what does this have to do “making the state’s laws less worker friendly?” If unions were ever about the employee, those days have long since passed. Today’s unions are about consolidating power for labor union management and politicians – primarily leftist – in government that collude with union management. For example, labor union management wants to take away the secret ballot from employees when deciding whether or not to authorize a union, opening the door even further for employee intimidation by labor union management. How is that employee friendly?

“Pennsylvania workers lost some of these rights under Gov. Tom Ridge when he reduced worker compensation benefits. Republicans have also stopped Gov. Ed Rendell’s efforts to help uninsured Pennsylvanians get health insurance and reduce property taxes on residents.”

[RWC] Regarding the workman’s comp comment, I couldn’t find what Ms. Hredzak was talking about. In any case, employees – not employers – pay for workman’s comp insurance – and thus the benefits – despite the myth to the contrary. It’s the same as the myth that employers pay half of an employee’s Medicare and Socialist Security taxes.

Why should taxpayers “help uninsured Pennsylvanians get health insurance?”

How did Republicans stop “Gov. Ed Rendell’s efforts to … reduce property taxes on residents?”

“Petrella will help protect workers’ rights, and with Rendell, state Rep. Vince Biancucci and other Democrats, our workers will have the benefits they deserve.”

[RWC] Notice Ms. Hredzak wrote about the benefits employees “deserve,” not the benefits they “earn.” That’s a key difference between conservatives and lefists.