As many states grapple with the daunting task of balancing severely out of balance budgets, many governors across the country are looking for large pots of money to rescue their states’ finances. While California’s fiscal crisis has gotten most of the public attention, the battle currently underway in Wisconsin represents not just a debate about how to reform one’s budget, but a more fundamental debate about the relationship between a state and its workers as well as the institutions of government themselves.

The heart of the debate this week in Wisconsin is a proposal by newly elected Republican Governor Scott Walker that would end the collective bargaining rights of most state employees including teachers and correctional workers.  In order to close the state’s budget gap, these employees would be required to make increased pension and health care contributions.