Publisher: Digital age demands new approaches to old problems

In the new, Internet-dominated digital age, once wildly successful models in private business (think Kodak and Encyclopedia Britannica), government institutions (little red school houses and post offices) and even entire industries (media and banking) are quickly fading into obscurity, says Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister. “Much of that was due to old union contracts that had grown out of control and choked the life out of the very companies the unions helped build,” McCollister says in his latest column. “The same is happening now in government, with union benefits and pensions at unsustainable levels and no relief in sight.” Collective bargaining was the big issue in Wisconsin, where Gov. Scott Walker asked for state employees to contribute more to their health care and retirement costs. Angry unions petitioned to recall him, but Walker easily won at the polls last week—which McCollister says shows unions are weakened and voters “are ready to put an end to the days of old.” “The issue will have to be dealt with in East Baton Rouge Parish, too, and it should be debated in this year’s mayoral race,” McCollister says. “It is also having major impact on EBR schools, and legacy costs of pensions were part of the reason the school board claimed it opposed the southeast Baton Rouge breakaway district.” Read the full column here; and send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.