Pushing the Limits with “Taxpayer Funding”

I don’t usually pay any attention to Glenn Beck, but this little tirade lays the groundwork for some really interesting questions. Beck’s ire is directed against the right of TSA workers to unionize, if they so desire. I don’t expect any better from a person who attacks the core Catholic notion of social justice, but it’s worth pointing out that the Catholic church has always supported the right of workers to form unions and to bargain collectively. The right to collective bargaining does not disappear just because the worker is in the public sector.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Beck insinuates that public sector workers have no right to collective bargaining because their salaries come from tax revenue. “But now, they will have 50,00o potential new members and as much as $30 million a year of your money. You see, you pay the screener. They pay the union.” he says.  

During the health care debate, I often wondered where the line would be drawn on taxpayer funding. If a public servant procures an abortion, is that taxpayer funding of abortion? Maybe our friends over at the Catholic Vote short-pants magisterium could weigh in?