Much has been written about the “real” causes driving the Union thuggery on display in Wisconsin. Next Tuesday Governor Scott Walker faces recall, a democratic and peaceful resolution to a debacle that began with a cowardly escape from duty by the Wisconsin Senate Democrats; the “occupation” of the Capitol by public employees; and many millions of dollars and hours directed at his removal.   To paraphrase our President: They lose; He wins.

Supposedly his initiative to strip state employees of their collective bargaining rights (untrue) or imposition of a small cost for retirement or health benefits or his hidden agenda of “punishing” his political “enemies” has caused the Unions to display their animal passions.

In fact, the application of Occam’s Razor provides the true reason for the Union’s all too common, ugly behavior. It is simply that when employees, or “workers” as Democrat politicians and Karl Marx prefer, are given the chance to voluntarily pay exorbitant dues, they don’t!  When the Union Bosses can’t extract involuntarily said dues and direct them to Democrat politicians, they get cranky.  Here are the numbers:

Wisconsin membership in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees—the state’s second-largest public-sector union after the National Education Association, which represents teachers—fell to 28,745 in February from 62,818 in March 2011, according to a person who has viewed Afscme’s  figures. A spokesman for Afscme declined to comment.

Much of that decline came from Afscme Council 24, which represents Wisconsin state workers, whose membership plunged by two-thirds to 7,100 from 22,300 last year.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was right. Granting “collective bargaining” powers to public employees is a prescription for precisely what we’ve seen happen in Madison.