In the ruling class’s endless strategy of divide and conquer, its current tactic of pitting public sector workers against those in the private sector is gaining ground.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used it time and again in California.

Today the New York Times reports that Governor Andrew Cuomo will try to impose a one-year salary freeze on all state workers.

And today, as Wisconsin’s new governor, Scott Walker, is sworn in, state workers are preparing for an assault the likes of which none of them have ever seen before. Walker is threatening to cut wages and take away benefits. And he’s even raised the prospect of making it illegal for state workers to engage in collective bargaining.

This assault on public workers is happening in one state after another around the country.

“This is a concerted, deep attack on public employees and public workers," Gerald W. McEntee, president of the 1.6-million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), told the Washington Post last month.

The attack is cynical in so many ways.

First, as McEntee noted, “The problem in the economy has not been created by public workers. It was created by Wall Street.”

Second, it’s not as though any public sector workers are getting filthy rich like the Wall Street bankers who got bailed out and are now back to bathing in ridiculous bonuses.

Third, the attack on public sector workers is an attack on the idea that there should be a decent middle class in this country.

If everyone’s wages and benefits have to be reduced to those offered by the stingiest private sector boss, you can kiss the middle class goodbye.

Fourth, the attack is but a thinly disguised thrust against unions. The public sector unionization rate is 36.8 percent; in the private sector, it’s 7.6 percent. Slashing the wages and benefits and rights of public sector workers is a way to delegitimize their unions. And for Republicans, it’s a way to get back at a Democratic power base and fundraising arm.

Finally, attacking public sector workers is bad for the economy. Cutting their wages and benefits will result in less purchasing power overall. The economy is suffering from a lack of demand already. This will just make that worse.

But mainly, it’s a great distraction. Those who rig the system and reward themselves would rather that workers fought among themselves than focused their anger upwards.

If you liked this story by Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive magazine, check out his story "John Conyers Goes After Corporate Criminals."

Follow Matthew Rothschild @mattrothschild on Twitter