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@lostby7 wrote:
Personally I’m looking forward to reelecting all the folks who get recalled….Now that will be a fun election.
Is this called a recollection? 😆 😆 😆
Like Captain & Mate, I have not confirmed the following, so you may want to tread lightly as BBG suggests.
• 110 – The number of state employees laid off since 2007 (Source: DOA – excludes UW, Legislature & Supreme Court)
• 154,500 – The number of jobs lost in Wisconsin since December 2007 (Center on WI Strategy)
• $1.37 billion – Amount taxpayers contributed to the state’s pension fund 2009 (Leg. Fiscal Bureau)
• $1 billion – Amount WI taxpayers spend on state government health insurance each year (ETF)For more see: http://maciverinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/WI_Fiscal_Crisis_Fast_Facts.pdf
’01-03 47.0B
’03-05 49.8B 5.9% Doyle
’05-07 52.7B 5.9% Doyle
’07-09 57.7B 9.4% Doyle
’09-11 62.7B 8.7% Doyle
’11-13 59.2B? -5.6%? WalkerBTW, the ’09-11 budget was passed without compromise from the democrats when they increased taxes by over $2B (the largest in our history). I don’t recall any republicans running to Illinois.
And what about those Koch Brothers and their PAC monies? They do give a lot. The real kicker was this report I found (http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?type=A). Koch Industries was number 83. Now take a look at the top 20 and tell me how many unions you see. Unions have spent a ton of money supporting candidates and board members that sit across the table during negotiations. There’s a lot of tax payers that don’t like this conflict of interest.
So take the above any way you want. Actions speak louder than words. We’ve all heard that the public unions have given in to the financial concessions regarding pension and health care, but look at how many contracts have been negotiated WITHOUT those concessions since the repair bill was introduced.
By the way, according to the Wisconsin State Journal (hardly a bastion of conservative journalism, lest you doubt the following), it will take 6 MILLION dollars to clean the interior of the capitol, and and another 1 million to clean the exterior.
On the Left Side of the Road...My opinion doesn’t count, for two reasons. Mr. walker, whom I voted for regrettably, doesn’t particularly care about the general public opinions. he needs to return the favors of the folks that got him elected. And two, this bill will not effect me in any way.
However, I do have an opinion. I pay out the a** for my insurance. It went up 300% in 2010, and another 25% this year. I buy my insurance from the state, because my employer offers none.
That being said, we all pay a lot for our benefits, and the people who work for the gov should be no different. THE PROBLEM IS: These workers don’t seem to care if they have to pay more, they just want to keep their rights to negotiate. My sister is a teacher here in K-town, and there is resounding agreement to my statement. My brother in law is a police officer, one whom helped Mr. Walker get elected, ans so did his union, but his fellow officers also agree that taking bargaining rights away is just wrong. They are all willing to pay, just let them keep their rights.
Just to give a little perspective to some of the issues. According to the SEC, here is what the 56 of the top Wisconsin based corporations paid their CEOs: (2009 salaries)
Johnson Controls Inc. Stephen A. Roell $12,924,421
Wisconsin Energy Corp. Gale E. Klappa $11,579,228
Kohl’s Corp. Kevin Mansell $9,037,962
Rockwell Automation Inc. Keith Nosbusch $7,246,189
Harley-Davidson Inc. Keith E. Wandell $6,363,579
A.O.Smith Corp. Paul W. Jones $6,272,372
Bucyrus International Inc. Timothy Sullivan $6,202,330
Fiserv Inc. Jeffery W. Yabuki $5,757,685
Oshkosh Corp. Robert G. Bohn $5,740,014
Bemis Co. Henry J. Theisen $5,705,955
Joy Global Inc. Michael Sutherlin $5,523,176
Manpower Jeffrey A. Joerres $5,358,568
Wausau Paper Corp. Thomas J. Howatt $4,750,646
Briggs & Stratton Co. John Shiely $4,569,696
Sensient Technologies Corp. Kenneth Manning $4,460,286
Snap-on Inc. Nicholas T. Pinchuk $4,310,254
Regal Beloit Corp. Henry W. Knueppel $3,613,306
Harley-Davidson Inc. James Ziemer $3,606,509
Alliant Energy Corp. William G. Harvey $3,332,497
Plexus Corp. Dean A. Foate $2,744,922
Associated Banc-Corp Paul S. Beideman $2,416,079
MGIC Investment Corp. Curt S. Culver $2,279,259
Actuant Corp. Robert Arzbaecher $2,237,935
Manitowoc Co. Glenn Tellock $2,033,174
Brady Corp. Frank M. Jaehnert $1,846,339
School Specialty Inc. David J. Vander Zanden $1,810,297
Ladish Co. Inc. Kerry L. Woody $1,766,941
Marshall & Ilsley Corp. Mark Furlong $1,671,982
TomoTherapy Inc. Frederick A. Robertson $1,452,953
Journal Communications Inc. Steven J. Smith $1,445,492
Bank Mutual Corp. Michael T. Crowley, Jr. $1,389,055
Magnetek Inc. David P. Reiland $1,326,739
MGE Energy Inc. Gary J. Wolter $1,176,947
Weyco Group Inc. Thomas Florsheim $1,143,060
Badger Meter Inc. Richard A. Meeusen $1,122,283
Modine Manufacturing Inc. Thomas A. Burke $1,088,417
Assisted Living Concepts Inc. Laurie A. Bebo $1,028,972
Marcus Corp. Gregory Marcus $925,599
Twin Disc Inc. Michael E. Batten $886,598
Orion Energy Systems Inc. Neal R. Verfuerth $776,312
Magnetek Inc. Peter M. McCormick $768,676
Johnson Outdoors Inc. Helen P. Johnson-Leipold $714,201
Marcus Corp. Stephen Marcus $685,484
Renaissance Learning Inc. Terrance Paul $594,675
Marten Transport Ltd. Randolph L. Marten $526,749
Generac Holdings Inc. Aaron Jagdfeld $525,915
Ladish Co. Inc. Gary J. Vroman $498,921
ARI Network Services Inc. Roy W. Olivier $484,002
Koss Corp. Michael Koss $450,507
National Presto Industries Inc. Maryjo Cohen $441,188
Waterstone Financial Inc. Douglas S. Gordon $435,551
Strattec Security Corp. Harold M. Stratton II $415,600
Sonic Foundry Inc. Rimas P. Buinevicius $373,649
ZBB Energy Corp. Robert J. Parry $321,252
Associated Banc-Corp Philip B. Flynn $298,546
Tufco Technologies Inc. Louis LeCalsey III $279,168Now I am not a math teacher, but my rough estimate is that this is about $145 million dollars. This does not include the golden parachutes and non cashed stock options that are commonplace that would total tens of millions more. How much is Walker taking away from education and how much is being given to these 56 Wisconsin based corporations in the form of tax breaks? Just an interesting perspective when you think about birth control being exempted from insurance companies, recycling getting buried in the dumps and kids sitting in 60+ children classrooms.
Edit: never mind…I am not going to debate this here…people have already made up their minds on this one way or the other.
On the Left Side of the Road...@The Crippler wrote:
How much is Walker taking away from education and how much is being given to these 56 Wisconsin based corporations in the form of tax breaks?
Don’t forget that it’s these non-government companies that produce / retain the jobs that feed our economy and keep the majority of people in this fine state employed. I know everyone pays in taxes (public / private sector), but without the private sector there’s nothing.
I’d also appreciate Henry T. giving me part of his 5M+ salary, but I guess he already is by allowing me to stay employed. Besides he’s a cool guy that actually talks to me in the elevator when he sees me.
I’d even be happy if a portion of my city school tax $$ would be funneled to the parochial school our children attend. Without the private schools in town, the city would need to add head count and build additions to house the students. We’re actually helping them by not having our children in public school, but we reap none of the benefits. I know it’s our choice to send our kids there, but I’m just using it for a comparison.
Politics is politics and every elected official scratches the back of their supporters. They have to or they don’t get (re)elected. This is just another one of those situations that is the way it is.
I also voted for Walker, but disagree with his right to break the state unions. If they want to bargain collectively, then let them. There are things like mediation & arbitration to help resolve these issues.
And the great thing about our country is that we have elected officials. Last November the voters showed their dissatisfaction with the current elected officials. We now have a different set and will get another change at the next election.
Watch it…if for no other reason than the last line…
On the Left Side of the Road...I found this program to be very interesting.
An enlightening discussion of the likely effects of the Walker budget on Wisconsin’s schools. Virtually eliminate reading and speech specialists past third grade and AP classes? Adopt a four-day week that has as many contact hours as the current five-day week? Spend 45 minutes listening, and you’ll be alternately angry and sad.
Thursday, 3/3/2011 – At Issue with Ben Merens
Governor Scott Walker announced his proposed budget on Tuesday and it includes $834 million in cuts to state K-12 education spending over the next two years. Guest: Stephen Correia is an Associate Professor of Education at St. Norbert’s College.http://wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=bme
I’d even be happy if a portion of my city school tax $$ would be funneled to the parochial school our children attend.
Well then you are going to be very happy then. School Choice, or the voucher program, will be expanded with no limits on the number of children OR income limits. So your boss, Henry T can send his children to private schools for free now. Wonder if those private schools will take many of the other children….
Perhaps a little humor will help us through these trying times:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-3-2011/crisis-in-the-dairyland—for-richer-and-poorer
Lets all remember that this isn’t just about the teachers of Wisconsin, it involves our law enforcement, firefighters…
And lets too remember, that unions can be a good thing, and a bad thing, just like government politics. There is no easy solution to our deficit here in WI or the nation, but forcing bills without negotiation isn’t right even if the bill has merit. This is a free country last time I checked.
I do my best not to follow politics anymore, but I don’t see how taking away bargaining rights is going to save the state any money. Give the gov workers what they’re asking for. Make them pay the proposed increases but leave them their rights Mr. Walker. That way you get the money savings you’re looking for, they get the right to negotiate down the road, and if you negotiate well Mr. Walker, nothing will change. But they’ll still have the rights they want, even if they do them no good. There, everyones happy. 😆
so hard to hold tongue….. ❗
How bout them Packers!
@Mister Greenthumb wrote:
How bout them Packers!
Looking forward to seeing AJ Hawk in a Bears uniform next season 😆
All opinions, comments, and useless drivel I post are mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of the WGA BOD.
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