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You don’t need trail cams to spot cougars down here, Just need to head to the local watering hole on a Friday night.
As I have said for the three previous years, the chamber should focus on getting prizes from their members. This will “bring us back” at a later date and be much more worthwhile than free gun locks. Because of the change in format for tickets we just find event caches if they are on our route now. The difference between 2 and 7 tickets for a gun lock means very little, If there were resturant gift certificates, hotel stays, etc., we might go for more raffle tickets and actually utilize chamber businesses more if we like their offerings.
I agree with Team Deejay completely. The first 3 years my daughter and I went out of our way to find every event cache. With the changes last year this year we only found event caches if they were along our route. Having 3 or 7 tickets really does not matter for a free gun lock. Since this is a chamber event, and I have mentioned this in previous years, I would think getting business buy in with better prizes would be beneficial. Until that happens, I could care less about stamps, sheets or booklets.
Glad to hear there is another excuse to head up tp Ed’s Lake. This was one of the best trail series I have done so far. Saw lots of wildlife, the trails are well marked and the area is simply beautiful. Looking forward to going back and doing this in a few weeks.
Once again, another post where a question is being asked and when an opinion is given that differs from the majority the nastiness and sarcasm rears its ugly head. Wonder if this type of stuff has any bearing when potential new members are looking to join…
Sorry for the steal, off to post something under the topic “What will kill the game” now…
With the increase in gas, and being married to one of those evil public servants, we certainly are cutting back on many of our activities that would have consumed some of our discretionary income. These factors were the primary reason we are not attending the campout.
Welcome! It has been a pleasure talking to you and it is great there is starting to become interest from others in our area. You are in for some great adventures.
03/12/2011 at 12:33 am in reply to: Congratulations to DrHaas on hitting the big 20K smileys #1944426What an incredible accomplishment. Way to go Donna and Steve, its been a pleasure talking to you at the many events over the years.
03/09/2011 at 12:56 pm in reply to: Thoughts on the budget repair bill and protests in Madison. #1943331gotta run, you asked, “So…how do you propose we fix it?”
How about actually making corporations prove they created jobs with the tax breaks? Doesn’t your data go against the notion that jobs are actually created? If the tax breaks are working, why did we go into the “Great Recession” during the Bush administration when all the past tax breaks occurred? I think jobs are more than likely “replaced” and these corporations are only required to report on hiring rather than net job gains.
Just as all of you union bashers don’t want your taxpayer money going into political views you don’t support, I think it is only fair that many of us also don’t want our taxpayer’s dollars to go to corporations that utilize accounting tricks and really do not create jobs.
I believe being a good steward of OUR money should go both ways and corporations should be required, BY LAW, to show that not one penny of tax payer money went towards executive salary, profit, lobbyists, advertising, golden parachute plans, stock options or bonuses AND actually created NET job gain in a FTE. (so no replacing full-timers with part-timers just so you have more heads). After they report truthfully, we can determine if the cost per created job is worth the tax break to see if the incentives should continue.
This is a win-win for both of us. You don’t have to pay for public employee’s lobbying efforts and I don’t have to pay for big business lobbying efforts. Or is this somehow going to hurt or recovery efforts if we make corporations accountable for the tax payer’s dollar by not giving out 39% raises to CEOs that take my tax dollars?
I’d rather help the family living under the bridge quite frankly.
03/04/2011 at 7:48 pm in reply to: Thoughts on the budget repair bill and protests in Madison. #1943312The announcement came in the wake of a massive company-wide restructuring, which began in early 2009 and involved the closing of two factories, one distribution center, and the planned elimination of nearly 25% of its total workforce (around 3,500 employees). The company announced on September 14, 2010 that it would remain in Wisconsin.”
Here is another small detail from the SEC filings:
Harley Davidson executive salaries were $7,182,028 in 2008 and totalling $9,970,088 in 2009, a 39% increase!!! There was a change in CEO in 2009.What was the result of that massive company-wide restructuring?
03/04/2011 at 12:31 pm in reply to: Thoughts on the budget repair bill and protests in Madison. #1943299I’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….
03/04/2011 at 2:15 am in reply to: Thoughts on the budget repair bill and protests in Madison. #1943294Just 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.
Is someone forcing you to go?
02/24/2011 at 2:19 am in reply to: Thoughts on the budget repair bill and protests in Madison. #1943274Hey Johnny,
I would love to be able to pick and choose who I do business with but unfortunately I have no choice in many situations. Do you have a choice in your electric company or gas company? Do you have a choice in the type of fuel you put into your car? Do you have a choice in going to a grocery that is not associated with the Wisconsin Grocer’s Association?
I know, I guess I really do have a choice in that I could get rid of it all and live in the woods hunting (illegally) animals to feed me. Eventually, I would think I would get arrested for vagrancy or illegal hunting and then you will be supporting me. 😀Do you know how much money public utilities and oil companies put into supporting candidates I do not support? Well, lets provide an example directly from the big news of the day: Straight from the Milwaukee Journal
“Koch Industries’ political action committee was one of the biggest financial supporters of Walker’s gubernatorial campaign last fall, giving $43,000 to his political fund.
David Koch also gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association last year, and Koch Industries contributed another $50,000. The RGA spent $65,000 on ads supporting Walker and an additional $3.4 million attacking Mayor Tom Barrett, Walker’s Democratic opponent.”
That’s interesting, yet you insist that I be ok with this, but that you are not ok with other PACs supporting candidates you do not agree with.
Lets face it Johnny, after today’s events, it is only about breaking the unions so they can not campaign.
Your examples of waste are interesting but they are not entirely correct. Your school district examples of are of individuals who are management and exempt from union membership. I can guarantee that they will all get nice bonuses when their employers have extra money to spare. The UW employees you mentioned are also exempt and if you compare there salaries to other universities you will see Wisconsin lags behind. We are having problems attracting top talent. The Milwaukee bus drivers get overtime because your governor, who used to be your county executive, instituted furlough days and hiring freezes. This did little for the finances but set him up as a champion of the tax dollar. By the way, did you know that the supervisors of those bus drivers are Walker appointees? Yes, appointees.
Johnny, I am an executive with a large not for profit that relies heavily on public funding. I have never gotten a bonus, I have layed off staff when times were tough and I hire additional people when I start seeing overtime in order to keep my costs in line and be a good steward of the public’s money. If you think that the unions are blocking Milwaukee County from hiring additional bus drivers to curtail the overtime you are totally incorrect. Why would a union pass on any effort to have additional workers hired and pay additional and new union dues? Walker has blocked the additional hiring only as an illusion of being a fiscally prudent individual.
I will leave my argument with you conceding another one of your contentions. I do believe WIsconsin should be a right to choose state. I have no problem with that. Why not have a choice? In fact, what makes this country great is the right to choose. A right to choose state would allow the unions and employers the right to earn their “membership” by actually working for employees to join their ranks. Employers could offer perks for employees to say with them and unions could offer perks by actually working harder to earn their membership and dues. Please understand this, I am not agreeing to union busting, a right to choose state would still allow all bargaining rights to those who choose to remain in the unions.
So Johnny, I have now conceded to your two major points for this bill. (Making financial concessions on benefits and not needing unions for all) After your governor’s major gaffe today would you concede that this is simply about getting rid of the major political force opposing republicans during election time?
The state bike trails should be fine because usually you do not need to purchase a pass for walking it, just riding, so in effect this is non-permitted access by walking.
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