The organizers of the recall state Sen. Robert Wirch campaign held a rally at The Brat Stop Saturday.
John Capra, a Salem resident who attended the rally, said about 650 people attended.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to the business, supporters of Wirch marched with signs expressing their support for Wirch.
The recall campaign began in earnest Thursday. The group estimates they need to gather some 18,000 signatures in the next 60 days to force a recall election, said Dan Hunt, a Pleasant Prairie resident who is the public face of the effort.
Wirch is one of 14 Democratic state senators who left the state on Feb. 17 to stall passage of a budget repair proposal put forward by Republican Governor Scott Walker. That proposal includes a provision to limit public employees collective bargaining rights to wages only. That aspect of the bill has spurred huge protests from unionized public and private workers.
A quorum for a vote in the Senate would require one of the Democrats to be present.
The Assembly passed the measure early last Friday morning.
They won’t be getting any votes from me or my family. Thank you Bob for showing America what a crooked and unethical Governor we have.
Thanks Bob for exposing this IDIOT! And standing OUR ground…..
The only one(s) that are crooked and unethical are the ones that do not show up to vote. They need to represent their people, not run away like cowards. Did the Republicans run away from the House & Senate when Obama pushed through healthcare? No. They stayed, spoke out, and represented their districts like they are supposed to.
Big babies. I hope they all get fired and never get the privledge to serve this state again.
I guess you haven’t read the bill, Heather. It’s not about balancing the state’s budget at all. It’s about destroying the peace between labor and management in the state through the ending of collective bargaining for state employees, except for protective services. It’s about selling off the state’s power generation plants at various state facilities for pennies on the dollar to corporate interests who will charge significantly higher rates to turn a profit from the state, costing Wisconsin taxpayers even more. It’s about the governor taking control of how federal Medicare money is spent with just a few appointees, not really a panel, so I hope you don’t have loved ones on Medicare who may lose their coverage. It’s about a power grab by our governor, who was basically asked to leave Marquette without a degree after three years because of shady politics during his bid for student body president. And if you think that the “prank call” was just a joke as the Republicans and conservative media tried to play it off as, wake up, he basically showed his whole hand. I hope that nothing in your life that you hold dear or brings you stability is in his line of fire. Bob Wirch is doing his job, he’s representing me, and I will gladly vote for him again, especially if these clowns trying to recall him get enough signatures somehow to push for a recall election. But then again, just keep watching Fox News or listening to Charlie Sykes, they have all the answers.
Emotions are running high. And when they do, all the issues get muddled.
This is not about the budget repair bill. It is not about being democrat or republican. It is not about whether nor not Walker is a crooked politician or an idiot. It is not even about standing ground.
It is about doing the job. If you or I or anyone else who has a paying job didn’t show up for work, union or not, what do you think would happen to us? We’d get fired. Plan and simple, no recourse, not election, no appeal (except for the 7% of those who are union members). But when a politician (oh, did we forget that Bob is a politician – I think I can call him Bob since I know him personally) doesn’t show up for a job, he is “doing the people’s business”. Really? If a lawyer did what Bob is doing, we would call him a crooked lawyer. If a governor or any other state official just decided to not show up for work and fled the state, people would be all over them.
Let’s separate the issues and keep them straight. Is the budget repair bill good or bad? Is Walker crooked? Is Walker an idiot? Doesn’t matter for purposes of this recall. This recall is about one man abdicating his sworn duties. He did not swear to uphold the consitution of Wisconsin only when he agreed with the decisions that were being made. And those that argue that he is upholding democracy better think again. Democracy requires a dialog between all parties, not one party taking their ball and going home when they don’t like the way the game is going. This is a legal stalling tactic, plain and simple.
So, Paladin – anyone who does not agree with you is a “clown”? It is democracy when Wirch leaves town and stalls the democratic process, but it a bunch of “clowns” taking action when they use the same democratic process and laws to start a recall?
How open minded you are. You were making some good points until your last statement. How unfortunate that you had to throw in some name calling.
And I would disagree about Bob representing us. How can he represent us when he won’t debate or vote on bills? Seems like the opposite of representation to me.
February 27, 2011
Public Unions & the Socialist Utopia
By Robert Tracinski
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/02/27/public_unions__the_socialist_utopia_109046.html
“they are declaring that they would rather have no legislature than allow voting on any bill that would break the power of the unions.
National Review’s Jim Geraghty describes these legislative walk-outs as “small-scale, temporary secessions.”
The Democrats are fleeing from a lot more than their jobs as state legislators. They are fleeing from the cold, hard reality of the financial and moral unsustainability of their ideal.â€
I am a bit ashamed to admit I have voted for Senator Wirch on several occasions. As a true supporter of the democratic process I am very disappointed by the actions of all the senators who left the state to impede the vote. This fiscal mess in this state, and this country for that matter, is like a long relationship going bad due to poor communication, numerous white lies and putting oneself ahead of the relationship. Now is the time to fix it before it is too late and ends up irrepairable. Unfortunately, the party of change doesn’t like to change when it hits near and dear to the unions who have buttered their bread exclusively for decades now on the backs of the taxpayers and would rather flee from the truth than face the reality. We are broke. As taxpayers we do not owe state workers anything. However, our elected representatives owe us all the duty of being in the capital when such pressing issues are being debated and voted on.
DJ, you or someone you know must have been at the meeting to have your feelings hurt over the “clown” statement. I’ve had people calling me and my colleagues much worse over the last two weeks and last 15 years, because I am a teacher. The Democratic Senators used the means they thought necessary to give this bill some more time, they don’t have the equivalent of a filibuster. Your statement about democracy being a dialogue, it sure is, but when one side says it’s my way or the highway, as the governor is doing, then we get to the situation we are in. He was sure willing to talk to someone who he thought was a huge contributor to his campaign and fawn all over him. And I disagree with you about the senators abdicating their duties, he is still in contact with his constituents, he is still proposing legislation (sell the Governor’s Mansion, let Scott Walker pay rent in Madison, oh that would also come from our tax dollars), and if you talk to many average people he’s sure representing us by standing up to the governor’s power grab for the few in the state and the nation. Thanks for saying I was making some good points, hard to argue the facts. Sorry I let emotions get in the way, hard not to when you’re going to see upwards of 18% of your pay evaporate and you are constantly told by the public you’re not worth what we pay you already.
Paladin- Please explain how “he basically showed his whole hand” with the prank phone call? Where in the bill does it say he’s selling off the power plants? Wirch isn’t “doing his job” or he’d be in Madison voting against the bill, he ran and will pay the price.
I for one have called my senator, Bob Wirch for two weeks now, every day, leave my cell and home number, have sent him e-mails, no response. Ask his staffers if he will acknowlege some of my inquiries, they say he will get back to me, that was two weeks ago… So not in Madison at the Capitol engaging in dialogue regarding the repair bill, or any other bill for that matter.
I remember watching the “ObamaCare” bill get voted on, not much support from the Republicans, but they were there, I am sure they did’nt like it, I called them experessed my feelings toward it, we knew it would pass, with or without rebublican support. They came to work, did their job…like it or not that is the process that men and women have been defending for over 200 years, the cost? sometimes is their life, but they do it because they have sworn an oath to our nation, just like the elected officials of our nation have.
I am thankful we live in a country where we can debate this, as emotionally charged as it may be. I respect all of your opinions, wont necesarity agree with them but certianly respect your opinion. I am sure most of you are my neighbors, our kids may go to school together, maybe we even belong to the same church.
God Bless America!
I said nothing about the bill itself and I don’t appreciate you starting to ream me out about something I did not even bring up (the actual bill itself). I was talking about the way that this so called ‘representative of the people’ was doing, or not doing I should say. Fine, he doesn’t agree with it. I don’t care. What I care about is that he is not staying and fighting for what he believes in. He is running away, just because one or more of his associates told him to. You say that he is still working. He can’t be working if he is not in Madison. His job is not a telecommuting job. It requires being there in person.
Plain and simple. He doesn’t do his job, he needs to leave and we need to get someone else in there that will. Dem or Rep., doesn’t matter. Just do your job!!!!!!!
How is Wirch doing his job in another state, when his job is to be in Madison to vote on this bill. The public has spoken the Democrats lost the election and are in the minority, deal with it and do your job Bob.
One suggestion I heard was to make the collective bargaining provision effective for only two years. It already is. It’s called the next election.
Give us the respect of two years. If you don’t like it then, vote us out.
Grant, I guess you have neither read the bill, listened or read the transcript of Walker’s prank call, or haven’t paid much attention to what’s been going on. The blogger drew out Walker’s plan to crush the collective bargaining rights of public employees, Walker asked for extra help to get his message out (a violation of ethics rules, can’t ask for money to do that as an elected official, but then again, he never played fairly anyway–his attempt to get elected student body president at Marquette ended with him being asked to leave the university without his degree) and that they thought of putting people in the crowds at the Capitol to start trouble. Also, the idea he’d get a trip to California and “thanks a million!”
As far as the power plant sale, here’s the text from SB 11:
16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state−owned heating, cooling,
and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).
Now, if these state owned power plants that provide the power to state-run facilites get sold to private insterests, we, the taxpayers of WI, will pay them much more to provide the power to state facilities because they will need to operate at a profit. Sounds to me like a good use of already limited tax dollars, to pay more for something than we do now for the sake of privatization. Kind of like the Milwaukee Courthouse guard situation, where then County Exec Walker illegally changed the guard situation and cost Milwaukee County over $400,000 when the courts said he removed the deputies illegally.
If you’re on the bandwagon to recall Sen Wirch, good luck with that. If the recall effort to get rid of Gov. Walker gains steam, it should be wildly successful. There needs to be about 540,000 signatures to bring it to a recall, over 1 million people voted for Tom Barrett in the 2010 election, so only a little more than half the people who voted against Walker have to sign a petition. Then, how many of those who voted Republican will change their votes after all of this? All hypothetical, but it sure is fun to dream.
Paladin – actually, I was not at the meetings. Nor have I signed a petition. I just don’t see what good comes out of name calling. Guess you and I have a different opinion on the need for that.
In regards to 18% of your pay evaporating – already been there and done that. So yes, I know the pain you will have should the bill come to pass. But it is pain that the rest of us non-teachers have already felt. My health care premium deduction out of my paycheck increased 25% on January 1 and I didn’t have word 1 to say about it. And that was without a pay increase. Over the past 4 years my pay has not gone up and my deductions have gone way up. I also get zero retirement unless I put the money in. And we all knwo what has happened to 401Ks and IRAs in the past 3 years. I believe that the teachers get at least 3% per year increase? Those who are in favor of the bill can legitimately ask why teachers and other public workers feel that they should be protected from what the rest of us have already had to endure.
I don’t want to say you are living in a utopia or that you are not underpaid. I just ask why you as a teacher should be in a “protected” class? Even my son, who is in the military defending this country, has to pay for his health insurance and he is arguably doing as much for society as a teacher.
February 27, 2011
Public Unions & the Socialist Utopia
By Robert Tracinski
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/02/27/public_unions__the_socialist_utopia_109046.html
“they are declaring that they would rather have no legislature than allow voting on any bill that would break the power of the unions.
National Review’s Jim Geraghty describes these legislative walk-outs as “small-scale, temporary secessions.”
The Democrats are fleeing from a lot more than their jobs as state legislators. They are fleeing from the cold, hard reality of the financial and moral unsustainability of their ideal.â€
Posted twice.
Well said dj.
I know exactly how you feel, in the same situation with no wage increase and skyrocketing health care cost. Just glad to be working.
Since ERIN DECKER is behind this recall movement…that means SAMANTHA KERKMAN is also involved. I hear she is already planning her campaign strategy to run against BOB WIRCH if the recall happens. She was already planning to do that in 2012.
Also, she has hand-picked ERIN DECKER to run for the State Assembly seat should Kerkman be elected to the State Senate.
This recall election will attract BIG money…BIG NATIONAL names to campaign for both sides.
I support Bob Wirch and trust his judgment far more than I would ever trust the judgment or ethical values of Mrs. Kerkman or Ms. Decker.
Just curious to those in the private sector, you haven’t had a raise in years and pay significantly into your health insurance and no pension or have to pay into a 401(k), why have you never thought of organizing? Do you each have to go hat in hand to your boss and ask for raises when it’s your labor helping him make a profit? Your labor is valuable, as is mine, so why aren’t you working to get your due? Also, who do you work for? Is it a small business or some large corporation? How much is the boss/management making? Are you college educated or have some significant skill set? If you work for some large corporation that’s sitting on a pile of cash while you work harder than ever to “keep up the bottom line”, then ask yourself why? And this is not about “greedy teachers” or “greedy government workers”, it’s about making sure that this is a great state to live in and raise kids in, and worrying about taking care of those kids, including my two.
I went to college, graduated, went back to school to get a teaching license, and got hired to teach. I have training, education, and a skill set that most of the general public doesn’t have, plus I have been credentialed by the State of Wisconsin as an educator. I paid for this, along with my Master’s degree and the extra credits I currently have (the military did pay for a chunk of it, but that required me to serve, and I still do, thanks to those who serve and who have family members who serve). The union I belong to should be called a guild, as we are highly skilled individuals with a significant amount of training. I know, all we do is give out worksheets and show movies, right? I am not discounting anyone else’s skill sets or situation, but ask yourself why are you not doing better than you are. If it’s because of you employer and the economy, this situation likely will turn around, even if oil hits $100 a barrel or more. Will your employer share that with you or hang on to it even though you helped him turn a profit? Will you eventually get a bonus? I’ve never had one as a teacher. We produce educated students, not widgits for a profit.
Teachers took it on the chin for almost 20 years under the QEO, when we were the only public employees who had their wages reduced by Tommy Thompson, now this. My pension comes through deferred compensation, meaning the state takes a piece of my paycheck and puts it into the state pension fund, so I can collect it later. It’s not extra pay, it’s a piece of my already earned pay put aside and invested for me, and that fund did well and is almost fully funded for all current and future obligations, unlike most 401(k). I also personally put money into a 403(b) so I have that little extra to count on in the future, and that took a hit thanks to Wall Street, just like all of you. So I should have to put even more away because that will seemingly save the state some money? More shell games with the funds, plus it also puts more money into the fund that I’m pretty sure Walker is drooling over raiding, even though it’s illegal. As far as health insurance costs, maybe if health care didn’t become big business in the last 30 years where profits outweighed the need to keep costs down we could all afford great health insurance. Should I begrudge doctors and nurses for making a good living, no, as I have friends who are doctors and nurses. But how much of the money paid by insurance actually goes to their pay and how much goes to corporate interests and shareholders?
For all of those who say public employees have it so great and need to give something up like the private sector has, ask yourself why do they appear to have it so much better and what have you done to improve your situation. I went to college, only one of my siblings who did and only the third college graduate in my family, behind my mother and an uncle (Mom was a teacher and an administrator). My friends in the private sector with college degrees make more than I do and only one of them has an advanced degree–lawyer–but do I begrudge them, no. I chose a life of public service, both as an educator and as a service member, why should my choice necessitate the private sector to take away what I and my colleagues worked to achieve? There were plenty of years where we gave back money in our contracts to the school district because they had us over a barrel, so that arguement doesn’t hold as much water as many want you to think. I pay taxes too, as many as anyone else does, and while my both of my paychecks come from taxes paid, so what? Does that mean I pay myself? I hate baseball but I pay the extra sales tax that went for Miller Park and still gets collected. Taxes are the price we pay for living in the society we do, I guess we’ll have to start giving that up based on the cuts that are coming. Again, ask yourself why do you seem to have it so bad as compared to public employees and what have you done or not done to improve your situation?
Now that Walker has talked about his budget, it seems were all in the same boat. When he cuts funding to the schools we will all pay for it, by higher property taxes. The unions didn’t cause these problems. It’s sad how he’s pitting the rich against the middle class and the poor. I’ve been in unions and also worked for companies that were not in the union. By far, the union jobs always had better benefits and wages. I worked for a large pharma company that had always made big profits and the average raise was 25 cents while our health insurance went up $20.00 a week. I say it’s time the middle class tells Walker and all those in government to tax the rich.
paladin- nobody cares about your life history, tell it elsewhere!
Paladin,
I have read your latest piece and have found it to be the most compelling argument that i have read to date for ‘your side’. You are absolutely correct that people make choices as to what career they will choose and then live with it. You are also correct in saying that if you don’t like your job then change it. In todays economy that may be easier said than done, but that’s beside the point.
What is the point though is ‘ How do we solve this budget problem’? As the governor said this is somthing that both sides were a party to creating. So with that said, how would you fix the states budget problems?
Would you raise taxes, cut spending, borrow money, or all of the above? Please do not take this post as a personal attack or a ridiculous exercise. People like me and others on this page are really interested to know, ” How would you fix this”?
Paladin- This is about recalling Wirch, not hearing about you and your life history, stick to the point. Also, you didn’t have to admit that you are a teacher, that was evident from your first post.
Tax the Rich- a $0.25 average raise in the Pharma industry, really?!? I’ve been in the industry for 30 years and have never seen anything that low ever, please tell me more, maybe your life history like Paladin…. wait… nevermind.
This is why collective bargaining changes are needed.
Paris passed a three-year referendum that raised 2008 property taxes 31.8% in 2009, another 9.8% in 2010, and another 6.4% in 2011. For 2010, taxpayers REDUCED taxes at the Annual Meeting. The school board at their next meeting overruled the taxpayers and DID NOT RAISE taxes for 2010. In teacher contract negotiations, the major teacher concession was to freeze each cell of the salary schedule for two years while the Step increases of 4.1 to 6.8% and Lane increases of 2.0 to 7.7% were LEFT INTACT. The teacher at the top of the salary schedule that makes $81K did not get a raise.
From Wisconsin Association of School Boards’ database, Paris’ 2010-11 Total Compensation per teacher at $103,819 is $22,429 higher than average. The insurance cost to the district for single coverage is $2,474 higher than average and $5,462 higher for family coverage. Paris’ salary schedule ranking for BA and MA degrees puts them in the top 6% of the state. This is for both elementary and high schools. A Fund 73 was added this year to the Paris budget. Total Compensation does not include the $7 million unfunded Post Employment Benefits (around $10K per teacher).
The board’s proposal to change insurance carriers to reduce costs to the district was DENIED. The teachers did agree to minor co-pays. No concessions were made on Post Employment Benefits. Overall, NO concessions were made to resolve Paris’ dire financial situation. In 2009, the $385K property tax increase paid for $322K of Post Employment Benefits. Property taxes increased with NO significant teacher concessions.
Collective bargaining changes are needed to give taxpayers the ability to solve this financial disaster.
A Union Education WSJ Tuesday March 1, 2011
What Wisconsin reveals about public workers and political power.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704615504576172701898769040.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
@ sick of paladin, thanks, I never thought I’d be part of someone’s blog handle, I guess I must have hit a nerve with you due to you needing to register that one, did you have a bad experience in school or are you ashamed of your political leanings?
@ Chris, thanks for at least seeing the “other” side, I don’t believe we need to be on one side or the other, but the governor seems to see it that way.
I’ve just been looking over the proposed budget, funny that we are broke as a state but the governor found money to give away to private charter schools through expansion of vouchers and reducing the income limits to qualify. So, I’m sure that all that money leaving the school districts of the state will do good things.
I understand no one likes to pay more in taxes, but why do those who have the most get a pass in this situation while we in the middle or the bottom pay the most? Really, do the few thousand millionaires and the handful of billionaires in the state get further tax breaks in terms of removal of capital gains taxes and the like? I’m not necessarily for soaking the rich, but how about they pay their fair share. Is $100,000 a lot for a billionaire? They have to spend that much every day for almost 30 years to spend a billion dollars, maybe they could help kick in and it wouldn’t affect them in the least.
I haven’t looked at the entirety of the budget proposal yet, but it sure looks like the supporters of the governor and the Republican Party sure make out while everyone else is left fighting over what’s left. Can we cut some things, sure, there is plenty of government waste. As far as schools go, does each school in the county need to be its own district with a Superintendent and a principal? Maybe not, but maybe, I don’t know for sure. The state sales tax hasn’t gone up since 1982 I believe, Republicans argue that the poor don’t pay income or property taxes, but everyone pays sales tax, maybe an increase of 1%? Just some thoughts, because you can bet the tax increases will come, especially as tax revenue from the economic impacts this budget will have on everyone in the state doesn’t come in. With a monthly loss of somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 or more from my take home pay I won’t be going out to eat much, will go down to Great Lakes Naval Base to shop on base to save money and not pay state sales tax (perfectly legal for me as a Reservist–benefit of my service), and will need to cut back wherever possible to weather my new financial situation. Multiply that by 300,000 public employees and you have about a $1 billion impact according to one source, gee, that’s about the “deficit” for one fiscal year. And property tax relief, sure, especially since the local governments will clamor to cut services, nice how the governor doesn’t need to be the real bad guy, he only cut the shared revenue (not sure how that works, we send tax money to the state, they don’t send it back to our local governments???), not the positions, those were local decisions.
Closing whatever budget deficit there may be–we are “facing a blah blah deficit”, read we only think it will be this much, and I gave away the $120 million surplus we were on track to have with my tax breaks–doesn’t have to come at the expense of destroying what makes Wisconsin better that most of the states in the union. Corporate greed from the 1980s got us in this mess, not sure what nostalgic trip to the 80s the governor was going on today in his speech–Tommy Thompson increased the state’s budget woes during his time in office for sure. Take or leave my thoughts, but we are in for an absolutely horrific ride as a state if this budget passes, glad we got to see how bad it will be before the “budget repair bill” (what a crock) got passed.
Since this thread was originally about recalling Sen Bob Wirch I’ll end on saying thanks to him for standing up to the governor and standing up for the people of Wisconsin. Your courage in this situation showed us all the plans the governor has and how they are overall bad for Wisconsin. Keep up the fight, you have my support.
Paladin – your argument would make real sense if there was money out there to be had. But the real truth is that all corporations are taking it on the chin. The world economy is broken. I work for a multinational corporation and they have lost money in each of the last 12 quarters. Thank goodness I was not one of those who was layed off (yet). I can match your education and training line for line and I paid for it too – I have a masters and a substitute teacher credential for what that is worth – about $100 a day with no benefits. I was a member of a union. All they did was suck money out of my paycheck and returned nothing. When they did start “working” for us, what they ended up doing was shutting down the company I was at because they insisted on a successor clause and wage increases. The suitor for the company said no thanks and instead of uping our wages, they decreased all the way to zero. That was my union at work for me.
Regarding your retirement – I applaud you for contributing. But there are those districts where the teachers contribute NOTHING. Retirements and benefits fully funded by the school board. Those days can’t last. THERE IS NO MORE MONEY, unless you want to start paying $10,000 a year in property taxes on a modest $150,000 home. We all know that is not the right answer.
The unions served their purpose when workers were exploited more than they are today. But I seriously question their usefullness today. Today, they seem to be in the news more for their corruption, scandal and obstructionist tactics.
But that is another subject, far afield from the one we started with – the recall of Sen. Wirch due to his apparent lack of interest in representing ALL of his consitutients and not just a select few who are union members. I for one will make the decision to sign or not based simply on his job performance, not on whether he is for or against a certain bill.
I echo Chris’s comments. You bring up some excellent points for pondering. Please, let’s work together to see how we can get out of this mess. The answer is probably in the middle somewhere.
Dr. Brown – do I detect a bit of sour grapes based on your recent loss to Ms. Kerkman? Trying to spin up a run yourself? Your personal dislike of the two individuals comes through loud and clear.
Can you honestly say that you have NEVER, EVER done something without fully disclosing all your motives and strategies? If not, your personal attacks on Kerkman and Decker woud seem to be a bit disingenuous.
All along, I thought it was Mr. Hunt that was heading up the effort to recall Sen. Wirch. I’m glad you cleared the record and let us know that it is really Erin Decker and Samantha Kerkman. By the way, how did you come by this knowledge? Or are you just rumor mongering, trying to stir up controversy? A wise man once told me that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. What solution are you offering here? Saying “elect me” is not enough. The time for broad generalizations and vague promises is long past. What SPECIFIC proposals do you have? If you have something concrete to offer that makes sense, you may persuade me. Again, saying “I will create jobs” doesn’t cut it. HOW would you do it?
As far as Kerkman possibly running for senator and Decker possibly running for assembly – you seem to be saying that there is some sort of conspiracy. What is wrong with Kerkman wanting to be a senator or Decker wanting to be a representative?
To Paladin and all others who think that taxing the rich more will solve our problems;
When you go to the store to buy a gallon of milk, do they ask you ‘ How much money do you make?’ When you buy a refrigerator, do they ask you ‘How much money do you make?’ When you buy anything, do they determine how much to charge you by ‘How much money you make?’ The answer obviously is NO. Each and every person in this country pays the same amount for the same thing as the next person in line.
You can argue that stores in ritzier areas charge more for their products, but those rich people are not forced to buy there. Those rich people mostly do choose to buy in those higher priced areas though and that puts more money into the economy.
They also buy more things than they need, like a second home. We all know about second homes on the the lakes around here. Do you not want those ‘Rich’ folks to come here and spend ‘Their’ money? Of course we do. So why are they targeted to pay more in taxes than you do by percentage?
Everyone should pay the same for everything, and that goes for taxes too. A flat tax, with the first 50K free. We all have heard that line before. Put captal gains in with wages and tax those at the same rate. Sounds good too, but will that really help the underlying problem. Jobs, jobs and more jobs.
Where are those jobs? Not here. There down south and overseas. Why? Because it’s cheaper there. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but if we make it ‘Less Expensive’ to do business in Wisconsin then more business will be conducted in Wisconsin. Thats what the Governor is trying to do. Make it easier for the Rich folks to open or expand their businesses. The more business in our state, the more jobs to go around and the more taxes that are paid, both income and sales.
As a country, if we continue to increase the taxes on the Rich, they will just stop spending what they have left on things that move the economy and find more ways to shelter it. Less spending, less taxes collected. I think I’ve read that somewhere before.
By Senetor Wirch absconding from his job he is shutting down the process that will allow ‘ our side’ to fix this problem once and for all. Our side wants to spend less, yours wants to spend more. We won, you lost. Get over it.
Believe me, unless your rich you will suffer with the rest of us when the bill is put through.
This isn’t about a budget bill. It is about a minority of the public subverting the will of the majority. Look at the protesters and unions; agitating and disrupting what should be a functional process. They don’t want OUR voices to be heard. If that happens, they lose the argument.
Watch the intimidation and suppression crumble with one informed individual. That could be you. http://althouse.blogspot.com/2011/03/free-speech-countervoice-takes-center.html
What else? Well, atty Jim Troupis is on the case as there are all kinds of repercussions for the Dem 14 coming from the Senate itself. Two words come to mind: Censure and Impeachment. The Senate has the power to discipline and expel. Expect it. Demand it. A Republic cannot function like this.
It also has more to do with Obama getting re-elected. Besides being in the bag with the unions, why do you think Obama’s foot soldiers are still marching here? Why do the keep busing them in? If they lose WI, Obama loses the election. Period.
How do I know? Because other states (Democrat held ones even) are doing the same thing as Walker, and that one isn’t getting the same attention. http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/02/27/blue-state-dems-turn-on-state-local-workers/ Also, consider that the unions have agreed to make concessions. So, what good are you to the union members if you are already caving in on their benefits and pension (not pay as that collective bargaining provision remains).
Obama is toast. And so is the corrupt union Democrat machine.
Good riddance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avB_iFEURY4
I’d like to see the IP’s of the commenters here to see how many of them are even from Wisconsin. There is more astroturf going on in Wisconsin right now than could cover the state of Texas.