Wouldn’t kill you to pay more in taxes, either.
Well, in fairness to the twats, it did all go down in the middle of Madison, Wisconsin… not exactly a Tea-Bagger stronghold.
And how many of those tubs-of-goo can you fit on a standard bus anyway? Six or seven? Probably ten, tops. Plus you have to carry all those Jazzy powered-wheelchairs somewhere…
So… making someone pay more for something that directly benefits them, that you oppose.
But taking money away from someone so it can benefit someone else (i.e. higher taxation) that you support.
That is messed up thinking.
Well, you’re doing it wrong. That thing you put your hat on? Try that.
I doubt it would kill those companies that Walker gave what was it? $117 million? $140 million? Hundreds of millions of dollars, at the very least, in tax breaks over the next two years, to give up those tax breaks to help alleviate the budget deficit.
But, no, taking collective bargaining away from people who make minimum wage and don’t have pensions or benefits would totally do more to help the budget deficit than bowing to nepotism. Because you do realize that not every school district gives all its unionized employees the benefits package that you had, right? That many of them have drastically reduced the benefits that all their employees receive over the past several years in response to the budget crisis? And that their employees have been willing to do that rather than lose their jobs entirely?
God, you and Walker are both so full of bullshit. I bet you brush your teeth with it in the morning, don’t you? And then you go out and dodge issues to get some exercise, right?
In most states, and at the federal level, spending cuts alone will not balance the budget. Tax raises are necessary as well.
I’m getting really tired of people arguing that gutting the government is the solution to all of our problems.
Yes. Because raising your taxes to fund the federal government wouldn’t benefit you in a single way. Not one.
If I may, better messed up thinking than not thinking at all.
You need some modifiers to “spending cuts” above for ýour post to be anything other than a physical impossibility.
At the time that my husband left his state job (school custodian) in 2008, he was working full-time for something like $9.75/hour just so that we could have health insurance. (I am self-employed and my options are abysmal.) A few years earlier, the district froze its contribution to health insurance coverage for support staff, making them absorb the huge premium increases. The only option was the Cadillac plan, and the district would not consider offering any lower-priced options. When he quit, most of his check was going to insurance premiums, and he was bringing home (working full-time) about $400/month.
Nice to know that he was a greedy, lazy bastard who should have been paying more.
He quit to get his CNA license (at age 52), hoping that that might be a sustainable career until he retires. He got a job at the state veterans’ home, so now he’s a state employee again. Finally, after being downsized from a corporate job in 2001, and working a series of crap jobs for several years thereafter just to try to make ends meet, he finally has some semblance of a stable job, with a license, and yes, God forbid, just a tiny bit of pride. The union bastard.
Today he fought his way in to work in a blizzard to wipe the asses of veterans with dementia who are twice his size, while they try to punch him in the face, for what will probably be a double shift. Then he’ll fight his way back through the blizzard and try to make it home. Oh yeah, and 8 hours after the end of that double shift he’ll be due back in to work. If he’s lucky he might get four hours of sleep. Then back on the unit again, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and consummately professional at all times. What a fucking lazy, freeloading, crybaby slacker.
I will add that everyone he has talked to at work, and pretty much anyone we talked to when we were in Madison on Friday, agreed that they are willing to accept financial cuts. Hell, they already have. Wages are already frozen. Training programs are gone (and would have been about the only way he could afford to get his RN and maybe not have to have such a physical job when he’s in his 60s and 70s, because he won’t be able to afford to retire). They are willing to pay more toward insurance and pensions. They are willing to make other financial concessions. They are not willing to become slaves with no rights or power. And by the way, public employees are taxpayers too. It’s not a dichotomy. (Meanwhile corporations do everything in their power to NOT be taxpayers and then blame working stiffs when the budget comes up short.)
Anyone who thinks state jobs are cushy and overpaid are welcome to come in and shadow Mr. S for one shift. Heck, the veterans’ home is one of the BEST care facilities in the state in which to work, and yet it has trouble keeping people on staff. These are people who must be trained and certified for this job. They know full well what they’re getting into. Yet many quit after a few weeks or months because they can’t handle it. It’s no cakewalk. And we’re not getting rich either. I’d sure like to know how making working conditions even crappier is going to improve this situation. Perhaps the “real” taxpayers complaining about the budget would like to take Grandpa home with them and wipe his ass themselves and keep him from wandering off or setting the house on fire. That’s what people did back in the 1800s, before we had all this horrible collective bargaining. Wanna go backward, let’s go all the way.
If I wrote about all the other aspects of this whole ugly situation that piss me off, I’d be here all night. Unfortunately I have work to get done. I’m self-employed, so no snow days for me.
You realize money is fungible right?
The benefits are a form of pay aren’t they? You are effectively saying that we should cut teacher’s salaries which they benefit from directly in order to pass tax increases.
At that point you have to prove that these people are overpaid, something that noone seems to be able to do.
Out of our 3.7 trillion dollar budget, about 2/3 is social security, medicare/medicaid, interest on the national debt.
Out of the 1.3 trillion left, about 800 billion is on defense security and our wars in the middle east.
That leaves us with about 500 billion on discretionary spending.
Our budget deficit is about 1.5 trillion dollars. In other words even if you got rid of the entire discretionary budget, you wouldn’t be able to balance the budget.
We can get to a balanced budget on spending cuts alone, BUT we have to be willing to take a hatchet to medicare/medicaid and defense.
I’ll tell you what. IF the Republicans can cut a trillion dollars or so out of medicare/medicaid and defense and still stay in power, I will go back to voting for Republicans again.
What a stupid argument. that is one the conservatives make only when it suits them. The Repubs need one Dem to show to have a quorum. If one walks in the door, the Repubs will jam all this anti union crap down the peoples throats. His vote would not matter. He might as well just vote for the horrible Republican bills if he shows up.
As long as the Dems stay away, they have some leverage.
Walker is a whore working for the Koch brothers. They diverted more than 100 K into his election. Walker is paying them back big time.
He’s a cheap trick if he’s doing all this for $100K. The Kochs’ pockets are waaay deeper.
Then again, maybe he just believes that deeply in their agenda.
The real money is made as soon as their governorship ends, It is not a stretch to imagine the plum job that he will get in the future, as many who are in the pockets of industry usually get when they leave public office.
For reasons of mental hygiene, I rarely read the rightarded extremes. But I’ve got a nickel that says the good Governor is being spoken of as “Reagan-like”. I rather imagine he lkes that.
Speaking of “I got mine” I just wanted to point this out.
63
68
83.
Pretty awesome and convenient you got a 25% raise in your last year of service. Let me guess. 3 months before retirement, right?
Some similar thoughts on this whole thing.
The protest; does the governor care if people protest? He’s in office, he knew this was not going to go well, so what does he care if thousands of people stand around and scream for a day or a week or however long this takes. He’s obviously not driven by being universally liked. Is he really the type of person that in a few days he’ll just say “Oh well, you guys all changed my mind, forget I ever said anything.” Or," OMG, I’m shocked at this response, I thought you all would just remain at home and accept what I have planned."
He knew this was going to happen and he doesn’t care. This is his way of being powerful and he’s not going to give that up for anything. He probably likes the turmoil.
The hope is not about changing his mind, he clearly either doesn’t intend on going farther than Governor or he is deluded enough to believe that his unwillingness to negotiate will be seen as courage and this blue tinged purple state will actually help him up the next rung. The point is that some of his compatriots like their jobs enough to negotiate some kind of compromise without him. The recall efforts are beginning on a number of them.
If Walker pulls this shit off, he will be presidential candidate in 2016. If that does not scare you, you are immune to fear. This is a huge deal. Without collective bargaining, unions have little reason to exist. The unions have been responsible for safety rules in the workplace, but that might cost corporations money. It should be ended.
Without collective bargaining ,everybody would have to make their own deal. The bosses could change the deal at will. They could walk up to a 50 K employee and tell him starting tomorrow, he makes 30 K. What could the worker do about that? No more vacations. pay for your own health care. What are your options? Especially if you have worked the job for a long time. Not all government jobs have the same jobs in private industries.
Wrong. Those were my 3 highest years, NOT my 3 last years. And they account for a ton of overtime worked during those specific years. My highest base salary was $28/hour and overtime was actually rare.