Wisconsin's Budget Move

Bridal.Wreath

Yep, our government has literally caused rallies throughout the state of Wisconsin. For those who know nothing about it, I would check these links out:

Wisconsin lawmakers poised to vote on budget move amid protests | Reuters

Madison debate gets national attention - JSOnline

Union proposal draws mixed reviews | wisconsinrapidstribune.com | Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune

munchkin

As a taxpayer, I personally agree with what the governor of Wisconsin wants to do. It is about time that the public sector went by the same rules as the private sector. Changes need to be made. Many of us in the private sector have already had to make the same concessions they are asking of these public employees. We can't keep providing benefits we can't afford. The demonstrators in Wisconsin make it look like everyone is on their side. They are wrong; most taxpayers think these changes need to be made.

The Democrats in Wisconsin walked out. . . huh?? Weren't they elected to do a job? They should stay and vote. Let their constituents see just where they stand.

Bridal.Wreath

I heard about t he democrats walking out. I'm one of those people who stays out of political debates. I vote when I need to vote and yeah.

dernhelm

I live near Madison, WI. My kids haven't been to school in days, wondering if they'll get to go tomorrow? Doesn't look good.

I find myself asking, "What would Reagan do?".

Go back to work, we have ALL had to make sacrifices.

dernhelm

munchkin wrote: »

As a taxpayer, I personally agree with what the governor of Wisconsin wants to do. It is about time that the public sector went by the same rules as the private sector. Changes need to be made. Many of us in the private sector have already had to make the same concessions they are asking of these public employees. We can't keep providing benefits we can't afford. The demonstrators in Wisconsin make it look like everyone is on their side. They are wrong; most taxpayers think these changes need to be made.

The Democrats in Wisconsin walked out. . . huh?? Weren't they elected to do a job? They should stay and vote. Let their constituents see just where they stand.

+1

Many people in the private sector don't even have a pension anymore, my father and one of my brothers-in-law included.

Crazy that the Dems fled the state, maybe they won't come back :wave:

munchkin

dernhelm wrote: »

munchkin wrote: »

As a taxpayer, I personally agree with what the governor of Wisconsin wants to do. It is about time that the public sector went by the same rules as the private sector. Changes need to be made. Many of us in the private sector have already had to make the same concessions they are asking of these public employees. We can't keep providing benefits we can't afford. The demonstrators in Wisconsin make it look like everyone is on their side. They are wrong; most taxpayers think these changes need to be made.

The Democrats in Wisconsin walked out. . . huh?? Weren't they elected to do a job? They should stay and vote. Let their constituents see just where they stand.

+1

Many people in the private sector don't even have a pension anymore, my father and one of my brothers-in-law included.

Crazy that the Dems fled the state, maybe they won't come back :wave:

Most people in the private sector don't have pensions. Neither my husband nor I do. We both have had access to 401(k)'s and were wise enough to put as much money as we could over the years into them. We have made ourselves responsible for our future. It can be done.

Bridal.Wreath

dernhelm wrote: »

I live near Madison, WI. My kids haven't been to school in days, wondering if they'll get to go tomorrow? Doesn't look good.

I find myself asking, "What would Reagan do?".

Go back to work, we have ALL had to make sacrifices.

I live in Green Bay. No school closing here.

redcelticcurls

Good for those workers. It's about time someone stood up for people in service jobs.

Myradella3

Why these particular unions! Why not the police and firefighters?I thinknthe increases are fine but why bust the union?

wild~hair

Myradella3 wrote: »

I thinknthe increases are fine but why bust the union?

Exactly. This is NOT about balancing a budget.

munchkin

Unless the unions agree to major concessions, then busting the unions may be the only way to balance the budgets.

I have been on both sides: a union and a non-union employee. I would much rather be non-union. There were many times I felt brainwashed by my union officials. I also found that my work habits and attitude without the union took care of me.

redcelticcurls

The issues of balancing the budget have been overhyped when it comes to how much union members take up the money.

Don't be fooled: Wisconsin's budget woes are real - How the World Works - Salon.com


This is nothing but straight union busting. As was said in another thread about this, the main reason we have things like a minimum wage, a standard 40 hour work week, and other safety and workers rights laws in place was because of the union movement. While they can have their downsides, as a whole, unions have been more beneficial to workers than not. We shouldn't have to become a country where we all make minimum wage with no benefits just so wealthy business owners can just become that much more wealthy. We don't need the Wal-Martification of America.

To ask for a greater contribution to insurance and pension plans is mostly reasonable. To get rid of collective bargaining altogether is ridiculous. you may as well roll over and take it in the ass at that point.

JLeighs

My dad works for our public museum. Even though he's *highly* qualified to be a full-time projectionist for IMAX theatre, they won't hire him full-time because that means union, which means the museum loses a bunch of their control. So a bunch of people get a bunch of part-time jobs so that the museum can avoid the union. My BIL got a temp job working in the WE-Energies cafeteria. He is a supervisor, yet he cannot do *anything* but supervise. Per union rules, he cannot "do any work that rightfully belongs to a union employee". He was essentially told that if so much as a slice of bread falls on the floor, he needs to direct a union employee to pick it up. He cannot do it himself, period. I think unions have their good points, but they have too much power.

Our state IS broke. If a little busting-down of union power is what it takes to fix it, then so be it. Time will tell. And this is from someone who used to be a union worker.

Myradella3

I'm a state employee. Last year was the first time I ever had a monthly premium for health insurance. At $50, I know it's a good deal. As of last summer, I'm contributing more to my pension and healthcare for retirement. It's common sense that it had to be done. My cousin works for the state in Wisconsin and is happy to pay more for insurance and pension. It's the union busting that has him and his family protesting in Madison.

I'm no union fan by and large, but if you have one, respect its role. Respect the truth and don't tack union busting on to a seroius budget discussion.

Myradella3

Is it true that the governor is only going after the unions that didn't endorse him in the election last Fall?

munchkin

Myradella3 wrote: »

I'm a state employee. Last year was the first time I ever had a monthly premium for health insurance. At $50, I know it's a good deal. As of last summer, I'm contributing more to my pension and healthcare for retirement. It's common sense that it had to be done. My cousin works for the state in Wisconsin and is happy to pay more for insurance and pension. It's the union busting that has him and his family protesting in Madison.

I'm no union fan by and large, but if you have one, respect its role. Respect the truth and don't tack union busting on to a seroius budget discussion.

If all union employees dealt with the pension and health insurance debacle the way you are, then there might not be the problem there is. $50 for health insurance is darn cheap compared to what I pay, but at least you are paying something. Your attitude is much better than most public employees.

wild~hair

Joe Republican


by Jeff Parker on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 11:11pm



Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It's noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe is home from work.

He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

~~~Originally posted on John Gray's website in 2004. Revised by Jeff Parker to give it the pinko commie cheese-eating flavor to it.



link

System

The teachers' union has already agreed to the pay cuts and other changes that were requested. I agree with RCC -- this is just union-busting.

munchkin

I am going to say something very unpopular: I think the time for unions has come and gone. As I said, I felt very brainwashed when I was in a union. It was like I couldn't have a mind of my own.

Myradella3

Union busting and balancing the budget are two different things. To combine them, is just politics and the governor should be shamed.

Bridal.Wreath

To be honest, I think this has more to do with the rights of the workers, not the union. Teachers and such feel as though their rights are going to be stripped away completely. This does not affect just the teachers and other union groups, this affects everyone as a whole.