Showing posts with label Scott Walker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scott Walker. Show all posts
Sunday, June 10, 2012
WEAC told it's members that Scott Walker ran on collective bargaining reforms
Screen shot from WEAC webpage.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
EXCLUSIVE: GAB Investigating Democrat Allegations of Fraud From Wirch Recall
Original Post: Media Trackers
By Collin Roth
The GAB is investigating fraud in a recall effort!
But it is not an investigation into any of the of the recall efforts involving Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch, or four Republican State Senators. This is an investigation into the effort to recall Democratic State Senator Robert Wirch from nearly a year ago.
On Thursday, Media Trackers learned that the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board dispatched two investigators to Kenosha to interview circulators involved in the effort to recall Senator Bob Wirch. According to sources, the investigators were asking about recall training, whether individuals were misled, and about the appearance of the late Bill Pocan’s signature on a recall petition.
Spokesman for the Government Accountability Board Reid Magney had no comment indicating that he cannot comment about ongoing investigations.
One year ago this month, the Taxpayer’s to Recall Robert Wirch launched their drive to recall Democratic State Senator Robert Wirch after he and thirteen other Democratic State Senator’s fled Wisconsin to avoid a vote on the Budget Repair Bill. The recall effort collected 17,138 valid signatures to force a recall of Senator Wirch over the 60-day period from February 24, 2011 to April 25, 2011.
During the signature gathering process, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin recklessly alleged “overwhelming evidence” of fraud in the effort to recall Senator Wirch.
The heart of the Democratic Party’s “overwhelming evidence?” A total of twenty affidavits, or 1/10 of 1% of the signatures gathered.
As a Media Trackers article from May 13, 2011 documents, the affidavits were extremely weak and lacked merit:
Of the 20 signed affidavits, five of the individuals signed recall petitions at Recall Wirch drive-thru’s, which were clearly marked by large signs. Others claimed to have been “tricked” into signing recall petitions for Scott Walker, in support of Sen. Robert Wirch, or even to “recall Sen. Wirch from Illinois.” Three of the 20 affidavits lacked a notary, and two were notarized by Heather Libbey, a staffer of Democratic Senator Mark Miller who Hunt contends, was “sent to Kenosha to thwart the recall efforts.”
The only affidavit that Hunt admitted had “relative substance” was that of Mrs. Pocan, whose deceased husband Bill Pocan, was discovered on a recall petition. Hunt went on to vouch for his organization saying “no one from Recall Wirch put that name on a petition.” A sampling of the affidavits went along these lines:
“I was mistaken when I signed the petition to recall Senator Wirsh(sic). I thought he was a Republican cronie(sic) of Scott Walker. When I found out he was Democrat I wanted to take back the signature.”- Wayne L., Kenosha County
“My neighbor stopped by my house about a month ago and he asked me to sign a petition. Had I known the petition was to recall Senator Wirch, I would not have signed the petition.”- Gertrude Z., Kenosha County
“I saw a sign and stopped. Asked if this was for Senator Wirch and they said yes. I thought that the petition was to get Senator Wirch back to Wisconsin and was not informed that the petition was to recall the Senator.”- Celia G., Kenosha County Dan Hunt, the former Chairman of Taxpayer’s to Recall Robert Wirch, told Media Trackers that special investigators from the GAB arrived on Thursday and interviewed individuals from the Recall Wirch effort concerning citizens who claimed they were “misled.” One such individual who claimed she was misled and signed an affidavit was Lisa Turner of Kenosha. Turner signed an affidavit saying:
A man came to my door and told me that they were trying to get people to sign a petition to have work done on the neighborhood park…I do not and have not supported the efforts to have a recall election held for Senator Wirch’s seat. When the Recall Wirch circulator accused of misleading Turner hired a private investigator to clear his name, the truth quickly came to light and Ms. Turner’s story fell apart. Media Trackers reported on August 12, 2011:
When the private investigator interviewed Turner, Turner stated that in April 2011, she was contacted by a representative from the Wirch campaign who asked explicitly if she had signed a recall petition against State Senator Robert Wirch. Turner responded that she had. As Prijic notes, “since Lisa Turner admitted to signing the Wirch Recall Petition, it makes no sense to claim later that it was a petition to improve a park.”
It was only after admitting she had signed the Recall Wirch petition that the representative from the Wirch campaign told Turner that “the circulators had been informing signers of the recall petition that it was for parks, neighborhood improvements, and streets etc.” When a representative from the Wirch campaign came to Turner’s door to sign the aforementioned affidavit alleging fraud, “Ms. Turner stated she did not read the affidavit or know its contentsI know I totally sign affidavits and legal all the time with out reading any it, including the title so that's an easy mistake to makes. Sarcasm.” Despite the weakness of the actual allegations and affidavits, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has dispatched at least two special investigators to Kenosha to interview those involved in the effort to recall Senator Wirch.
Dan Hunt, organizer of the Recall Wirch effort told Media Trackers that “the timing of this investigation is rather suspect.”
“At the time of the Democratic challenges, we vigorously defended ourselves and the GAB sided with us on most of the challenges” Hunt said. “It boggles my mind that the GAB can determine at this late date that an investigation is warranted,” Hunt added.
With numerous stories fraud and errors running rampant in the four State Senate recalls, as well as the efforts to recall Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch, the timing of this investigation could not be more suspect. Just last week, an Racine man found his name four times on the petition to recall Senator Van Wanggaard without having signed at all.
Nevertheless, it appears the GAB is devoting their precious resources not to investigating fraud that could effect current recall efforts but to a witch-hunt based on trumped up affidavits gathered by the Democratic Party nearly a year ago.
My comments:
And they didn't even have to be sued to to it? What I want to know is how this investigation started. Presumably the GAB didn't launch this investigation on their own, since their only job is to review petitions. I don't think the Wirch campaign asked for this since it happened a year ago. We also know that the GAB has no possible way of accepting requests to look into fraud from anyone else so what prompted this and why do they suddenly have the resources and authority to do this when they don't for Republicans? Surely it's not a violation of the Equal Protection clause, a group of judges would know better than to violate the Constitution wouldn't they?
By Collin Roth
The GAB is investigating fraud in a recall effort!
But it is not an investigation into any of the of the recall efforts involving Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch, or four Republican State Senators. This is an investigation into the effort to recall Democratic State Senator Robert Wirch from nearly a year ago.
On Thursday, Media Trackers learned that the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board dispatched two investigators to Kenosha to interview circulators involved in the effort to recall Senator Bob Wirch. According to sources, the investigators were asking about recall training, whether individuals were misled, and about the appearance of the late Bill Pocan’s signature on a recall petition.
Spokesman for the Government Accountability Board Reid Magney had no comment indicating that he cannot comment about ongoing investigations.
One year ago this month, the Taxpayer’s to Recall Robert Wirch launched their drive to recall Democratic State Senator Robert Wirch after he and thirteen other Democratic State Senator’s fled Wisconsin to avoid a vote on the Budget Repair Bill. The recall effort collected 17,138 valid signatures to force a recall of Senator Wirch over the 60-day period from February 24, 2011 to April 25, 2011.
During the signature gathering process, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin recklessly alleged “overwhelming evidence” of fraud in the effort to recall Senator Wirch.
The heart of the Democratic Party’s “overwhelming evidence?” A total of twenty affidavits, or 1/10 of 1% of the signatures gathered.
As a Media Trackers article from May 13, 2011 documents, the affidavits were extremely weak and lacked merit:
Of the 20 signed affidavits, five of the individuals signed recall petitions at Recall Wirch drive-thru’s, which were clearly marked by large signs. Others claimed to have been “tricked” into signing recall petitions for Scott Walker, in support of Sen. Robert Wirch, or even to “recall Sen. Wirch from Illinois.” Three of the 20 affidavits lacked a notary, and two were notarized by Heather Libbey, a staffer of Democratic Senator Mark Miller who Hunt contends, was “sent to Kenosha to thwart the recall efforts.”
The only affidavit that Hunt admitted had “relative substance” was that of Mrs. Pocan, whose deceased husband Bill Pocan, was discovered on a recall petition. Hunt went on to vouch for his organization saying “no one from Recall Wirch put that name on a petition.” A sampling of the affidavits went along these lines:
“I was mistaken when I signed the petition to recall Senator Wirsh(sic). I thought he was a Republican cronie(sic) of Scott Walker. When I found out he was Democrat I wanted to take back the signature.”- Wayne L., Kenosha County
“My neighbor stopped by my house about a month ago and he asked me to sign a petition. Had I known the petition was to recall Senator Wirch, I would not have signed the petition.”- Gertrude Z., Kenosha County
“I saw a sign and stopped. Asked if this was for Senator Wirch and they said yes. I thought that the petition was to get Senator Wirch back to Wisconsin and was not informed that the petition was to recall the Senator.”- Celia G., Kenosha County Dan Hunt, the former Chairman of Taxpayer’s to Recall Robert Wirch, told Media Trackers that special investigators from the GAB arrived on Thursday and interviewed individuals from the Recall Wirch effort concerning citizens who claimed they were “misled.” One such individual who claimed she was misled and signed an affidavit was Lisa Turner of Kenosha. Turner signed an affidavit saying:
A man came to my door and told me that they were trying to get people to sign a petition to have work done on the neighborhood park…I do not and have not supported the efforts to have a recall election held for Senator Wirch’s seat. When the Recall Wirch circulator accused of misleading Turner hired a private investigator to clear his name, the truth quickly came to light and Ms. Turner’s story fell apart. Media Trackers reported on August 12, 2011:
When the private investigator interviewed Turner, Turner stated that in April 2011, she was contacted by a representative from the Wirch campaign who asked explicitly if she had signed a recall petition against State Senator Robert Wirch. Turner responded that she had. As Prijic notes, “since Lisa Turner admitted to signing the Wirch Recall Petition, it makes no sense to claim later that it was a petition to improve a park.”
It was only after admitting she had signed the Recall Wirch petition that the representative from the Wirch campaign told Turner that “the circulators had been informing signers of the recall petition that it was for parks, neighborhood improvements, and streets etc.” When a representative from the Wirch campaign came to Turner’s door to sign the aforementioned affidavit alleging fraud, “Ms. Turner stated she did not read the affidavit or know its contentsI know I totally sign affidavits and legal all the time with out reading any it, including the title so that's an easy mistake to makes. Sarcasm.” Despite the weakness of the actual allegations and affidavits, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has dispatched at least two special investigators to Kenosha to interview those involved in the effort to recall Senator Wirch.
Dan Hunt, organizer of the Recall Wirch effort told Media Trackers that “the timing of this investigation is rather suspect.”
“At the time of the Democratic challenges, we vigorously defended ourselves and the GAB sided with us on most of the challenges” Hunt said. “It boggles my mind that the GAB can determine at this late date that an investigation is warranted,” Hunt added.
With numerous stories fraud and errors running rampant in the four State Senate recalls, as well as the efforts to recall Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch, the timing of this investigation could not be more suspect. Just last week, an Racine man found his name four times on the petition to recall Senator Van Wanggaard without having signed at all.
Nevertheless, it appears the GAB is devoting their precious resources not to investigating fraud that could effect current recall efforts but to a witch-hunt based on trumped up affidavits gathered by the Democratic Party nearly a year ago.
My comments:
And they didn't even have to be sued to to it? What I want to know is how this investigation started. Presumably the GAB didn't launch this investigation on their own, since their only job is to review petitions. I don't think the Wirch campaign asked for this since it happened a year ago. We also know that the GAB has no possible way of accepting requests to look into fraud from anyone else so what prompted this and why do they suddenly have the resources and authority to do this when they don't for Republicans? Surely it's not a violation of the Equal Protection clause, a group of judges would know better than to violate the Constitution wouldn't they?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Reedsburg Catechism teacher rants about Scott Walker factually inaccurate and unintentionally racist
Keep in mind this is a Catechism class. I took Catechism class and we didn't talk about anything like this. My class was, you know, mostly about the Bible and Christian teachings.
This teacher asserts that 40% of blacks between the ages of 18 and 24 don't have drivers licenses and are therefore disenfranchised. Really? Really? I won't go over the list of things that an 18 year old can't do with out a picture id in modern day life (in Milwaukee that includes being outside after 10) but this is really a condescending statistic. It would only disenfranchise people if they were unable to get an ID. The voter id law provides for a FREE id for those who want it. So this teacher is saying that black people will be (and I want to make it perfectly clear that this is his thinking and not mine because I believe they are smart enough to get an id) disenfranchised from voting because they are too stupid to get an id and too lazy to vote absentee.
He also says that Mitt Romney paid less in taxes than the student's parents. Again, really? Let's say the average middle class worker in Wisconsin pays 30% (which is way high but for purposes of this problem we'll let it slide), we also know that the average Wisconsin worker makes about $35k a year. Mitt Romney paid about 14% which amounted to about $3.2 million. Ok some simple math and....30% of 35,000 is....$10,500. This teacher is asserting that 3,200,000 < 10,500. Now I think why MPS is an intellectual void in which only about 8% graduate and can read at an eight grade level.
Something, something wine and wafers.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Man Claims He Signed 80 Walker Recall Petitions
Original Post: WISN
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- A man told 12 News that he has signed as many as 80 petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker.
The man had the following exchange with 12 News' Kent Wainscott on Thursday: Man: "I think I signed about 80 times."
Wainscott: "You've signed 80 petitions, you think?"
Man: "I signed a lot of them for the past two weeks. I've been seeing them at the Grand Avenue Mall. Out here by Pick 'n Save and stuff like that."
Wainscott: "Well, you know they're only going to count one of your signatures?"
Man: "Oh well. Whatever it takes to get Scott Walker out of here, I'm happy."
Wainscott: "That means signing repeatedly?"
Man: "Yeah. They cheated for Bush, so hey, I'm going to cheat to get Scott Walker out of here."
Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board in Madison polices the recall process. The Board's director said the legality of signing multiple petitions really comes down to intent.
"If a person is signing this with the intent of artificially inflating the number of signatures that are going to be turned in, or if they're signing it to argue these petitions are riddled with fraud, because anybody can do this, then they're committing fraud on the process," said Director Kevin Kennedy. So, if someone signs a recall petition but later worries that petition might not be legit, he or she can sign another one. That's different from signing dozens of different petitions, hoping to sneak in some extra signatures, according to the director.
The latter is a practice the Democratic Party of Wisconsin said it discourages. The party's spokesman said people should sign only one petition, and he said he had not heard of any other cases of people signing dozens of petitions. "Well, these are not credible people. They either have mental illnesses or they're up to no good," said Graeme Zielinski, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. "They're up to criminal activity, and if they are up to criminal activity, they should be prosecuted."
The state's Republican Party spokesmen told 12 News that its members are concerned about duplicate signatures sneaking into the total count.
"This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed, and the Republican Party of Wisconsin will be looking into the matter further," said Ben Sparks, communications director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. "This type of behavior calls the entire recall process into question."
The Democrats said they're working to weed out repeat signatures before submitting them to the GAB. The Board may not necessarily catch the duplicates. The GAB director said, according to state law, it's up to the officeholder to catch duplicates. So, in this case, it will be up to Walker's campaign and Republicans to catch any duplicate recall signatures turned in.
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- A man told 12 News that he has signed as many as 80 petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker.
The man had the following exchange with 12 News' Kent Wainscott on Thursday: Man: "I think I signed about 80 times."
Wainscott: "You've signed 80 petitions, you think?"
Man: "I signed a lot of them for the past two weeks. I've been seeing them at the Grand Avenue Mall. Out here by Pick 'n Save and stuff like that."
Wainscott: "Well, you know they're only going to count one of your signatures?"
Man: "Oh well. Whatever it takes to get Scott Walker out of here, I'm happy."
Wainscott: "That means signing repeatedly?"
Man: "Yeah. They cheated for Bush, so hey, I'm going to cheat to get Scott Walker out of here."
Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board in Madison polices the recall process. The Board's director said the legality of signing multiple petitions really comes down to intent.
"If a person is signing this with the intent of artificially inflating the number of signatures that are going to be turned in, or if they're signing it to argue these petitions are riddled with fraud, because anybody can do this, then they're committing fraud on the process," said Director Kevin Kennedy. So, if someone signs a recall petition but later worries that petition might not be legit, he or she can sign another one. That's different from signing dozens of different petitions, hoping to sneak in some extra signatures, according to the director.
The latter is a practice the Democratic Party of Wisconsin said it discourages. The party's spokesman said people should sign only one petition, and he said he had not heard of any other cases of people signing dozens of petitions. "Well, these are not credible people. They either have mental illnesses or they're up to no good," said Graeme Zielinski, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. "They're up to criminal activity, and if they are up to criminal activity, they should be prosecuted."
The state's Republican Party spokesmen told 12 News that its members are concerned about duplicate signatures sneaking into the total count.
"This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed, and the Republican Party of Wisconsin will be looking into the matter further," said Ben Sparks, communications director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. "This type of behavior calls the entire recall process into question."
The Democrats said they're working to weed out repeat signatures before submitting them to the GAB. The Board may not necessarily catch the duplicates. The GAB director said, according to state law, it's up to the officeholder to catch duplicates. So, in this case, it will be up to Walker's campaign and Republicans to catch any duplicate recall signatures turned in.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Wife of State Employee Suggests Walker’s Wife, Sons be Raped?
Original Post: Media Trackers
By Brian Sikma
On Sunday, the Green Bay Press-Gazette put a link on its Facebook page to an Associated Press story detailing state aid cuts to organizations that help victims of sexual abuse. After that story was posted, a reader left a comment expressing outrage that the state would cut such aid and asserted that perhaps Governor Scott Walker’s wife or children should become victims of sexual assault so the governor could see the how devastating the state aid cuts really are.
The first comment reads:
Another thing Walker has destroyed . . . well just more people that will sign for recall walker now . . . is he really that ignorant to even attack victims at their lowest . . . what a real prize, maybe someone should rape and victimize his wife and daughter if he has any . . . or even sons, then he will wish he supported this service a lot more.
The women, Nancy Butzlaff, appears to have been the first to comment on this particular story on the Press-Gazette’s page. Not too long after her comment, another woman, Jenni Kone-Keeler, suggested that perhaps the governor himself should become the victim of a sexual assault or some assault-related crime. One conservative activist, Lauren Stephens, said that the comments were left up on the Press-Gazette‘s Facebook page for close to nine hours before the paper removed them.
The Butzlaffs
According to Butzlaff’s personal Facebook page, she is married to Robert A. Butzlaff. A search of a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel database found a Robert A. Butzlaff who works for the state of Wisconsin as a corrections officer and made over $63,000 – including overtime pay – in 2010.
Court documents show that Nancy Butzlaff pled no contest in 2007 to a charge that she contributed to the delinquency of a child. By cross checking addresses and names found in other court cases, it appears that this is the same Nancy Butzlaff who advocated that Governor Walker’s family become the victims of sexual assault crimes.
By Brian Sikma
On Sunday, the Green Bay Press-Gazette put a link on its Facebook page to an Associated Press story detailing state aid cuts to organizations that help victims of sexual abuse. After that story was posted, a reader left a comment expressing outrage that the state would cut such aid and asserted that perhaps Governor Scott Walker’s wife or children should become victims of sexual assault so the governor could see the how devastating the state aid cuts really are.
The first comment reads:
Another thing Walker has destroyed . . . well just more people that will sign for recall walker now . . . is he really that ignorant to even attack victims at their lowest . . . what a real prize, maybe someone should rape and victimize his wife and daughter if he has any . . . or even sons, then he will wish he supported this service a lot more.
The women, Nancy Butzlaff, appears to have been the first to comment on this particular story on the Press-Gazette’s page. Not too long after her comment, another woman, Jenni Kone-Keeler, suggested that perhaps the governor himself should become the victim of a sexual assault or some assault-related crime. One conservative activist, Lauren Stephens, said that the comments were left up on the Press-Gazette‘s Facebook page for close to nine hours before the paper removed them.
The Butzlaffs
According to Butzlaff’s personal Facebook page, she is married to Robert A. Butzlaff. A search of a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel database found a Robert A. Butzlaff who works for the state of Wisconsin as a corrections officer and made over $63,000 – including overtime pay – in 2010.
Court documents show that Nancy Butzlaff pled no contest in 2007 to a charge that she contributed to the delinquency of a child. By cross checking addresses and names found in other court cases, it appears that this is the same Nancy Butzlaff who advocated that Governor Walker’s family become the victims of sexual assault crimes.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Apparently it's ok to threaten governors in Wisconsin
No criminal charges for woman accused of threatening Gov. Walker
Original Post: WKOW
MADISON (WKOW) -- The woman accused of posting a death threat against Gov. Scott Walker will not face criminal charges.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said he won't file charges against Regan Cowan.
Ozanne said the Facebook post did not appear that it was meant to reach the governor.
So apparently it's ok to threaten to kill people as long as it isn't meant to reach your victim. Who knew? I always thought it was illegal to threaten people, especially elected officials. I guess the Secret Service has been overstepping their bounds. I'm being ironic of course. Please don't throw me in jail, I of course realize that the Secret Service is just doing their job and that it is, in fact illegal to threaten to kill people. It's just unfortunate that Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne doesn't. It seems that I'm more qualified for his job than he is. In fact, I have called upon him to step down for gross incompetence. Dane County also contains the city of Madison, in which police allowed the destruction of recall petitions against sitting Democrats in front of them, but is now investigating anonymous allegations of the destruction of recall petitions against Scott Walker from second hand sources. It's interesting how selectively the law enforcement of Dane County chooses to do their job. As a non-Democrat I have no faith that I have any protection within the boarders of Dane County. And that's awful.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Democrats call upon the dead to recall Scott Walker
I've tried to verify this from outside sources but most of them have the same screenshot with a notice that says they removed it from their page. I would like to believe that the Democrats wouldn't be so dumb as to advertise the fact they were planning on using the dead as signatures for recalling Scott Walker, but based on the brazen stupidity of the Democrats and recall supporters I cannot believe that. Especially after the Facebook death threats against our Governor and Mark Radtke Director of Public Works's blatant use of government resources to work his recall agenda I believe this screen shot to be accurate. I will post a retraction here if I find out otherwise.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Obama follows the very Walker plan he ripped
Original Post: The Hill
By Pete Kasperowicz - 09/19/11 03:56 PM ET
The Obama administration on Monday sent a deficit reduction proposal to Congress that, among other things, asks federal employees to pay slightly more for their retirement packages.
The administration's plan for federal workers was outlined in its proposal titled, "Living Within Our Means and Investing in the Future." In it, the administration acknowledges that the federal pension system needs some reform given that it is increasingly at odds with pension systems in the private sector.
"Over the past several years, there have been significant shifts both in how people work and how their benefits are structured," the proposal says. "Organizations of all sizes have had to reform and alter the retirement benefits they give in order to remain competitive and, in some cases, solvent. As a result, compared to the private sector, the Federal retirement program can seem generous."
The document notes, for example, that the "defined benefit" pensions that many government workers receive are becoming "increasingly rare," and are available to only about 21 percent of all private employees. It also said estimates says private sector employees contribute nearly 50 percent of their retirement savings, while government employees pay just 33 percent.
The size of government pay and benefits has increasingly become a flashpoint for conservatives who believe federal workers are vastly overpaid, particularly at a time when Congress is looking for ways to bring down federal spending.
That said, the administration put forward what it admittedly calls a "modest" proposal -- a 1.2 percent increase in federal employee contributions to their retirement. This increase would be spread out over three years, starting in 2013, and would increase the employees' contributions by 0.4 percent each year for those three years. The proposal estimates that this would save $21 billion over 10 years.
It also calls for broader reform to get at the issue of how to deal with the performance of government workers. This deals with the perception among federal employees that the current system "fails to effectively deal with poor performers and does not reward innovation."
To get at these issues and others, Obama proposes the establishment of a Commission on Federal Public Service Reform, made up of members of Congress and the administration. This commission would develop recommendations on how to reform personnel policies, including "compensation, staff development and mobility, and personnel performance and motivation."
Elsewhere, the proposal calls for some reforms related to military retirees. For example, it calls on new fees for these retirees to help pay for their healthcare coverage, and also calls for a new commission to review military retirement benefits.
And it seeks to limit what it calls the "overpayment of Federal contractor executives." Under current law, federal money can only contribute $750,000 in salaries to executives from companies with annual sales of over $50 million. Obama's plan would lower that to $200,000.
"[T]the Administration believes the Government is reimbursing too much for contractor executives, and the cap's amount cannot be justified," it says.
Obama plan asks federal workers to contribute more to retirement
By Pete Kasperowicz - 09/19/11 03:56 PM ET
The Obama administration on Monday sent a deficit reduction proposal to Congress that, among other things, asks federal employees to pay slightly more for their retirement packages.
The administration's plan for federal workers was outlined in its proposal titled, "Living Within Our Means and Investing in the Future." In it, the administration acknowledges that the federal pension system needs some reform given that it is increasingly at odds with pension systems in the private sector.
"Over the past several years, there have been significant shifts both in how people work and how their benefits are structured," the proposal says. "Organizations of all sizes have had to reform and alter the retirement benefits they give in order to remain competitive and, in some cases, solvent. As a result, compared to the private sector, the Federal retirement program can seem generous."
The document notes, for example, that the "defined benefit" pensions that many government workers receive are becoming "increasingly rare," and are available to only about 21 percent of all private employees. It also said estimates says private sector employees contribute nearly 50 percent of their retirement savings, while government employees pay just 33 percent.
The size of government pay and benefits has increasingly become a flashpoint for conservatives who believe federal workers are vastly overpaid, particularly at a time when Congress is looking for ways to bring down federal spending.
That said, the administration put forward what it admittedly calls a "modest" proposal -- a 1.2 percent increase in federal employee contributions to their retirement. This increase would be spread out over three years, starting in 2013, and would increase the employees' contributions by 0.4 percent each year for those three years. The proposal estimates that this would save $21 billion over 10 years.
It also calls for broader reform to get at the issue of how to deal with the performance of government workers. This deals with the perception among federal employees that the current system "fails to effectively deal with poor performers and does not reward innovation."
To get at these issues and others, Obama proposes the establishment of a Commission on Federal Public Service Reform, made up of members of Congress and the administration. This commission would develop recommendations on how to reform personnel policies, including "compensation, staff development and mobility, and personnel performance and motivation."
Elsewhere, the proposal calls for some reforms related to military retirees. For example, it calls on new fees for these retirees to help pay for their healthcare coverage, and also calls for a new commission to review military retirement benefits.
And it seeks to limit what it calls the "overpayment of Federal contractor executives." Under current law, federal money can only contribute $750,000 in salaries to executives from companies with annual sales of over $50 million. Obama's plan would lower that to $200,000.
"[T]the Administration believes the Government is reimbursing too much for contractor executives, and the cap's amount cannot be justified," it says.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Wisconsin’s New Jobs Account for More than Half of Nation’s Net Gain for June
Original Post: Macinver Institute
Madison, Wisc…] Earlier this month, analysts were dismayed by the nation’s anemic job creation numbers. On Thursday, state officials were pleased as they released data that showed more than half of the net new jobs added in the US in June came from Wisconsin.
“We have made difficult decisions in our state, but they are beginning to payoff,” said Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R). “The national job figures remind us that we can not rest after one month of good news; while there will be ups and downs along the way, we must help lead the nation to recovery.”
Using seasonally adjusted data, the 12,900 private-sector jobs created in June marks the largest one-month gain in Wisconsin since September 2003. The state’s net new job gain for June is 9,500 jobs, more than half of the nation’s net gain of 18,000 jobs for the same month.
Many in the past had given up looking for a job which removed them from the unemployment rolls – now they are back to looking for jobs. In June there were 118,800 total entrants to the labor force, up 15,100 from May. That boosted the overall unemployment rate .2 percent to 7.6. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate remains below the national rate of 9.2%.
“Wisconsin has added 39,300 private-sector jobs since Governor Walker declared Wisconsin open for business,” Department of Workforce Development Secretary Scott Baumbach said. “Jobseekers and employers alike are reaping the economic benefits of the business-friendly environment that Governor Walker is advancing, and we encourage jobseekers to keep pursuing these new employment opportunities.”
State officials note that in the first six months of 2011, Wisconsin’s total private sector job growth of 1.7% has been almost twice the national rate of 0.9%; and in the manufacturing sector job growth has been more than twice the national rate, 3.2% compared to 1.2%.
Wisconsin total nonfarm job growth (1.4%) has been more that twice the national rate (0.6%).
Governor Walker has made job creation a focus of his platform, vowing to help Wisconsin’s private sector create a quarter of million new jobs by the end of his term. Administration officials were quick to tout the new numbers Thursday, with Walker holding a noon press conference in Milwaukee and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Paul Jadin holding another in Green Bay two hours later.
Since January, Wisconsin has added 39,300 new jobs, with 14,100 of those in the ever-important manufacturing sector. Eight hundred new manufacturing jobs were created in the state in June.
Compared to a year ago, private sector jobs increased by 42,400 (seasonally adjusted).
Madison, Wisc…] Earlier this month, analysts were dismayed by the nation’s anemic job creation numbers. On Thursday, state officials were pleased as they released data that showed more than half of the net new jobs added in the US in June came from Wisconsin.
“We have made difficult decisions in our state, but they are beginning to payoff,” said Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R). “The national job figures remind us that we can not rest after one month of good news; while there will be ups and downs along the way, we must help lead the nation to recovery.”
Using seasonally adjusted data, the 12,900 private-sector jobs created in June marks the largest one-month gain in Wisconsin since September 2003. The state’s net new job gain for June is 9,500 jobs, more than half of the nation’s net gain of 18,000 jobs for the same month.
Many in the past had given up looking for a job which removed them from the unemployment rolls – now they are back to looking for jobs. In June there were 118,800 total entrants to the labor force, up 15,100 from May. That boosted the overall unemployment rate .2 percent to 7.6. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate remains below the national rate of 9.2%.
“Wisconsin has added 39,300 private-sector jobs since Governor Walker declared Wisconsin open for business,” Department of Workforce Development Secretary Scott Baumbach said. “Jobseekers and employers alike are reaping the economic benefits of the business-friendly environment that Governor Walker is advancing, and we encourage jobseekers to keep pursuing these new employment opportunities.”
State officials note that in the first six months of 2011, Wisconsin’s total private sector job growth of 1.7% has been almost twice the national rate of 0.9%; and in the manufacturing sector job growth has been more than twice the national rate, 3.2% compared to 1.2%.
Wisconsin total nonfarm job growth (1.4%) has been more that twice the national rate (0.6%).
Governor Walker has made job creation a focus of his platform, vowing to help Wisconsin’s private sector create a quarter of million new jobs by the end of his term. Administration officials were quick to tout the new numbers Thursday, with Walker holding a noon press conference in Milwaukee and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Paul Jadin holding another in Green Bay two hours later.
Since January, Wisconsin has added 39,300 new jobs, with 14,100 of those in the ever-important manufacturing sector. Eight hundred new manufacturing jobs were created in the state in June.
Compared to a year ago, private sector jobs increased by 42,400 (seasonally adjusted).
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Wisconsin Schools Already In Line to Save $155 Million Through New Contracts
Original Post: McIver Institute
Requiring Teachers to Make Modest Contributions to Health and Pension Benefits Can Cut Cost of Education by $500 Per Student in Wisconsin, Saving School Districts Hundreds of Millions of Dollars.
By Christian D’Andrea
MacIver Institute Education Policy Analyst
With Act 10 passed, the landscape of teacher and staff contracts in Wisconsin’s public schools has been significantly altered. As soon as it was proposed, the landscape already began to change. With the state facing a $3 billion dollar deficit, many districts turned to the tools provided by the budget adjustment bill to stay afloat. This included two major components: teacher contributions to retirement funds and their health insurance.
In short, teachers and full-time educational staff members were forced to pay portions of their benefit packages. This meant a 5.8 percent salary payment towards teacher pensions (which was matched by the state) and a 12.6 percent payment for health coverage. Many districts also turned to other tools, including wage freezes, switching to higher-deductible health plans, and adjustments in lane change salary bumps to help tighten finances in local schools.
Though the plan is still in its infancy, many districts have already undergone contract extensions that include these considerations. The results have led to a projected $163 million in savings that have helped to offset less revenue from the state and keep Wisconsin’s schools up and running. One shining example we’ve seen so far happened in the Kaukauna School District.
Kaukauna’s changes – which included concessions from employees to pay the full 12.6 percent of their health insurance and 5.8 percent of their pension contributions – helped turn a projected $400,000 deficit into a potential $1.5 million surplus. As a result, the small town’s gains have been some of the plan’s most publicized outcomes. These changes led to the cancellation of proposed layoffs and ensured that schools in the town could operate normally despite large budget cuts. In this case, teachers were able to save their own jobs – and stay in business for students – by giving back.
However, Kaukauna isn’t the only Wisconsin district that has rolled up its sleeves to save jobs. Teachers and staff members at both local districts and technical colleges statewide have adhered to Act 10’s provisions and retained savings that will mean more jobs for teachers and more support in the classroom.
Sample Group of Districts With Updated Contracts – July 2011
District Health Contribution Pension Contribution Projected Savings
Green Bay 12.60% 5.80% $11,000,000
Ripon 12% 5.80% $600,000
Eau Claire 12.60% 5.80% $3,500,000
Columbus 12.60% 5.80% $375,000
Madison
up to 5% in 2011-12,
up to 10% in 2012-13
Madison 5.80% $15,500,000
Racine Switch to high-deductible plan 5.80% $19,200,000
Sheboygan 12.60% 5.80% $6,600,000
Wausau 15% 5.80% $3,354,900
Kaukauna 12.60% 5.80% $1,900,000
The chart above shows just a few of the school districts reported as having passed new contracts in 2011. By our latest estimates, 110 school districts and technical colleges have approved or are waiting to approve contracts that include the cost saving measures of Act 10 under effect. Several more are still in progress. The districts included range from some of the state’s largest cities to some of its smallest towns. This will create a projected savings of over $163 million based on current reports – and that includes less than 25 percent of all the state’s educational entities.
Our analysis is a conservative estimate based largely on contract settlements that were agreed upon while Act 10 was being debated, and before the Supreme Court upheld its enactment. Ninety four public school districts in Wisconsin will save a projected $155 million. However, 19 of these districts don’t yet have official projections tied to the savings from these new contracts, which suggests that the overall fiscal benefit will be much higher.
Still, we come to an average savings of $2.1 million per reported district. According to 2011 head counts from the Department of Public Instruction, these changes will affect 312,567 students in Wisconsin – saving districts an average of $497.81 per student.
# of Reported # of Students Projected Savings Savings per Districts Affected So far Student
75 312,567 $155,600,179 $497.81
A preliminary estimate based on an analysis of local reports conducted by the MacIver Institute suggests that, if adopted uniformly by every district in Wisconsin, local schools would stand to save $434,232,693.66 through new staff contracts that required the additional contributions to health and retirement benefits.
This is likely a conservative estimate, as many districts have yet to report updated fiscal estimates from reported contracts, and Legislative Fiscal Bureau figures include only measures taken by increasing teacher contributions to pension and health care plans.
Many districts, such as Edgerton, Clinton, and Green Lake are having their teachers contribute less than the stipulated 12.6 percent of their health care costs. Despite smaller cuts, these schools have been able to produce significant savings that will keep their schools intact – a fiscal benefit of over $2.4 million between the towns. These school boards were able to supplement their savings through switching their health care provider, a process made easier by the increased control that local districts have with collective bargaining scrapped for public employees.
Health care has been a significant source of savings for districts across Wisconsin. We’ll cover this more in-depth as our series of reports rolls on.
In most districts the changes have been enough to save jobs and keep schools running smoothly. However, administrators in cities like La Crosse suggest that while savings are inherent from the concessions, they aren’t enough to meet their projected deficits in the coming years. La Crosse District Finance Manager Janet Rossiter suggests that the estimated savings of the budget plan won’t be enough to cover the losses from the cuts.
La Crosse’s estimates vary from the state’s. This is partially due to the fact that many teachers in the district already pay 10 percent of their health insurance. Other districts, like Holmen and Cashton, are finding similar discrepancies when it comes to savings. While it’s clear that every school board in Wisconsin stands to create savings thanks to the tools of Act 10, some districts face different challenges to meet their original projections thanks to cost saving measures that had been implemented before 2010-11. Alternative methods to meet budget restraints, such as reducing some post-retirement benefits, eliminating step increase raises for staff members, may be pressed into action in these districts.
Still, the program stands to create a net benefit in the midst of tough budgeting. In all, local school districts stand to save over $155 million dollars through these restructured contracts – and that group represents less than 18 percent of all the districts in Wisconsin. These school boards have pulled together to maintain the quality of their schools despite significant budget cuts. Many more will follow as well.
Requiring Teachers to Make Modest Contributions to Health and Pension Benefits Can Cut Cost of Education by $500 Per Student in Wisconsin, Saving School Districts Hundreds of Millions of Dollars.
By Christian D’Andrea
MacIver Institute Education Policy Analyst
With Act 10 passed, the landscape of teacher and staff contracts in Wisconsin’s public schools has been significantly altered. As soon as it was proposed, the landscape already began to change. With the state facing a $3 billion dollar deficit, many districts turned to the tools provided by the budget adjustment bill to stay afloat. This included two major components: teacher contributions to retirement funds and their health insurance.
In short, teachers and full-time educational staff members were forced to pay portions of their benefit packages. This meant a 5.8 percent salary payment towards teacher pensions (which was matched by the state) and a 12.6 percent payment for health coverage. Many districts also turned to other tools, including wage freezes, switching to higher-deductible health plans, and adjustments in lane change salary bumps to help tighten finances in local schools.
Though the plan is still in its infancy, many districts have already undergone contract extensions that include these considerations. The results have led to a projected $163 million in savings that have helped to offset less revenue from the state and keep Wisconsin’s schools up and running. One shining example we’ve seen so far happened in the Kaukauna School District.
Kaukauna’s changes – which included concessions from employees to pay the full 12.6 percent of their health insurance and 5.8 percent of their pension contributions – helped turn a projected $400,000 deficit into a potential $1.5 million surplus. As a result, the small town’s gains have been some of the plan’s most publicized outcomes. These changes led to the cancellation of proposed layoffs and ensured that schools in the town could operate normally despite large budget cuts. In this case, teachers were able to save their own jobs – and stay in business for students – by giving back.
However, Kaukauna isn’t the only Wisconsin district that has rolled up its sleeves to save jobs. Teachers and staff members at both local districts and technical colleges statewide have adhered to Act 10’s provisions and retained savings that will mean more jobs for teachers and more support in the classroom.
Sample Group of Districts With Updated Contracts – July 2011
District Health Contribution Pension Contribution Projected Savings
Green Bay 12.60% 5.80% $11,000,000
Ripon 12% 5.80% $600,000
Eau Claire 12.60% 5.80% $3,500,000
Columbus 12.60% 5.80% $375,000
Madison
up to 5% in 2011-12,
up to 10% in 2012-13
Madison 5.80% $15,500,000
Racine Switch to high-deductible plan 5.80% $19,200,000
Sheboygan 12.60% 5.80% $6,600,000
Wausau 15% 5.80% $3,354,900
Kaukauna 12.60% 5.80% $1,900,000
The chart above shows just a few of the school districts reported as having passed new contracts in 2011. By our latest estimates, 110 school districts and technical colleges have approved or are waiting to approve contracts that include the cost saving measures of Act 10 under effect. Several more are still in progress. The districts included range from some of the state’s largest cities to some of its smallest towns. This will create a projected savings of over $163 million based on current reports – and that includes less than 25 percent of all the state’s educational entities.
Our analysis is a conservative estimate based largely on contract settlements that were agreed upon while Act 10 was being debated, and before the Supreme Court upheld its enactment. Ninety four public school districts in Wisconsin will save a projected $155 million. However, 19 of these districts don’t yet have official projections tied to the savings from these new contracts, which suggests that the overall fiscal benefit will be much higher.
Still, we come to an average savings of $2.1 million per reported district. According to 2011 head counts from the Department of Public Instruction, these changes will affect 312,567 students in Wisconsin – saving districts an average of $497.81 per student.
# of Reported # of Students Projected Savings Savings per Districts Affected So far Student
75 312,567 $155,600,179 $497.81
A preliminary estimate based on an analysis of local reports conducted by the MacIver Institute suggests that, if adopted uniformly by every district in Wisconsin, local schools would stand to save $434,232,693.66 through new staff contracts that required the additional contributions to health and retirement benefits.
This is likely a conservative estimate, as many districts have yet to report updated fiscal estimates from reported contracts, and Legislative Fiscal Bureau figures include only measures taken by increasing teacher contributions to pension and health care plans.
Many districts, such as Edgerton, Clinton, and Green Lake are having their teachers contribute less than the stipulated 12.6 percent of their health care costs. Despite smaller cuts, these schools have been able to produce significant savings that will keep their schools intact – a fiscal benefit of over $2.4 million between the towns. These school boards were able to supplement their savings through switching their health care provider, a process made easier by the increased control that local districts have with collective bargaining scrapped for public employees.
Health care has been a significant source of savings for districts across Wisconsin. We’ll cover this more in-depth as our series of reports rolls on.
In most districts the changes have been enough to save jobs and keep schools running smoothly. However, administrators in cities like La Crosse suggest that while savings are inherent from the concessions, they aren’t enough to meet their projected deficits in the coming years. La Crosse District Finance Manager Janet Rossiter suggests that the estimated savings of the budget plan won’t be enough to cover the losses from the cuts.
La Crosse’s estimates vary from the state’s. This is partially due to the fact that many teachers in the district already pay 10 percent of their health insurance. Other districts, like Holmen and Cashton, are finding similar discrepancies when it comes to savings. While it’s clear that every school board in Wisconsin stands to create savings thanks to the tools of Act 10, some districts face different challenges to meet their original projections thanks to cost saving measures that had been implemented before 2010-11. Alternative methods to meet budget restraints, such as reducing some post-retirement benefits, eliminating step increase raises for staff members, may be pressed into action in these districts.
Still, the program stands to create a net benefit in the midst of tough budgeting. In all, local school districts stand to save over $155 million dollars through these restructured contracts – and that group represents less than 18 percent of all the districts in Wisconsin. These school boards have pulled together to maintain the quality of their schools despite significant budget cuts. Many more will follow as well.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Wisconsin State budget wipes away structural deficit ... and lowers taxes
Original Post: Lakeland Times
Richard Moore
Investigative Reporter
The new biennial budget approved by the Legislature and sent to Gov. Scott Walker last week doesn't raise taxes, doesn't raid segregated funds, and doesn't rely on one-time stimulus dollars but will still wipe away virtually all of the state's structural deficit.
Wisconsin has run multi-billion dollar structural deficits - the difference between expenditures needed to run state government and possible revenues under the tax structure - since the mid-1990s, when the state massively increased spending on Medicaid, schools and corrections.
According to the state Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Wisconsin will even have a little money left in the bank at the end of the two-year budget cycle, about $306 million if revenue estimates hold up.
That's the bottom line of the $66 billion budget. Not that the state won't end up spending more money. It will: State and federal spending will creep upward by $1.1 billion, or 1.8 percent, compared to the final budget under the administration of former Gov. Jim Doyle.
The Walker administration had factored in a 1-percent increase in the budget; another $154 million is due to higher estimated enrollments in Medicaid.
Nonetheless, the increase in spending is far less than the increase under Doyle's last budget, which saw spending jump by 6.2 percent. Doyle and the Legislature eventually raised taxes and fees by more than $2 billion and spent $3.4 billion more in federal stimulus money to cover a $6.6 billion shortfall.
Because of increased revenue projections, the Legislature this year is also repaying $235 million owed to the medical malpractice fund.
Gov. Scott Walker said this week he would make use of his veto-pen by "a fair amount" but he did not specify what provisions of the budget he might veto. His line-item veto makes the Wisconsin governor one of the nation's most powerful.
Savings and tax cuts
Walker and the GOP's bid to balance the budget without raising taxes is not a hat trick. The budget makes significant cuts in spending and borrowing to achieve the goal.
For instance, the Department of Health Services will trim Medicaid by a approximately $466 million over the next two years, while state aid to local school districts will decline by approximately $800 million. Officials say school districts will be able to make up the difference because of new contributions by teachers to pension and health benefit payments.
School districts with contracts in place will be bound by those contracts until they expire, however.
The state will borrow significantly less money than in the past, about $2 billion less overall. Among other things, the budget cuts bonding authority for the state stewardship program from $86 million a year to $60 million.
In addition, the budget imposes a true property tax freeze on school districts and local governments. Counties and municipalities will have to live with current levy amounts for two years - they can raise taxes only by the amount of net new construction, but that has been negligible - and after that can only raise taxes by 1.5 percent or the amount of net new construction, whichever is greater.
The budget does not raise sales or income taxes and actually reduces taxes by $24 million.
On the tax side, the budget would reduce income tax credits by $56 million for lower-income families with two or more children. Republicans say the benefit had become too generous to sustain. The Legislature would also freeze eligible income levels for qualifying for a homestead tax credit.
For businesses, a new capital gains tax deferral for investments in Wisconsin-based companies will cost $36 million over two years, while manufacturers and agricultural firms would gain a tax credit of approximately $129 million a year.
The GOP did not remove combined reporting requirements from the state tax code, but it did liberalize the tax treatment, amounting to a tax reduction of about $46 million over two years. The budget would also establish a sales tax exemption for advertising and promotional direct mail starting in 2013.
.
Nonfiscal policy provisions
While the budget helps to reshape the character of government spending, the character of the budget process itself remained unchanged, loaded with late-night votes, closed caucus meetings and nonfiscal budget items tucked here and there in the bill.
For example, the Wisconsin Credit Union League is asking Walker to veto provisions that would allow direct conversions of member-owned credit unions to shareholder-owned banks.
"The direct-conversion provisions subvert the interests of a credit union's full membership to that of a few who intend to own and profit form a stockholder-owned - and not member-owned - business structure," said Brett Thompson, president and CEO of the league.
Thompson said the provisions would allow for the direct charter conversion of a credit union to stock-bank with little meaningful notice requirements, no protections of members' voting rights and no requirement that any equity in the converted institution be returned to members.
Membership and deposits are increasing at credit unions both in the state and the country, and many say the trend is being driven not only by greater eligibility for credit union membership but by ever-larger banking fees.
However, banking officials counter that credit unions are non-profit and thus can offer more competitive rates and lower fees because they don't have to pay income taxes.
In any event, Thompson said, the provision was slipped into the budget without any consultation of credit unions and without any public debate or input by regulators.
Then too, this week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling for Walker to veto a provision preventing brewers, distributors and any retail outlet that sells beer from owning a license to operate in more than one of those business categories. The state craft breweries say that will cripple their ability to expand and grow because they could no longer have a brewer's license and a distribution license.
The provisions were also inserted into the budget without public hearing.
A rare coalition of conservative Republicans such as Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) and Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) and liberal Democrats such as Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) urged Walker to veto the measure.
"Wisconsin is known for its breweries, and allowing small craft brewers to own their own taverns will highlight their product," Grothman said. "This is the type of provision that should have been dealt with in a separate bill. It was complicated and the thriving craft brew industry did not participate in drafting this provision."
Hulsey said it was the wrong move at the wrong time.
"I am concerned that at this time of economic uncertainty we are sending the wrong message to these small growing businesses," Hulsey said.
Other measures inserted in the budget would weaken notice requirements to tenants living in buildings subject to foreclosure, and would loosen recent requirements on payday lenders.
Finally, the budget allows for limited expansion of the state's school voucher program to certain cities under specific conditions. Second-class cities (those between 39,000 and 149,999 population) that have 50 percent or more of their students eligible for free or reduced lunch could qualify for vouchers.
Richard Moore
Investigative Reporter
The new biennial budget approved by the Legislature and sent to Gov. Scott Walker last week doesn't raise taxes, doesn't raid segregated funds, and doesn't rely on one-time stimulus dollars but will still wipe away virtually all of the state's structural deficit.
Wisconsin has run multi-billion dollar structural deficits - the difference between expenditures needed to run state government and possible revenues under the tax structure - since the mid-1990s, when the state massively increased spending on Medicaid, schools and corrections.
According to the state Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Wisconsin will even have a little money left in the bank at the end of the two-year budget cycle, about $306 million if revenue estimates hold up.
That's the bottom line of the $66 billion budget. Not that the state won't end up spending more money. It will: State and federal spending will creep upward by $1.1 billion, or 1.8 percent, compared to the final budget under the administration of former Gov. Jim Doyle.
The Walker administration had factored in a 1-percent increase in the budget; another $154 million is due to higher estimated enrollments in Medicaid.
Nonetheless, the increase in spending is far less than the increase under Doyle's last budget, which saw spending jump by 6.2 percent. Doyle and the Legislature eventually raised taxes and fees by more than $2 billion and spent $3.4 billion more in federal stimulus money to cover a $6.6 billion shortfall.
Because of increased revenue projections, the Legislature this year is also repaying $235 million owed to the medical malpractice fund.
Gov. Scott Walker said this week he would make use of his veto-pen by "a fair amount" but he did not specify what provisions of the budget he might veto. His line-item veto makes the Wisconsin governor one of the nation's most powerful.
Savings and tax cuts
Walker and the GOP's bid to balance the budget without raising taxes is not a hat trick. The budget makes significant cuts in spending and borrowing to achieve the goal.
For instance, the Department of Health Services will trim Medicaid by a approximately $466 million over the next two years, while state aid to local school districts will decline by approximately $800 million. Officials say school districts will be able to make up the difference because of new contributions by teachers to pension and health benefit payments.
School districts with contracts in place will be bound by those contracts until they expire, however.
The state will borrow significantly less money than in the past, about $2 billion less overall. Among other things, the budget cuts bonding authority for the state stewardship program from $86 million a year to $60 million.
In addition, the budget imposes a true property tax freeze on school districts and local governments. Counties and municipalities will have to live with current levy amounts for two years - they can raise taxes only by the amount of net new construction, but that has been negligible - and after that can only raise taxes by 1.5 percent or the amount of net new construction, whichever is greater.
The budget does not raise sales or income taxes and actually reduces taxes by $24 million.
On the tax side, the budget would reduce income tax credits by $56 million for lower-income families with two or more children. Republicans say the benefit had become too generous to sustain. The Legislature would also freeze eligible income levels for qualifying for a homestead tax credit.
For businesses, a new capital gains tax deferral for investments in Wisconsin-based companies will cost $36 million over two years, while manufacturers and agricultural firms would gain a tax credit of approximately $129 million a year.
The GOP did not remove combined reporting requirements from the state tax code, but it did liberalize the tax treatment, amounting to a tax reduction of about $46 million over two years. The budget would also establish a sales tax exemption for advertising and promotional direct mail starting in 2013.
.
Nonfiscal policy provisions
While the budget helps to reshape the character of government spending, the character of the budget process itself remained unchanged, loaded with late-night votes, closed caucus meetings and nonfiscal budget items tucked here and there in the bill.
For example, the Wisconsin Credit Union League is asking Walker to veto provisions that would allow direct conversions of member-owned credit unions to shareholder-owned banks.
"The direct-conversion provisions subvert the interests of a credit union's full membership to that of a few who intend to own and profit form a stockholder-owned - and not member-owned - business structure," said Brett Thompson, president and CEO of the league.
Thompson said the provisions would allow for the direct charter conversion of a credit union to stock-bank with little meaningful notice requirements, no protections of members' voting rights and no requirement that any equity in the converted institution be returned to members.
Membership and deposits are increasing at credit unions both in the state and the country, and many say the trend is being driven not only by greater eligibility for credit union membership but by ever-larger banking fees.
However, banking officials counter that credit unions are non-profit and thus can offer more competitive rates and lower fees because they don't have to pay income taxes.
In any event, Thompson said, the provision was slipped into the budget without any consultation of credit unions and without any public debate or input by regulators.
Then too, this week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling for Walker to veto a provision preventing brewers, distributors and any retail outlet that sells beer from owning a license to operate in more than one of those business categories. The state craft breweries say that will cripple their ability to expand and grow because they could no longer have a brewer's license and a distribution license.
The provisions were also inserted into the budget without public hearing.
A rare coalition of conservative Republicans such as Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) and Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) and liberal Democrats such as Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) urged Walker to veto the measure.
"Wisconsin is known for its breweries, and allowing small craft brewers to own their own taverns will highlight their product," Grothman said. "This is the type of provision that should have been dealt with in a separate bill. It was complicated and the thriving craft brew industry did not participate in drafting this provision."
Hulsey said it was the wrong move at the wrong time.
"I am concerned that at this time of economic uncertainty we are sending the wrong message to these small growing businesses," Hulsey said.
Other measures inserted in the budget would weaken notice requirements to tenants living in buildings subject to foreclosure, and would loosen recent requirements on payday lenders.
Finally, the budget allows for limited expansion of the state's school voucher program to certain cities under specific conditions. Second-class cities (those between 39,000 and 149,999 population) that have 50 percent or more of their students eligible for free or reduced lunch could qualify for vouchers.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Violent Threats Against Wisconsin Republicans Increase
Original Post: Yahoo
Kim Linton Kim Linton – Sun Mar 13, 7:29 pm ET
Several suspects have been identified, while obscene phone calls, threatening e-mails and other "thug-like" intimidation tactics continue to be used by union supporters to incite violence and anger toward Republican senators.
One particularly threatening e-mail warned Republican lawmakers to "put your things in order because you will be killed and your families will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks."
Why all the hate?
The heated battle started when Walker introduced his budget repair bill, which originally contained fiscal language designed to cover a $137 million budget deficit. Most importantly, the bill also placed limits on collective bargaining rights for state union workers, excluding police and firefighters.
Protests and death threats against Republican legislators intensified after a modified version of the bill passed the Senate and ultimately the Assembly. To make the vote possible in the absence of 14 Democratic colleagues, all fiscal language was stripped from the legislation leaving only collective bargaining restrictions.
Wisconsin protests turn ugly
Since Walker signed the anti-union bill into law, protests in Madison, Wis. have been anything but peaceful.
After causing an estimated $7.5 million in property damage to the State Capitol, Wisconsin protesters are now the stars of amateur videos springing up on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Earlier in the Wisconsin budget battle timeline, Massachusetts Rep. Michael Capauno told a group of Boston union members that collective bargaining battles were so important "every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody."
On the other side of the fence, Sarah Palin told Fox News Wisconsin union bosses were "acting like thugs" and it's their responsibility to "turn down the rhetoric and start getting truth out there so that nobody gets hurt."
What happens now?
While recall efforts, lawsuits and political strategies are being discussed on both sides of the aisle, there's one thing Republican and Democratic lawmakers can agree on -- the battle over unions and collective bargaining has just begun.
Kim Linton Kim Linton – Sun Mar 13, 7:29 pm ET
Several suspects have been identified, while obscene phone calls, threatening e-mails and other "thug-like" intimidation tactics continue to be used by union supporters to incite violence and anger toward Republican senators.
One particularly threatening e-mail warned Republican lawmakers to "put your things in order because you will be killed and your families will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks."
Why all the hate?
The heated battle started when Walker introduced his budget repair bill, which originally contained fiscal language designed to cover a $137 million budget deficit. Most importantly, the bill also placed limits on collective bargaining rights for state union workers, excluding police and firefighters.
Protests and death threats against Republican legislators intensified after a modified version of the bill passed the Senate and ultimately the Assembly. To make the vote possible in the absence of 14 Democratic colleagues, all fiscal language was stripped from the legislation leaving only collective bargaining restrictions.
Wisconsin protests turn ugly
Since Walker signed the anti-union bill into law, protests in Madison, Wis. have been anything but peaceful.
After causing an estimated $7.5 million in property damage to the State Capitol, Wisconsin protesters are now the stars of amateur videos springing up on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Earlier in the Wisconsin budget battle timeline, Massachusetts Rep. Michael Capauno told a group of Boston union members that collective bargaining battles were so important "every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody."
On the other side of the fence, Sarah Palin told Fox News Wisconsin union bosses were "acting like thugs" and it's their responsibility to "turn down the rhetoric and start getting truth out there so that nobody gets hurt."
What happens now?
While recall efforts, lawsuits and political strategies are being discussed on both sides of the aisle, there's one thing Republican and Democratic lawmakers can agree on -- the battle over unions and collective bargaining has just begun.
Scott Walker's budget repair bill
Here is Scott Walker's Budget Repair Bill. It's search able and you can find whatever you want to know about it there.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Resturant refuses to serve republicans
Political rally rescheduled for Seabird Restaurant in Sheboygan
Original Post: Sheboygan Press
Why did the “Stand Against spending — Stand with Walker” bus tour and rally change locations several times in the hours before its 4:30 p.m. kickoff Thursday?
The answer depends on who you ask.
If you ask Linda Gabrielse, owner of Nino’s Steak and Seafood — the original site of the rally — it’s because what she actually booked was a dinner reservation for 45 people in the restaurant’s banquet room. It wasn’t until the next day that Gabrielse found out the dinner was to be accompanied by a pro-Walker rally sponsored by Americans for Prosperity and the Sheboygan Liberty Coalition.
Not wanting her restaurant to become the site of a partisan political rally, Gabrielse cancelled the group’s reservation and sent them looking for another site.
Several hours and at least one false start later, the group announced the rally would be held at the Seabird Restaurant at Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center.
However, rally organizers gave a completely different reason for the change
According to a press release sent out by the Sheboygan Liberty Coalition, it’s because “The union thugs are hard at work in our own county. They threatened Ninos, where SLC and AFP had planned on holding their event today. The owner received so many calls including threats to shut their business down, that she canceled our event.”
Not so, Gabrielse said.
Though she did receive many calls Thursday from people on both sides of the political aisle, and some of them did threaten to never patronize Nino’s again, no one threatened her or restaurant, she said.
“I never got a call specifically at all from someone in a union saying they were going to shut me down,” she said. “We do not want to be seen as taking sides in political debate at all and that is what it appeared to be. If you want to have a rally, say that. If you want to have a dinner, say that.”
Oriannah Paul, one of the organizers of the Sheboygan Liberty Coalition, said the rally was moved because of the phone calls Nino’s management received, but “I don’t know if it was union people.”
Original Post: Sheboygan Press
Why did the “Stand Against spending — Stand with Walker” bus tour and rally change locations several times in the hours before its 4:30 p.m. kickoff Thursday?
The answer depends on who you ask.
If you ask Linda Gabrielse, owner of Nino’s Steak and Seafood — the original site of the rally — it’s because what she actually booked was a dinner reservation for 45 people in the restaurant’s banquet room. It wasn’t until the next day that Gabrielse found out the dinner was to be accompanied by a pro-Walker rally sponsored by Americans for Prosperity and the Sheboygan Liberty Coalition.
Not wanting her restaurant to become the site of a partisan political rally, Gabrielse cancelled the group’s reservation and sent them looking for another site.
Several hours and at least one false start later, the group announced the rally would be held at the Seabird Restaurant at Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center.
However, rally organizers gave a completely different reason for the change
According to a press release sent out by the Sheboygan Liberty Coalition, it’s because “The union thugs are hard at work in our own county. They threatened Ninos, where SLC and AFP had planned on holding their event today. The owner received so many calls including threats to shut their business down, that she canceled our event.”
Not so, Gabrielse said.
Though she did receive many calls Thursday from people on both sides of the political aisle, and some of them did threaten to never patronize Nino’s again, no one threatened her or restaurant, she said.
“I never got a call specifically at all from someone in a union saying they were going to shut me down,” she said. “We do not want to be seen as taking sides in political debate at all and that is what it appeared to be. If you want to have a rally, say that. If you want to have a dinner, say that.”
Oriannah Paul, one of the organizers of the Sheboygan Liberty Coalition, said the rally was moved because of the phone calls Nino’s management received, but “I don’t know if it was union people.”
Union teacher thinks pedophile joke will endear Wisconsin voters to their side
About an inch to the right of the reporter's head is a sign with a cartoon bear known as "pedo bear". This is an iconic image from /b. You can figure out why pedo bear got his name. I'm not sure why a teacher who claims to be a professional, would think that just a joke is at all appropriate. Are they going to bolster the moral of teachers, who work with children, with pedophilia jokes? Are they going to turn Walker supporters to their cause with memes from /b? If I had thought as lefties do, I would say it's a call for child rape against Scott Walker's children. But I do not suspect that is actually the case since I'm a rational individual. No, I suspect it just goes to show the crudeness and the lack of forethought that these teachers are exhibiting.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Athens in Mad Town
Original Post: WSJ
For Americans who don't think the welfare state riots of France or Greece can happen here, we recommend a look at the union and Democratic Party spectacle now unfolding in Wisconsin. Over the past few days, thousands have swarmed the state capital and airwaves to intimidate lawmakers and disrupt Governor Scott Walker's plan to level the playing field between taxpayers and government unions.
Mr. Walker's very modest proposal would take away the ability of most government employees to collectively bargain for benefits. They could still bargain for higher wages, but future wage increases would be capped at the federal Consumer Price Index, unless otherwise specified by a voter referendum. The bill would also require union members to contribute 5.8% of salary toward their pensions and chip in 12.6% of the cost of their health insurance premiums.
If those numbers don't sound outrageous, you probably work in the private economy. The comparable nationwide employee health-care contribution is 20% for private industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average employee contribution from take-home pay for retirement was 7.5% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute.
Slideshow: Teachers Revolt
Mr. Walker says he has no choice but to make these changes because unions refuse to negotiate any compensation changes, which is similar to the experience Chris Christie had upon taking office in New Jersey. Wisconsin is running a $137 million deficit this year and anticipates coming up another $3.6 billion short in the next two-year budget. Governor Walker's office estimates the proposals would save the state $300 million over the next two years, and the alternative would be to lay off 5,500 public employees.
None of this is deterring the crowds in Madison, aka Mad Town, where protesters, including many from the 98,000-member teachers union, have gone Greek. Madison's school district had to close Thursday when 40% of its teachers called in sick. So much for the claim that this is "all about the children." By the way, these are some of the same teachers who sued the Milwaukee school board last August to get Viagra coverage restored to their health-care plan.
The protests have an orchestrated quality, and sure enough, the Politico website reported yesterday that the Democratic Party's Organizing for America arm is helping to gin them up. The outfit is a remnant of President Obama's 2008 election campaign, so it's also no surprise that Mr. Obama said yesterday that while he knows nothing about the bill, he supports protesters occupying the Capitol building.
OpinionJournal.com columnist John Fund on the politics of the Madison protests. Also, features editor Robert Pollock explains which occupations are going away.
"These folks are teachers, and they're firefighters and they're social workers and they're police officers," he said, "and it's important not to vilify them." Mr. Obama is right that he knows nothing about the bill because it explicitly excludes police and firefighters. We'd have thought the President had enough to think about with his own $1.65 trillion deficit proposal going down with a thud in Congress, but it appears that the 2012 campaign is already underway.
The unions and their Democratic friends have also been rolling out their Hitler, Soviet Union and Hosni Mubarak analogies. "The story around the world is the rush to democracy," offered Democratic State Senator Bob Jauch. "The story in Wisconsin is the end of the democratic process."
The reality is that the unions are trying to trump the will of the voters as overwhelmingly rendered in November when they elected Mr. Walker and a new legislature. As with the strikes against pension or labor reforms that routinely shut down Paris or Athens, the goal is to create enough mayhem that Republicans and voters will give up.
While Republicans now have the votes to pass the bill, on Thursday Big Labor's Democratic allies walked out of the state senate to block a vote. Under state rules, 20 members of the 33-member senate must be present to hold a vote on an appropriations bill, leaving the 19 Republicans one member short. By the end of the day some Democrats were reported to have fled the state. So who's really trying to short-circuit democracy?
Unions are treating these reforms as Armageddon because they've owned the Wisconsin legislature for years and the changes would reduce their dominance. Under Governor Walker's proposal, the government also would no longer collect union dues from paychecks and then send that money to the unions. Instead, unions would be responsible for their own collection regimes. The bill would also require unions to be recertified annually by a majority of all members. Imagine that: More accountability inside unions.
The larger reality is that collective bargaining for government workers is not a God-given or constitutional right. It is the result of the growing union dominance inside the Democratic Party during the middle of the last century. John Kennedy only granted it to federal workers in 1962 and Jerry Brown to California workers in 1978. Other states, including Indiana and Missouri, have taken away collective bargaining rights for public employees in recent years, and some 24 states have either limited it or banned it outright.
And for good reason. Public unions have a monopoly position that gives them undue bargaining power. Their campaign cash—collected via mandatory dues—also helps to elect the politicians who are then supposed to represent taxpayers in negotiations with those same unions. The unions sit, in effect, on both sides of the bargaining table. This is why such famous political friends of the working man as Franklin Roosevelt and Fiorello La Guardia opposed collective bargaining for government workers, even as they championed private unions.
***
The battle of Mad Town is a seminal showdown over whether government union power can be tamed, and overall government reined in. The alternative is higher taxes until the middle class is picked clean and the U.S. economy is no longer competitive. Voters said in November that they want reform, and Mr. Walker is trying to deliver. We hope Republicans hold firm, and that the people of Wisconsin understand that this battle is ultimately about their right to self-government.
For Americans who don't think the welfare state riots of France or Greece can happen here, we recommend a look at the union and Democratic Party spectacle now unfolding in Wisconsin. Over the past few days, thousands have swarmed the state capital and airwaves to intimidate lawmakers and disrupt Governor Scott Walker's plan to level the playing field between taxpayers and government unions.
Mr. Walker's very modest proposal would take away the ability of most government employees to collectively bargain for benefits. They could still bargain for higher wages, but future wage increases would be capped at the federal Consumer Price Index, unless otherwise specified by a voter referendum. The bill would also require union members to contribute 5.8% of salary toward their pensions and chip in 12.6% of the cost of their health insurance premiums.
If those numbers don't sound outrageous, you probably work in the private economy. The comparable nationwide employee health-care contribution is 20% for private industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average employee contribution from take-home pay for retirement was 7.5% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute.
Slideshow: Teachers Revolt
Mr. Walker says he has no choice but to make these changes because unions refuse to negotiate any compensation changes, which is similar to the experience Chris Christie had upon taking office in New Jersey. Wisconsin is running a $137 million deficit this year and anticipates coming up another $3.6 billion short in the next two-year budget. Governor Walker's office estimates the proposals would save the state $300 million over the next two years, and the alternative would be to lay off 5,500 public employees.
None of this is deterring the crowds in Madison, aka Mad Town, where protesters, including many from the 98,000-member teachers union, have gone Greek. Madison's school district had to close Thursday when 40% of its teachers called in sick. So much for the claim that this is "all about the children." By the way, these are some of the same teachers who sued the Milwaukee school board last August to get Viagra coverage restored to their health-care plan.
The protests have an orchestrated quality, and sure enough, the Politico website reported yesterday that the Democratic Party's Organizing for America arm is helping to gin them up. The outfit is a remnant of President Obama's 2008 election campaign, so it's also no surprise that Mr. Obama said yesterday that while he knows nothing about the bill, he supports protesters occupying the Capitol building.
OpinionJournal.com columnist John Fund on the politics of the Madison protests. Also, features editor Robert Pollock explains which occupations are going away.
"These folks are teachers, and they're firefighters and they're social workers and they're police officers," he said, "and it's important not to vilify them." Mr. Obama is right that he knows nothing about the bill because it explicitly excludes police and firefighters. We'd have thought the President had enough to think about with his own $1.65 trillion deficit proposal going down with a thud in Congress, but it appears that the 2012 campaign is already underway.
The unions and their Democratic friends have also been rolling out their Hitler, Soviet Union and Hosni Mubarak analogies. "The story around the world is the rush to democracy," offered Democratic State Senator Bob Jauch. "The story in Wisconsin is the end of the democratic process."
The reality is that the unions are trying to trump the will of the voters as overwhelmingly rendered in November when they elected Mr. Walker and a new legislature. As with the strikes against pension or labor reforms that routinely shut down Paris or Athens, the goal is to create enough mayhem that Republicans and voters will give up.
While Republicans now have the votes to pass the bill, on Thursday Big Labor's Democratic allies walked out of the state senate to block a vote. Under state rules, 20 members of the 33-member senate must be present to hold a vote on an appropriations bill, leaving the 19 Republicans one member short. By the end of the day some Democrats were reported to have fled the state. So who's really trying to short-circuit democracy?
Unions are treating these reforms as Armageddon because they've owned the Wisconsin legislature for years and the changes would reduce their dominance. Under Governor Walker's proposal, the government also would no longer collect union dues from paychecks and then send that money to the unions. Instead, unions would be responsible for their own collection regimes. The bill would also require unions to be recertified annually by a majority of all members. Imagine that: More accountability inside unions.
The larger reality is that collective bargaining for government workers is not a God-given or constitutional right. It is the result of the growing union dominance inside the Democratic Party during the middle of the last century. John Kennedy only granted it to federal workers in 1962 and Jerry Brown to California workers in 1978. Other states, including Indiana and Missouri, have taken away collective bargaining rights for public employees in recent years, and some 24 states have either limited it or banned it outright.
And for good reason. Public unions have a monopoly position that gives them undue bargaining power. Their campaign cash—collected via mandatory dues—also helps to elect the politicians who are then supposed to represent taxpayers in negotiations with those same unions. The unions sit, in effect, on both sides of the bargaining table. This is why such famous political friends of the working man as Franklin Roosevelt and Fiorello La Guardia opposed collective bargaining for government workers, even as they championed private unions.
***
The battle of Mad Town is a seminal showdown over whether government union power can be tamed, and overall government reined in. The alternative is higher taxes until the middle class is picked clean and the U.S. economy is no longer competitive. Voters said in November that they want reform, and Mr. Walker is trying to deliver. We hope Republicans hold firm, and that the people of Wisconsin understand that this battle is ultimately about their right to self-government.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Police have to hunt down Democrats to do their job
Wis. police hunt Dem. leader, protests continue
Original Post: Yahoo
By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Scott Bauer, Associated Press – 1 hr 42 mins ago
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin State Patrol was dispatched Friday to find a Democratic state senator who fled the Capitol to delay the near-certain passage of a bill to end a half-century of collective bargaining rights for public workers, a measure that's attracted thousands of protesters for four days.
[Related: First person: Gov. Walker taking away our rights]
With Democrats saying they won't return before Saturday, it was unclear when the Senate would be able to begin debating Gov. Scott Walker's measure meant to ease the state's budget woes. Democrats who disappeared Thursday at first kept their whereabouts secret, then started to emerge to give interviews and fan the protests.
Senate Republicans convened briefly Friday morning to renew a call to find the Democrats, then recessed. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, told reporters he has asked the governor to send two state troopers to Senate Democratic Minority Leader Mark Miller's suburban Madison home. He said he believes Miller may be there — he did not elaborate on why he thought that — and Walker agreed to dispatch the officers.
[Related: Angry Wis. dad: Fire ‘sick’ teachers protesting bill]
The Wisconsin Constitution prohibits police from arresting state lawmakers while the Legislature is in session, except in cases of felonies, breaches of the peace or treason. Fitzgerald said he's not looking to have Miller arrested, but he wants to send a signal about how serious things are becoming in the Capitol.
Fitzgerald said he spoke with Miller by phone late Thursday night and asked him to bring his caucus back to Madison for a vote on Friday morning, but Miller refused. Meanwhile, the protests are growing so large that Capitol workers and lawmakers' staff cannot safely move through the halls, he said.
The situation has become "a powder keg," he said.
"I'm starting to hold Sen. Miller responsible for this," Fitzgerald said. "He shut down democracy."
The protests have attracted teachers, grade school children, college students and other workers over four days. Police report they have been largely peaceful, with only nine people cited for minor acts of civil disobedience as of Thursday night.
While the Senate was paralyzed, the Assembly met briefly on Friday. Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, said the Assembly would vote on the bill later in the day after Democrats have had a chance to meet privately.
Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca vowed to fight to the "bitter end," in a speech delivered on the Assembly floor after Republicans had turned off the microphones and left.
"This is wrong!" Barca shouted to wild applause from the packed gallery. "Desperately wrong and we will not stand for it!"
Several hundred protesters were in the building early in the morning. The ranks grew as the day progressed. Many of them spent the night in the Capitol and another large rally was planned around noon.
As many as 25,000 students, teachers and prison guards have turned out at the Capitol this week to protest, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the building's hallways, sitting cross-legged across the floor and making it difficult to move from room to room. Some brought along sleeping bags and stayed through the night. Union organizers expected yet more to gather Friday.
The protesters chants of "Kill the Bill!" and "Recall Walker Now!" could be heard throughout the day and long past dark. They beat on drums and carried signs deriding Walker and his plan to end collective bargaining for state, county and local workers, except for police, firefighters and the state patrol.
Hundreds of teachers have joined the protests by calling in sick, forcing school districts — including the state's largest, Milwaukee Public Schools — to cancel classes.
Some signs seen at the Capitol compared the governor to former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down last week after weeks of mass protests against his three-decade rule. On read, "Impeach Scott Mubarak!" and another said, "Walker like an Egyptian." Others compared to Walker and his supporters to boy wizard Harry Potter's nemesis and his evil minions, calling them "Governor Voldemort and his DeathEater Legislators."
Despite the groundswell of support, it seems Democrats are merely delaying the inevitable — Republicans say they have the votes to pass the bill — yet the protesters are undeterred.
"I always expect the worst, but at the least I figure this would lead to such larger strikes that it would be a bad move for Republicans and Scott Walker," Graupner said.
In an interview with Milwaukee television station WTMJ, President Barack Obama compared Walker's bill to "an assault on unions."
Senate Republicans planned to try for a vote again Friday. With 19 seats, they hold a majority in the 33-member chamber, but they are one vote short of the number necessary to conduct business. The GOP needs at least one Democrat to be present before any voting can take place. The measure needs 17 votes to pass.
Speaking on CBS' "The Early Show" on Friday morning, Walker urged the Democrats to return to Madison and face the vote.
"The state senators who are hiding out down in Illinois should show up for work, have their say, have their vote, add their amendments, but in the end, we've got a $3.6 billion budget deficit we've got to balance."
Senate rules and the state constitution say absent members can be compelled to appear, but it does not say how.
"We left the state so we were out of the reach of the Wisconsin state patrol, which has the authority to round us up and bring us back to the legislature," state Sen. Mark Miller told ABC's "Good Morning America" from an undisclosed location Friday.
Sen. Tim Cullen said he and other Democrats planned to stage their boycott until Saturday to give the public more time to speak out against the bill.
"The plan is to try and slow this down because it's an extreme piece of legislation that's tearing this state apart," said Sen. Jon Erpenbach, who was with Democratic senators in northern Illinois on Thursday before they dispersed.
Walker, who took office last month, called the boycott a "stunt." He vowed not to concede.
"It's more about theatrics than anything else," Walker said.
Some Democrats elsewhere applauded the developments as a long-awaited sign that their party was fighting back against the Republican wave created by November's midterm election.
"I am glad to see some Democrats, for a change, with a backbone. I'm really proud to hear that they did that," said Democratic state Sen. Judy Eason-McIntyre of Oklahoma, another state where Republicans won the governorship in November and also control both legislative chambers.
Thursday's events were reminiscent of a 2003 dispute in Texas, where Democrats twice fled the state to prevent adoption of a redistricting bill designed to give Republicans more seats in Congress. The bill passed a few months later.
The proposal marks a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which passed a comprehensive collective bargaining law in 1959 and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees.
In addition to eliminating collective-bargaining rights, the legislation also would make public workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage — increases Walker calls "modest" compared with those in the private sector.
Republican leaders said they expected Wisconsin residents would be pleased with the savings the bill would achieve — $30 million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years to address a $3.6 billion budget shortfall.
Original Post: Yahoo
By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Scott Bauer, Associated Press – 1 hr 42 mins ago
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin State Patrol was dispatched Friday to find a Democratic state senator who fled the Capitol to delay the near-certain passage of a bill to end a half-century of collective bargaining rights for public workers, a measure that's attracted thousands of protesters for four days.
[Related: First person: Gov. Walker taking away our rights]
With Democrats saying they won't return before Saturday, it was unclear when the Senate would be able to begin debating Gov. Scott Walker's measure meant to ease the state's budget woes. Democrats who disappeared Thursday at first kept their whereabouts secret, then started to emerge to give interviews and fan the protests.
Senate Republicans convened briefly Friday morning to renew a call to find the Democrats, then recessed. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, told reporters he has asked the governor to send two state troopers to Senate Democratic Minority Leader Mark Miller's suburban Madison home. He said he believes Miller may be there — he did not elaborate on why he thought that — and Walker agreed to dispatch the officers.
[Related: Angry Wis. dad: Fire ‘sick’ teachers protesting bill]
The Wisconsin Constitution prohibits police from arresting state lawmakers while the Legislature is in session, except in cases of felonies, breaches of the peace or treason. Fitzgerald said he's not looking to have Miller arrested, but he wants to send a signal about how serious things are becoming in the Capitol.
Fitzgerald said he spoke with Miller by phone late Thursday night and asked him to bring his caucus back to Madison for a vote on Friday morning, but Miller refused. Meanwhile, the protests are growing so large that Capitol workers and lawmakers' staff cannot safely move through the halls, he said.
The situation has become "a powder keg," he said.
"I'm starting to hold Sen. Miller responsible for this," Fitzgerald said. "He shut down democracy."
The protests have attracted teachers, grade school children, college students and other workers over four days. Police report they have been largely peaceful, with only nine people cited for minor acts of civil disobedience as of Thursday night.
While the Senate was paralyzed, the Assembly met briefly on Friday. Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, said the Assembly would vote on the bill later in the day after Democrats have had a chance to meet privately.
Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca vowed to fight to the "bitter end," in a speech delivered on the Assembly floor after Republicans had turned off the microphones and left.
"This is wrong!" Barca shouted to wild applause from the packed gallery. "Desperately wrong and we will not stand for it!"
Several hundred protesters were in the building early in the morning. The ranks grew as the day progressed. Many of them spent the night in the Capitol and another large rally was planned around noon.
As many as 25,000 students, teachers and prison guards have turned out at the Capitol this week to protest, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the building's hallways, sitting cross-legged across the floor and making it difficult to move from room to room. Some brought along sleeping bags and stayed through the night. Union organizers expected yet more to gather Friday.
The protesters chants of "Kill the Bill!" and "Recall Walker Now!" could be heard throughout the day and long past dark. They beat on drums and carried signs deriding Walker and his plan to end collective bargaining for state, county and local workers, except for police, firefighters and the state patrol.
Hundreds of teachers have joined the protests by calling in sick, forcing school districts — including the state's largest, Milwaukee Public Schools — to cancel classes.
Some signs seen at the Capitol compared the governor to former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down last week after weeks of mass protests against his three-decade rule. On read, "Impeach Scott Mubarak!" and another said, "Walker like an Egyptian." Others compared to Walker and his supporters to boy wizard Harry Potter's nemesis and his evil minions, calling them "Governor Voldemort and his DeathEater Legislators."
Despite the groundswell of support, it seems Democrats are merely delaying the inevitable — Republicans say they have the votes to pass the bill — yet the protesters are undeterred.
"I always expect the worst, but at the least I figure this would lead to such larger strikes that it would be a bad move for Republicans and Scott Walker," Graupner said.
In an interview with Milwaukee television station WTMJ, President Barack Obama compared Walker's bill to "an assault on unions."
Senate Republicans planned to try for a vote again Friday. With 19 seats, they hold a majority in the 33-member chamber, but they are one vote short of the number necessary to conduct business. The GOP needs at least one Democrat to be present before any voting can take place. The measure needs 17 votes to pass.
Speaking on CBS' "The Early Show" on Friday morning, Walker urged the Democrats to return to Madison and face the vote.
"The state senators who are hiding out down in Illinois should show up for work, have their say, have their vote, add their amendments, but in the end, we've got a $3.6 billion budget deficit we've got to balance."
Senate rules and the state constitution say absent members can be compelled to appear, but it does not say how.
"We left the state so we were out of the reach of the Wisconsin state patrol, which has the authority to round us up and bring us back to the legislature," state Sen. Mark Miller told ABC's "Good Morning America" from an undisclosed location Friday.
Sen. Tim Cullen said he and other Democrats planned to stage their boycott until Saturday to give the public more time to speak out against the bill.
"The plan is to try and slow this down because it's an extreme piece of legislation that's tearing this state apart," said Sen. Jon Erpenbach, who was with Democratic senators in northern Illinois on Thursday before they dispersed.
Walker, who took office last month, called the boycott a "stunt." He vowed not to concede.
"It's more about theatrics than anything else," Walker said.
Some Democrats elsewhere applauded the developments as a long-awaited sign that their party was fighting back against the Republican wave created by November's midterm election.
"I am glad to see some Democrats, for a change, with a backbone. I'm really proud to hear that they did that," said Democratic state Sen. Judy Eason-McIntyre of Oklahoma, another state where Republicans won the governorship in November and also control both legislative chambers.
Thursday's events were reminiscent of a 2003 dispute in Texas, where Democrats twice fled the state to prevent adoption of a redistricting bill designed to give Republicans more seats in Congress. The bill passed a few months later.
The proposal marks a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which passed a comprehensive collective bargaining law in 1959 and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees.
In addition to eliminating collective-bargaining rights, the legislation also would make public workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage — increases Walker calls "modest" compared with those in the private sector.
Republican leaders said they expected Wisconsin residents would be pleased with the savings the bill would achieve — $30 million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years to address a $3.6 billion budget shortfall.
Democrats flee Madison, Wisconsin (with police chasing them)
Original Post: Hillbuzz
Never in my life would I imagine Wisconsin would become the most fascinating state for politics, but that’s what it is right now as the newly elected Republican governor and legislature stand up to the public employee unions that are crippling that state financially.
This is not the Cocktail Party establishment playing go-along-to-get-along games…this is what Republicans need to do in every state, coast to coast.
Grow that spine. Stand up. Be heard. Sock it to the unions and the rest of the Democrat machine. Do not be afraid of bad media coverage or being called “big meanies” for doing what voters WANT you to do to get the country back on sound financial footing.
Democrats have actually fled the city of Madison, Wisconsin in contempt of a court order requiring them to do their elected duty and sit for a vote to curtail the power of Democrat-supporting public employee unions.
Police have actually been dispatched to hunt Democrats down so that a vote can be taken, since the legislature is required to have at least one Democrat present for a vote to be cast.
Democrats do not want to curtail union power, since union dues keep Democrats in power.
This simple fact has never been more clear…as is the reality that curtailing union power is the only way we will save this country from ruin.
Keep monitoring what’s happening in Wisconsin. If that state manages to liberate itself from union control, just imagine what strides can be taken in Arizona, South Carolina, and New Jersey, where other assertive and take-no-prisoners Republicans are in office.
Just think: the Cocktail Party establishment could have saved this country from the current predicament it’s in if only it had stood up to the unions a decade or two ago…but all of those GOP consultants advised them it was much better to “go along to get along”.
But look where that’s gotten us.
Do you know of any other good examples of newly elected Republicans showing some toughness towards former sacred cows and the various apparatuses Democrats depend on to keep their political contributions flowing (at ultimate net financial detriment to state budgets)?
Could a revolution of sorts be now underway with Republicans who have actually broken away from their Cocktail Party establishment ways?
Never in my life would I imagine Wisconsin would become the most fascinating state for politics, but that’s what it is right now as the newly elected Republican governor and legislature stand up to the public employee unions that are crippling that state financially.
This is not the Cocktail Party establishment playing go-along-to-get-along games…this is what Republicans need to do in every state, coast to coast.
Grow that spine. Stand up. Be heard. Sock it to the unions and the rest of the Democrat machine. Do not be afraid of bad media coverage or being called “big meanies” for doing what voters WANT you to do to get the country back on sound financial footing.
Democrats have actually fled the city of Madison, Wisconsin in contempt of a court order requiring them to do their elected duty and sit for a vote to curtail the power of Democrat-supporting public employee unions.
Police have actually been dispatched to hunt Democrats down so that a vote can be taken, since the legislature is required to have at least one Democrat present for a vote to be cast.
Democrats do not want to curtail union power, since union dues keep Democrats in power.
This simple fact has never been more clear…as is the reality that curtailing union power is the only way we will save this country from ruin.
Keep monitoring what’s happening in Wisconsin. If that state manages to liberate itself from union control, just imagine what strides can be taken in Arizona, South Carolina, and New Jersey, where other assertive and take-no-prisoners Republicans are in office.
Just think: the Cocktail Party establishment could have saved this country from the current predicament it’s in if only it had stood up to the unions a decade or two ago…but all of those GOP consultants advised them it was much better to “go along to get along”.
But look where that’s gotten us.
Do you know of any other good examples of newly elected Republicans showing some toughness towards former sacred cows and the various apparatuses Democrats depend on to keep their political contributions flowing (at ultimate net financial detriment to state budgets)?
Could a revolution of sorts be now underway with Republicans who have actually broken away from their Cocktail Party establishment ways?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
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