I believe what Scott Walker is proposing is sound fiscal judgment and makes good civic sense. This may be a very blue state but it’s not nearly as unionized as our neighbor to the south, Illinois. You’d think with Wisconsin’s’ blue collar reputation we would be strongly unionized. That’s not the case. In 2010, the percent of union members dipped to 15.1 percent from the previous year's 15.2 percent. It was a decline of 30,000 workers from one year to the next.
But don’t listen to me. If you work in Wisconsin, and you have not one, but two members of the extreeeeeemly liberal Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board speaking out in favor of a Republican Governor’s proposal for union members to pay a small percentage to their retirement and end collective bargaining, you know Wisconsin’s financial house has got to be in a world of hurt. If MJS says giving more power to back to the taxpayer and backs that plan made by a Republican, it would seem something must give.
Walker has said removing public unions' collective bargaining rights is necessary to help plug a budget deficit projected to be $3.6 billion by mid-2013. Without the concessions, he says 1,500 state workers could be laid off over the next four months to deal with an immediate $137 million shortfall.
Records show taxpayers:
• Spent $8 billion from 2001 to 2010 on state employee health care coverage, while those employees contributed $398 million.
• Spent about $12.6 billion on public employee pensions while the employees contributed $55.4 million.
• Paid nearly all of the employee portion of the public sector pension contributions.
State employees make up 60% of all taxpayer costs to operate the state. In the UW system, a whopping 77% of operations are dedicated to employee costs. It’s 70% Corrections and 63% for Health Services.
Fringe benefits for teachers ALONE made up 25.6%. That’s not pay. That’s just TEACHERS!!
That sound fair to you?
THEN YOU GET STUFF LIKE THIS....
And now we have a large number of union employees who are inflating their workloads just prior to retirement to inflate their benefit payout.
We can’t do that out here in scab land folks.
What lawmakers, Republican and Democrat must ask themselves is: Are the unions taking a fair hit with regard to the hits the privet sector has been burdened with the last five years?
All signs point to yes.
The fact is, they bussed in STUDENTS to protest, many of whom did not know why they were there.
These lawmakers need to remember the voters who just sent them there, and do the right thing. Those union members chanting in the rotunda today in Madison need to feel what we conservatives have had to swallow for over a decade and taxpayers here in Wisconsin have had to deal with for longer than we care to say.
Now here is the kicker. My wife is in this union.
We stand to lose a lot because of these actions in Madison.
She’s mad and says it’s wrong.
I’m firm and say it’s time.
This is where the rubber meets the road guys.
If I am principled, the fact it affects me should not matter.
The only ones who feel they are being treated unfair are the unions.
We have no choice anymore. I can't help it if it affects me and my family directly. There's a reason it affects me. The status quo is unsustainable. Spending must be curtailed and perks pruned. Just because it hurts my family, does not make it wrong.
Those of you in the union with sob stories; spare us: The privet sector has your stories blown away.
Ask anyone how they have been hit by this recession. Then ask a public employee. Huge discrepancy. That’s why there’s such low tolerance for this. And there is evidence out there WEAC is misleading its members saying they will take a 20% pay cut. It’s patently false.
And the fact of the matter is non-union employees working right along side union employees have had to take huge cuts in both pay and benefits. What makes Unions immune and why do they feel they should be?
My wife is the greatest gift I have ever received.
I love her with all my heart.
God is with us and we are faithful.
We were made for such a time as this.
We must be patient and wait upon God.
ONLY HE CAN SAVE US... AND HE WILL.
This is the Elitist Democratic montra:
You do what we tell you.
We’ll do what we want.
The facts are we now must pay for all the things Dem. Governor Jim Doyle shoved down our throats.
6 comments:
sorry to hear of the stress but the Libs keep destroying out precious nation...Have a great rest of the day~!:)
Governor Scott Walker's proposal is spot on! I am sorry to hear of you and your wife's disagreement. You certainly are willing to live out your principles even though you know it will hurt you in the wallet. Eman, you are such a principled man! God Bless.
Does your wife realize if you two don't take the hit right now that Today's children may have to pay out the wazoo and thus will have less opportunities?
Trying to figure this out.... but I think my husband pays about 10% of his income on our health insurance (before copays for doctor's visits). I don't know the percentage that your wife spends toward health insurance per month but if its less than 5% I think that is putting too much of a burden on the taxpayers and the private sector. If that was the only thing that changed I think that would go a long way to helping decrease the debt/deficits.
We are deeply divided on this but we agree to disagree on a number of issues so this clash is nothing new to us. Still, the emotions run very deeply for her. She has worked a long time for the benefits she has. I tell my wife that she has seen none of the layoffs, pay cuts, benefit reductions and slowdowns the non-union Wisconsin worker has seen. And I’ll tell you something right here I have never spoken, but have encountered many times: When I wrote the check to the hospital for the birth of my son, and when I wrote the check for my wife’s major surgery one year later, I felt true guilt. Neither of those checks were for more that $10.00. That’s the kind of coverage they get. I’m laid-off right now. She has never filed or collected unemployment. Not once.
My wife has worked in this union for nearly a quarter century. She gets 30 days paid vacation, ten paid sick days, seven paid personal days and has a whopping 13 paid holidays. That’s sixty PAID days off. I have told her more than once she should just work four days a week. Think of it: A four day work week of 32 hours and not lose a dime.
We have it made by anyone’s standard but it has caused us to become dependent on these benefits and perks. Everyone needs some form of insurance these days but this is Cadillac coverage compared to the privet sector. And we don’t pay very much for it either.
Wisconsin has a minority that is screaming right now. We elected Governor Walker to do this and he made no effort to disguise his intentions. Scott Walker is being compared to Gov. Christie of New Jersey for his straight forward no nonsense approach. Every state running in the red right now will be in the same boat we are in very soon. If not, if they don’t take action, they’ll go belly up.
Brenda and I will be fine because we fight FOR the marriage, not against it.
I can’t say that about Wisconsin. Unions don’t fight FOR their employers. Not in my lifetime.
How come the unions have all caved on the Guv's fiscal demands, but he's insistent on breaking the unions?
This isn't about money, it's about rightwing ideology.
Diogenese,
Its about righting the wrong. Union thuggery has been used to demand this or that while hurting hardworking taxpayers for decades. Unions are about a quarter of the reason that many states are in such dire straights financially. The ability to be able to bargain is not a right. The Unions simply want to keep the means to force people to give their dues to unions. People should have the choice whether they want to join a union or not. The governor is fighting for the right of ALL the citizens of Wisconsin to decide whether they want to join a union or not. On the other hand, Democrats only believe in forcing the individual to do something instead of giving them the choice. Democrats/liberals are for tyranny and Republicans/conservatives are for freedom.
WOW... He's right. It is about rightwing ideology. So what's your point? Your side has never foisted it's ideology on anyone? yeahrite...
The hospital called. The hedgehog is dead. Your new brain is waiting Diogenes...
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