I will be in Madison tomorrow to show my support for hard-working people in this state. I encourage everybody who has the means to make it there to go for it, be they pro or con.

Parking is free in Madison on Saturdays.

Walker and his cronies may have won the battle of the budget bill (though the outcome is yet to be decided) but when the number of recalls make history, the next power-tripping gov. and legislature will think twice before trying to abuse their power so mightily.

A year from now Republicans will be hoping that everyone forgets what Walker is doing now. Some are already distancing themselves from him.

Gandalf you pay what is required like everyone else. If you want others to pay more lead by example.

Impressive. Result to name calling rather than totally sticking to issues. Again, the worst side of people showing through.

Ah the plan...eliminate collective bargaining (salary schedule); cut aid to schools; can't raise taxes much; Result: THE SCHOOL BOARD WILL CUT TEACHER SALARIES IN HALF & TEACHERS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO PENSIONS AND HEALTH CARE. Yeah...let's balance the budget on the backs of teachers while the wealthiest seem to have no repercussions on their shoulders as put forth in this budget bill. Public workers didn't create the mess but it looks like Walker thinks they can fix it.

'I have an idea though that could really employ alot of people, increase the state's revenues and be useful at the same time. It is time for Wisconsin to once again grow, refine and utilize industrial hemp. All hemp products are currently imported from Canada or Europe. It is lucrative for them. Farmers make more cash, linen factories, rope, nutritional supply companies, etc. would employ thousands. Industrial hemp has no THC, so that is a moot point. I'd like to buy hemp homespun fabric without it costing $15 because it's imported. Just an idea.'

just a BRILLIANT idea:) in the early 1900's wisconsin was one of the top hemp producing states in the country. the federal govt even mentions them in their POST prohibition WWII video, hemp for victory, encouraging farmers to grow hemp for the war efforts. not to rile up 916's arrogance but the first marijuana laws in this country were laws REQUIRING you to grow hemp

its worth your 10 minutes....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jokV8xlJT...

Bella-A parent usually sues the district, right? Or can a parent sue the teacher? Not sure how that works. Maybe you can explain.

vatoloco - and who do you think protects them from these "crazy" parents today? The liability insurance they get through their union.

Bella-Stop while your at it. Now your making things up as you go. Administrators usually deal with parents. The problem lies with the irresponsible parents. Teachers and administrators need more authority to handle disruptive students and remove them from the class. Many are afraid to do so for fear of lawsuits for racism, etc...

Bella,
A free for all from what? The unions do not and cannot control if you get sued personally. The employer protects you if you get sued in a professional capacity. What are the unions protecting the workers from?

heidi - yes, the union have something to do with this. Because of collective bargaining, unions have statutes regarding what workers are protected from and that regulate processes like those I mentioned. Take that collective bargaining away...the statutes go away...and it's a free-for-all.

“According to the Department of Employee Trust Funds, more than 1,200 state employees have retired in the past six weeks alone. In addition, more than 4,500 retirement applications have been filed within the last six weeks – far above the same period last year. These retirements mean the governor doesn’t need to lay people off. And the call released this morning showed that the true reason behind his layoff threats was completely political

Bella,
The administrators that we pay to deal with these issues. The union sure does not have anything to do with deciding this.

heidi - you just answered your own question. "If they have merit". Who decides if a case has merit?

Bella,
I don't think I am missing the point, the items you addressed will go to court if they have merit. If they do not have merit, they will be taken care of by the administration. How does the union change this?

This is not a labor/union or private sector " issue". This is a couple of greedy heartless Koch brothers, with a puppet at the podium.
When you coach or watch little kids play sports, try and pick out the union or the private sector. the playing field is equal.
These two adults along with Walker are breaking that American bond.

http://www.wisconsinjobsnow.org/?gclid=C......
Koch brothers are the violators, follow there trail and don't support there products.

Let this be a lesson in "Get out and Vote!" When only 50% vote, 26% choose the winner.

Depending upon ones political affiliation and ideological orientation the results of the federal antipoverty effort are different. One example is the debate over the reasons for a decline in the black poverty rate: 1959 = 55%
1970 = 33%
2000 = 22%
U.S. poverty rate: 1959 = 22%
1970 = 12%
2000 = 11%
Due to the recession poverty climbed to 14.3 % in 2009. High poverty numbers have continued into 2010 -2011 as the recovery sputters and unemployment remains near 10 %. The 2010 Census report showed increases in poverty for whites, blacks and Hispanic Americans.
The poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites was 9.4 %,
for blacks 25.8 %
Hispanics 25.3 %.
Factors such as declining incomes have driven the rise. In 2006 the top 0.01 % averaged 976 times more income than the bottom 90% of Americans. Do you think this might be one reason why poverty continues in America? This is why we cannot let unions be busted, unions are needed to fight big business that want to cut wages and benefits even more all in the name of profits. Why is it that conservative’s do not understand that their policies only contribute to poverty? When more and more money is going to the top, it's common sense to know poverty will increase for those at the bottom.

heidi - you are missing the point. Because of collective bargaining and union representation, these situations are kept out of the courts today and are not clogging our court systems except for criminal cases. Take the union away, and you are setting the stage for making sure teachers and police never have time to do any actual work because they are too busy responding to stupid complaints. And when that happens, why would anyone want to join the teaching profession or become a public servant in this insanely lawsuit happy nation?

Ezoner, businesses are 'running out of the country' because they get tax breaks for doing so, and they should lose the protection of our nation for doing so. If the 'so-called rich' want to maintain off-shore primary residences to avoid paying their share of taxes, they should lose their citizenship and the protections that come with it. Good ridance, because our nation is stronger without those sorts. As far as I'm concerned, if the rich all want to move from New York to Florida, so what?

Very nice Bella

Bella,
If the teacher or officer or any public employee is acting in his/her official capacity, the government is already providing legal assistance. Why does the union need to provide this?

No Heidi, I am not saying that. I am saying that you will need a LOT more than a single administrator or a single IA officer if you take away the union. I am saying that the school administrators and the IA officers are not there to protect the teacher or the police officer. The union reps are there on behalf of the worker. It's what the union fees are used for. So instead, would you rather have your tax payer dollars go to fund lawyers so that the teacher or police officer will have due process?

is history repeating itself or what? the picture of walker,reminds me of hitler addressing his police.

http://www.wisconsinjobsnow.org/?gclid=C...

Bella,
Dont we have administrators at the schools to handle complaints? This seems like an overlap. And don't we also have internal affairs for the officers? Are you implying that they need to be protected from the internal checks and balances that we have in place?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/11/04... .......The Nixon salute.

heidi - unions are there for a lot more than just negotiate wages. Who's going to support the teachers when crazy parents complain about how their precious little kids are being treated in school? Can you even imagine how much time the schools and the teachers will have to spend on that kind of crap now? Or police officers, every time a criminal makes allegations of abuse or injustice - who will stand up for the officer? Do you want to spend your tax payer dollars (since so many of you seem to think you pay for EVERYTHING) on ridiculous lawsuits that could have been prevented if the union was there to negotiate and handle? Public workers do not have an "HR Dept" like most businesses do. They have a union who protects them from injustice. Who should take over that role when the unions are gone?

Gandlf -- what the hell do you think has been happening over the last 50 years. Businesses have been literally running out of the country -- because of, tax rates, employee costs /benefits, you name it. Even those with money have residences outside the us that many claim as their primary. The so called rich are leaving NY to move to Florida === guess why -- for tax reasons. You cannot rape the wallets and spread the seeds around. It doesnt work. It never will.

NCC- The jobs aren't coming anytime soon. I have an idea though that could really employ alot of people, increase the state's revenues and be useful at the same time. It is time for Wisconsin to once again grow, refine and utilize industrial hemp. All hemp products are currently imported from Canada or Europe. It is lucrative for them. Farmers make more cash, linen factories, rope, nutritional supply companies, etc. would employ thousands. Industrial hemp has no THC, so that is a moot point. I'd like to buy hemp homespun fabric without it costing $15 because it's imported. Just an idea.

Can anyone tell me exactly, not generalizations, why do we need mandatory union dues and collective bargaining. I don't see why employees can't send a check every week to the union and I also don't see where collective bargaining helps workers to excel. Please enlighten me.

Yes, let's not forget why we are ALL in this mess right now. High unemployment has caused a spiraling amount of tax revenue to be missed out on. He promised jobs,jobs jobs. Where are they?? He also promised to brown bag it for lunch everyday, but we all know that's also a big farce. Go ahead and support him. You will be the next one in the bread line.

We've had years and years of fiscal irresponsibility, in both the public and private sector, which has led us into the worst recession and unemployment most of us have ever seen. We finally get a politician in office who appears to understand that we don't have a blank checkbook and I'm supposed to be outraged?

Look, I feel bad about what's happening to our teachers and other public employees. Some of them are my own family members. But I have to look at the big picture, and cutting services that we've become accustomed to is a big part of the solution. I'm not sure I would've started with schools, but again, I'm not going to be outraged.

Look at it this way. If I'm having budget problems in my house, I'm going to cut out cable TV, internet, gym memberships, dining out, whatever it takes to get things right. That will be very unpopular with my wife and kids, but the alternative is much worse. Somebody needs to make the tough decisions, and if it makes you unpopular, so be it.

vatoloco- What are YOU doing? What comes out of your pocket? What are you not counting on the Walker/Fitzgerald package to do to everyone else? The pensions are about $23,000/yr with no health benefits. The health insurance is good. Today. It's being gutted. We pay for it already. We agreed to pay more. We pay all of our other benefits in full. The collective bargaining is important so the ignorant bullies that think the public employee is always available to kick won't kick too hard. It's not about the money, that doesn't seem to get through to some, but you can't make a mule walk to save himself either.

"What you are doing to help with the deficit?"

Control spending. What a concept huh tamrlu? And, public sector unions are a big reason spending is out of control. They stranglehold the taxpayers into paying OUTRAGEOUS benefit packages. Time to come down that pedestal people.

Collective bargaining is the piece that we need to get rid of because it gives the unions force/pull to lock in their demands for more money, benefits in the future.

I really want to know -What you are doing to help with the deficit? Anyone? Just get the public employees to do it- "I already took a pay cut," "They get everything" <whine>. What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?! What are you paying to make this problem go away? Share the pain is only apparently lip service. If you are not in public service, this labor issue costs you nothing. It gives you nothing. Put up or shut up- the employees conceded to the demands. Now it's up to our Machiavellian Prince.....

"In any case, welfare, the dole, poor relief—call it what you will—is a spectacular failure. More than that, if the reasoning presented here is sound, it is one of the vast tragic ironies of our age. It springs from the desire of good-hearted people to see poverty diminished, but in practice, apparently, it augments poverty. The fault is not in our intentions, but in our methods, our economic understanding, and ultimately, perhaps, in our principles. “To quit this business of relief,” to end “the days of the dole,” we might well find it best simply to do it. Let officials design policy—that is, do away with policies—according to the classical Liberal principle that “the force of law should never be used to benefit some people at the expense of others,” not even if those benefiting are poor. Let care of the really needy be returned to individual responsibility—to genuine, private charity and efficient, private organizations. []"

"RAF, I do 'step up to the plate' and pay my share of taxes. The problem is the higher income individuals ($250,000+) do not pay their share."

Gandalf-I talk about this all the time and I am really getting tired of saying it but repetition is good.

1965 -45 plus years and 15 trillion dollars later to introduce the "The Great Society" as an assault on those who do have more to alleviate poverty, racism, education, and an assortment of other public ills has only produced a negative effect on our society. Taxing and spending our way out of economic inequality will never work.

Can you imagine how much more economic resources everyone might have today had the fed not invested trillions in entitlements (and wars I admit) that have not returned a sound "investment" (an Obama term).

"In regard to government failure, to begin with, there is a rather impressive disparity between the amount of money spent for the stated purpose of relieving poverty, and the amount the poor actually receive. In an article entitled “Where Do All the Welfare Billions Go?” (Human Events, February 6, 1982) M. Stanton Evans points out some remarkable figures. In 1965, combined federal, state and local outlays for “social welfare” totaled $77 billion. This was the beginning of the “Great Society” era. In 1978, the total was $394 billion. “This means that, over the span of a dozen years, we increased our national outlays for the alleged goal of helping poor people, on an annual basis, by $317 billion.” But the number of poor people in the country, according to official estimates, has remained nearly constant in those years, at about 2.5 million. Here I quote Evans at length:

One has to wonder how it is possible to spend these hundreds of billions to alleviate poverty and still have the same number of poor people that we had, say, in 1968. Waive that objection for a moment, however, and simply compare the number of poor people with the dollars spent to help them: You discover that, if we had taken that $317 billion annually in extra “social welfare” spending, and given it to the poor people, we could have given each of them an annual grant of $13,000—which is an income, for a family of four, of $52,000 a year.
In other words, with this colossal sum of money, we could have made all the poor people in America rich . . . . It prompts the more suspicious among us to ask: What happened to the money? . . . [A] tremendous chunk of these domestic outlays goes to pay the salaries of people who work for and with the federal government—including well-paid civil servants and an array of contractors and “consultants,” many of whom have gotten rich from housing programs, “poverty” studies, energy research grants, and the like."

http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/...

Walker's budget will affect all public services. The next time you want to complain about a pothole, your neighbor beating his kid, your social security check, the line at the DMV, give Walker a call. Let's not forget that the people who get laid off or get their salary cut could decide to move away. This will drive down the housing market some more, as well as your property values.

When is Govenor Ass Hat going to show us the budget crisis?

RAF, I do 'step up to the plate' and pay my share of taxes. The problem is the higher income individuals ($250,000+) do not pay their share.

Shagcarpet, you asked “How is it going to benefit anyone to cut funding and education from our schools?
Some posts on this site are good examples of how it will benefit conservatives. Cutting education will reduce the number of people who will question our lawmakers. The conservatives and big business do not want a populace that is capable of critical thinking. Uninformed people are easily controlled/manipulated, that’s obvious by how many on this site are convinced that conservative policies benefit the common person, despite numerous facts and statistics that show otherwise. When information is provided to them from legitimate sites, such as fact checking or citizen watch dog groups, the righties dismiss it as “liberal propaganda.” Just ask Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. That is exactly how 3rd world dictators have retained their power, by keeping people ignorant.

http://interested-party.blogspot.com/201......
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-gran......
Talk about misuse of office or board. The very reason Walker is put into office. To create delays, and designate to Koch and other National violators.
You can come onto the Gazette and pick on each other at the penny level, but look at the big piicture. This is the country your parents and grandparents fought for. They did not give blood for the Walker and Koch
foundation.

It's just ridiculous that Education and Public Service are the areas being cut when trying to reduce a deficit. Watch, WI will be dropping on ACT/SAT scores if Walker pushes through with this backwards plan. How about NOT giving tax breaks to industry? How about raising the sales tax a little to benefit all? How about raising property taxes a little? How about accepting federal funds for projects that could move our state FORWARDS...like high speed rail or expanded broadband? Oh wait....

The ultimate intentions appear to be back door actions.

I meant reverse socialism in a sarcastic way, in the sense that it is taking from the poor and giving to the rich. Opposite of what is generally considered as socialism, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. The direction has been reversed but according to RAF's definition it is still socialism.

Are the Right so right, they are blindfolded to the wrong. Oh that's right they are isolated from the rest of us.

So we want to talk polls and numbers......Koch Industries, a large chemical manufacturer and one of Inhofe's biggest campaign contributors, gave Inhofe $6,000 that year. That same year Koch bought two pulp mills from Georgia-Pacific, a major formaldehyde producer and one of the world's largest plywood manufacturers. The next year Koch bought all of Georgia-Pacific.
The "more robust" findings that Inhofe asked for weren't released until five years later – in May 2009 – and they reinforced the 2004 findings. Of the nearly 25,000 workers the National Cancer Institute had tracked for 30 years, those exposed to higher amounts of formaldehyde had a 37 percent greater risk of death from blood and lymphatic cancers and a 78 percent greater risk of leukemia than those exposed to lower amounts.
Kids... private sector, policemen, firefighter, teachers..........
Walker if he was for the people should not have used blood money for his campaign.
You are all at his mercy.

I seriously don't know how he plans on making all these cuts to education. Most foreign countries are already out performing our kids. How is it going to benefit anyone to cut funding and education from our schools? The children are our future.

916...did you seriously correct one misspelled word in my post?? your arrogance has no end. right, i got you, because something worked before it doesnt mean it would now. one of abraham lincolns favorite things to do was sit on his porch and smoke the sweet hemp but thats irrelevant in any attempt to prove that normal people, successful people have legally smoked marijuana. just becuase other govt programs have failed doesnt mean obamacare would. same logic yes?? i hope their where no mispelld words four ewe to fined here sir.

"reverse socialism?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-gran...

" You fail to understand how removing money from some people and giving it other people is socialism, people paying for something on their own is not."
Is it reverse socialism when the average working person has seen their income decrease while at the same time CEO pay has increased 10 fold? Afterall, it was taken from one group and given to another.

Everybody relax and take a deep breath.
Stop pushing and shoving.
There's plenty of stupid to go around.

http://interested-party.blogspot.com/201...

Shagcarpet, I think you are on target with that thought.
Someone should go tell IMO to watch TV tonight!

Gandalf I didn't write an essay because zoom would not have understood anyway. If you think taxes need to be raised do your part and step up to the plate and lead...or crawl back in the shadows.

I have the feeling that after he releases the details of his budget, everyone in the state will hate him.

HERE WE GO.... ANOTHER IMO.

Mouse, are you speaking English? In what small frame of reference do you make any sense? Too much TV?

Fitz..... "You can't use the copier!.. you can't use the copier.... nana, nana, na, na! Give me a freaking break IMO.

Here is the ilk of the Democratic representatives who stayed behind, "Wisconsin Dem to GOP Colleague: ‘You’re F***ing Dead’" (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/wisconsi...). Is that the way to lead by example. The only thing worse would be running away. Oh, they did that too!

Here is the intellect of those geniuses in our Capital building calling everyone else names. This is how they judge a "Dictatorship". Their parents should be real proud they're paying so much money for little Robbies indoctrination/education. Young Madison Socialist Reveals Popular ‘Noodles & Company‘ Restaurant Is Actually Harsh ’Dictatorship’ (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/young-ma...) or go straigt to the video. It will make you laugh so hard or weep with shame. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M3DLGP4U...)

Ask republican Amy Loudenbeck (new rep) who's afraid to go against Walker. Her husband is a fire fighter in Illinois.

Gonfo: your ignorant. I work for the county, which means I most likely have the same health care as they do. I have a $25 deductible for office visits, a $75 deductible for urgent care, a $150 deductible for hospital and ER, PLUS we pay 25% of the bill...We also pay the WHOLE premium for our dental and vision...Maybe you should stop reading the media articles and seek real truth....

High speed rail that will fix everything! We would be on the hook for billions. It would have been cheaper to buy each rider a Prius each year than maintain the rail. Hey, wake up! The High speed rail would have been to connect Chicago to Minneapolis. They could care less about Wisconsin. It would not have even classified as High Speed in any other country in the world except of Obama phantasyville. When Amtrak starts paying its way then and there is demand for High Speed rail in Wisconsin, maybe we will build it for Wisconsin. Take a bus with the rest of us County Worker.

Imagine that, Obama wants the unions to stay! Surprise, Surprise! He wouldn't want to offend any of his huge campaing supporters now, would he? Good for Walker to ignore Obama's message! I just spent a little time talking to a state employee to get some information on what out of pocket expenses they have for medical. To my surprise they have no out of pocket expenses for anything medically related. He had an operation last year with a 5 night stay in the hospital which was covered 100%. Not one penny came out of his pocket. He also said they don't pay anything to see the Dr. no matter what for. Ya, Ok, Walker please pass the bill! I'm also against the money hungry, greed infested unions as well!

Chuckfull- I could write the exact same post - replacing "big business" for "unions" and "Republicans" for "Dems". Republicans are just as afraid to step out of line for fear of repercussions.

----

BOTH sides need to listen to their constituents. Over 100,000 of them braved cold, snow and bad roads to come voice an opinion on Saturday. Hundreds more at a town hall for Sen. Schultz yesterday. Many of these are people who voted FOR Governor Walker in the election and are not happy with what he's done, so don't just say "the people spoke in November" - because we all know that the people are always speaking. Freezing a moment and calling it a mandate is not honest.

Ezoner, according to your theory, there should have been a massive emigration of wealthy people and companies during the 1950's when the top marginal tax rate was over 90% (under the Republican administration of Eisenhower). Instead, during this period, the growth of a prosperous middle class occured. Your trickle-down view of economics is counter to historical experience.

IMO: Did you read the above article? You must have missed this part "Walker's opposition to high-speed rail resulted in the Obama administration taking back more than $800 million that had been awarded to the state."....If Walker would quit pretending he ran this whole damned country we would have had $800 millon more and wouldn't be in such a bad bind. Hes ignorant to think hes going to rule over Obama's adminstration.

Can somebody answer me how Walker thinks that laying off thousands of public workers is going to be cheaper than keepin us employed when Wisconsin is just going to have to pay us all unemployment? Plus, if Im laid off, I will qualify for Badgercare as well as foodshare...all coming out of Wisconsin's budget. Not so smart on Walkers side dont you think?

http://interested-party.blogspot.com/201...
I have no choice........They paid me to do it!

I am very proud of Governor Walker. I think he has the best interests of the citizens of Wisconsin in mind. I think those embarrassed by him did not like to start with. I am embarrassed by Doyle. I am embarrassed by the temper tantrum some of our state workers have publicly thrown. I am embarrassed by the behaviour of those demonstrator in the Capitol building. I am extremely embarrassed by the cowardly democrats who have subverted the democratic process. I am ashamed of non-representative Cullen.

Gandalf -- you accomplish nothing by raising the rates on upper income and business. Upper income populations drive the economy through purchases and employment of lower income groups. They will not be left with less in their pockets, they will simply hire fewer people or buy fewer products. Business will simply balance the demand and will utilize price to adjust in order to achieve the same level of profitability OR they will seek out lower cost solutions, meaning relocation of the business.

Your system will assure that more would be left without. What happens when you tax upper incomes, is they also relocate to a lower cost location. Increased taxation only caused migration away from the increased cost. Leaving the system worse than where it started.

Gandalf -- you accomplish nothing by raising the rates on upper income and business. Upper income populations drive the economy through purchases and employment of lower income groups. They will not be left with less in their pockets, they will simply hire fewer people or buy fewer products. Business will simply balance the demand and will utilize price to adjust in order to achieve the same level of profitability OR they will seek out lower cost solutions, meaning relocation of the business.

Your system will assure that more would be left without. What happens when you tax upper incomes, is they also relocate to a lower cost location. Increased taxation only caused migration away from the increased cost. Leaving the system worse than where it started.

We are very fortunate that Obama cannot poison Wisconsin the same way he crippled the nation.

NoLeftist
Maybe you should take a look at what the budget deficit was that Doyle inherited from Thompson/McCallum before you lay a claim of electing irresponsible politicians. This was not all Doyles fault, both sides of the isle can lay claim for each of their own parts of the current budget deficit. However, 10-12 years ago the economy was not in the tank as it is today

SarahB1 - No offense, but Obama himself is not a negotiator.

RAF, your idea about taxation being socialism is way too simplistic. A progressive taxation structure was recognized as necessary by the founding fathers. As Thomas Jefferson stated, “Another means of silently lessening the inequality of property is to
exempt all from taxation below a certain point, and to tax the higher
portions of property in geometric progression as they rise” You must think Jefferson was a proto-socialist. Raising marginal tax rates on higher incomes needs to be part of the budget solution.

Truth will eventually triumph over the lies and hypocrisy of the unions. Walker’s office issued this statement:

“I'm sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And I'm sure the President knows that the average federal worker pays twice as much for health insurance as what we are asking for in Wisconsin. At least I would hope he knows these facts.

“Furthermore, I’m sure the President knows that we have repeatedly praised the more than 300,000 government workers who come to work every day in Wisconsin.

“I’m sure that President Obama simply misunderstands the issues in Wisconsin, and isn’t acting like the union bosses in saying one thing and doing another.”

(http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/11710...)

Thanks a lot Jim Doyle and the Democrats for leaving such a mess for us. Had you taken care of these deficits, we wouldn't be in the position we are now, facing cuts everywhere. Let's make a point of never electing such irresponsible politicians again.

Chuckfull...WOW!! I got shivers down my spine, 142 posts and one that really hit home. We have watched this time and time again, go with the flow or your finished. Well put.

This highlights the control that the unions have over the dems. Just think what it must be like at contract time when the dems are in. "Collective bargaining" has failed for this reason. The unions are actually RUNNING the dems. It's a perversion. What do you suppose would happen to Cullen if he came back by himself? The unions would slaughter him. At this point these senators are AFRAID to come back. Afraid of their own supporters.

Why wont Walker & the rest of the elected people CUT their own WAGES & BENIFITS before they ask others to do so ?
I know they are better then the rest of us
The repub party is rotting away
Walker should hang his head in shame

Tusker and JW, nice to read that 2 people get the whole picture and are not condemning anyone. Just calmly stating some of the issues that this bill raises. Also stating the purpose of Governor and legislature (check and balance). This bill will take several important decisions out of our elected representatives hands and put into either Governor Walker's hand or his appointees. Even if I don't agree with Mr. Cullen's vote, he has one. I would think even the republican's would want a say in Medicaid and selling state property.

SarahB1......He doesn't negotiate simply because he doesn't have to. We've already been though this--Walker has enough votes in the legislature to pass the bill as is. Give me an example of any politician who would water down or compromise their legislation when he/she has the support within their legislature that Walker has. 1% of the population stomping their feet and screaming their heads off at the capitol should not, and apparently is not, swaying him.........

Zoom your ignorance is amazing. You fail to understand how removing money from some people and giving it other people is socialism, people paying for something on their own is not. Then again, you are also a person that falls for other lies; like there is no deficit. HINT: no matter how many times you post the question, you will still not understand the answer when it is given to you.

Why is a 3% tax increase on the richest considered "socialism", but an 8% pay cut on the middle class is "doing your part"?

Don't let that poor excuse for a governor bully you! Stay away as long as you can! Maybe like the Scarecrow he'll get a brain, like the Lion he'll get some courage to actually bring this nightmare to an end, and like the Tinman, he'll get a heart. Chances are that flying monkeys will fly out of someplace first though.

"The budget repair bill pending before the Senate calls for refinancing state debt to save $165 million by July 1,..."

Refinincing debt doesn't "save" anything. Walker is converting that payment due in July into long term debt (bonds), so he can reduce the current budget deficit by $165 million. Those bond obligations will cost around $200 million when they come due. He IS kicking the can down the road by refinancing debt, which is something he said he wouldn't do during his election campaign.

vatoloco has it right (8:22-23 posts). While the bigger problem is the highly paid, unaccountable bureaucrats in DOT, DWD, and DOR, the teacher's union is also a major issue due to the size of the employee base.
-
Both my parents taught in Janesville for over 30 years and believed the union was the reason great teachers couldn't be rewarded and bad teachers couldn't be removed. That's the the main problem!

There is plenty of name calling on both sides as well as thoughtful posts.
The ones that resort to name calling are the ones that have lost their arguments.

Milton School District left WEAC this year and is saving 1 million Dollars for the same coverage. Had to go to abitration and the union lost.

"I also have a question. If layoffs happen and more people go on unemployment, where is that money going to come from?'

Don't worry farmgirl, Obama is ready to start printing money at any given moment.

Hey scooter how's that reagan moment going for you? forgot a couple things, reagan was a great people person and new how to deal.. good luck and better keep an eye on your polls

jw
Feb 28, 2011 at 8:16 p.m.
I agree the ones who are going to be hurt with the loss of badger care are going to be the ones who need it because they are trying to be above the poverty line, but are just barely making it. I know there are the lazy ones who use the system, but they will still qualify because they have no other income, but for those who are working, sometimes 2 jobs just to keep food on the table, they are the ones who will get cut from the programs.
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Imagine being at the 150th % or the 200% level of poverty,you are working, trying to do your part, then your health insurance gets cut. The only thing you can do is decide to chance going without any insurance and use the emergency room as your doctor OR you can drop a job and fall down to the 133% for poverty income so you can qualify again for help. It is a no win situation for these working poor.
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I also have a question. If layoffs happen and more people go on unemployment, where is that money going to come from? We are already broke in the unemployment comp budget, and if the folks fall below the poverty line then there would be more badger care recipients...where is that money going to come from? Would it not make more sense to keep the people working (paying taxes etc...) keep them off badger care and have the state be able to support the working poor with a health care program that has been noted as a leader in the nation. Sure have a reasonable premium for the low income folks for the health care, maybe even low co-pays to help defray the costs, but don't for heavens sake drop it.

jw, right on. A real leader does not dictate or bulldoze just because he/she has the votes and power to do so. He/she does not ignore other viewpoints, even if they come from the "other side". A real leader respects other views and governs through persuasion and negotiation, not brute force. Scott Walker is not a leader.

I want my elected officials, regardless of party, to discuss matters intelligently, listen to all viewpoints, and reach intelligent decisions based on compromise. We have had way too much lockstep party-line government in the last couple of decades and it's tending to get worse and worse on both sides of the aisle. Let's see some reason and negotiation. Both sides have some good ideas, but until we get away from these winner-take-all "because we can" power grabs democracy as we once knew it continues to decay.

It's not just the incumbents' party that matters. Remember that in this day and age the opposition is typically about half the population. To pretend they don't exist or matter is not democracy, but tyranny.

916WI, I'm not sure where/how you did your research but you obviously need to do more research on how polls are conducted. 500 to 1000 participants is a very typical number for most polls. There are many techniques used to ensure the participants are selected to be representative of the population. If you conclude the poll at issue is a joke, as you did, then you must conclude every poll is a joke. I can't take you very seriously.

And those of you that are saying the 14 Democrats aren't doing their jobs you are mistaken. Staying away and not allowing this bill to pass is their job.

Qestion. How come the supporter’s state facts and the opposition revert to name calling.

Hit this one hard too kid!

Last year, the Education Action Group issued a report which stated, among other things, that:
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WEA Trust, an insurance company established and closely associated with the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), siphons millions of crucial dollars from K-12 schools and their students every year.
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WEA Trust has grown very fat on public school dollars, with a net worth of $316 million & a team of 12 administrators all receiving compensation packages worth six figures yearly.
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Sadly, this insurance swindle is endorsed by state law
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Once school districts sign up for WEA Trust coverage, and write the carrier into collective bargaining agreements,the shackles are on & they aren’t easily removed.
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Some districts have managed to break WEA Trust’s shackles and the savings tell the story. Officials from 15 districts recently told EAG that they saved six figures the first year under new coverage, while still providing quality health benefits for employees. They also say the cost of their new coverage has remained steady in subsequent years.
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But there is a catch. Officials at all of the breakaway districts said they had to surrender, or at least share, the insurance savings with their local unions, generally in the form of salary increases. That left them with little or no extra revenue to cover other costs.
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In other words, WEAC, the union that has been most vocal during the last week’s protests has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. If the union can defeat Scott Walker’s reform plans, not only does it keep the union dues of teachers, it also gets to keep its health insurance monopoly intact.
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Of course, you’re not hearing this in the press as it doesn’t fit the convenient narrative of class warfare. So, the next time you have someone tell you how “mean” Scott Walker is for attacking the teachers’ union, you can simply reply: Follow the money

Place this in your pipe and smoke it!

Follow the Money: What the Wisconsin Education Association & Media Isn’t Talking About
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One of the most vocal opponents of Walker’s budget plan has been the Wisconsin Education Association Council [WEAC]. They are a union affiliated with the NEA, WEAC (according to its website). WEAC has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo when it comes to forced dues from Wisconsin school teachers, as well as automatic dues deduction from teachers’ paychecks—both of which would be eliminated under Walker’s proposal.
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Employers will be prohibited from collecting union dues & members of collective bargaining units will not be required to pay dues
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Walker’s proposal threatens the life blood of the WEAC which raked in over $25 million from teachers in a one year period in FY 2009.
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Another threat to WEAC, which no one in the mainstream media is talking about is the threat to the union’s insurance trust, called WEA Trust. The WEA Trust is, in essence, a union-run “multi-employer” health insurance trust (the employers, in this case, are school districts).
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WEAC, through collective bargaining (negotiations), convinces school districts to pay into the WEA Trust and, in turn, the WEA Trust is responsible for administering teachers’ benefits. According to PublicSchoolSpending.com, Walker’s proposal would give school boards the ability to shop freely for more competitive insurance rates and save the state millions.

http://www.politicususa.com/en/scott-wal...

http://thewheelerreport.com/releases/Feb...

What Scott Walker is missing besides his brains is that in a democracy we have checks and balances in place to make sure that one person does not, I repeat does not have sole power to make decisons on anything. We have an assembly and senate and commitees to make sure that no one, I repeat no one will have the sole power to pass budgets, laws or anything else for that matter. This farce of a budget repair bill does the following:
1. Takes rights away from americans. Does not matter what rights are being taken away. Is this not what happened in Germany, rights got taken away, taken away, and then poof no one left to take rights away from!
2. Gives the govenor the sole power to decide who will be able to buy our old power plants and can decide himself who will buy them and how much they will pay for them. What the heck does that mean?
3. The medicaid cuts will not harm the bum on the street, the drug addict, the alcoholic, the people who won't get off their duffs and work. It will affect the top % of peoples medical benefits above the poverty level. Those are the people that are working,single parents, senior citizens, disabled citizens. These people are working hard to stay above the poverty line, but despite some of them working 2 jobs, still can't pay all of their bills, not because they are lazy, but because of the low paying jobs they have to take because they can't afford to go to college like rich daddy kids, work 2 jobs and give their children some kind of resemblence of the American Dream!

Walker needs to make compromises, that is what our government is set up to do and remove anything that is not directly budget related from that bill. He does not have the right to not negotiate anything. He is our govenor, we elected him to do his job, but not, I repeat no one ever told him that he cannot be responsible for the entire lower and middle class people of Wisconsin going broke. Has he lowered rents, utilities, gas for cars, food? No everything has skyrocketed since the new administration.

We know there is money in all the Republicans pockets from the Koch brothers, or you bet at least 3 or 4 of them would have stood up for their disticts and voted against this bill. By the way there are only 2 things in the budget that are directly related to the budget if you read the bill.

Scott Walker needs to be an outstanding leader who is for the people, speaks for what the people want, listens to the people of Wisconsin, not just the people who voted for you or helped pay his way into office.

kid3477........It's "proceed".........To make a blanket statement that the Republican party is running away from Walker based on a poll is fine--but just qualify it by saying that the poll was based on a sample of .01% of the population. That puts things in a much clearer context..........no?
As far as you referencing historical facts to support your current argument, I honestly can't remember what that involved. If it was about the fact that Thomas Jefferson could get stoned legally so you think you should be able to too, right? Like I told you before I could care less if your drug use is legalized. You can dump whatever you want to into your body as far as I'm concerned. Saying that something should be legal now just because it was 200 years ago is a stretch though. Slavery, debtors prisons, public hangings, limited voting rights etc. were all things that were given a "thumbs up" back in the day--we're not going to bring those back just because they were accepted at one point in our history.......Although limiting voting rights as it applies to liberals should be something taken under consideration........

"easily missed but its a safe bet if vato is posting the current presidents name has been purposely misspelled...in a 'name calling attempt'. otherwise nice job on calling out the name callers;)"

lay off the reefer kid. Those words are starting to look like purple flying cheeseburgers to you now.

Tusker......There is no financial accountability when it comes to this arena with public unions though. Both sides of the negotiating table have strong ties with the union with a pile of taxpayer money between them. Where is the incentive to be fiscally responsible? I think we saw a perfect display of this problem last week in Janesville. The contract pushed though there left taxpayers responsible for 100% of teacher pension contributions, 97% of health insurance premiums and a 2% raise. This is in a city that has lost it's major employer, is facing double digit unemployment and whose school district is experiencing a $15,000,000 budget shortfall. No business on this planet would have entered into a contract like that being so clearly in the red--it would push them into bankruptcy overnight. It's really as if these unions operate in an alternate reality...........

Remember IT runs down hill be ready to catch IT

i know from personal experience that research is a moot point with 916. i was actually told by him that to reference actual historical facts does not support my current argument. so lets just procede with the discussion from this point right now...errr now...errr ughhhh...

poobah.......I did my research--and I came to the conclusion that the poll is a joke. How many people took part in this poll that we should consider as having it's finger on the pulse of this issue? 764 people out of a population of 5,600,000 people. What it comes down to is that 10 polls will give 10 different results and at the end of the day it is of absolutely no consequence if people would have voted differently on the election day, now is it? Walker drew his line in the sand, and his supporters are confident that he will see this thing through.........

916WI, "Following the 2008 U.S. presidential election, an analysis by The Wall Street Journal showed PPP's swing-state polling was the second most accurate projection, missing the average margin of victory by only +/-1.04 percentage points. Blumenthal's analysis ranks PPP as the most accurate polling firm founded after 1990, and the third most accurate firm which has conducted more than 100 polls in Silver's sample."

Do some research, 916WI.

916WI wrote:

"The labor-politician negotiations are never fair when the unions siphon tax dollars into the coffers of Democratic Party candidates."

I ask you, is it any more fair when wealthy individuals and corporations back Republican candidates?? At least, in the case of the unions, the money is coming from real, everyday people. That comes lots closer to democracy than having big money call the shots.

If you're counting as "tax dollars" whatever public employees contribute from their wages as union dues, that's also a falsehood. While all their pay ultimately comes from taxes, the dues are part of their after-tax personal income just as in the private sector. The fact that they work for the government rather than private business is immaterial.

Braunto.......This was a great find in the comments section of the article you linked--enjoy!

"Well done, Walker and Co. America is firmly behind you. Collective bargaining between public employees and the officials they help elect is a screaming conflict of interest. Private sector unions don't elect the CEOs and other management they negotiate with for an equitable distribution of profits. Government unions negotiate with politicians they elect with taxpayer money, putting the public interest at odds with union interests.

The labor-politician negotiations are never fair when the unions syphon tax dollars into the coffers of Democratic Party candiates. Victor Gotbaum, a leader in the New York City chapter of AFSCME, summed up the problem brilliantly: "We have the ability... to elect our own boss."

We are witnessing the long overdue end of the Democratic Party’s philosophy, which is: Americans’ tax dollars exist to make public sector unions happy. When we run out of other people’s money to pay for inflated contracts, salaries and pensions (which are always negotiated outside of public view between union officials and the politicians that union officials helped elect), then we just need to steal more from taxpayers.

Enough already. Abolish ALL public unions."

onedayatatime, your 4:45pm post is fantastic. It's too bad people become so embroiled in the meaningless talking points that they don't address the bigger picture. But, I guess that's the purpose of talking points... Thanks for reminding us of the larger issues with government budgets and tax policies.

poobah, the Gazette does not publish such poll results because such poll results are counter to the the Gazette's historical editorial position and business labor practices. Other than that, it's a great paper.

poobah......Major polls? Are you serious? That "major poll" is run by a group of Democrats and the survey group represented .01% of the Wisconsin's population.

officerfriendly you seem to have a paranoia with the communist. marijuana, in my opinion, is about as close to a miracle drug as you will ever find, especially considering that it is 100% natural. recreational wise there are legal drugs that cause way more damage than marijuana ever has or ever will...but one of the well known side effects is that it will give you some element of paranoia. myself, im way past that stage and the munchie stage, you however i would advise to either not start smoking or lay off the smoke cuz that paranoia seems to be consuming you...just sayin...

For those people saying the protesters do not represent the thinking of the majority, time to read this latest poll. Why is it that the Gazette doesn't pick up on these major polls?

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/B...

Officerfriendly....Want to read a couple of Hitler comments on day care centers?

Teacher's union spent $1.4 Million on a party:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/educ...

But hey, it was all about the kids, right?
Next time the teachers complain about there being no money for education, they should just ask their union for it.

Seriously, you just can't make this stuff up its so good.

Hey Doc, I watched the assembly debate live and sat through Hintz's speech using high minded ideals, dramatic display, and powerful rhetoric about morality and what was right and wrong. Imagine words as lofty as his from a guy who gets caught doing this:

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/loca...

Oh! And how can we forget this one?

http://urbangrounds.com/2011/02/hintz-vs...

Classy guy! Any ladies looking for a date?

I guess I don't quite understand why the debt can't be refinanced until the bill passes?
I wish people would stop and think for a minute...yeah, Unions aren't all squeaky clean and they do protect some lazy workers who would otherwise be sent down the road. But, the unions are the ONLY organized voice for the little guy! We need to focus on making our Unions more responsible and being a productive part of the process of settling disputes, not abolish them altogether. The Unions have big bucks to donate to politicians because they collect Union dues. The unions are supposed to be using that money to help elect responsible politicians who will listen to the voice of the "little" guy. Yes, we need to be more fiscally responsible and "if" by chance we succeed in preventing Mr. Walker from doing away with organized labor...we need to make sure that our unions and the politicians they help to elect are more fiscally responsible. Getting rid of the Unions will remove the only opportunity for checks & balances that we have in our government. It will be dangerous to allow Mr. Walker to have the kind of power he seeks. Mark my words...Walker is extremely dangerous because he obviously revels in himself and is on a major power trip right now!

Democrat Rep. Gordon Hintz told Rep. Michelle Litjens and other Republican representatives "you're F-ing dead"

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/2...

Friendly- A jerk is a jerk but a stubborn arse is worse. JMO

Walker should ask Jim Doyle what to do. He took money from the transportation fund.

After reading this bill I now know how Walker is going to create those 250000 jobs in Wisconsin he's been claiming. It will be from the 250000 state workers who go on strike and lose their jobs for striking. Sect. 221 sub. 111.70 Strikes Prohibited. Then he will hire the equivilent of 250000 scabs.

latest polls show's walkers support among republicans fading and if he ran against barret now he would loose easily..

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/...

If the income tax of the top 13 hedge fund managers had been paid at the federal rate of 35% for those making over 379,000, instead of the tax loop hole available by claiming it as Capital gains which taxed them at 15%, that revenue alone from just 13 people would have paid the salaries of 300,000 teachers. IMO it's pretty obvious where the money needs to come from. Now that the middle and lower income have no more to money to give, conservatives want to remove any safety nets for them because those programs cost too much. I know I keep asking this; Why does the deficit have to be paid by those who can least afford it?

Pastafarian, sounds very similar to the vote held last year for the Oh Holy One's healthcare, I mean spending bill forced on us. Am I to believe its ok to run away from the fight as long as it is in favor of the Democrats? You won't get my point but will come back with an attack! Typical!

My point?

You've already made it for me. That's the point!

Janesvillefirst- Do you really and honestly believe that those jobs are "safe" if Walker gets his way? All of the job losses that he is threatening are his plan- whether he gets his way or not. He wants to privatize this state and all of it's services. That worked so well in Milwaukee County. Hmmm, the arbitrator will give everyone's jobs back with retroactive pay and benefits just like happened there. That's going to help the bottom line how?

frusion
Walker is talking about adding fee's on to service's what he did not say
My point is that people will not spend money on some of those service's , Like going to the State Park's etc.

Lets tax the heck out of business we don't need them in Wisconsin or in the United States. Since we have driven must of them out of the country what will a few more hurt. Heck Canada just lowered their corp. tax rate and are advertizing on stations in the U S trying to get our business to move lets help them. We don't need no stinking public jobs in this state or country.

they posted 2 days ago

http://gazettextra.com/news/2011/feb/26/...

Really good AP article that the Gazette should post:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local...

Scott Walker is to blame for dividing our state, our communities and our families. He alone will be responsible for any lay-offs, added debt and higher taxes.

Sen. Tim Cullen, democrats, police, fire, teachers and all other public workers...God is on your side because you're doing the right thing. Wisconsin is on your side. Stay strong.

Yeah there is---he is blatantly lying about the time frame for the re-finance. Unless you want to just agree that he is stupid and can't figure out what the date really is. ( I'm inclined to believe the latter after listing to this tool)

Let's see: If the Dem. senators accepted Walker's insistence that they return, my bet is that the Senate Republicans would slam-dunk the budget bill as-is before the first Democrat even reached to his seat. No discussion, no meaningful debate, just "Ha! Gotcha".

The Dem. senators would be fools to come back without some genuine assurance this will not happen. That assurance would have to come from the Rep. senators themselves, not Walker. He's been playing dirty pool all the way and IMHO is as trustworthy as a weasle with rabies.

I hope everyone (in the 15th Senate District) realize that only one person will be responsible for the layoffs when/if they occur.

That would be Mr. No Show, one of the "Clock Tower 14", also known as Sen. Cullen. If he went back to work, the debt could be refinanced and we could move on.

There is no logical argument to that fact.

I voted for Walker because I wanted someone to do something about the runaway debt this state is facing. I don't necessarily agree with how he went about it but I agree that he is taking the first of many necessary hard steps to try prevent fiscal ruin for the state.
I also voted for Cullen because I respect and appreciate what he has done throughout his career. But I don't agree with him and the other 14 senators who, by fleeing their responsibilities, are grinding the state government to a halt and costing this state even more money and jobs.
Get back to work and be part of the solution instead of the problem.

NVgf, good one! Even some of the posters that were gungho on this bill are backing off, anyone else notice this? The more of whats in this bill comes out the more people are changing their views. Walker is trying to pull the wool over everyones eyes. He is sneaky and downright dirty if you ask me. Tom Barrett would have been a much better governor. Walker is putting Wisconsin in a bad light. I give Janesville maybe a year, if this bill goes through, to empty out-people will be moving. Sad.

@Spark - to back you up event more, the average net worth of billionaires who dropped out of college, $9.4 billion, that is more than double that of billionaires with Ph.D.s, $3.2 billion.

"It’s about time someone stood up and told the truth in our state and said here’s our problem, here’s the solution and let’s do this." When is Mr. Walker going to start telling the truth? he didn't tell the truth during his campaign or he never would have won the election, he hasn't told the truth yet since taking office. taking from the poor to help the rich as all his bill amounts to. How many teachers do you know that make even a 5th of the "govs" salary. When is he giving up his pension that that he contributes 0 to? Where are the pay cuts for all the politicians making double what a teacher or policeman makes. When was the last time one of these politicians actually had to go to a job that involved physical labor or try to pay their bills on a salary less than 50k?

Packol...Do you think he is joking?

marge123.. he is out of touch. He is so absorbed with trying to scare the people to support this union busting bill that everyday it's another 2000 layed off or lately it's the scare the seniors or sick people with the we have to restructure debt scheme. How dumb does he think people are.

"You just show that no one needs a PHD to have a war of wits.'

Exactly, I mean look at Obama. This country is seriously being led by a Chicago community organizing communist. So much for book smarts. Worst highly "educated" President.

Many have accomplished a lot with little eduction. Many have accomplished little with a lot of education.
Can go both ways. Doyle and Harvard, prime example of the second.

Anyone watch this tool at his press conference today? First we are told the debt must be re-financed by last Friday , today it's by Tuesday and during the press conference he said he hoped the senators would return in the next couple of days so not to lose out on the re-finance. So--is he just stupid and doesn't know what the cut-off date is, or is he blatantly LYING?

Tetons-it was all the people with the "education" that got us into this mess-so what's your point?

"walkie talkie's problem is that he knows a majority of the state workers have more education than him. "

Ken Hendricks-billionaire who was a high school dropout.

Your point?

walkie talkie's problem is that he knows a majority of the state workers have more education than him. He promises layoff's if the bill don't pass. Oh really, he is going to layoff with or without it. He shouldn't unpack his bags, he won't be there long.

I meant exactly what I said, it is not all about one group, we are all paying the price to get us out of this mess. Just because I don't yell and scream does not mean it is not on my mind. I will go to the poll's again and voice my concern when it matters most. People blobbing along will not change my mind in the least. I still say that all the screaming at the Capital is just that.... "noise". Scream louder and not only will I not listen I will walk away. We shall see how much concern people have when voting time comes, might be hard for some because they will still be whining in Madison.

Thurty30, please explain you 2:42 post, because it makes no sense. By the way, I did read the bill, and it's a bill of goods. It's clear that Walker wanted to ram it through before the public could see what was in it besides employee concessions.

Kid - you had me a little confused. Thought you were stating I was name calling. I addressed who I did because of the personal attack prior to. Carry on.

I wonder if those Democratic senators realize how much they're staying away is affecting what's going on at the Capitol. The protesting has gotten way out of hand. If state employees start receiving layoff notices, that should be on the consciences of those cowardly senators who won't return to Wisconsin and vote on this bill. This could have been resolved if these senators stayed and did their jobs. They're staying away is only prolonging the inevitable. The bill is going to pass. They say they're thinking about the the protesters. They're only thinking about themselves.

theres another spark. you didnt miss it but ill save you the miss

'Communists support communists'

easily missed but its a safe bet if vato is posting the current presidents name has been purposely misspelled...in a 'name calling attempt'. otherwise nice job on calling out the name callers;)

'According to Obubba, don't villify the public sector unions, just demoralize and overtax private businesses and their employees. Yeah......a real winner, that Obubba'

gandaif...I can tell you did not read the bill. Just because that segment yells the loudest does not merit the respect of being the only ones in the line of fire.

I can't wait to hear all you Walker supporters start crying when the county is so bankrupt it can't see straight because he pushed all the problems onto the counties. He could raise corporate taxes but that goes against his "open for business plan". Boo Hoo! When he's playing golf in California with the Koch brothers I hope he falls in a sink hole!

officerfriendly1, it's obvious to all that you have no clue what a communist is. You just know it's a bad thing, so you use it to denigrate people who don't follow your lock-step idealogy. It's far easier to name-call than it is to add something intelligent to the discussion.

So the governor has his financial concessions but continues to say that is not enough. This is like a hostage taker who is holding thousands of people hostage, giving a deadline to meet every one of his demands or else there will be "dire" consequenses and it will all be someone elses fault - then hangs up the phone. The right wing has always taken a position that you cannot cave to hostage takers - I wonder what their postion is on this one......

Gandalf - I'll go with you on everything except raising the corporate tax rate. Corporate taxes are pretty much a myth. They just pass on those expenses to their customers. In the end, we just pay more for products as consumers.

thurty30, the fact is that it's everybody's fault. If you're an adult citizen of the state, then you are part of the problem, and you need to be part of the solution, too. For Walker and the Republicans to make public employees the budget bogeyman is downright wrong and guarantees that no viable budget solution will be forthcoming.

helge1939, I may be missing your point:
.
"If Walker is going to add fee's for this or that He will come out on the short end as people will ony spend on what they really need"
.
Why would I want to spend more than what I need to spend?

"Walker has also warned that he will start issuing layoff notices to state workers as soon as this week if the bill isn’t passed, but he hasn’t said who would be targeted."

Obviously the first cuts can be some of the Democratic Senators staff members.

tedmlewis, Great idea! President Reagan started out as a Governor, too. Your post causes me to consider that you also are hoping for a President Walker, to clean up Obama's mess in 2016.

cynicaleye, please don't rush us on the next generation. We're still replacing the current generation of "useful" idiots left in office by the liberal voters of previous election cycles.

mooser, I called Governor Walker's office and posed as Scott Angus, calling to apologize about some of the trashy posts by left-wingers on the Gazetteextra web site. He accepted my apology and jokingly asked if my paper had posted election results about his winning the race for Governor back in November, seeing as how so many illiterates kept asking who we think he is. I had to apologize again for the Gazette not announcing in left-wing style that SCOTT WALKER WAS ELECTED GOVERNOR BY A MAJORITY OF THE VOTERS.

Gand -- what is reduculous is why I need to pay more in taxes for free benefits and higher standards of living than for private employees. Sounds like all government workers need to be brought back to reality. I am tired of unions running businesses or as a minimum -- contributing to the destruction of manufacturing in this country.

kid - Please enlighten me?

But I see so much "it's not the fault of the union at all" Talk about spewing!

good job calling out the name callers spark. of course you missed the one on your side but thats not surprising.

It's amazing how the pro-Walker posters spew nothing but nonsense. The answer to the budget problem needs to be addressed with a combination of items, including public employee benefit concessions, raising the marginal tax rates for higher incomes, raising the nearly non-existent corporate tax rates, raising the sales tax by a half-cent, going after tax delinquents (in aggregate owing hundreds of millions of dollars).

To blame it all on public employees is immoral and missing the mark by a country mile.

And Doyle didn't take money from anyone? Go do some research folks. They are all guilty of siding with those that have their best interests in mind. That argument doesn't even hold a candle. Left...Right..THEY ALL ARE GUILTY. They are politicians.

votoloco...... you did read the headline? Again you are little short and slow upstairs!

gonof5, There can be no debate on this bill in the Senate. It is an up or down vote. Period.

"Does the raised hand salute in the photo remind you of anyone? Hmmmmm"

Oh yeah.........the 14 cowardly elected dumbocrats saying goodbye to all their constituents.

No.. he is showing you how much your power bills will increase under the Koch Brothers regime. (you poor bunch of followers}

helge1939 - Where is he getting all the money to pay all the police in Madison ?
-
All of our tax dollars. That's the price for protests.

Who ever said teachers were the problem? The only reason the teachers are on the spotlight is because of their walk outs.
Seriously, how long are these runnaways allowed to be away from work before they can be removed from office? How long before they must show proof of either medical absense or family death? If they are on medical leave, can Walker temporarily replace them until they come back? At least the Democrats in the Assembly had the courage to fight the bill in person, knowing full well they didn't have a chance of stopping it from passing. For that I applaud them for doing their job.

Nice comment NVgrf you made my day.

Where's the toothbrush moustache?
http://interested-party.blogspot.com/201...

If Walker is going to add fee's for this or that.
He will come out on the short end as people will ony spend on what they really need

Why would anyone trust anything that Walker says?
He already has revealed his plans for the Democrats when he thought no one was listening.

Where is he getting all the money to pay all the police in Madison ?

Well my guess is he thinks he is the duly elected governor of Wisconsin!

So cynicaleye......Your plan would be to raise the corporate tax rates and have them cover the deficit? Good idea......but what happens when the remaining corporations leave Wisconsin--saying goodbye to it's high tax rates and it's employees--for other states which would welcome them with open arms? Who are you going to get to pay for all of those union pensions and union benefits then? Not to mention, I hope there is a surplus in the Unemployment and Badgercare programs because we're going to need it at that point......

Gov. Walker Need's TO Cut His Own Wage's & Benifit's Be For He Ask's Other's To Do So.

I believe an offer to suspend collective bargaining rights untill 2013 was put to Gov. Walker to which he replied "I will not negotiate". I think the unions understand that there is nothing to negotiate at this time, the state is broke but hopefully that won't always be the case. Walker seems to be opposed to ever allowing the bargaining rights again. What is he so afraid of in the future if this mess should some how get fixed?

cynicaleye - Name calling is showing that education didn't do much for some.

"So, get ready for a generation of idiots when Walker and the Republicans destroy public education in Wisconsin."

Destroyed from being destroyed already, how do you do that?

I didn't vote for Senator Cullen and because he hasn't shown up for work for the past two weeks, I won't be voting for him should he run again. If I didn't show up for work I would lose my job. 1500 people could lose their job because he and 13 other Democrats couldn't show up for work. The only ones to blame here are the AWOL Senators.

According to Obubba, don't villify the public sector unions, just demoralize and overtax private businesses and their employees. Yeah......a real winner, that Obubba.

"...they [the Polish government] have made it clear that they never had any intention of restoring one of the most elemental human rights—the right to belong to a free trade union."
Ronald Reagan, former president of a union and the United States

"...they [the Polish government] have made it clear that they never had any intention of restoring one of the most elemental human rights—the right to belong to a free trade union."
Ronald Reagan, former president of a union and the United States

cynical-sounds like you are afraid of reality

Yeah-the raised hand salute looks like he is waving bye-bye to all the public sector unions-and it's about time

Hey, NVgrf, you are right. He does have a Reaganesque quality to him now doesn't he?

Scott Walker is the coward. He's afraid of education, he's afraid of the people of Wisconsin, he's afraid of the truth. He's afraid to admit that he's really screwed things up.

Just looks like he's just waving bye-bye to all the fugitive cowards staying south of the border.

Does the raised hand salute in the photo remind you of anyone? Hmmmmm