Just to refresh your memory, do you remember all the lame stream media reports about Tea Party signage, how raciest, hateful, we the members of the Tea Party are?
How about the unhappy school teachers in Madison Wisconsin, these upstanding folks would never do anything like those raciest evil tea-baggers……
Help me out here folks, is this who should be in charge of our children 30-40 hours per week, they lie and used sick days, they accept phony doctors excuses, they have no character, boy, I now understand why daughter #1 has home schooled her children, at great sacrifice and expense to herself.
Governor Scott Walker, now my newest hero, is unapologetic. These are difficult times. Wisconsin is facing a budget crisis. And there have to be cuts. Walker believes the changes he’s proposing are relatively modest. “I’m asking them to contribute 5.8 percent of their salary to their pension – right about the national average for contributions. And I’m asking them to pay 12 percent of their health care premiums – up from 6 percent. The national average is around 25 percent."
Can we get honest here, this crap is not about rights of workers, it is not about money, it is about unions and the strangle hold they have on public sector workers and taxpayer dollars. They have POWER, and are not willing to give back any of that power, to hell with the workers, to hell with the kids…….
Get ready: SEIU’s Purple Army nationwide protest schedule; teachers’ unions pressure members to show “solidarity” MICHELLE MALKIN has SEIU Purple Bus schedule which includes Madison, Wi on 2/22/2010. Union thugs are flowing into Madison at the request of the Obama Administration and the DNC.
What is going on, this governor ran a campaign saying what he would do if he was elected, surprise, the people of Wisconsin elected him and he is taking steps to fulfill his promises, how unlikely is that.
What the hell is going on, look at Greece where students destroyed a country because they no longer had the money to provide expected services, it has happened across Europe, and now is in the USA, look out, this is phase one, several other states including NY, CALIF, FL, TENN, TEXAS, and OHIO will erupt in the next few weeks as cuts in their budgets move forward.
Elections have results…….
President Obama said, “no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly.”
Governor Walker, that sounds like a good line for you, ‘I WON’………….
33 comments:
Connecticut is looking at some major changes with taxes and such, too, as we're about as far in the hole as a state can get. The new governor isn't going to be any more popular than Governor Walker if the changes he propose go through but he's a Democrat so I guess he'll be forgiven.
oh matt man is gonna' bust you a good one honey. are you scared? ha ha ha
it's time to cut costs, no one has any money, not the states, not the federal government, none of them. we just keep getting more from china. that's going to slap us in the face one day. soon i think.
scary stuff...
smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxo
It's simple. You can't spend more than you have. Miss Bee is spot on. It's going to slap us in the face... very soon.
Very scary stuff.
Hope you're feeling better, Sarge. Big hugs :]
They want everyone to pay the freight except them. Same old story wherever you go. The dems want everything equal then why aren't these folks paying the same freight as the average American? Greed. Plain and simple. They need to put on their big girl panties and be thankful they have a job.
Empress Bee is right about that slap too. I think it's coming pretty soon too.
Have a terrific day. :)
I am thankful I have a job ... and I love my job and the children I teach ...
I support my union because they speak for me.
By the way ... I read this in the NY Times yesterday:
"Police and fire unions, which have some of the most expensive benefits but who supported Mr. Walker's campaign for governor, are exempted."
Ouch.
Well Sarge, you know I'm not political ... but this is important to me ... and we teachers are getting an UNDESERVED bad rap!
The end.
But I always will love you and Bee to bits!
R
Public service unions are a cash cow for Democrats. They support them for the same reason the fictional Tony Soprano muscled his way into them--$$$$. Wisconsin's police & fire unions are exempted from Gov. Walker's proposed changes because their members risk life & limb every day. Thus they deserve a little extra.
Having worked with teachers, I have a very negative impression about a lot of them. They think they're entitled because they're "teachers." More than a lot of them couldn't pass a SAT test if their lives depended on it!
I heard this morning that the unions in question are okay paying the increase in contributions. Why does Collective Bargaining have to be done away with? Is it really about budget woes or eliminating unions?
And I have a question...How many of your regular commenters recieive a public pension? I believe there are a couple who fail to mention that, and yet?
They scream, these unon folks in Wisconsin are fiscal ball busters.
SSDD:( Everybody needs to pay the freight. No exemptions, no exceptions.
Big hugs, honey...
Matt Man -
I suppose you can say I receive a public pension - I receive $123 per month from the VA for a service connected disability. Big Woop.
That being said, I find the actions of the public unions in Wisconsin to be disgusting. Their state is facing horrible deficits, yet they continue to want no change to their contributions to their health plans (something that has happened completely in the private sector).
Public employees enjoy some of the sweetest pension plans and sweetest health plans that exist. It is time for reality to come to the public sector.
JJ
I understand that and I am not saying that Musings. I am not talking about the paltry VA benefit you get.
I am talking about people who comment here who get a nice pension from government work like Sandee and others.
This entire scenario is bullshit. Yes, anyone and everyone needs to pitch in, but to eliminate unions is a joke...and well...un-American.
Sorry Matt Man, you will find no love here. Public Service union should not exists, they negotiate their contracts with people they have bought and paid for, ie Obama.
I heard today that the head president of one of the PS Unions earns $480,000 per year, and you complain about a teacher earning 60-70 K who pays dues for this blood sucker.
sorry matt you lose again....
I think the world just ended, or reversed polarities, because I agree with Matt. :-0
That scenario has zero to do with cuts. If it did they could come to an agreement as the folks I saw on TV said they were willing to go along with the cuts. The whole thing is about busting the unions. It's all about making them a "right to work" state. The least the governor could do is admit that.
I understand that cuts are needed. We took cuts before I retired and they are taking even more cuts now. Better to do that than get laid off.
The state, any state, as an employer...can they be trusted? Nope. Many times our union had to take the state to court to get them to follow the contract they had agreed to. If they were trust-worthy that would not have had to happen. I always figured that if you had a contract both parties had to live up to their obligations. I guess not.
The teachers in WI who walked off the job have got no love coming from me. They have a contract and should abide by it. They are not upholding their end of the bargain if they are not at work.
As for the huge salaries...our union didn't have that, so I can't say much about it other than $480,000 seems to be quite excessive. Our union leaders were rank and file and received whatever the salary attached to their rank. Nothing extra.
And just for Matt, since today may be the only day I ever agree with him before the end of the world, I do receive a pension from a public safety union. 31 years in the system. I went to work and did my job. I worked when I didn't want to. When the bell went off at the station I responded, no matter what. I worked when I was sick. I worked with strains, sprains and even broken bones. I never saw one person now bitching on top of the mountain with me, sleeping in the dirt and sucking smoke for days on end. When I entered the burning building, not one of the bitchers was in there with me pulling hose or searching for victims. I don't recall one bitcher ever helping me wash the blood out of my clothes after a call.
So, all that being said, I do understand that cuts need to be made. However, I am not about to feel bad when I cash my check.
we cannot wait for the going away party for Oblamer in 2012. Gosh this guy is an epic failure.
bonks Mr. Sargie. You are the best and always right!
I agree with Gene. I'm not going to feel guilty about cashing my check each month either. Never have and never will.
Have a super day Sarge. I'll see you on Sunday. :)
Oh and thanks to my retirement check I can travel across this county and go on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. Life is grand. :)
Here's the problem.
These are tough times. For everyone.
For those of us who care deeply about education, health care for the poor and elderly, mental health coverage for all who need it, the arts and humanities, the continued support of the big unions and paying into large pension funds is coming at the cost of having to hack away at all of the above.
Pensions are costing us big time --they are bankrupting cities that are having to dip into reserves that are for the most part used up.
And what gets cut in order to pay into the pension funds for some employees who are making over 100k a year?
Libraries, parks, roads, art programs, programs for seniors, community mental health programs, school art and music programs, field trips, free transportation programs for school kids and the elderly, programs that help people with addiction problems, transitional programs for those who are getting out of prison, and job training and educational programs for those in prison. Sorry I had to throw those last few things in, but it's true.
In other words, all those things that create a stronger community that works for everyone --not just some public employee who has a union to back them.
It's difficult for those of us who ran small businesses to really throw our money behind these pension funds --especially when they employee is making 100k a year. That's more than we made, most of the time. Plus, we never had vacation. If we didn't work, we didn't get paid. And the only way we have money in the bank is that we saved. It wasn't easy. Life isn't easy.
And don't tell me that all the teachers, cops and firefighters will quit if we stop paying so much. I don't think they will because hopefully, what they're practicing isn't just a job, it's a calling.
Gene, didn't mean to make you feel bad, and thank you for your hard work.
I just think the pension and benefits package pay-ins are a real challenge. There isn't anymore money in the public trough without borrowing, and many cities can't even do that. With more boomers retiring and expecting large pensions, it's just not realistic that things can stay the same. More to the point, it's not fair to the younger generations.
Hey!! You deleted some of my comments. That's Un-American!!
I just don't understand why Matt-Manless is so jealous of my retirement. He mentions it way too often. I'm sure he wouldn't say a thing if he was getting that retirement check instead of me.
Thanks for deleting his comments as I'm sure they were insulting to me. He rarely has anything nice to say about anything. I really do feel sorry for him.
Have a terrific day Sarge. I'll see you and Miss Bee on Sunday. Hugs. :)
It's your hypocrisy Sandee that is in question, not your retirement benefit. And seriously, your self-absorbed ass doen't feel sorry for anyone, so please, don't say you feel sorry for me or anyone else.
Darlin and I spent almost 60 years in Law Enforcement. Her retiring in Management and I in Executive Management.
We spent out time working shifts and front line grunt work. We paid into our system for retirement and followed the rules laid out by the Board of Supervisors. We retired and all of our retirement is funded in the system.
The problem that needs to be addressed is the unfunded liability behind those yet to retire and most particularly those yet to be hired. Unfortunately, those who get the brunt of the understandable anger are retirees who are not the problem.
Our local newspaper spent considerable time telling everyone how to find the home address of anyone using the internet, then published my retirement salary along with about 15 others. Front page articles of our local retired Superintendent of Public Schools has been printed along with his salary and everything except his house number.
Our Board of Supervisors have taken steps to lessen the burden by unilaterially changing the system for new hires after the unions refused to negotiate the issue. Similar action should be taken elsewhere.
z
Tom Sullivan has indicated that there is a war on between the public and the public employee revolving around the issue of Unions, which Sarge Charlie has perfectly highlighted in his post.
But a larger issue relative to entitlements comes with Social Security. I believe that it was Paul Volker who has a solution simply by raising the retirement age in small steps.
The question is whether the Congress will have the will of strength to address this issue.
Will of strength seems to be the wanting commodity in ruling bodies across the Country.
z
It makes perfect sense from a micro economic perspective for me to draw a Social Security check each month.
It makes no sense from a macro economic perspective for me to draw a Social Security check each month.
Congress should establish a means test for Social Security. Will they?
The have no will of strength to do so.
z
You're wrong Matt-Manless as you always are. I do feel sorry for you.
You are filled with hate.
You are filled with jealousy.
You are filled with loathing for those that planned for their future with hard work, education and determination.
You think you know everything and you know so little.
You are filled with self loathing and that is where I feel the most sorry for you. It shines through in almost everything you say. I say this because of all your personal attacks.
I'm sorry you're an unhappy person. Life is way too short to be so miserable.
Are you kidding...I am pretty damn happy...I have a great kid, a sweet, hot girlfriend, and food in the house. I dig where I am at in life.
And the best thing is...
I owe nobody and nobody owes me.
Cheers Hypocrite Public Employee!!
Correction... Proud Retired Public Employee. :)
That's cool Sandee, and I agree..I always knew that someone would finally step up and say that Public Employees do a good job and get what they deserve. Cheers!!
Kanani, I don't feel bad, or mad. Personally, I think there's a lot more money at the public trough: unfortunately it's being sucked up by (in this state anyway) by great health benefits for prisoners, free and never ending health benefits for illegals, never ending entitlement programs for unproductive individuals, and on and on and on. If those "programs" were slashed this whole conversation wouldn't even be happening. For the life of me I can't understand why there isn't as much focus on those things as there is on public employees.
The union I was in (for state firefighters) has agreed to pay cuts, increased contributions to health and retirement, reduced pension benefits, etc. In this day and age I can see the necessity. I'm just glad I got out when I did, and I'm glad my pension is backed by an organization the could buy the state outright if it wanted to.
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