Unions under Attack...

[nots]

BTW, In fourth grade I made a paper mache volcano and received an A, but that doesn’t make me a volcanologist. I kid, I kid

Say, were you ever on The Brady Bunch?

[cardboardbox]

Has MSNBSad recovered from this crushing defeat yet?

[nots]

Has MSNBSad recovered from this crushing defeat yet?

The chasm between the coverage on Morning Joe on Wednesday (Scarborough was off) and the coverage on Fox and Fools was wide.
Howard Dean was acting like it was a win for Obama while the Fox people were acting like he should probably just concede the race now.
Those two networks really just keep drifting to their respective extremes.

[senorsheep]

The chasm between the coverage on Morning Joe on Wednesday (Scarborough was off) and the coverage on Fox and Fools was wide.
Howard Dean was acting like it was a win for Obama while the Fox people were acting like he should probably just concede the race now.
Those two networks really just keep drifting to their respective extremes.

Yeah, there's a lot of agenda-driven muck to wade through on this one. It's hard to separate how much of this was the electorate supporting Scott Walker and his governance vs. how much was the electorate spurning the recall strategy.

To whatever degree it was the former, I can see why Democratics come out of this feeling nervous about voters rejecting their "heartless out-of-touch douchebag corporate pawn" narrative and rewarding a guy who had the stones to make severe and politically risky decisions to restore some fiscal sanity to government.

[Moonlight J]

as I discussed with a very pro-Walker buddy of mine here in FL, the out-of-state money that flowed in here was nuts. Walker had 8x money on hand than Barrett and 75% of his funds came in from super PACs.

Exit polling showed Obama up +8 for the general even though Walker was +8 in this recall. At least the Senate is back in blue so Walker is neutered the rest of the way but the damage has been done, especially to the schools I work with.

[Moonlight J]

The chasm between the coverage on Morning Joe on Wednesday (Scarborough was off) and the coverage on Fox and Fools was wide.
Howard Dean was acting like it was a win for Obama while the Fox people were acting like he should probably just concede the race now.
Those two networks really just keep drifting to their respective extremes.

Disconnecting my cable a few months ago was the best move I ever made

[senorsheep]

as I discussed with a very pro-Walker buddy of mine here in FL, the out-of-state money that flowed in here was nuts. Walker had 8x money on hand than Barrett and 75% of his funds came in from super PACs.

Yep, Team Democrat woke the dragon with the recall nonsense. They'll never say it publicly, but behind closed doors, they've got to know they made a huge mistake picking this fight the way they did.

[senorsheep]

"restore fiscal sanity"

LOL

He eliminated a 3.6 billion dollar deficit. Snark about it all you want, call it whatever you like, but that's the fact, Jack.

[GwynnInTheHall]

He eliminated a 3.6 billion dollar deficit. Snark about it all you want, call it whatever you like, but that's the fact, Jack.

I'd like to see exactly what programs he cut, who bore the brunt of paying the debt and if the top 5%-10% in wealth were affected at all.

I mean, you can rid yourself of a tumor in your foot by cutting off your leg, that's a fact. But is it smart? Is it the best move?

3.6 Billion had to come from somewhere--I'd wager the burden was carried by the underclasses. But that's just a guess.

[senorsheep]

Ain't no fact at all, Jack. Just another false claim by a pathological liar. Plenty of sources out there confirm this, but here's one I found on my phone....

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickunga...udget-deficit/

Yep, there is, of course, the usual political jockeying over the exact details, but if you believe Politifact, there was a unquestionably a three-and-a-half-ish billion dollar deficit when he got there, and the vast majority of it has been eliminated under his governorship. The voters of Wisconsin acknowledged that, whether you choose to or not.

[Moonlight J]

He is now requiring teachers and educational professionals to pay a higher percentage into their health and retirement funds (but not requiring district to do it) so every educator is now taking a paycut after not receiving raises for several years. In some areas, it equates to a 2K paycut. Same thing Gov Scott did here in FL. In the county north of me, they had gone FIVE years without raises, and then a similar law past and everyone took at least a $500 paycut here in year 6.

[senorsheep]

He is now requiring teachers and educational professionals to pay a higher percentage into their health and retirement funds (but not requiring district to do it) so every educator is now taking a paycut after not receiving raises for several years. In some areas, it equates to a 2K paycut. Same thing Gov Scott did here in FL. In the county north of me, they had gone FIVE years without raises, and then a similar law past and everyone took at least a $500 paycut here in year 6.

Same thing here in Colorado. I haven't had a raise in the three and half years I've been working here, despite performance evaluations that qualify me, and I've had my healthcare and retirement contributions increased three times. I guess I could curse my (Democratic) governor, but that's just how things are when the economy is in the toilet. It sucks. Things are tough everywhere - Scott Walker didn't invent this stuff. It isn't exactly the days of wine and roses for the rank and file in the private sector, either.

[nots]

He is now requiring teachers and educational professionals to pay a higher percentage into their health and retirement funds (but not requiring district to do it) so every educator is now taking a paycut after not receiving raises for several years. In some areas, it equates to a 2K paycut. Same thing Gov Scott did here in FL. In the county north of me, they had gone FIVE years without raises, and then a similar law past and everyone took at least a $500 paycut here in year 6.

Fair enough, but what's your solution? Should we raise property taxes (again) so these folks can get a raise and pay what they used to pay into their health and retirement? Should we have a special tax on just those folks making over $X/yr? Special local tax on sale of goods and services?
I'm open to hearing suggestions.

[senorsheep]

Hey, when you deviate from Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures anything is possible.

http://m.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/does-wisconsin-have-a-budget-deficit-4o3s9ro-137863973.html

Guy is a total clown.

Had he not deviated from GAAP, even deeper cuts would have been required to balance the budget. Politifact's explanation makes sense to me:

Linky - http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/...isconsins-36-/

I think their representation is fair - he's neither the savior Republicans pretend he is, nor the destroyer Democrats pretend he is. As controversial and risky and severe as some of his solutions were, he at least acknowledged and actually did something about the budget deficits he faced, in contrast to the "See No Evil" budget paralysis we see elsewhere at state and federal levels.

[senorsheep]

I'd like to see exactly what programs he cut, who bore the brunt of paying the debt and if the top 5%-10% in wealth were affected at all.

I mean, you can rid yourself of a tumor in your foot by cutting off your leg, that's a fact. But is it smart? Is it the best move?

3.6 Billion had to come from somewhere--I'd wager the burden was carried by the underclasses. But that's just a guess.

Heh. I always chuckle when newspaper headlines scream "Poor Hardest Hit By Budget Cuts!" Well, of course they are - the primary users of government services are obviously going to be most affected when when those services are reduced. That's why the goal of any government program should be reducing dependency, not expanding it. I'm astounded when people trumpet the expansion of programs like Food Stamps as a good thing. Continuous expansion of such programs is a mark of failure, not success.