This is a few days old, but I thought Gov. Scott Walker planned on being fiscally “responsible” with taxpayers’ money:
Even as he tried to balance the budget on the backs of working families, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has been spending tens of thousands of dollars to fly around the state on a taxpayer-funded plane. A Freedom of Information Act inquiry by the National Education Association (NEA) revealed today that since January, Walker spent $41,935 on the use of state planes for trips around the state.
If Gov. Walker were really serious about being a responsible steward of tax dollars, he’d start acting like it, instead of jet-setting around Wisconsin to bolster his seriously sagging approval ratings among Wisconsin voters.
I’m sorry, but I can’t get too worked up about this. It is his job to travel around the state and not sit in his comfy chair in Madison all the time. What would be interesting would be to compare this number with the money that Doyle spent travelling around. If it’s excessive, then it’ll be news.
“It is his job to travel around the state and not sit in his comfy chair in Madison all the time.”
And do what? He isn’t out there listening to the lil’ folk. He’s orating and attending fundraising dinners.
I agree that it is his job to travel around the state, BUT is he traveling around the state doing the people’s business and meeting with the people? OR is he travelling from republican fundraiser to republican fundraiser? this is the “lincoln day dinner” season.
I understand you may not like what he’s doing (I know I don’t), but a more effective tactic is to compare his behavior to that of Doyle’s. It makes for a much stronger argument. That’s my point. Don’t just assume what he’s doing is any different to what ANY governor does, you need to prove it with facts.
I can’t believe you guys are making me defend Scooter. Jeez… Bleah, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
“but a more effective tactic is to compare his behavior to that of Doyle’s”
Alright. One of them claimed the state is on the brink of bankruptcy… the same one who claimed Milwaukee County was on the brink of bankruptcy when he went tootin’ around the state on the taxpayer dime.
Oy, I give up. SAME SIDE FOLKS, SAME SIDE!
Yes, I get that. But there’s a qualitative difference in the Doyle and Walker cases.
It’s like the squabbling over “family values.” We all know both Democrats and Republicans cheat on their wives. But it’s only the latter who claim fidelity as part of their platform and to be the tribunes of moral virtue.
Is there? How do I know there is a “qualitative” difference between Doyle’s travel patterns and Walker’s? I haven’t done the research yet… 🙂
There may not be any difference in travel patterns…but that’s not the issue at hand…former Gov. Doyle didn’t go around screaming broke while cutting support services for Wisconsin citizens in need…
Once again a non issue tactic being used by terrorist groups like NEA, WEAC, AFCSME to take the focus off of them and their shakedown of taxpayers and business owners.
Here are the facts something that union thugs will not ever use….
In his second term, former Gov. Jim Doyle traveled 7,422 miles between January and March 2007 for a cost of about $40,500. During the same span of his first term he traveled 4,614 miles, costing the state $19,840.
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson averaged just more than 9,600 miles over the first two months of his three most recent terms with an average cost of $35,300. The Department of Administration did not have data for the first two years of Thompson’s first term, which began in 1987.
In his last term, Thompson traveled 10,799 miles in the first two months, running a tab of $45,463.
“The bottom line is we are trying to balance our budget and there really is no room to negotiate on that because we’re broke.”
“We’re broke. We don’t have any more money.”
“We have a $3.6 billion budget deficit. You can’t really negotiate if you don’t have any money to negotiate with.”
“The facts are clear: Wisconsin is broke and it’s time to start paying our bills today – so our kids are not stuck with even bigger bills tomorrow.”
This issues is a non-issue. However, that doesn’t detract from the FACT that the judge just smacked the DOA and DOJ around. Awaiting her to say “Bailiff, take them into custody.”
According to Scott Walker, this is the only issue. He claims that the state is in an unprecedented fiscal emergency that requires changes to the very fabric of how the state operates.
Doesn’t the fact that he operates just like his predecessor expose that claim as transparent bullshit?
And its time unions start paying their fair share and stop milking the middle class in this state. Thanks for making the point so clear Sven unions MUST PAY THEIR SHARE.
unions MUST PAY THEIR SHARE
Of Walker’s gas tab!
Just pay your share unions. Its time you all grow up and start acting like adults instead of little children throwing tantrums.
If you actually brought up reasonable facts and issues instead of stereotypical right wing talking points, the forced memes, and stereotypical insults? I think you might be taken a bit more seriously.
Why is it you show sympathy for Sean Duffy who has made a pretty decent salary as his jobs prior, yet can’t handle issues with debt and has been consistently making a fair amount. Yet with the unions of nurses and teachers, they don’t deserve any when they often have to take a second job so that they stay a float, often have to pay for their own school supplies, pay for the pensions, and so on for students? Why should they lose their rights? Not trying to be facetious for once, but actually asking.
My issues are not with the union rights so much as the other shifty things within the bill. It’s a power grab to turn Wisconsin red at the risk of destroying it’s current economy for lobbyist groups. (This was also a reason why I wasn’t a fan of Doyle at times either, by the way. Or McCallum. Or Thompson for that matter. In retrospect I hate lobbyists period and we need more transparency.)
To me, this serves a bigger issue of how much even the rich are being ripped off by the very top of society. Strange as it is, I would support a flat tax, except for the very top, the families, the 0.01% who would be hit with a wealth tax, estate tax, perhaps others, and only them. A reason I don’t follow the conservative movement anymore after 2008 is because they embraced wingnuts who can’t even get their facts straight. I would like to think of myself conservative in a European sense. Aka ‘stay out of my business’ instead of the overreaching of government, loss of local control, and social rights that conservatives in the US are currently doing.
Really, it just leads up to a point of this: What’s the point of even having counties for that matter if we have more control to go to whoever is in Government in Madison under this? Why should we even have districts?
Then again, I would support a Popular referendum too, to keep the will of the people if someone forces something through that the citizens don’t truly want and they didn’t get a say in with a vote prior to it. (Other than elections of course, but we already have recalling.)
That being said about Walker traveling around the entire state: I don’t particularly care because that’s the job of the Governor. As long as he doesn’t have lavish dinners or anything making a spectacle of himself? I’m all right with it. My issues are with his incompetence and politics, not little things like this since you could easily frame that with Doyle, McCallum, or Thompson. But I do think he’s needlessly paranoid.
Because deflecting is all that Notalib does. He’s a one trick pony.
As for Sean Duffy I do not care one way or the other what his problems are unless they some way interfere with his ability to do his job.
I have said it before and I will say it again, this is not an issue about salary, I feel they should be paid a fair wage, whatever that is. I do not believe there is one person overpaid anywhere. As for having top pay for school suplies out of pocket I do not agree with that either, schools need to be properly funded a teacher should be able to have the supplies they need when they need them.
For me this whole issue is about union members paying thier fair share. Personally the 5% and 12% that is being asked of them is not enough, thet need to pay what many of us pay 15% 20% 30% or more of our health care and retirement. That is what this is all about and only what it is all about for me. PAY YOUR SHARE
So are you suggesting you do not care that he has a history of mismanaging money? Because honestly, considering he rode on a wave of fiscal responsibility and so on? That’s not exactly all the thing most people want to hear especially since you make more money than many of the people who voted for you.
I can understand the whole perspective that they should pay more as you say like the rest of us – but this goes into another question. Should the change be so rapid, from 5% to 12% suddenly have to pay 20% without time to adjust? Without a gradual slope of them realizing what they need to cut at home? Considering the growing dismissal of education and cutting of schools over the years the teachers have been trying to pay out of their own pockets to help students along. it’s a bit tough for them. Many of my former teachers are now being forced to either retire or get third jobs because of this bill or retire.
The strategy over the years was to continue to cut from education and demonize the public schools. I’m not saying private or charter schools are bad – but there are a lot of problems with them as well. ( Aka, you do something they don’t like and they can get rid of you without question. ) Furthermore, I won’t even get into the whole nurses bit who will suffer greatly from it as well – they are often the people who save you from bad doctors and get rid of bad nurses as well.
While I can understand the pensions and payments are one thing — the losing of bargaining rights is another story because that takes away their local control. That means teachers cannot no longer choose the flexibility of their schedule, the number of class sizes, and so on. The nurses have other various bargaining rights to be used for similar things.
So it’s one thing to tell them to pay higher pensions and freeze their paycheck. It’s another thing to take away their bargaining rights completely (except bargaining rights in terms of wages and salary and — oh wait that’s frozen isn’t it?) and putting control in the hands of a Governor in Madison.
Gradual is fine just as long as it eventually is fair. As for the nurses my wife has been a nurse for over 30 years, her mom as a nursing supervisore for a long time at a local hospital, her sister is a PA, the medical filed I know very well, not sure where the suffering comes in for the nurses you know.
The problem is it’s not gradual, it’s going to be a sudden boom from what they’re doing now to that increase, and in addition a loss of bargaining rights. Also, if Walker also makes this a right to work state, this will also mean that anyone can fire you for any reason without saying why they did it.
If you’re wondering a common problem for nurses is that from the younger nurses have issues of them paying off their educations.
What kind of issues, that they cannot find work? That they took out to many loans? Lifestyle is a little under managed, what kind of problems.
Actually T think about the number of jobs that will open when Wis becomes a right to work state! The number of underachieving teachers that can be let go. The number of of AFCSME members who know right now they do not have to preform for a paycheck. While the majority of state workers are very good at their jobs and deserve the recognition for that effort the ones who know they are protected by their unions and just do enough to get by are the ones that need to go. They are going to learn what people in the real world already know your actions have consequences and accountability is a large part of the work world.
There wouldn’t be a number of jobs that open up because most right to work states in the deep south also have the highest unemployment rate because they make it so unbearable to work that they want you to quit.
Besides, there are also illegal hiring practices in right to work states as well. You will be seeing more of those illegal bums taking your jobs away if that’s the case and you will have a new scape goat to consider.
Notalib,
You’re a dumbass. I don’t say this lightly, and I mean it in a respectful way. It’s a condition. Like a cold or something.
You’re a dumbass, though it’s really not you’re fault, and I think I can cure you.
Have a beer with me and I’ll lay out a treatment plan.
Please consider it. You don’t have to go on like this.
I can’t be too dumb Steve I am not a progressive liberal union lapdog!
“Progressive liberal union lapdog”
I guess I’d qualify, since I’m assuming you think that anyone who supports unions is a “lapdog.”
However, I’ll just say that you’re in no position to attack anyone else for their intelligence – or lack thereof. When you can contribute something more than insults and GOP talking points, then you’ll be more qualified to make those types of assessments.
Personally I think it’s interesting to notice his decline in his sanity from when the Democrats were in power and now with the Republicans in power. Prior to it, he seemed rather calm and composed, civil bringing up actual issues. Now that the Republicans gained power however, he’s now become a lot more immature and foaming at the mouth dodging everything wrong with his party that is wrong.
It’s actually really interesting in some ways. It never hit me before until now.
Second verse, same as the first.
Time for some new talking points…
I had to laugh a little after reading Notalib’s scripted talking points. He should be ignored because I suspect he’s getting paid for his nonsense.
Sadly, I think he’s a real person.
You mean I can get paid for standing up to liberals with the truth…no shit? Where do I sign up…oh wait never mind if I do some AFCMSE member is going to want a portion of it to pay for his healthcare since he has some kind of “right” to my paycheck according to him.