Justin Moralez on anti-public employee Act 10: “there is a residual effect on families”

50 thoughts on “Justin Moralez on anti-public employee Act 10: “there is a residual effect on families””

1. It’s been far more than a “residual effect” on my family. It’s been quite devastating. Not to mention the disposable income lost in our community.

   1. Exactly. I’d argue that the lost disposable income has been most destructive, especially in some smaller communities where public jobs were often some of the best jobs in the community.

2. Does he mean those stabilized budgets that are currently resulting in rural schools on the brink of closure? Those stabilized budgets?

3. Money is more important than people. Classic.

4. If the best job you can find is a public sector job, then Act 10 has done its job. There is no reason why working for any government agency should make you a wealthy person, and if you’re feeling a little financial pain from the correction of giving public employees collective bargaining rights, then all I can say is, welcome to the real world, where the rest of us have been feeling that pain for, well, years! If you think you have it that bad, quit! I don’t STILL get a pension, I pay 30-35% of my families health insurance, and my job isn’t guaranteed as long as I show up like yours, I am held accountable for my actions AND tesults, when are public employees ever held accountable for either? So if it’s so bad, QUIT! I’m guessing its not as bad as you would like people to believe.

   1. Matt, which government agencies have made public sector employees rich?

      Edit: Also, are there any public sector jobs/employees that you don’t hate?

   2. The second half of Matt’s statement is the giveaway- he got screwed over in his job, so others should too. Hey Matt, why don’t you ask more out if your employer instead of being envious of those that did?

      And I’d like to hear about who got rich off the taxpayer dime that doesn’t work directly for Scott Walker. Cause it sure isn’t anybody I know, and that was before Act 10 took thousands of dollars a year out of their pockets. C’mon Matt, tell us who’s living high off the taxpayer hog.

      1. I’m betting we won’t hear back from Matt, because he’ll be hard-pressed to provide concrete examples of any public employees who got rich.

         1. Good thing you’re a public employee and don’t have any disposable income to bet, or you’d be even more broke Zach

            1. See, here’s the difference between you and I.

               You seem to delight in the fact that I have less money to support my family simply because I happen to be a public employee, while I would NEVER take delight in seeing someone face that.

               1. No one is delighting in your lose of income, but then again, I didn’t see the labor unions fighting to save tax payer dollars when times were much tougher in 2008, no, the unions were demanding higher and higher pay and benefits knowing full well the state was facing massive budget shortfalls. Did you enjoy those years of furloughs and lay offs under Doyle? How many furlough days have you had to endure under Walker? If you’ve been contributing to your pension and health care for years, then what’s the problem, other than no longer having to pay your union dues, seems Walker didn’t change anything for you and your family. And if you are still paying union dues, then that’s your choice, or at least the choice of the majority of your co-workers, and guess what, if you ate unhappy with the union, Walker gave you the opportunity to reaffirm that choice every year, so again, where’s the problem? I may sound like a heartless ass, and at times, I admit I am, but I haven’t gotten to where I am in life today by being Mr Nice Guy, I got where am I with lots of hard work, years of working full time and going to school full time, sacrificing time with my kids, wife, etc, but it was all worth it, and the way I look at it, if you’re unhappy with your station in life, being that you are still a citizen of the greatest, most free country on earth, then you have a choice to change your station in life, there is no “class lock” in America, contrary to what some might think, sperm roulette anyone? Ridiculous! To say that I hate public employees simply missed my point, it’s called public service, I joined the military knowing full well it was a public service position, and that it wasn’t about the money or the benefits, it was about being a public servant. So to hear some, perhaps most public employees constantly complain about Walker and how “evil” he is, just makes it sound like sour grapes, and frankly, like it or not, puts you all in the same box in the eyes of most voters; particularly those who don’t work for govt.

                  1. If you didn’t see labor unions fighting to save taxpayer dollars, then it was because you weren’t paying attention. Most public employees working for the State of Wisconsin took furloughs at the request of the DEMOCRATIC governor in order to help close a budget gap, and we also agreed to pay more into our health care costs than we had previously been paying.

                     As for the rest of your screed, I’m not going to bother addressing it, because it’s clear you’d rather believe the talking points spoonfed to you by conservatives rather than investigating the issue for yourself and then coming to a decision. Instead of having a discussion, you’ve resorted to name calling and negative stereotypes to denigrate public employees, and you’ve made it clear you don’t value what public employees contribute to this state (well, except maybe for the contributions made by your mom, your grandfather, and your uncle).

5. First of all Zach, I am not a liberal, therefore, when there is a debate to be had, I don’t run or hide from it, nor do I simply ask others questions. Funny how Zach says I will “be hard-pressed to provide concrete examples of any public employees who got rich”, yet provides no concrete evidence about…anything. Not one fact, not one source, not one quote, nothing; just a couple of questions for me, followed up by a statement made to smear me somehow. As if Zach is so smart, that he not only knows I won’t reply, but he knows I will bring no facts to the table. Well, nice try. Second, is there a public sector job/employee I don’t hate? Sure, I don’t hate my mother who worked for the state for 40 years, I don’t hate my uncle who worked for the city of Milwaukee for 35 years, I don’t hate my grandfather who worked for the county for 45 years; and typically, I don’t really hate anyone, what I do hate is constant complaining from people who still have it fairly good, hence the reason that very few of them quit and found new work, outside of government. Let me ask you, is there anything Walker has done that you agree with, or is everything just terrible for Wisconsin and it’s citizens to you? I just can’t imagine spending my life complaining about everything, but to each his own I suppose.

   I could just act like Zach and answer his questions with a bunch more questions since that seems to be how he debates, but I will reply with a stat to wet your whistle; who got rich working for government? Check out the stats from 2012, sure see a lot of HIGHLY paid bureaucrats in that list! http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/wisconsin-state-employee-salaries-2012-219960491.html#!/grosspay_desc_1/ Don’t give me anything about “well-educated”, or “highly skilled”, you asked who was getting rich off government work, and I showed you at least a few hundred people, in fact, you need to flip all the way to page 25 before you find the first person making less than $100,000/year. I’m sure every one of them is a Walker appointee too right?

   Next, Jake, and here’s the thing, I am a 40-something year old man, have I been screwed over by employer(s)? Of course, but do you care to know what I did if they screwed me over, I QUIT and I found an employer who didn’t screw me over. If you truly believe that by mandating you (I assume you are a public employee) to pay something into your pension and health care is wrong, then here’s an idea; get the democrats elected to the governorship, majorities in the legislature, and change the law; the democrats had majorities in the past, and the voters removed them from power in 2010, you might not like the results, but you can’t have it both ways, sorry. I personally would argue, and like to see implemented a 401k style retirement plan, no more pensions, but that’s for another discussion. But I do like the way you show your true colors Jake and get a shot in a Governor Walker, as if in your mind, Scott Walker is and was the only governor Wisconsin has ever had, and every problem this state had or has is the direct result of Governor Walker and his administration. You clearly suffer from some Walker derangement syndrome. As I mentioned, I have a mother who worked for the state for 40 years as a bureaucrat, she retired just before 2010, in 40 years, the only times I heard her complain about pay issues, etc. was under Jim Doyle. Remember all the furlough days you state employees were forced to take under Jim Doyle? She got her last raise working for the state under Tommy Thompson, a republican I might add, and none under Doyle. Interesting how there have been no furloughs or layoffs under Walker isn’t it? And, by default, not having to pay your union dues is a raise; you get to pocket those dues now.

   There’s nothing wrong with allowing public employees to determine if they want to belong to a union, and with public sector unions in Wisconsin losing over 60% of its membership since 2011, nobody forced that many employees to leave the unions, therefore, mandatory, or forced union membership, which was the norm for decades, is clearly wrong in the majority of people’s minds. In America, nobody should be forced to belong to any organization they don’t want to join, simply to secure and maintain employment. Don’t you think that the dwindling number of union members is more a reflection of the unions themselves than it is on Walker or his policies? That might take being a little more intellectually honest with yourself though.

   1. Matt, your link didn’t work although my recollection is this was a list/database of all public salaries, including directors and administrators not necessarily impacted by Act 10. Even with those positions included. I don’t really recall thinking this reflected real wealth accumulation – stock options, bonuses, private sector-level salaries – so it really is a stretch to state that Wisconsin public employees are getting rich off public jobs. However, private sector jobs can sometimes offer that opportunity. As for your statement that pensions should be ended and 401k’s implemented, I think you must be a bit behind the times. 403b’s are used in the WRS, of course. 401k’s are going to get very few people to a comfortable retirement in the private sector. The fees are pretty high and employer options often limited – a great deal has been written about this problem in the business press and you seem to have missed out. Personally, I think the only way a private sector employee will be able to fund a decent retirement is continuous promotion, business ownership or revenue-sharing jobs (sales, law) plus aggressive savings (living significantly below your means, no kids) and then utilizing a combination of pre- and post-tax vehicles. The challenge there is that our economy is based on consumption and our funding structure is based on having future working generations.

   2. I reviewed the public employee pay database, and it’s worth noting that very few of the folks at the top of that list (say, over $100,000 in yearly income) are actually represented employees, meaning they didn’t belong to unions prior to Act 10. That means Act 10 had NO effect on their pay or benefits, since Act 10 really was meant to go after employees who were represented by public sector unions like AFSCME.

      I’d also like to respond to this comment you made:

      If you truly believe that by mandating you (I assume you are a public employee) to pay something into your pension and health care is wrong, then here’s an idea; get the democrats elected to the governorship, majorities in the legislature, and change the law; the democrats had majorities in the past, and the voters removed them from power in 2010, you might not like the results, but you can’t have it both ways, sorry. I personally would argue, and like to see implemented a 401k style retirement plan, no more pensions, but that’s for another discussion.

      Not sure if you’re aware, but I (and many other public employees) were paying into our pensions and healthcare costs long before Act 10; in fact in the nearly 15 years I’ve been a public employee I’ve never NOT paid into my pension or healthcare costs.

   3. Also-I’m LOLing at your comment that my job is guaranteed as long as I show up.

      Love the stereotype.

6. “Sure, I don’t hate my mother who worked for the state for 40 years, I don’t hate my uncle who worked for the city of Milwaukee for 35 years, I don’t hate my grandfather who worked for the county for 45 years”

   Matt, you wrote: “….when there is a debate to be had, I don’t run or hide from it,….”

   Glad to hear it. Without giving us their names, please provide as much evidence as you can that these relatives had the job you claim. What are the odds that your three close relatives had such long tenures with government work that all ended in either a “zero” or a “5.” Your Mom didn’t work 39 years or 41. Your uncle didn’t work 34 years or 36. Your Dad didn’t work for 44 years or 46. What an amazing co-incidence.

   W/R/T your Mom, did she worked 40 consecutive years for the state? If so, did that work all happen after you were born? If not, did she have to pay for child care? Are you an only child? If not, did she have to pay for child care for your siblings? In what cities did she work for the state for 40 years, or was it all in Madison? In what departments did she work? What were the names of some her immediate supervisors? Were her years of service 2070 – 2010, as your post suggests? In order to work that long, you have to prove your worth, you have to get promoted. Listing as many job titles as you can, along with salary and benefit numbers, along with any other details you can recall will help your credibility.

   Same questions for your uncle and your grandfather.

   You seem anxious to prove that there are public sector workers you don’t hate. This is your chance. Promptly provide details that will support your claims. I’m sorry, but the longer you wait, the more some of us may think you’re trying to invent stuff. Job titles change. I’m especially interested in what their earliest job titles were and the chain of promotions which enabled them to remain employed.

   Yes, Wall Street would love to loot public sector unions’ retirement packages. Another good way to disabuse any notion that you’re remotely conservative is to include such an obvious Wall Street talking point. Moving retirments that are already funded into 401(k)’s is the easiest way for them to do that. Quick, give us all your stock picks for today. Should we invest in gold? What’s with all this “dark money” stuff I keep hearing about? Since you want to move stuff into Wall Street’s playground, you must know a log about investments.

   “In America, nobody should be forced to belong to any organization they don’t want to join, simply to secure and maintain employment.”

   Of course not, and this is another example of why you’re so obviously not a conservative. If you choose to work for the government and a MAJORITY of your peers voted for union representation, then you shouldn’t be allowed to freeload. Conservatives and union members are against freeloading. You’re in favor of freeloading.

   If you were a conservative, you’d be pushing for dramatic reductions in federal taxes (payroll, income, and corporate). “(Federal) Taxes For Revenue Are Obsolete” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/warren-mosler/taxes-for-revenue-are-obs_b_542134.html and much greater federal spending on health care, education, and green infrastructure.
   That’s what’s depressing our economy, not the public sector unions, who are last stand hill for workers.

   The numbers don’t lie: “GRAPH: As Union Membership Has Declined, Income Inequality Has Skyrocketed In The United States”

   http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/03/03/147994/unions-income-inequality/

   1. Oh, these baggers never know anything more than they’re told. 401k’s – my goodness, how asleep do you have to be to think that’s the answer? Don’t hold your breath that you’ll get anything informative.

      1. baggers? You must be a government employee, because only someone who has just enough education to get by in life tends to migrate toward government work. Emma, you are just another stereotypical bureaucrat; and here I thought I could have a decent discussion with you, but alas, I was wrong. If you have a degree, you might want to ask for a full refund claiming ‘services undelivered’

   2. Emma, you sum it up in your statement; “Personally, I think the only way a private sector employee will be able to fund a decent retirement is continuous promotion, business ownership or revenue-sharing jobs (sales, law) plus aggressive savings (living significantly below your means, no kids) and then utilizing a combination of pre- and post-tax vehicles” That’s the problem, the vast majority of private sector employees will NEVER be able to fund a comfortable retirement using about the only tool available to them. Yet, we ask those same private employees to be taxed at a high rate in order to fund those public sector pensions. If we are relying on a working future generation to fund the government, then we are all but screwed, we’ve already spent most of the taxes they MIGHT pay in, and the way the national economy is going, they likely wont have any good paying jobs to have, unions or not!

      John, nice try, but your liberalism scares me more than working in the heart of Milwaukee’s inner city everyday! At least I have the opportunity to carry my pistol to work. I don’t owe you anything, especially an explanation of my family history, but if you really want to know, I’d be glad to meet you in person and explain it all fully, it’d be fun putting you in your place! What does it matter anyhow, you only believe what you’ve been trained to believe. I will say this though, you obviously didn’t read my statement very well, I never mentioned my father, you even quote me in your statement, and you still can’t quote it correctly!

      So what “majority” voted in the GOP back in 2010 that brought about the end to collective bargaining John? What “majority” reaffirmed Walker and the senators in your failed recall of 2012? You can say Walker didn’t run on removing collective bargaining in 2010, but your side certainly made it an issue in 2012 right? I contend a far greater majority than what voted for your now defunct and completely bankrupted union representation! Funny how you like the majority when they voted how YOU wanted them to vote, but disregard it when it doesn’t fit your ideological template. Plus, how do you explain why 60% of their members have bailed on the union? I also contend that those ‘majorities” you speak about, took that unionization vote years or decades ago, how many current public sector employees actually got to take that vote to unionize? And FYI, I know the real reasons that the unions were against Act 10, and it has nothing to do with helping out ‘the little guy’, it was all about the state not being the unions collection agency anymore. Now that you have to write that check, go figure, nobody wants to write it! Gee, interesting stuff isn’t it John?

      Next, how original that you pulled terms like “income inequality” and “dark money” out, very original John, did you come up with those all by yourself? And now I’m a bagger? Don’t you see why most people don’t argue with idiots who simply resort to calling others names right away? So don’t expect much from me? Ha, coming from a blow hard who has nothing more to offer than calling me a ‘bagger’……brilliant! I’m sure you have to have at least a 4th grade education to come up with that. No wonder you think unions are the end all be all, very few of you could ever find a real job in the real world; you need unions to get you what you could never get on your own.

      1. Matty:”Full of sound and fury, but saying a whole lotta nothing.” For such a put-upon hard-working sucker guy, you sure do have a lot of time to rant on pages like this.

         As others note, take a look at your “highly-paid public employee” list, and see how many of them are Guv- appointed and/or contractors. I bet most. And then go find a similar list for NML or AmFam or Epic or any other large employer.

         Now excuse me, but I have to get back to my job. Union people have that work thing, you know.

         1. Yep, you work to pay your useless union dues, and I will keep my money and spend it on myself and my family. Nice retort though Jake, how long did it take you to come up with such a brilliant statement, striking out the word ‘sucker’? Who’s the sucker? I pay no union dues for my salary and benefits. I’m surprised you didn’t reaffirm that I was some tea-bagger or pick your favorite conservative slur, that’s usually what those with only a union mentality can come up with, after they hold a vote of course, so I applaud your originality! I don’t at all feel put-upon as you say in fact, I enjoy my career, I get to use my brain to do things like math, and reading, and designing, and writing, very unusual skills to be able to utilize in todays America.

            The thing is Jake, I could go find a “similar list for NML or AmFam or Epic or any other large employer”, but since as a tax payer, I don’t pay the salaries and benefits for the owners and CEO’s of those companies, what they pay themselves or their employees doesn’t matter to me, only a share holder or investor in those companies would care, however, what I, as a tax payer, pay to employees of a government that my taxes fund, you bet it matters to me. You can use the straw man argument all you want, and I’m sure many will fall for it, after all, look how many Americans voted for Obama, not once, but twice, but your tactics don’t work with me, I’m far too educated to fall for your fallacies.

            1. Based on the volume, it’s possible the wing nuts are now paying trolls by the word as well as by the number of comments.

               Any of the Matt bots care to comment?

               1. John Casper, hmmmm, is that YOUR real name?

                  Bonus question, how many guys/gals share John’s handle?

                  Since he’s so worried about who are and are not bots.

      2. Matt, you wrote: “I don’t owe you anything,”

         I never said you did.

         You wrote: “especially an explanation of my family history, ”

         You’re the one who brought it up.

         Based on your response, you made it all up.

         You wrote: “but if you really want to know, I’d be glad to meet you in person”

         Nope, not happening. You don’t sound like my type. But, glad we agree on marriage equality.

         You wrote: “and explain it all fully, it’d be fun putting you in your place! ”

         No, please Matt bots, put me in my place right here.

      3. Not a public employee. How are private sector employees taxed more to pay for public employees and compared to when? Tax rates are actually much lower than marginal rates in our country’s post-war boom years of 85 percent. Some public employees are funded out of property tax but increases there don’t outpace declining income tax rates. If I were you I’d look much more closely at tax breaks and subsidies for corporations. If a large corporation pays effectively no local taxes but consumes services, then yes, a larger proportion of that burden is placed on individuals to make up. So how would you tackle that problem?

   3. John, with all due respect, Matt shouldn’t have to provide his “bonafides” in the form of revealing personal information simply to satisfy your inquisitiveness.

7. Matt bot 1 at 9:37

   “Sure, I don’t hate my mother who worked for the state for 40 years, I don’t hate my uncle who worked for the city of Milwaukee for 35 years, I don’t hate my grandfather who worked for the county for 45 years;”

   Matt bot 2 at 12:01 insulting his Mom, his Uncle and his GRANDfather.

   “baggers? You must be a government employee, because only someone who has just enough education to get by in life tends to migrate toward government work. Emma, you are just another stereotypical bureaucrat; and here I thought I could have a decent discussion with you, but alas, I was wrong. If you have a degree, you might want to ask for a full refund claiming ‘services undelivered”

   What we have here is more than one paid-troll using the same handle. These guys are comedy gold, can’t keep their stories straight.

   Bonus question, how many guys/gals share Matt’s handle?

   1. John, the last time you added anything intellectual to a conversation was likely the last and only time you added anything intellectual to a conversation. You demand I prove who I am and if I am telling the truth, ok John, if you tell me all about you, and 3 members of your family, I will gladly do the same, but since the majority of lunatics in America that perpetrate serious crimes relate more to your side of the isle and intellectual scale than mine; see Ft Hood shooter (registered democrat and Muslim Jihadist), Columbine (both families were registered democrats), VA Tech (wrote hate mail to Bush and staff), Colorado theatre (registered democrat, occupy participant, worked on Obama campaign), CT school shooter (registered democrat, clear hatred for Christians), Tucson shooter (registered independent, hated Bush, pro-abortion, hated Gifford’s for not stopping Bush), I will let you go first. So John, are you gonna put your money where your mouth is?

      I never insulted my mother, my uncle, or my grandfather, all 3 of them have long since retired from their respective positions inside government, and in fact, 2 out of the 3 of them were actually against having to join the union, they were not the same rage filled, hatred infused unionistas that exist today. They all appreciated the great pay, benefits, and pensions they were given. Only 1 of the 3 had a college degree, the other 2 got government jobs after returning from wars, so it wasn’t mandatory that they be educated the same we all but mandate it today.

      I realize your party and its ideology have been devastated in Wisconsin since Walkers election, and the forecast says your demise will continue, but just because someone supports Walker and his policies doesn’t mean they are automatically a troll or a bot, but again, you need to have some basic level of intellect and common sense to understand certain things John. It’s ok, as any good liberal, there is always someone else you can blame I’m sure; Bush, the school systems, big business, corporations and their CEO’s, the racist, bigoted, homophobic GOP, take your pick, because in no way is it your fault right John?

      1. Sorry Matt bot, there you go again, “pro-abortion” in your 1:52.

         If you want the government forcing birth, and you do, you’re no friend of the Second.

      2. Matt -bot

         You wrote: “I never insulted my mother, my uncle, or my grandfather,”

         LMAO

         You wrote: “all 3 of them have long since retired from their respective positions inside government, and in fact, 2 out of the 3 of them were actually against having to join the union, …”

         According to you, your Mom retired in 2010.

         16. What year did your Grandfather retire?

         17. What year did your Uncle retire?

         18. Which of the two were against joining the union?

         1. How old are you? What color car do you drive? How many kids do you have? Where do you live? How many wives have divorced you? Are you on the sex offender list? Of so, what did you do to get on it?

            It fairly easy to play 2 year old games with you John, shall we try to go for 3 year olds games or still too advanced for you?

            1. Matt bot, this is how we know you’re not a conservative. I’m only asking questions about stuff you and the rest of the Matt bots VOLUNTEERED.

               Fair game.

               1. Just because I use personal experience as a basis for reality, doesn’t mean you need to know all the personal details, but I understand, your personal experiences only include what your union tells you to think I’m sure.

      3. Matt bot,

         I have significant reservations about Ms. Burke’s commitment to collective bargaining, but I have sent her $100.

         In the latest poll numbers I’ve seen she’s tied with Gov. Walker.

         http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/on-politics/scott-walker-and-mary-burke-tied-in-latest-marquette-law/article_b5028a5d-8b30-51bd-914a-0bca0f589331.html

         Do you have something more recent?

         Capitalism runs on sales. The real job creators are consumers with money to spend. If you were remotely conservative, you’d understand that.

         1. Among registered voters, anyone with or without a heartbeat can register to vote in Wisconsin, among likely voters, he is still up by 3 points. Plus, his favorability rating is up to 54%, and that poll was conducted May 15-18, its now June 30th, so let’s just wait and see.

            Interesting how you have “significant reservations about Ms. Burke’s commitment to collective bargaining” yet still send her $100? If I didn’t agree with a particular stance a republican took, I certainly would not be sending him/her my money, but it’s your money, you waste it as you see fit. Let me just tell you my opinion; if she wins, she will not, I repeat, she WILL NOT repeal Act 10! The republicans will likely hold onto the legislature and the senate, so therefore your ideas of repeal will be DOA.

            Capitalism is more than just consumer spending. It is innovation, it is invention, it is entrepreneurism, and it is a way for private citizens to make a profit and become wealthy. Our free-market economy refers to a capitalist economic system where prices for goods and services are set freely by the forces of supply and demand and are allowed to reach their point of equilibrium without intervention by government policy, and it is primarily government hyper regulation and intervention that I argue has destroyed the middle class. And I have enough intellectual honesty to know that it isn’t just Obama that created this problem, but since after 6 years it was all Bush’s fault, I assume you have enough intellectual honesty to realize that after 6 years of Obama, he should now own it as well. Case in point, if we take Obama at his word that things are getting better, why are we on the precipice of a recession? First quarter GDP was revised downward to a -2.9% contraction. One more quarter like that and we are full blown recession. Who will you blame? The weather? Maybe. The GOP? Likely. Obama? Very unlikely.

            1. Matt,

               Physicians, attorneys, engineers, tenured professors….., all use credentialing to restrict the supply of their labor. They’re bargaining collectively to put a floor underneath their wages. It’s not pretty, but if you figure out a better way, there’s a Nobel laureate with your name on it. The only other avenue to wealth is sperm
               roulette. Mr. Abele (also anti-union), Congressman Sensenbrenner and Ms. Burke won that lottery. Gov. Walker married into it. Sen. Johnson’s wife is the daughter of a billionaire.

               If you were remotely conservative you would have picked up on my earlier link, “(Federal) Taxes For Revenue Are Obsolete.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/warren-mosler/taxes-for-revenue-are-obs_b_542134.html

               Republicans are right. We need much, much lower federal taxes. That starts with bringing back the full holiday on both sides of the payroll tax. It includes lowering down to zero income and corporate taxes on the 99.9999%.

               Democrats are right. We need MORE FEDERAL spending on health care, education, and green infrastructure. Block grants to the state make a lot of sense, to help them get their fiscal houses in order.

               Do you remember all those cars we had to sell to pay for World War II?

               Nope, neither does anyone else. We paid in soldiers’ lives, in steel, in rubber, in oil, …., but we were never going to run out of dollars.

               “Four Reasons You Should Consider Washington’s Deficit As Your Surplus”

               http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntharvey/2014/02/24/deficit-as-your-surplus/

               State and local governments rely on state and local taxes for funding. The federal government is fundamentally different. Every time you hear Paul Ryan or Obama whine about the federal deficit they’re proving they’re fiscal illiterates. FDR wisely took us off the gold standard. Federal taxes for revenue were obsolete once that happened.

               If you understood anything about innovation, robots, labor saving technology (and the skilled jobs that their manufacture brings), you would have mentioned the need for vigorous anti-trust action to break up the monopolies and oligopolies that are crushing innovation.

               Once you understand that federal taxes don’t fund the federal government, a federal job guarantee makes all kinds of sense.

               “The government could serve as the “employer of last resort” under a job guarantee program modeled on the WPA (the Works Progress Administration, in existence from 1935 to 1943 after being renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939) and the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942). The program would offer a job to any American who was ready and willing to work at the federal minimum wage, plus legislated benefits. No time limits. No means testing. No minimum education or skill requirements.”

               http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2013/07/a-plan-for-all-the-detroits-out-there.html

               That can help pave the way to a much higher standard of living. The key is that the benefits of robots/labor
               saving technologies have to trickle down to the 99%. Primarily, because the oligarchs want to hoard that additional marginal value, that hasn’t been the case. If there’s a “safety net,” workers who are replaced by robots/labor saving devices have a chance to get re-trained and re-enter the work place.

               On Twitter follow the #MMT hashtag for Modern Monetary Theory. I suggest you follow @wbmosler . @stephaniekelton @interfluidity @asymptosis are also excellent.

            2. Matt,

               Since another thing you obviously don’t understand is government regulation, can you explain why Gov. Walker and WIGOP want to continue the job-killing-government-regulations against marijuana? I would never encourage anyone, who did not already have a serious illness, to use it, but the prohibition against alcohol didn’t work either.

               1. Sperm roulette? Marijuana killing jobs? Ok, this has officially gotten into liberal crack pot-ism! What next, welfare actually creates jobs? Talk about comedy gold, why don’t you just say goo goo gaa gaa, you sound a lot smarter!

                  1. Another batting practice fast ball from baby Matt, thanks.

                     Got your Wall Street welfare right here

                     “Bank Of America Dumps $75 Trillion In Derivatives On U.S. Taxpayers With Federal Approval”

                     http://seekingalpha.com/article/301260-bank-of-america-dumps-75-trillion-in-derivatives-on-u-s-taxpayers-with-federal-approval

                     To put $75 trillion in perspective, US GDP in 2012 was around $16.5 trillion. We blew a lot more than the $6 trillion they’re claiming in Iraq and Afghanistan. Social Security’s Trust Fund is around $2.3 trillion. Bank of America is just one Wall Street bank. They all have derivative exposure. I’ve seen estimates of $700 trillion, but I don’t think anyone knows.

                     Baby Matt, there’s a reason they’re not called the TEN Suggestions. Lying’s a sin. You’ve done nothing but lie and fabricate falsehoods since you got here. And you’re really bad at it. It’s so easy to expose you. It appears nothing is sacred to you, certainly not family. You’ve even lied about your own Mother. How low can you and your employers go?

                     Right and left agree on prosecuting Wall Street CEO’s, legalizing pot, and ending the foreign occupations. The reason that’s not happening is because the oligarchs control the media and keep the 99.999% from uniting on those issues on which they agree.

                     “The Smoke and Mirrors of the Legalization Debate”
                     http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2012/04/27/the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-the-legalization-debate/ is good on Big Pharma.

                     Scott Walker’s squarely in control of Wall Street Republicans. Eisenhower was a Republican, but he supported collective bargaining and invested in infrastructure. Today, he’s too far to the left for most Democrats.

      4. “only someone who has just enough education to get by in life tends to migrate toward government work.”

         So does or doesn’t that describe your mom, your uncle, and your grandfather?

         I’m curious, because if that statement you made doesn’t apply to them, then why must it apply to other government workers? Further, I’m betting you don’t actually know many folks who work in public service, because if you did you’d know how patently false such a generalization is.

         It’s a shame that you really think that little of nurses, corrections officers, probation & parole agents, social workers, teachers, and so many other public employees who provide so many important services in our state.

8. Matt, you wrote: “Next, Jake, and here’s the thing, I am a 40-something year old man, have I been screwed over by employer(s)? Of course, but do you care to know what I did if they screwed me over, I QUIT and I found an employer who didn’t screw me over.”

   1. Matt, please name all the past employers who you think “screwed you over.”

   Also, you mentioned that you carried a pistol to work. 2. Could you please tell us what kind of pistol, (3) what kind of ammo? (4) When did you last clean it? (5) Do you have a C&C permit? (6) Where do you store it when you’re not carrying?

   7. Have you ever fired the pistol? 8. If so, where?

   You mentioned you’re employed. 9. Why aren’t you at work today? 10. Or, if you are at work today, is your boss paying you to blog at Blogging Blue? Zach thanks you for increasing his traffic numbers.

   11. Where do you work? 12. What’s your salary? 13. How much paid vacation do you get? 14. Who provides your health care? 15. What kind of retirement benefits are you getting?

   Thanks in advance.

9. Again John, adding nothing, zip, to the conversation. John, a union employee? Go figure!

10. Do you want to know why you liberals keep getting your asses handed to you in every statewide election? See John…..

    1. Matt, thank you for the belt-high, batting practice fastball.

       “Big Money Wins in Wisconsin: Walker Spent 88% of the Money to Get 53% of the Vote”

       http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/wisconsin-recall-results-scott-walker_b_1572887.html

       Up until now I didn’t think the GOP would off shore their trolls, but you must be in Macau to write that.

       “How Conservatives Screwed Walker” http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2014/06/24/murphys-law-how-conservatives-screwed-walker/

       1. Sorry your side lost, do you need some butt paste for those sores? Too bad your side is so seriously stupid that they nominated Barrett? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA Tommy the trolley Barrett……how many failed attempts at governor again? 3? 4? Keep sticking to your losers, I’ll stick with Walker who has already proven he knows how to defeat your side.

          1. Stay classy….way to raise the dialogue!

11. Now Mary Burke? Ha, this woman can’t even get out of her own way, how many pants on fire lies has she told about Walker? How many pants on fire lies has she told about her own record? Yep, that’s your gal John Casper…..if that’s even your real name John Casper.

    1. Just checking in Matt as to whether you’ve had a chance to think on how to make up revenue shortfalls as a result of corporate tax breaks and subsidies? Or are you too busy defending your personhood to JC?

12. Can everyone just slow down with the name calling here?

    We can have a dialogue without it.

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