Tag: scot walker

Go Democrats!!!

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized

I’m not a political person – yes I know I’ve posted so much this week on the issues going on but under normal circumstances I’m just not.  I don’t vote by party lines.  I don’t discuss my votes.  I vote – every election.  I despair that our politician will ever get what is needed for our country.

Today though, I was PROUD of our state Democrat senators.  The Republicans and Governor have closed their minds and their ears to the pleas of the workers in the state.  Walker said he had 8,000 emails supporting what he is doing.  How many did he have wanting it to stop?  How many people have protested – somewhere around 50,000. 

I watched the national programs tonight – they were amusing.  They also got to the heart of the matter.  I think this is the first time I’ve heard the other side of the story.  It has been the Republicans BLASTING away at the “evil” state workers and unions. 

The overly dramatic presentation of the information was a bit much (maybe because I’m from the Midwest) but maybe that will start people thinking.  Paul Ryan is an idiot.  He accused the protesters of being violent.  I say come to Madison and see for yourself.  The Madison police had only good things to say about the protesters.  Apparently Ryan thinks the teachers are a bunch of violent radical people.  Well they are radical – they want to keep their rights.

If Walker and his cronies have their way, Wisconsin will become a state of haves and have nots.  It isn’t the state workers who have.  It will be the corporations, big business, and the politicians who have.  The workers – everyone else will be a have not.  State worker (those that don’t already have second jobs) will be looking for a second job. 

I hope the Democrats drive their point home and stick together.  They are doing what’s right and I intend to support them.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/116369554.html
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/local_schools/article_28c5e5c6-3882-11e0-8bd0-001cc4c03286.html
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/editorial/article_61064e9a-27b0-5f28-b6d1-a57c8b2aaaf6.html

Check out these articles…

Super bowl… I can’t believe this title…

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized

Anyone who knows me knows I don’t like football – with a passion I don’t like it.  I’d be happy if all of the stadiums were sucked into a void somewhere and we never had to deal with another game ever.  So this is not going to be a happy go packers post – if you are looking for that just quit reading…

I’m sick to death of the whole super bowl thing.  I do not want to hear one more word about the damn thing – I know this won’t happen but really does this have to be the focus for two weeks?  Why can’t they play the super bowl the day after the final play off game?   I know why – big bucks.  Okay and maybe logistics.

Our lovely governor is going to the super bowl.  Ken heard that it is going to cost $10,000 for him to go and that was on the taxpayers dime.  I looked on line to see what was up and found that he bought the tickets for him and his family – one article said he was charging it to his campaign.  I question that use of funds. 

In all the articles he made a point of saying that the tax payers only had to pay for the security detail he was required to take.  Well I say with the money crunch, he should be staying home and watching it at the governor’s mansion.  Or he should be reimbursing the state for the cost of that security detail. 

I do want to say that I’m proud to be a Wisconsinite.  I think our fans are well behaved and good natured (for the most part).  I think they show what good sportsmanship is and love the game.  We have good people in our state – yes we have some damn awful ones too but overall… good people. 

Aside from that I have only one thing to say about the super bowl – Is it done yet?

Politics – again

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized
I belong to a union.  I’m required to pay union dues for my job so if I’m going to pay for the union I figure it is best to have a say in the union.  I’m reading all the news articles and listening to the blurbs that our governor elect has been spewing out. 
This man seems to consider his employees the enemy.  How are we the enemy?  Union members go to work daily and provide needed, in some cases critical services to the public.  State employees put up with a lot of criticism on all levels.  Yet without us, how would the driver’s and car licenses get out to the public?  How would criminals be guarded?  How would funds go out to the unemployed?  These are just a few of the services that are performed by the state workers. 
I read today that there are 39,000 union workers employed by the state of Wisconsin.  Can Scott Walker really afford to piss off  39,000 workers?  The unions have worked with management with the short falls in budget.  But here is the thing – the legislators got a 5% raise when we had this short fall.  What did they do about it?  Did they give it back?  This is as bad as the stimulus money being given to banks who then paid huge bonuses with it. 
If my income is X, I can’t spend more than that.  It is time that our legislators realize that.  Raising taxes should not be an option.  Wisconsin is already in the second highest level of taxes paid as a percentage of income.  (http://www.newgeography.com/content/00754-local-and-state-tax-burden-maps)  Unemployment is down slightly from a high of 9.7% to about 7% but that doesn’t mean people have gotten back on their feet yet.  (http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=usunemployment&met=unemployment_rate&idim=state:ST550000&dl=en&hl=en&q=wisconsin+unemployment+rate)  It means that some people are back to work.  The question becomes are they in a level of position that pays them enough to cover their bills or are they under employed?  Plus I just saw where the unemployment rate was back up to 8.3% (http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/newsreleases/2010/unemployment/100121_state_unemployment_rate_dec.pdf) for December.  This increase has been since the election.  I guess that says what sort of confidence businesses have in the new leadership.
Our government needs to live in the now.  Gas prices are at $3 a gallon.  There is very little affordable public transportation outside the major cities.  Prices are up, unemployment is up.  It is time for the politicians to come out of their ivory towers and see how the real people they represent live and struggle daily.
Unemployment has been further affected by Scott Walker and his tantrum over the high speed rail.  He threw such a fit that we will no longer be getting the funds for this project.  A project which would have brought in 800 million dollars into our economy is now going elsewhere.  There were contracts already awarded and ground already broken on a couple of them.  Scott Walker just pissed that away.  An international company that makes trains will be leaving as soon as their contract here is up.  This means the people who are employed by them will be joining the unemployment ranks.  The contractors who were going to hire people to build the rail, won’t be hiring them and may even suffer severe economic failure because the contracts are no more.
Scott Walker may think he knows what is best for Wisconsin but has he bothered to ask the Wisconsinites what they want?  Sadly this man is supposed to represent and lead us for the next four years and I am fearful that he will put my family and my finances at risk.  He needs to apologize to Obama and suck it up to attempt to get that money back into our state for the rail.  He needs to listen to the people who he is supposed to be representing .  He represents everyone not just the people who agree with his rhetoric.