Naughty Children

I heard on the radio how the Republicans have an agenda now that they are in control of the house.  I think that’s great.  I was hoping to hear how they were going to balance the budget, stimulate the economy, help the poor, and educate our children. No.  The Republicans think they should act like two year olds and stomp their feet till they get their way.  Instead of rolling up their sleeves and getting to work – attempting to work with the President and Senate – they are going to keep their ball gripped tightly in their hands and hold their breath until someone gives them their way. 
Here’s the thing, while they are acting like uncooperative and spoiled children, the everyday people are running out of unemployment, losing their insurance (which was too expensive), losing their homes, paying too much for gas, and going from bad to worse.  What are they going to do about that? 
I’d like to tell our political parties to get their heads out of their asses and do the job they were hired to do.  Run our country and ensure that everyone in the country has a voice.  Everyone doesn’t just include those who pay for your political ads.  It is the child who wakes in the morning to no food or heat in the house.  It is the gay couple who has been together for 20 plus years and isn’t allowed to get married because of the Christian right wing.  It is the two income family who is struggling to make ends meet because their adult kids can’t find work, gas is over $3 a gallon, and there is no public transportation.  It is EVERY individual regardless of color, creed, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or anything other ridiculous classification society has tossed out there. 
Regardless of level of government, all elected members need to work together, compromise and find solutions to the problems we are facing.  Otherwise when the next election rolls around the same thing is going to happen.  If life doesn’t get better for people, they are going to vote out those in office and look for someone new. 
Instead of tooting their own horns and saying we are going to fix this.  Someone needs to step up and actually do it.  I respect President Obama and feel he is trying to get the changes in place that this country needs.  However, when he has to deal with contention instead of cooperation, he can’t make progress.  This means, we can’t make progress.  Where is the cooperation monster from Sesame Street?  Perhaps if this critter showed up in the House and Senate, the representatives might get an idea of how they are supposed to work.
Someone wise once said be the change you want to see in the world.  I see Obama trying to be the change he wants to see in the world.  I see the political opponents saying oh you aren’t part of our group so we can’t play nice with you.  That is ridiculous and the people who get hurt are the everyday people who have to deal with the lack of progress on the issues that matter.
Another famous quote comes to mind – if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem.  I wish our political parties would stop being the problem and start being the solution.

Politics – again

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.