Another installment in our series on abandoned places in the world. Continue reading
wisconsin
8 posts
In the wake of the horrific shooting in Wisconsin which targeted a Sikh temple and the hundreds inside the place of worship, questions are beginning to mount whether or not the nation is taking this latest act of violence as seriously as the most recent ones in Colorado and Arizona. Continue reading
Welcome to the Recall Election Open Thread. Tonight’s contest pits sitting governor Scott Walker against Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in what is essentially a referendum of Walker’s budget cuts and elimination of state worker’s collective bargaining rights. As of last night, Walker maintained a slight lead, but heavier than expected voter turnout leaves the outcome up in the air. Continue reading
Big news coming out of Wisconsin today: Republican state senator Pam Galloway, targeted in the recall elections coming up has resigned effective immediately!
The big news today is that my husband is finally agreeing to purchase a new couch! But you have other things on your mind, don’t you? Continue reading
Governor Walker and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R- what else?) have tried to circumvent the court ordered injunction against the controversial union busting bill that they passed in early March, reportedly in violation of Wisconsin’s open meeting law. The court order enjoined the government from “any further implementation of the law,” including publishing it in the official state journal which is the official state vehicle for providing notice of new laws to the public.
The Republicans subverted the injunction by compelling the Legislative and Reference bureau to publish the law that would eliminate collective bargaining for state employee’s unions. There is significant dispute as to whether this actually implements the new law or not. Democrats contend that a law is not enacted until it is published in the official state journal and that additional steps need to be taken by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State, like the official state journal have been specifically enjoined from performing the functions that would implement this law. Republicans argue that merely the act of publishing the law enacts the new law and that no further steps need to be taken.
There is going to be one pissed off judge reporting to work in Wisconsin today.
Source: TPM
Governor Scott Walker has finally admitted that busting the Wisconsin public employee’s unions has nothing to do with the fiscal health of the state.
Wisconsin only requires a quorum to pass fiscally-related bills. So Gov. Walker has split his union busting bill in two and the Wisconsin senate Republicans are getting ready to pass the union busting bill without the senate Democrats.
I’m afraid the Democrats may not win this one. It is almost impossible to win when you are dealing with people who have no concept of shame or honor.
Link to full story on TPM
UPDATE 7:50pm: Bill passed 18-1 in the Senate. Now it moves to the State Assembly. In addition to forbidding collective bargaining for the public unions, the bill also includes requirements for state employees to contribute 5% of their income to their pensions, 12% to their health care. It also requires school district and municipal employees to contribute 5% to their pensions.
A 17% hit to the paychecks of thousands of people doesn’t sound non-fiscal to me.
Top photo Flickr.
College dropout and Race to the Bottom cheerleader Scotty Walker is soon to have a brother in arms. In Ohio, former Fox News host and former Lehman Brothers executive-turned-governor John Kasich and the GOP majority are on track to pass a distinctly similar bill to the one on the table in Wisconsin.
Much like Walker’s bill, the Ohio proposal would strip public employees in Ohio of the right to collectively bargain for pay and benefits. This would be on top of the concessions that have already been requested (and mostly agreed to), and further, limit the effects of binding arbitration.
And, much like Wisconsin, public sector employees in Ohio are filling buses and making their way to Columbus in volumes generally reserved for Ohio State-Michigan football games.
Within the state, the familiar battle lines are being drawn, while eyes focus on Wisconsin. The assumption is that if Wisconsin caves to the demands of Koch-driven politics, that Ohio will be the next domino to fall, right on the backs of what remains of the middle class.
It seems almost sure to happen, eventually, though. Kasich isn’t the type to let up. He has his mandate, (and no, I’m not talking about the glorious 49% of the vote he received last November) and seems determined to deliver it to us: You will fight for scraps, and be grateful for the opportunity to do so.
Sadly, there is support for this, which, if you listen to a lot of the folks online and in the papers, seems counterintuitive. The argument I witness most frequently is that if the private sector isn’t ‘able’ to give employees benefits like those currently enjoyed in segments of the public sector, then the public sector employees shouldn’t be entitled to the benefits that they’ve currently bargained for. This, I have a problem understanding. The fact that the private sector has slowly and steadily taken things away from the middle class means that we should screw what’s left of it over? Seems like we’re picking the wrong scapegoat.
So, we’ll likely see a repeat of what’s happening in Wisconsin here in Ohio. Thousands of public sector employees, with organizational help from the unions, will make their way to the state capitol to voice their discontent. Some Koch brothers’ funded group with a happy-sounding name will bus in a few hundred Medicare recipients (some from out of state, I’m sure) who are too stupid to realize that they’re spitting in the wind, and have them counter protest.
In the end, the Republicans will have the votes they need to pass these bills, and we can get to partying like it’s 1929.