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Wisconsin?!


spidersandsnakes

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Can some good UNbiased soul tell me what's actually going on in Wisconsin these days??! I have heard of protests in the streets both pro and anti-bill.....

Madison, Wisconsin is traditionally pro-labor and Democrat, and is staying true to form in that regard, but the governor is Republican.

To make a long story short, if Republicans (the nation's overlords), are too chintzy with workers, there's a problem. Workers have to work all day, buy groceries, pay rent and bills, and it all costs too much. Working people in the nation are tired of evictions and foreclosures, and look very carefully at value in the job market. When the Republicans are generous with workers, for instance with profit-sharing, they enjoy more support and face less opposition. When Republicans fail in their benevolence, we have what you see today, a stand-off, and the gulf between is deep and wide. Republicans are driven toward power at any cost and will sacrifice the workers in favor of their political positions, bottom lines and profit margins, and the workers know that.

UPDATE 1-Wisconsin gov. sees Democrats returning to debate plan

reuters.com

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Can some good UNbiased soul tell me what's actually going on in Wisconsin these days??! I have heard of protests in the streets both pro and anti-bill.....

It doesn't get much more unbiased than another country's news source...

Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin have left the capitol to try to slow a bill aimed at curtailing public employees' collective bargaining rights.

Wisconsin teachers, prison guards and others crowded into the capitol to protest against the Republican bill. They described it as an attack on workers' livelihoods.

Republicans in Washington DC and state capitals have moved to cut government spending this year, including on public worker pay, in a bid to curb deficits.

The legislation had been expected to pass the Republican-led Wisconsin state legislature on Thursday.

But Wisconsin Senate rules require 20 senators to be present for a quorum; Republicans hold 19 seats and the Democrats 14. Senate Democrats did not show up for the session, and aides told reporters they did not know where the legislators had gone.

The Democratic senators said they would not return before Saturday.

Democratic Senator Jon Erpenbach said Democrats had left to slow down the bill in the hope of forcing Republican Governor Scott Walker and Republican legislators to negotiate.

"What we're trying to do is get the governor to sit down and at least try to talk with people who have some issues with what he's trying to do," said Mr Erpenbach told a Wisconsin radio station over the telephone from Chicago.

"This isn't about the money. This is all about the collective bargaining rights that the governor wants to take away from the unions."

Mr Walker, meanwhile, called on the Democrats to return.

"The state senators who are hiding out down in Illinois should show up for work, have their say, have their vote, add their amendments," he told CBS news on Friday, "but in the end, we've got a $3.6bn (£2.23bn) budget deficit we've got to balance."

'They're listening'

President Barack Obama, meanwhile, stepped into the issue, describing the bill as "an assault on unions" during an interview with a Milwaukee, Wisconsin television station.

The union workers and their supporters cheered the move.

"The fact that the Democrats have walked out, it shows they're listening to us," Neil Graupner, a 19-year-old technical college student told the Associated Press late on Thursday.

In Madison, the capital city of the mid-western state, the legislature on Thursday had been set to pass a bill pushed by the governor that has been described by commentators as the most aggressive anti-union law in the nation.

The bill would eliminate most public workers' right to collective bargaining, except for matters of salary, and dramatically increase the amount they must contribute to their pensions and health insurance coverage.

With teachers - and some students - massing in Madison to protest, dozens of schools were shut across the state.

'Point of crisis'

Republicans, who were handed election victories in November in Wisconsin, say they have a mandate to cut government spending.

They say that despite the protests, voters approve of the cuts, which they say are needed to balance the state budget and avoid job losses.

"We're at a point of crisis," Mr Walker said.

The state faces a $3.6bn (£2.23bn) budget deficit in the coming two-year period. The public employee bill is expected to save $300m in that period.

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"The fact that the Democrats have walked out, it shows they're listening to us," Neil Graupner, a 19-year-old technical college student told the Associated Press late on Thursday.

bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12498249

Yeah, takes a lot of courage to jump on a bus and leave the state to avoid having to vote on legislation you dislike.

What's that smell?

DESPERATION

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Yeah, takes a lot of courage to jump on a bus and leave the state to avoid having to vote on legislation you dislike.

What's that smell?

DESPERATION

Interesting what the drive for power does to people.

"This isn't about the money. This is all about the collective bargaining rights that the governor wants to take away from the unions."

bbc.co.uk

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Thanx everyone......now it's a little clearer.....nowadays, the unions seem to have become surrogate political parties that want power despite what's happening in the work market: Sad thing......

The governor of Wisconsin is corrupt and controlled by special interests. The unions were very agreeable to any necessary budget cuts. The budget crisis in Wisconsin is a smokescreen issue. The main issue is the Koch brothers who financed the governor's campaign and are using the governor's office to bust the unions.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Funded by the Koch Bros.

By Andy Kroll

motherjones.com

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Koch brothers may be behind Wisconsin labor battle

Even before Wisconsin's new governor was sworn in last month, executives from a group backed by the conservative Koch brothers had worked behind the scenes to try to encourage a union showdown.

By Eric Lipton

The New York Times

seattletimes.nwsource.com

WASHINGTON — Among the thousands of demonstrators who jammed Wisconsin's Capitol grounds this weekend was a well-financed advocate from Washington who was there to voice praise for cutting state spending by slashing union benefits and bargaining rights.The visitor, Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, told a large group of counterprotesters who had gathered Saturday at one edge of what otherwise was a mostly union crowd that the cuts were not only necessary, but they also represented the start of a much-needed nationwide move to slash public-sector union benefits.

"We are going to bring fiscal sanity back to this great nation," he said.

What Phillips did not mention was that his Virginia-based nonprofit group, whose budget surged to $40 million in 2010 from $7 million three years ago, was created and financed in part by the secretive billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

State records also show that Koch Industries, their energy and consumer products conglomerate based in Wichita, Kan., was one of the biggest contributors to the election campaign of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, a Republican who has championed the proposed cuts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Covert Operations

The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama.

by Jane Mayer

newyorker.com

In 1997, another Senate investigation began looking into what a minority report called “an audacious plan to pour millions of dollars in contributions into Republican campaigns nationwide without disclosing the amount or source,” in order to evade campaign-finance laws. A shell corporation, Triad Management, had paid more than three million dollars for attack ads in twenty-six House races and three Senate races. More than half of the advertising money came from an obscure nonprofit group, the Economic Education Trust. The Senate committee’s minority report suggested that “the trust was financed in whole or in part by Charles and David Koch of Wichita, Kansas.” The brothers were suspected of having secretly paid for the attack ads, most of which aired in states where Koch Industries did business. In Kansas, where Triad Management was especially active, the funds may have played a decisive role in four of six federal races. The Kochs, when asked by reporters if they had given the money, refused to comment. In 1998, however, the Wall Street Journal confirmed that a consultant on the Kochs’ payroll had been involved in the scheme. Charles Lewis, of the Center for Public Integrity, described the scandal as “historic. Triad was the first time a major corporation used a cutout”—a front operation—“in a threatening way. Koch Industries was the poster child of a company run amok.”
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Koch brothers may be behind Wisconsin labor battle

Even before Wisconsin's new governor was sworn in last month, executives from a group backed by the conservative Koch brothers had worked behind the scenes to try to encourage a union showdown.

By Eric Lipton

The New York Times

seattletimes.nwsource.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Covert Operations

The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama.

by Jane Mayer

newyorker.com

Cool, someone needs to stand up to Soros.

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This is getting interesting by the minute :):):)

I should say so.

Around this time, the brothers faced a political crisis. In 1989, the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs investigated their business and released a scathing report accusing Koch Oil of "a widespread and sophisticated scheme to steal crude oil from Indians and others through fraudulent mismeasuring." The Kochs admitted that they had improperly taken thirty-one million dollars' worth of crude oil, but said that it had been accidental. Charles Koch told committee investigators that oil measurement is "a very uncertain art." To defend its reputation, Koch Industries hired Robert Strauss, then a premier Washington lobbyist; the company soon opened an office in the city. A grand jury was convened to investigate the allegations, but it eventually disbanded, without issuing criminal charges. According to the Senate report, after the committee hearings Koch operatives delved into the personal lives of committee staffers, even questioning an ex-wife. Senate investigators were upset by the Kochs' tactics. Kenneth Ballen, the counsel to the Senate committee, said, "These people have amassed such unaccountable power!"

newyorker.com

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Cool, someone needs to stand up to Soros.

Ah, so that's what it is, Koch v. Soros.

Though ultimately what is important in Wisconsin is what will benefit the people of Wisconsin most on a per capita basis, not so much the bottom lines of the Koch brothers or Mr. Soros. As the per capita wealth flows, the average person in Wisconsin can better pay for goods and services.

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Two-Thirds of Wisconsin Public-School 8th Graders Can't Read Proficiently—Despite Highest Per Pupil Spending in Midwest

http://cnsnews.com/n...ic-school-8th-g

The public education system in this country has become a joke. I'm all for private schooling, home schooling, school vouchers, etc.

My grades and test scores were consistently high in reading throughout my years of schooling. I studied phonics during the first year at a private school. The teachers also provided additional study in reading comprehension, spelling, writing and grammar. Of the K-12 years, 1st and 2nd grades were at a private school, 3rd grade was in both public and private, 4th-8th were private, and 9th-12th were public, so I had variety and a quality education overall. Even the public high schools that I attended scored high within the state compared to the other schools. The area where I lived and studied had a conservative political majority that valued quality in education and emphasized value for the dollar. As students we took turns reading aloud and we got credit for writing book reports that allowed us to explain in our own words what we had read. We studied the alphabet and syllables, as well as poetry, essays, and short stories. I had a thorough education and I think all children should get that whenever possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teaching Children to Read: Politics Colors Debate Over Methods

By Jacques Steinberg

query.nytimes.com

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Just heard on MSNBC, that Gov. Scott Walker got prank called from a fake David Koch. He basically said he is going to trick the Democrat senators to come back to the state and tell them one thing but do another. He pretty much said he doesn't give a shit about any jobs and is going to start laying people off. He said he has names ready for people of the people that are going to be laid off.

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Just heard on MSNBC, that Gov. Scott Walker got prank called from a fake David Koch. He basically said he is going to trick the Democrat senators to come back to the state and tell them one thing but do another. He pretty much said he doesn't give a shit about any jobs and is going to start laying people off. He said he has names ready for people of the people that are going to be laid off.

It's on youtube, although I thought twice about posting it because I don't know if the conversation was recorded legally. In some states you are required to tell someone that they are being recorded before you can lawfully do so. I don't know what the law is in Wisconsin.

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The following is just the facts:

What's at stake in Wisconsin

What bill would do

1) Eliminate collective bargaining rights for most public workers. So while unions still could represent those workers, they would not be able to seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum.

2) Unions also could not force employees to pay dues and would have to hold annual votes to stay organized.

3) Local police, firefighters and state troopers would retain their collective bargaining rights.

4) Public workers would have to pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage. That represents an average of 8 percent increase in state employees' share of pension and health care costs.

In exchange, public employees were promised no furloughs or layoffs. Gov. Scott Walker has threatened to lay off up to 6,000 state workers if the measure does not pass.

Estimated savings

$30 million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years to address a Republican-projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall.

Background

The proposal marks a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which in 1959 was the first to pass a comprehensive collective bargaining law for public employees and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees.

When voters last year elected Gov. Walker, an outspoken conservative, along with GOP majorities in both legislative chambers, it set the stage for a dramatic reversal of the state's labor history.

National significance

New Republican governors and legislatures in other states have proposed cutting back on public employee costs to reduce budget shortfalls, but Wisconsin's move appears to be the earliest and most extensive.

Source: Associated Press and Reuters

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The following is just the facts:

What's at stake in Wisconsin

What bill would do

1) Eliminate collective bargaining rights for most public workers. So while unions still could represent those workers, they would not be able to seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum.

2) Unions also could not force employees to pay dues and would have to hold annual votes to stay organized.

3) Local police, firefighters and state troopers would retain their collective bargaining rights.

4) Public workers would have to pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage. That represents an average of 8 percent increase in state employees' share of pension and health care costs.

In exchange, public employees were promised no furloughs or layoffs. Gov. Scott Walker has threatened to lay off up to 6,000 state workers if the measure does not pass.

Estimated savings

$30 million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years to address a Republican-projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall.

Background

The proposal marks a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which in 1959 was the first to pass a comprehensive collective bargaining law for public employees and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees.

When voters last year elected Gov. Walker, an outspoken conservative, along with GOP majorities in both legislative chambers, it set the stage for a dramatic reversal of the state's labor history.

National significance

New Republican governors and legislatures in other states have proposed cutting back on public employee costs to reduce budget shortfalls, but Wisconsin's move appears to be the earliest and most extensive.

Source: Associated Press and Reuters

thanks for the info. Now, has Gov. Walker or any of the Wis. legislature volunteered to take a cut in their pay and or benefits?

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