I am at once happy and frustrated with what is happening in Wisconsin. The fact that the citizens are at the state house protesting is amazing. That is the level of participation in our government that we should all show. Them carrying signs calling the Governor Hitler and using words like rape and kill is uncalled for. Such displays of ignorance disintegrates their position.
The fact they feel a since of solidarity with the Egyptian people and took a cue from them is pretty exciting. At least it shows that people in Wisconsin are paying attention to world events. Allegations that the DNC set this up is kind of rubbing me the wrong way. We shouldn't be parodying what happened in Egypt as a cheap political stunt for one party to gain the advantage.
I'm perplexed by the absence of the Democratic Senators as well. Their disappearance prevents the Gov. from pushing through the vote in his favor. Yet it seems wrong to just run away from your job.
The bottom line is that losing their ability to collectively bargain is just the beginning to a situation where the workers will be placed in a position that has no options. Effectively, having to take whatever is given to them if they want the job. Eroding away benefits of employees in a recession isn't how we build up the economy.
44 states and the District of Columbia have budget shortfalls this year totaling $125 billion. How much was that bailout to the banks on Wall St? Now I don't want to bailout the states anymore than I wanted to bailout the banks. But aren't the states more deserving than the banks? Aren't the states "too big to fail?" Apparently not.
However, cutting state employee benefits to help make up budget shortfalls seems to be the answer for most states. Shutting down state parks = open spaces for all, and stopping fire and rescue along with social services like libraries have become the norm. Where was that option when we were talking about the banks? That bus has left station and there is nothing we can do about it. But we can stop this absolute dissolution of employee rights.
As for Wisconsin, I'm there in spirit - just lose the hate mongering signs and rhetoric.
The fact they feel a since of solidarity with the Egyptian people and took a cue from them is pretty exciting. At least it shows that people in Wisconsin are paying attention to world events. Allegations that the DNC set this up is kind of rubbing me the wrong way. We shouldn't be parodying what happened in Egypt as a cheap political stunt for one party to gain the advantage.
I'm perplexed by the absence of the Democratic Senators as well. Their disappearance prevents the Gov. from pushing through the vote in his favor. Yet it seems wrong to just run away from your job.
The bottom line is that losing their ability to collectively bargain is just the beginning to a situation where the workers will be placed in a position that has no options. Effectively, having to take whatever is given to them if they want the job. Eroding away benefits of employees in a recession isn't how we build up the economy.
44 states and the District of Columbia have budget shortfalls this year totaling $125 billion. How much was that bailout to the banks on Wall St? Now I don't want to bailout the states anymore than I wanted to bailout the banks. But aren't the states more deserving than the banks? Aren't the states "too big to fail?" Apparently not.
However, cutting state employee benefits to help make up budget shortfalls seems to be the answer for most states. Shutting down state parks = open spaces for all, and stopping fire and rescue along with social services like libraries have become the norm. Where was that option when we were talking about the banks? That bus has left station and there is nothing we can do about it. But we can stop this absolute dissolution of employee rights.
As for Wisconsin, I'm there in spirit - just lose the hate mongering signs and rhetoric.
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