According to the Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin…
In its Jan. 31 memo to legislators on the condition of the state’s budget, the Fiscal Bureau determined that the state will end the year with a balance of $121.4 million.
To the extent that there is an imbalance — Walker claims there is a $137 million deficit — it is not because of a drop in revenues or increases in the cost of state employee contracts, benefits or pensions. It is because Walker and his allies pushed through $140 million in new spending for special-interest groups in January.
More than half of the newly formed shortfall, Gov Walker claims as a fiscal crisis are a result of three of his initiatives.
* $25 million for an economic development fund for job creation, which still holds $73 million because of anemic job growth.
* $48 million for private health savings accounts — a perennial Republican favorite.
* $67 million for a tax incentive plan that benefits employers, but at levels too low to spur hiring.
From Democracy Now
Some 30,000 students and public sector workers rallied at the Wisconsin State House in Madison Thursday to oppose Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s bid to eliminate almost all their collective bargaining rights and slash pay and benefits. Public schools in Madison are closed for a third day in a row today as teachers continue to protest. A vote on the measure was delayed after Democratic senators refused to show up and fled the state—leaving the Republican-controlled State Senate without quorum.
So the solution is to cut additional jobs from the equation.? Lay me off. Fine. Now I don’t contribute to those same social programs any longer. The remaining work force now has to pay my unemployment. Which also means I’ll have less money to spend, which will lead to additional layoffs. Which leads to someone paying for those peoples unemployment. Which won’t be me, you already laid me off.
You are right, Steph, but It seems that there has been a concerted effort to dumb down the masses for a long time-then kids have no choice but to join the military. It is a class war, in my opinion.
Now we see why teachers collective bargaining rights are so important to Scott Walker. With the kind of cuts to education that he is proposing there is talk of classes with up to 50 and 60 children. Good heavens, I could not keep my sanity much less educate 50 or 60 7yr olds for eight hours a day. Even a nurse can claim safe harbor… what will the teachers do? What will happen to our kids? Day care workers get more help and in fact… our schools may well become glorified day care. All the better they can hope to accomplish with numbers like that will be to keep the kids from hurting one another or themselves. No problem… Mom and dad will just have to pay for private schools with whatever “voucher” the gov ends up handing out. Get the feeling this guy wants to do away with public schools?
Yes, den, but if you read the article, they had plenty of money until the governor enacted tax cuts for businesses. So what he is saying is if there is going to be any belt tightening public workers and their families have to suffer, not the businesses
Has to start somewhere. There is not enough money in the State systems to continue to provide the public employee benefits. Just where does everyone think the money is going to come from. How is OR. going to continue all the social programs, and fund the benefits, the Feds, soon will print the dollar out of its worth, so those funds won’t buy a penny of benefits.