The Bogeymen Of Act 10 Rise Again

 

Josh Schoemann, Washington County Executive, penned an editorial for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, spent most of his time resurrecting all the right wing's bogeymen regarding Act 10.  Or more likely, someone else wrote it and he just agreed to put his name on it

Anyway, he goes through the gambit of lies about how it saved so much money although no one has been able to specify where the savings went.  Taxes still went up.  School districts had to submit referendums to keep the doors open and the heat on.  Services were cut every year.  So where did the savings go?

Nor does Schoemann explain why the higher unemployment rates was a good thing.  Nor did he explain the math behind not paying employees directly but then supporting them with food stamps and other forms of economic assistance was a positive in the end.  

But then Schoemann does add a new twist - the fear of having to back pay the employees that they were stealing from for the past 15 years.  I would love to know where he came up with that crap, besides pulling it out of his ass.  

Schoemann said that it would cost $37.2 million for his imaginary order of restitution.  But he also claimed that it save millions of dollars at the same time.  Again, where did the money go.  Show us the receipts!  

But then, at the end of his manifesto, Schoemann slips up and reveals the truth:

A repeal of Act 10 would pose significant financial and operational shifts for Washington County, a county that is already lean. The toxic cocktail of increased labor costs, a resurgence of labor unions, and taking on the current employee contributions to pensions and health insurance, would most certainly create structural deficits requiring vast shifts in services - or even worse, tax increases. These are changes that would affect the people of Washington County in a dramatic way.

It is perfectly clear; Act 10 must stay. While some may wish to go back to 2010, to a $3.6 billion deficit and to relitigate the past, now is not the time to go back.  Instead, we should be looking forward, ensuring we are passing the torch of the American Dream from the Baby Boomers to the Millennials and beyond.

Ye Gods! The horror!  They would have to pay people a family supporting wage! They would have to treat people with respect and dignity and actually - God forbid! - do the right thing for a change!  He hasn't had to do any of that as long as he's been office. Even worse, it would put money back into circulation, which would help create more jobs, which would increase the tax base and lower taxes for everyone! 

Eeeeek! I scared myself a little bit there.

The simple truth of it all is that the Republicans are hoping to scare voters enough to vote for the corrupt and bought Backlog Brad Schimel.  Yes, they are trying to win the case in the court of public opinion because they know they could never win it in a court of law.