The Twisted World of RoJo

By Jeff Simpson

Capper recently brought us the story of US Senator Ron Johnson (R-Class Rings) telling a high school class, that he believes that health care is a privilege for those who can actually afford it.

Wisconsin's junior senator did not hesitate: "I think it's probably more of a privilege."
He continued:
"Do you consider food a right? Do you consider clothing a right? Do you consider shelter a right? What we have as rights is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Past that point, we have the right to freedom. Past that point is a limited resource that we have to use our opportunities given to us to afford those things."
Johnson then referred to comments made by Sen. Rand Paul more than six years ago when Paul compared the "right to health care" to slavery.
He said the task of public officials is to create an environment that grows the economy so that more people can enjoy the "privilege" of food, shelter and health care.

Ron Johnson, the guy whose business success was based strictly on marrying money, has some other perverted ideas of freedom.

In the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, this old quote from Ron is quite interesting:

“Does something that would limit magazines that could carry 100 rounds, would that infringe on the constitutional right?” host Chris Wallace asked Johnson on “Fox News Sunday.”
“I believe so,” Johnson replied

Yes you have a right to carry an automatic weapon and unlimited bullets as per the Constitution but the same document says that healthcare, food and shelter are just for the privileged few. 

Who would buy a class ring from this guy?  Much less actually vote for him to represent us in Congress?

The GOP Wheelchair Round Up

By Jeff Simpson

Today, former President Obama, took some time off of his vacation, to address the hot button issue of the day,  The AHCA act(or Ryancare as I will now refer to it as).

Being an actual writer and able to put more thought into something than 144 misspelled characters,  President Obama took to Facebook:

Barack Obama

9 hrs · 

Our politics are divided. They have been for a long time. And while I know that division makes it difficult to listen to Americans with whom we disagree, that’s what we need to do today.

I recognize that repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act has become a core tenet of the Republican Party. Still, I hope that our Senators, many of whom I know well, step back and measure what’s really at stake, and consider that the rationale for action, on health care or any other issue, must be something more than simply undoing something that Democrats did.

We didn’t fight for the Affordable Care Act for more than a year in the public square for any personal or political gain – we fought for it because we knew it would save lives, prevent financial misery, and ultimately set this country we love on a better, healthier course.

Nor did we fight for it alone. Thousands upon thousands of Americans, including Republicans, threw themselves into that collective effort, not for political reasons, but for intensely personal ones – a sick child, a parent lost to cancer, the memory of medical bills that threatened to derail their dreams.

And you made a difference. For the first time, more than ninety percent of Americans know the security of health insurance. Health care costs, while still rising, have been rising at the slowest pace in fifty years. Women can’t be charged more for their insurance, young adults can stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26, contraceptive care and preventive care are now free. Paying more, or being denied insurance altogether due to a preexisting condition – we made that a thing of the past.

We did these things together. So many of you made that change possible.

At the same time, I was careful to say again and again that while the Affordable Care Act represented a significant step forward for America, it was not perfect, nor could it be the end of our efforts – and that if Republicans could put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we made to our health care system, that covers as many people at less cost, I would gladly and publicly support it.

That remains true. So I still hope that there are enough Republicans in Congress who remember that public service is not about sport or notching a political win, that there’s a reason we all chose to serve in the first place, and that hopefully, it’s to make people’s lives better, not worse.

But right now, after eight years, the legislation rushed through the House and the Senate without public hearings or debate would do the opposite. It would raise costs, reduce coverage, roll back protections, and ruin Medicaid as we know it. That’s not my opinion, but rather the conclusion of all objective analyses, from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which found that 23 million Americans would lose insurance, to America’s doctors, nurses, and hospitals on the front lines of our health care system.

The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill. It’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America. It hands enormous tax cuts to the rich and to the drug and insurance industries, paid for by cutting health care for everybody else. Those with private insurance will experience higher premiums and higher deductibles, with lower tax credits to help working families cover the costs, even as their plans might no longer cover pregnancy, mental health care, or expensive prescriptions. Discrimination based on pre-existing conditions could become the norm again. Millions of families will lose coverage entirely.

Simply put, if there’s a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family – this bill will do you harm. And small tweaks over the course of the next couple weeks, under the guise of making these bills easier to stomach, cannot change the fundamental meanness at the core of this legislation.

I hope our Senators ask themselves – what will happen to the Americans grappling with opioid addiction who suddenly lose their coverage? What will happen to pregnant mothers, children with disabilities, poor adults and seniors who need long-term care once they can no longer count on Medicaid? What will happen if you have a medical emergency when insurance companies are once again allowed to exclude the benefits you need, send you unlimited bills, or set unaffordable deductibles? What impossible choices will working parents be forced to make if their child’s cancer treatment costs them more than their life savings?

To put the American people through that pain – while giving billionaires and corporations a massive tax cut in return – that’s tough to fathom. But it’s what’s at stake right now. So it remains my fervent hope that we step back and try to deliver on what the American people need.

That might take some time and compromise between Democrats and Republicans. But I believe that’s what people want to see. I believe it would demonstrate the kind of leadership that appeals to Americans across party lines. And I believe that it’s possible – if you are willing to make a difference again. If you’re willing to call your members of Congress. If you are willing to visit their offices. If you are willing to speak out, let them and the country know, in very real terms, what this means for you and your family.

After all, this debate has always been about something bigger than politics. It’s about the character of our country – who we are, and who we aspire to be. And that’s always worth fighting for.

Meanwhile, while President Obama was talking sense, Senator Mitch McConnell was not. People whose life will literally be in danger when the GOP passes their repeal and replace of the ACA.   

Nothing says representative government like pulling people out of their wheelchairs and arresting them.  As for the protesters, when your life is on the line, you have nothing left to lose.  

As for the Dems in 2018, if these are not your ads during the election season, then you might as well, grab your ball and go home!  
Jeff Simpson

Show more reac

Paul Ryan's Freudian Slip Is No Slip

He means it, folks:

Compassionate Conservatism Version 2016

George Bush not only made the term "compassionate conservatism" a common phrase but also showed what a joke it is.

Last year, Scott Walker picked up where Bush left off when he tried to defend his indefensible decision to reject federal money for Medicaid expansion:

Speaking to an audience of hundreds at a meeting here of business lobby Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Walker said his plan would cover somewhat fewer people than a full expansion of Medicaid as provided under the federal health care law, which he said would cover 252,700 people, or 28,100 more than his own approach. But the Republican governor said that his proposal, which shrinks state health programs by a few thousand patients, would reduce the role of government in people's lives and make them more independent.

"Some people will portray this as not caring about people. I think it's just the opposite. I care too much about the people of this state not to empower them to control their own destiny," Walker told the audience.

Now that Walker is officially unofficially running for president, he is kicking his compassionate conservatism up a notch by adding a little patriotism:

“Beyond that, I just ask the basic question: Why is more people on Medicaid a good thing?” he said. “I’d rather find a way, particularly for able-bodied adults without children, I’d like to find a way to get them into the workforce. I think ideologically, that’s a better approach, not just as a conservative, but as an American. Have more people live the American dream if they’re not dependent on the American government.”

Don't you just get the feeling that he is going to just love all the poor people to death?

Cross posted at Crooks and Liars

Four Reasons Why Minnesota Is Beating Wisconsin

Despite Scott Walker's flailing attempts to spin it otherwise, the fact is that Minnesota is outperforming Wisconsin in job creation and almost every other economic indicator.  There is a multitude of reasons why this is so, but I want to point out what I believe to be four of the bigger reasons.

Health care

The average person in Minnesota pays about half of what a person in Wisconsin would pay for health insurance.  The reason for this is explained by State Senator Kathleen Vinehout:

First, it is important to note that Wisconsin does not significantly differ from Minnesota in per-person health costs. Wisconsin is slightly more expensive, but per-person costs in both states are a little under $6,000 a year.

Second, Minnesota made very different decisions than Wisconsin last year. Minnesota chose a state-based marketplace, chose to keep parents up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level on Medicaid and chose to expand coverage of Medicaid for all people up to 133 percent of FPL. This means a single person who makes up to about $15,000 a year can get on the Gopher state’s version of BadgerCare. The state also chose to vigorously use rate review authorities.

Wisconsin, on the other hand, decided to let folks buy insurance through the federal marketplace. The governor and lawmakers who voted for the state budget dropped BadgerCare coverage for any adult who made a little more than $11,000 a year. The state decided to not use its rate review authorities.

Senator Vinehout goes on to say that by not expanding the Medicaid, Walker is forcing those who are going through the marketplace for their insurance to pay 8 -10% more.

Needless to say, the more people are being force to pay for their health care insurance, the less they have to spend on anything else.  This, in turn, slows down the economy, costing us even more jobs.

Minimum Wage

Walker said that the issue of raising the minimum wage in Wisconsin is only "a distraction."

Meanwhile, Minnesota has raised their minimum wage to $8.00 per hour - even for food service jobs, which are still $2.30 per hour in Wisconsin - and will bump it up to $9.50 per hour by 2016.  Obviously, this puts more money into the pockets of the workers who are much more likely to spend that money, stimulating the state's economy.  The difference is so great that many people in the border towns are going across the state line to get those jobs, passing up similar jobs in Wisconsin to do so.

It should be noted that Mary Burke, Walker's gubernatorial opponent, is for raising the state's minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.  While that still falls short of a living wage, it would help tens of thousands of people avoid losing their homes while still keeping food on the table and buying necessities, like medication.

Not only would raising the minimum wage help stimulate Wisconsin's stagnant economy, it could also help deal with the revenue shortfall we are facing under Walker's maladministration.

Equality Pay

Another area that Minnesota leads Wisconsin is in the way they treat women.

Minnesota has passed the Women's Economic Security Act, which not only benefits women, but the state as a whole:

The law provides an expansive host of benefits, including requirements that employers provide basic accommodations for pregnant workers, and protections for mothers who need to express breast milk. It raises the minimum wage, and provides a number of protections intended to address the economic consequences of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault, including an expansion of unemployment insurance and allowing employees who are victims of violence to use paid sick time. It requires private businesses with 40 or more employees seeking state contracts above $500,000—that’s about 1,000 state contractors—to have an “equal pay certificate” verifying that the average compensation for employees in similar positions do not vary by gender. It contains provisions similar to those within the stalled federal Paycheck Fairness Act, such as not allowing employers to retaliate against employees for discussing their wages. It provides funding to promote increased employment of women in highly paid industries where they are dramatically underrepresented, including construction. (Currently, 6 percent of construction companies in the state are owned by a woman.)

Compare that to Walker, who actually weakened Wisconsin's pay equality laws and made things more unsafe for women who are the victim's of domestic and/or sexual violence.  Thanks to Walker's misguided policies, not only are Wisconsin women making less money, some are forced to decide between their paltry paycheck and their personal safety.

This is not good for women and not good for the state.

Unions

Obviously, we all know about Walker's claim to infamy, Act 10, and the devastating effect it had on the state's economy by taking $3 billion out of the economy and into the coffers of Walker's wealthy supporters.  This has led to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across the state in both the public and private sectors.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, unions are respected and allowed to be the voice for the workers, which has already led to two major successes.

One of the wins for workers is that allowed 27,000 in-home health workers join a union:

Thousands of in-home health care providers in Minnesota voted to create their own union, the state announced Tuesday after tallying the results.

With the union now authorized, the Service Employees International Union, which organized the election, can negotiate with the state for wages and benefits for the estimated 27,000 eligible workers. About 60 percent of the roughly 5,800 voters who cast ballots approved unionization, the Bureau of Mediation Services said.

Union supporters who care for sick, elderly and disabled patients in their own homes celebrated the creation of their new union as a sign that better pay is on the horizon.

"We are now not invisible. We are 26,000 strong," said Debra Howze, a home care worker in north Minneapolis. The state has to "deal with a force to be reckoned with," she said.

Unsurprisingly, the National Right to Work Legal Foundation has vowed to fight this and to reinstate the plantation economy that they desire so desperately, regardless of how many people it harms.

The other huge win for working people in Minnesota came when the anti-union Target agreed to a labor peace agreement that will benefit the workers of janitorial companies that contract with Target:

Following a string of strikes and protests held by low-wage workers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the Minnesota-based retailer Target has agreed to insert language into its vendor contracts urging high labor standards at the firms that clean the company's stores in the area.

According to a draft of the agreement shared with HuffPost, Target will stipulate that the cleaning companies it works with cannot interfere with workers' organizing rights, must follow wage-and-hour laws and must establish worker safety committees.

Significantly, the draft agreement would also compel the subcontractors to bargain with a labor union seeking to represent the workers, so long as the union agreed not to carry out strikes, protests or other "economic interference with Target's operations."

That sort of measure, sometimes referred to as a labor peace agreement, could very well pave the way for subcontracted janitors in Target's Minneapolis-area stores to unionize.

As noted above, these actions will allow workers to get more money, which will go to stimulate the state's economy, which will lead to even more good paying jobs.  Not only will the pay for these workers increase, but they will also be able to negotiate for other benefits such as paid vacations and sick leave.  On top of that, they will have better working conditions, which will protect them as well as their employers.

While the list above is not comprehensive for all of the reasons why Minnesota is outperforming Wisconsin economically.  For example, it doesn't include such obvious other factors such as the fact that Minnesota embraced high speed rail and is benefiting from all the federal funding and jobs that come with it.  However, it does serve to show that on every choice that Walker has made regarding his budgets and policies, he has been absolutely on the wrong side of things.

Sadly, we the ones paying for Walker's mistakes and will continue to do so until we vote him out of office.

It's either that or we all move to Minnesota and I really, really don't want to be a Vikings fan.

No More Cuts - Stop Bleeding City Workers

The City of Milwaukee is looking to follow Milwaukee County and the State of Wisconsin in traipsing down the austerity trail despite the fact that this has proven to be more damaging and more costly than the savings they pretend it would save.

To see how draconian this would be, AFSCME District Council put together this video with real people explaining how damaging this would be to them and their families:



Or if you're more of a numbers type of person, here is the bloodletting in chart form from the city's website:

If you are available, please join us for a rally on Monday, July 21, at 5 pm at Red Arrow Park:

The Teapublicans and Republicrats will continue to take until we stop them and take back what is ours.  It is time and beyond to stand up for ourselves!

Another Sickening Side Effect Of Act 10

For quite a while, I have been pointing out story after story about the devastating economic impact of Act 10 and the rest of Scott Walker's agenda.  I have repeatedly explained that when Walker implemented Act 10, he was redistributing the wealth from the working class to the rich corporations and CEOs.  And due to the state's 175,000 public sector employees having their take home pay cut so much, this meant that they stopped paying for such niceties such as going out to eat or catching a movie.

This decrease in money circulating forced private businesses to implement pay cuts, lay off their workers and sometimes go out of business altogether.  And the downward economic spiral would continue.

As Walker and his Teapublican allies continue to tighten the screws of their austerity economy, the bite is getting to be deeper. Walker and company continue to slash shared revenue with local governments - counties, municipalities and school districts - who in turn are forced to put that burden on their employees.  This was evidenced recently in an article in the New York Times which pointed out that the city manager for Oshkosh, Mark Rohloff, pointed out that they are seeing a nearly $1 million hole due to Walker's agenda and a public sector worker said that she had to go on public assistance because of Act 10.

With the further cuts, workers are no longer cutting out niceties, but are being forced to cut back on necessities, such as health care.  With the severe pay cuts and increases in premiums and co-pays, even if the workers have health care insurance, they cannot afford to use it. Add to this the number of people in the private sector who have seen their wages cut due to the billions of dollars taken out of the economy by Walker and the tens of thousands of people that are suffering from Walkercare and it the economic problems multiply exponentially.

And as one might have surmised, this is causing negative ripple effects in the health care field.

This sickening side effect is already being seen at Marshfield Clinic, as shown by a memo that came out on Wednesday from the president of the Clinic:

MEMO

TO: Marshfield Clinic Physicians and Staff

FROM: Brian Ewert, M.D.
Jim Coleman

RE: Clinic Finances

DATE: March 5, 2014

Since the beginning of the Clinic’s fiscal year October 1, 2013, we have experienced decreasing demand for Clinic services. This became more pronounced in January and February. We attribute this decrease to patients bearing more financial responsibility for their health care due to high-deductible health plans. This has resulted in $17 million less in income than anticipated. However, we have met our goals in controlling expenses.

The significant decrease in income requires us to make further changes in Clinic expenses to preserve the Clinic’s financial strength. Both short-term and longer-term solutions are needed.

The Clinic Board instituted these short-term solutions which will apply from April 1 – September 30, 2014:

· 5 percent Physician Class A Member salary withhold
· 5 percent Staff salary withhold for salaries greater than $125,000 per year
· No 2 percent Staff salary increase previously scheduled for April 1, 2014
· Discontinue Clinic 1 percent 401(K) match

These changes will result in about a $13 million improvement in Clinic finances.

Longer-term solutions were also discussed and the Clinic Board will make final decisions over the next six weeks.

Substantial changes are occurring in how people seek health care. The Clinic has successfully changed in the past based on patients’ needs. Our continued success will require a commitment to a high degree of alignment, collaboration and partnership throughout the Marshfield Clinic Health System.

As the gentle reader can plainly see, Act 10 doesn't just affect public sector workers, but workers in the private sector as well. Furthermore, it does not only affect the here and now, but also the long term, such as retirements.

Mahatma Gandhi had said, "Poverty is the worst form of violence."  Then it has become quite evident that Act 10 and Walker's other economic policies is more than an attack on union workers or public sector workers, but an attack on every man, woman and child in the state.

The only question is how many attacks are we willing to tolerate before we fight back?

Cause & Effect - Chain of Events!

By Jeff Simpson

Step 1:  The people of Wisconsin elect Scott Walker as Governor. 

Step 2:  Scott Walker hires the incredibly unethical, dishonest scumbag Dennis Smith as Secretary of the Department of Health Services. 



Step 3:   Dennis Smith, when he wasnt sleeping with his employees, was busy turning down federal Medicaid money meant for WI.

Step 4:  The rejection of federal money will cost the Wisconsin taxpayers $1,800,000,000.

Step 5: Wisconsites WILL die because of this decision.

Step 6:  "pro"-life Wisconsin will give Scott Walker a 100% pro-life rating.  

Repeat/Reuse/Recycle 

The Latest Corporate Maneuver To Screw Workers - Dump The Spouse!

With a tip of the crown to one of my tweeps, we find that UPS is starting a new attack on workers which is going to put the screw to a lot of families:

In a memo addressed to employees, U.P.S. said, “Limiting plan eligibility is one way to manage
ongoing health care costs, now and into the future, so that we can continue to provide affordable coverage for our employees.”

The memo also estimated that about 33,000 spouses were covered under its insurance plan for white-collar employees and that “about 15,000 of these would have health care coverage available through their own employers.”

In explaining its move — which was first reported by Kaiser Health News and USA Today — U.P.S. told employees, “Since the Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide affordable coverage, we believe your spouse should be covered by their own employer — just as U.P.S. has a responsibility to offer coverage to you, our employee.”

And it's not just the corporations. The public sector is also being similarly attacked:

Large employers like Xerox and Teva Pharmaceuticals already impose surcharges for spousal coverage. And some cities, like Terre Haute, Ind., decided to follow what many of its private corporations were doing, by adopting a “spousal carve-out” so that working spouses would not be covered under its health plans.

The corporations are blaming Obamacare for these moves, but the article goes on to report that the cost is minimal and that this is just another way for the corporations to increase their profit margin.

This kind of move will really hurt working families, especially if one or both spouses are working in a low-paying part-time job. While individual coverage is obviously less than family coverage, two individual costs would far exceed the cost of a family coverage. If a person is working a low paying job, health care coverage would eat up a large part of their check. In fact, the cost might become so high that it would be more cost effective for the family if the lesser paid spouse quit his or her job.

Needless to say, the cut in income would be devastating for the family. But it would also go to further slow the economic recovery and very possibly put us back in a downward spin.

There But For The Grace Of God Go We

In the beginning of May, my wife went to her primary physician. The appointment was to address some of the routine things that can happen to a person as they get older.

Or so we thought.

During the appointment, the doctor ordered X-rays of my wife's chest due to my wife having a lot of congestion.

The Friday before last, the doctor called and told us that the X-rays showed a spot on one of her lungs.

As the doctor gave us the name and number to an oncologist, my mind was reeling.  My wife had cancer twice in the mid-1990s, but had beat it both times.  She is also about the age my mother was when she was diagnosed with cancer.

We called the oncologist and got an appointment for the first thing Monday morning.  That was the longest weekend of my life as I tried to keep my imagination from getting carried away.

I'll spare the gentle reader the details of the whirlwind of scheduling appointments, more tests and more scans, and the nonverbal language of the oncologist giving the tell that she was already thinking of treatment options.

The big news was that the tumor was thankfully not cancer.

As I spent the weekend waiting for Monday and then spent the beginning of the week waiting as my wife was poked and prodded and dyed and had all sorts of tests and scans done, I did a lot of thinking.  What else is there to do in a hospital waiting area?

The most frequent thought I had was how glad I was to have a job with relatively decent benefits.  If not for the insurance, my wife might not have had the X-rays done, the spot might not have been found.  I silently thanked by union brothers and sisters who had fought so hard to get us these things and appreciated them all the more.

For without the insurance through my job, we might have had to go with Badger Care, like many of the poor, the working poor and Walmart employees (but I repeat myself).  But with the way that Scott Walker has been screwing up by the numbers with first Badger Care and now with Walkercare, odds are my wife wouldn't have any resources that way.

She might have been able to access free screenings, like those offered at Planned Parenthood, but Walker and his Teapubligoons went after them and made sure that they couldn't help the poor either.  After all, who would want to save a life or anything?

Another frequent thought was that of gratitude to the Milwaukee County Board, led by Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic.  I realize that this might sound odd, but there is a very solid reason for it.

When the county was going through the crafting of the 2013 budget. one of the major issues that Milwaukee County Executive Emperor Chris Abele and the County Board were at odds was that regarding employee benefits.

Abele wanted to give workers a 3% raise, but completely eliminate the health savings account and raise employee contributions to 29%.  The Board restored the HSA and cut the contribution to 25%.  They also cut the raise to 1.5%.  It was the same amount of money either way, but the Board's method offered a greater potential of savings as well as balanced it a little better for the workers (although we took a hit either way - losing over another thousand in take home pay).

Because the Board's version won out at the end, I was able to focus on supporting my wife instead of trying to find money we don't have or finding a bankruptcy attorney or having to give up everything just get her the care she needed.

As I wrote above, we were most fortunate that the scare was just that - only a scare.  Even with the "Cadillac" insurance we have, if it had been anything more than a scare, it would have sent us over our own personal fiscal cliff.

Yet, even though we are one major illness from bankruptcy, we are one of the "lucky ones."

There are tens of thousands of Wisconsinites that are not receiving the necessary and proper health care and have nowhere to turn now.  And the only reason for this is the greed and malfeasance of Walker, his Teapubligoons in the legislature and their corporate overlords.

Until these wrongs are righted, I am rededicating myself to the fight, not just for health care, but for all the evils that Walker and his ilk have visited upon our once great state.  I hope that the gentle reader will remember what we are fighting for and once again pick up the fight as well.

I would also be remiss if I ended this without giving a large shout out of thanks to all of our family, friends and coworkers who gave us an overwhelming amount of emotional support during this scare.

Our Dumb Senator's 'Murica!

Only our dumb senator, RoJo, could come up with something as inane and insane as saying that it's American as all get out to let businesses decide who lives and dies from cancer:



How the hell did this guy win again?

Oh, Look! More "Tools"

I got a tip from one of my tweeps about this piece of offal:

Currently, cities, villages, towns, counties, school districts, and technical college districts (local governments) provide health care benefits for their employees. Some also provide postretirement health care benefits for their employees.

This bill prohibits a local government from providing health care benefits to any employee hired on or after January 1, 2014, for use upon the employee's retirement, including compensated absences but excluding the implicit rate subsidy, unless the cost of the benefit is fully funded in a segregated account on an actuarial basis or other method that complies with generally accepted accounting principles.

This kind of garbage is what they are doing to bankrupt the post office. It is unreasonable and impractical.

What this will do is sabotage the local governments and school boards even more. One of the reasons people take the lower pay in public sector work is because of the benefits. Now that the public sector workers are again being punished for looking at the big picture, it will really hamper the ability of the local governments to hire, much less retain, quality workers.

Not that the elitist Republicans give a damn if your garbage is picked up, whether your children receive a quality education, whether public safety is maintained, whether the roads are plowed. They figure that as long as their needs are met, it's all OK. The rest of that stuff, you can do without or pay a fortune as it is all privatized and the taxpayers no longer have a say in the cost of things.

There are two things that I wonder about this bill and how it will play out.

One, is whether this will pass constitutional muster since it interferes with the municipalities right to home rule, which is one of the bases used to strike down Act 10. And that leads to the second part, which is, given that Act 10 is not the law of the land, can the state order local governments to break their contracts. That would open them up to huge lawsuits.

And I wonder how Obamacare will play into this.  It would appear that the Republicans are going to abuse the law and tap into that for which they have such an irrational hatred.

Doesn't this all make Tuesday look so important? Will it matter if we allow Roggensack to be reelected and don't allow ourselves to have an honest Supreme Court?

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CLVIII

Today's economic news from Fitzwalkerstan is mixed.

The good news, if you believe Scott Walker, is that exports are expected to break the state record.

The bad news is that the top two exports are our jobs and our tax dollars:

Wisconsin business leaders say the state is headed in the right direction, yet one in five plans to cut staff in the next six months, the largest percentage in more than three years, according to a semi-annual survey conducted by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.

Twenty percent said they plan layoffs in the first half of 2013, the highest since June 2009, when 41 percent expected job cuts.

One in four chief executives, or 24 percent, said they will add employees, down from 44 percent a year ago and 62 percent last June.

It's enough to make a person sick, but don't you dare, because they're also taking away your healthcare coverage:

Health care is the No. 2 business concern, after the economic slowdown, the poll showed.

With 13 percent saying their health insurance costs have increased more than 20 percent in the past year, up from 8 percent a year ago, more employers say they are dropping health coverage for their workers. Five percent say they do not offer health insurance now, and 9 percent say they will end health benefits, up from 2 percent a year ago.

So, we're losing even more jobs, our healthcare coverage and our tax dollars. How do the folks of WMC, one of Walker's major supporters and drivers of his agenda feel about this?

CEOs were gung-ho on the state, though, with 93 percent saying "things in Wisconsin are going in the right direction" and 40 percent describing state government as "very pro-business."

Where's John Doe when you really need him?

It's Good Work If You Can Get It

Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch -  $76,261/yr + per diems, with Cadillac taxpayer funded health care
Assemblyman Joel Kleefisch - $ 49,943/yr + per diems with Cadillac taxpayer funded health care

Total amount of money that the Kleefisch family takes from the taxpayers = $126,204 + per diems and taxpayer funded Cadillac health care.   

. 

The Wisconsin State legislature adjourned on March 16th 2012, and have no plans on to meet until well after the November 2012 elections. 

For those of you scoring at home, that is a minimum of 8 months off, along with weekends and all holidays, while collecting full salary and benefits from the Wisconsin taxpayer.  As you can see the Kleefisch family is using their time well to serve their constituents.  Except of course when they had a chance to actually help their constituents and harmed them instead.  

Voters get to decide if their money is being well spent or if they want to elect someone serious about the job in Scott Michalak.   Maybe its time we stopped funding hunting trips and tried to get the people of Wisconsin back to work!   

The Walker Budget Keeps Working! Part XCVI

Healthcare jobs? We don't need no stinking healthcare jobs!

Marshfield Clinic has cut about 50 positions systemwide since January, with more staff reductions likely on the way, its top executive said Thursday.

The cuts, out of about 8,000 Clinic employees at more than 50 locations in Wisconsin, have included layoffs, attrition, rescinded job offers and full-time staffers reduced to part-time, Clinic President Dr. Brian Ewert said. The reductions have been in a variety of departments and Clinic sites.

"There will be some (more layoffs)," Ewert said. "These types of decisions are made with the utmost seriousness."

Ewert didn't know how many more jobs will be cut, but he said the staff reductions will continue to be spread throughout different departments systemwide and include a variety of measures, such as leaving some open positions unfilled or reducing hours at some clinics.

In Fitzwalkerstan, the only healthcare you need is don't get sick!

What's Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander

The apparent exception to that timeless adage is when it comes to the Republicans' War on Women.

Watch this video of Representative Kelda Helen Roys presenting some amendments to a bill that would have leveled the playing field and put equality into the misogynistic laws the Republicans were ramming through. The reaction to her suggestions couldn't be a better example of the Republicans' "Do as I say, not as I do" mentality:




Then again, taking any sort of responsibility is not one of the right's strong suits.

We're Number 37

By Keith Schmitz



Today when Romney the Robotic Republican was confronted by a 99er in South Carolina with “What will you do to support the 99 percent seeing as how you are part of the 1 percent?”, Mitt responded with a variation of the old Republican standard, "why don't you just get out of here..."

Let me tell you something: America is a great nation because we’re a united nation. And those who try and divide the nation, as you’re trying to do here and as our President is doing, are hurting this country seriously. The right course for America is not to divide America and try and divide us between one and another. It’s to come together as a nation. And if you’ve got a better model, if you think China’s better, or Russia’s better, or Cuba’s better, or North Korea’s better, I’m glad to hear all about it. But you know what, you know what, America’s right and you’re wrong.

Nice travelogue. Notice he left out the 37 or so countries that rank ahead of us on a lot of other rankings.

How Much Is A Child's Life Worth?

Scott Walker is facing an inevitable recall.  WISGOP will probably lose control of the state senate.  All because they've been selling out the state and its citizens to the well-moneyed special interests.

So what does Walker and his cohorts do? Double down on their lack of integrity and ethics.  

The State Senate Judiciary Committee is prepared to ram through SB-373, which would negate already established lawsuits filed by or on the behalf of people who have suffered from lead poisoning.

Xoff thinks that Walker and company are doing this in order to gain some big time recall defense funding from WMC, who is pushing for this law to be passed.

While that rationale is a distinct probability, they may be doing it to just find themselves a place to land as they are removed from office for their malfeasance.

But whatever their motivation might be, there is no way in hell this bill should have even gotten this far.  In fact, the Legislative Council points out that other cases that likewise retroactively negate people's right for redress have been found to be unconstitutional.  

Walker Comes Out Whiffing

On the eve of his recall, Scott Walker comes out swinging.  And ends up whiffing enough to cause a steady breeze.

Courtesy of TPM, we see that Walker came put an ad up during Monday Night Football:



The woman in the video is Karin Rajnicek of the Waukesha School Board. In the video, she says this (emphasis mine):

“We were worried when the state budget was gonna mean less money for our school district. And we have 25 schools,” says Rajnicek. “But Governor Walker — he gave us options that reduced our biggest costs, so that we could put more money back into our classrooms.”

Maybe she should have been more worried, because according to the Waukesha School District website, they must have lost five schools (again, emphasis mine):

The School District of Waukesha is located fifteen miles west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the rolling hills of Waukesha County. With over 12,000 pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students served in our 20 schools, we are the seventh largest school district in the State of Wisconsin. Our schools include three comprehensive high schools, three middle schools, and 14 elementary schools. In addition, we serve students in six charter schools: Waukesha STEM Academy which has two campuses - Randall for Grades K-5 and Saratoga for Grades 6 and 7, Harvey Philip Alternative Charter School, Charter Recovery School, Waukesha Academy of Health Professions, Waukesha Engineering Preparatory Academy, and iQ Academy Wisconsin.

Or if you count the charter schools, she is short one. (Then again, does anyone really consider charter schools to be real schools?) Either way, it's rather scary that she is in charge of educating children when her math skills are as poor as Walker's. Maybe that's why she thinks that his slashing funding to her district was a good thing.

But that's just the beginning of the gaffes, folks.

Walker then comes on screen as says this:

“I’m committed to working together, to create more jobs, to improve our schools, and to protect our seniors. You know, Wisconsin’s best days are yet to come. It won’t happen overnight, but we are on our way.”

By creating jobs, he means, of course, chasing them out of the state by the hundreds.

And the DPI, in their annual survey, show that by improving schools, he means making sure the kids get less and less of education with less teachers, less schools and less programs.

And Walker feels that the best way to protect seniors is to cut their health care and deny them Family Care services.  And if the senior somehow manages to keep their health care coverage and/or get into Family Care, he'll make sure they don't make it to their medical appointments.

Can you believe he spent $300,000 of the Koch Brothers' money on this?  If this is the best he can do, this will be a cakewalk.

But Walker was correct on one thing.

Wisconsin's best days are yet to come.  And no, they will not happen overnight.  It will take 60 days just to get the recall signatures.

And yes, we are on our way...to recall this corrupt, inept bully and reclaim Wisconsin!

File Under Old News: Walker Administration Lying Again

Dennis Smith, Scott Walker's Secretary of Health Services, took great pains to try to cherry pick the worst parts of a report about the Affordable Care Act, in an effort to make it look like it was a bad thing for Wisconsin.

But the thing is, what Smith presented in his release was far from the reality of the conclusions of the report.  And it's not me saying this. It's the author of the report, Jonathan Gruber, who is a bona fide economist, and not a hired hack with a history of trying to sabotage public health care plans like Smith:

But that's not the conclusion Gruber came to at all. "They picked out the most negative aspects of the report to highlight," Gruber told me in an interview. "Overall I think health care reform is a great thing for Wisconsin."

A key finding of the analysis -- that 340,000 uninsured people in Wisconsin will gain coverage by 2016 -- was not even mentioned in the press release issued by the state's Office of Free Market Health Care, which is the new department created by Walker to replace Doyle's Office of Health Care Reform, created barely a year earlier to carry out the federal Affordable Care Act.

Instead lists of "key findings" presented in the press release and a slide presentation prepared for reporters details a bunch of negatives using expressions that have become hot buttons in the health care debate: the law will "drastically shrink" the numbers of people in the private insurance market; it will cause "significant disruption" to employer-sponsored insurance; and it will force "working families" to pay a "hidden tax" that will "subsidize" the purchase of health insurance for families earning up to $89,000, a "forced redistribution of wealth."

Sadly, the lies aren't even the most egregious thing.

The worst part is the way they're trying to control the flow of information and trying to control the press:

Kraig is still fuming after being ejected from the tightly orchestrated press briefing about the report Wednesday. Among the strict ground rules: reporters could not use any quotes provided by Smith and other state officials during the course of an hourlong briefing and PowerPoint presentation (which didn't get to the good news about the increase in coverage for 340,000 people until the last of 16 slides.) Reporters could use only comments provided in the press release or afterwards in one-in-one interviews with Smith. (I was not among the seven or so reporters there; however someone at the meeting filled me in. Here is an AP report with further details of the study's findings.)

Remember the days when people were still trying to kid themselves that Walker was serious about having a transparent government?

This is just another aspect of the Orwellian fascist state that they are trying to create for themselves. Fortunately, with the Internet, it's not as easy for them as they would like.  It also shows why we cannot stop fighting until they are out of power. And this includes dismantling the corporate news sources that spread these lies, like MacIver Institute, Media Trackers and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  Our future as a free land and a free people demands it.

H/T: Jake and his Economic TA Funhouse