The Budget Plot
From the recording of a telephone conversation with someone Republican Gov. Scott Walker thought was a right-wing billionaire supporter, we already knew Walker, a minister's son yet, had some pretty sleazy values.
Now Walker has let the other boot drop.
In his address to cheering Republicans in the state Legislature, Walker actually bragged that his budget was lower than any Wisconsin budget submitted in the last 16 years by any governor, Republican or Democrat.
That is nothing to be proud of.
At a time when our nation is coming out of the worst recession since the Great Depression and people are in greater need than they ever have been in their lifetimes, this governor is boasting that he is doing less to help them.
It's actually even worse than that. Walker isn't just ignoring the state's problems. He's making those problems far worse with a radical, right-wing budget that ravages public education and slashes state aid to every city, town and village.
Walker's cover story for devastating education and local governments throughout the state is that all those terrible past governors, Republican and Democrat, failed to deal with Wisconsin's financial problems and left poor Scott Walker with the worst financial disaster in history.
That is demonstrably false. If that were true, Walker would be facing a much greater budget deficit to manage than past governors. Just the opposite is true.
In his last budget, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle had twice the budget deficit Walker is inheriting. And Doyle filled it without slashing billions of dollars from public education and local government, eliminating collective bargaining rights or raising general sales or income taxes.
Oh, but Walker says, that was just a one-time fix. Well, then let's hear it for one-time fixes.Every two years, governors and legislatures have budget holes to fill. And each time they cared enough and were smart enough to fill that deficit without eviscerating public education, dismantling state aid to local governments or destroying rights.
The problem stays fixed for two years until the next
group of political leaders steps up to the challenge.
Walker is the first governor who failed. His
supporters need to explain whether he didn't care enough or just wasn't smart
enough.
But some of the worst provisions of Walker's budget
obviously are intentional.
Perhaps the only honest portion of the budget has to
do with taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools. Before giving the
governor credit for honesty, however, you also need to understand how vicious
the proposal is.
Over the years, many people may have wondered why
Republicans were such stalwart supporters of tax vouchers to allow poor black
and Latino children to attend private schools.
Republicans and their right-wing supporters don't
want to pay taxes for anything. And they certainly don't care about poor
children, especially not children of color.
Walker's budget finally exposes the entire
Republican plot. While Walker guts the funding of public schools that educate
the overwhelming majority of poor children—white, black and brown—he removes
income limits on families receiving tax vouchers for private schools.
What that means is all those rich parents who send
their children to expensive private schools now will receive generous taxpayer
subsidies at the same time poor children in public schools are having their
educations decimated.
Even More Diabolical
The attack on employment in Wisconsin may be even
more diabolical.
Walker, who fraudulently campaigned on creating
"jobs, jobs and more jobs," already has begun sending out pink slips to
thousands of state employees.
Now Walker's budget not only slashes nearly a
billion dollars from aid to local government, but it also would make it illegal
for local officials to raise property taxes to replace all those state funds
Walker is wiping out.
That leaves local governments with no choice but to
lay off thousands more workers all over the state and—after collective
bargaining rights are abolished—further reduce the pay and benefits of anyone
still employed.
Why in the world would any political leader want to
cut jobs at a time when the nation is still struggling toward economic recovery
from one of the worst financial disasters in history?
A clear pattern is emerging of Republicans
intentionally trying to snuff out any budding signs of economic recovery they
fear could benefit President Barack Obama and Democrats in 2012.
Never mind recovery also benefits every American.
House Republicans now are voting for enormous cuts
in federal spending that economists warn could kill the recovery. And Walker
and other Republican governors are proposing extreme budgets that ravage public
employment instead of creating jobs.
It's nothing short of evil for a governor to
intentionally prolong misery in the lives of millions to try to gain some
underhanded political advantage. Recalls can't happen fast enough.
Jealous Joel of the free paper just can't get enough of Gov. Walker. Going on and on about black, white, brown this and that. Mad the Governor isn't handing out free money to all those who refuse to embrace the recovery. All this rhetoric about a recession that is so 2008. Dude, seen the stock market lately? What recession? Try getting in an upscale restaurant on a Saturday night. What recession? Can't find a job, get off your butt and go to Louisiana to the gas fields or clean up the beach. Private schools are the way to go. They know how to educate kids better and a lower price. These parents deserve tax breaks because they are also paying property tax that funds schools their kids don't go to. Gov Walker is just cutting out the fat. For years we aloud state goverment to grow, creating make-work welfare jobs so people can come in, stare at computer screen and collect a paycheck. We allowed mobbed up unions to infiltrate the state workforce, artificially raising their wages. These are public servents. It should be like the army. Walker is the general and when he gives a direct order, the state workers should follow his orders without question.
you are a complete moron.
Actually, all WI State Governors in the last 10 years have reduced spending on k-16 education and asked for continual contributions from public employees, like furloughs and no cost-of-living-raises. BUT we were willing to do those things to put the State in a better fiscal position and because it was a burden equally shared. Walker's Bill and Budget only target one group of already suffering public workers, demonizing them for all their past contributions to making this a better State. Recall Walker and any Republican we can! Let's take our State back!!!
"Why in the world would any political leader want to cut jobs at a time when the nation is still struggling toward economic recovery from one of the worst financial disasters in history?" Two reason, first because they are make-work do-nothing jobs, or glorified welfare. Second he economy is exploding with growth right now. Those people can get jobs in the private sector. We live in a big country, on a big planet and these people can opt to move to where there are jobs.
"Republicans and their right-wing supporters don't want to pay taxes for anything. And they certainly don't care about poor children, especially not children of color." True we don't want to pay taxes but we care about poor children and children of color. Particularly children of Republicans of color. The people of color I know are all strong Republican. Those who live in my neighborhood have come from all over the world to take advantage of our robust economy and education. People from India, China, Taiwan, Korea, Iran, Pakistan Jordan, etc. All they had to do was make a simple choice to work hard and be wealthy. They find it hard to understand why so many Americans, with so much opportunity at their doorstep, opt to be poor or unemployed. But I suppose when the government pays you to do so, why not. The Democrats actually do wealthy people a favor by encouraging people not to try. It makes it so much easier for the rest of us to succeed. Getting a job is easy when you are competing with knuckleheads. There are plenty of jobs. Is it really that hard to learn to read and write, do a little math, comb your hair, tuck in your shirt, pull your pants up, brush your teeth, don't do drugs or tobacco, pass a lie detector test, stay out of debt, drive carefully? You do that, you will have a job. Then when you realize how easy it is, you go Republican and never go back.
you're a damn fool. I doubt you know any african american republicans, except maybe uncle tom.
That last paragraph is priceless! "Pass a lie detector test?" Right on, who needs a free country! - just do what you're told & don't complain.Isn't that what the founding fathers did???...
Did you go to private school,djlresearch? If your private education was so great, why don't you know the difference between aloud and allowed? Just sayin
Vision and spelling are some of my shortcomings. I don't mind a dictatorship as long as we have the option to vote someone out. We also have the option to move to other states if we don't like the way Wisconsin is run. I've been considering moving some of my business interests to Nevada. Also changing my residense to Florida or Texas where there is no state income tax. I know a lot of retired people in nursing homes up here that own a vacation home in Florida. They just get a Florida drivers license and claim residency there to avoid taxes here. Perhaps its time to set up a mail drop at the UPS store in Houston and "move".