Posted on 02/25/2011 6:40:03 AM PST by SE Mom
The budget repair bill is now in the hands of the Legislature. Although it is getting a lot more attention than most bills, it is still just a bill working its way through the process. In our state, budget bills are introduced by the Governor, reviewed by the Joint Finance Committee and then brought before the State Assembly and State Senate.
Legislators can debate budget bills in committee and on the floor of their respective houses and offer amendments. Most importantly they have the responsibility to vote, much like citizens do at the ballot box during elections.
The public offered suggestions and we made changes to the bill because of their participation in the public process. I also applaud Assembly Democrats for publicly debating the budget repair bill I introduced two weeks ago.
In contrast, their counterparts in the Senate fled the state in an effort to prevent democracy from working, stifle debate, and ultimately try and negate the results of the election that took place last November.
The reason Senate Democrats claimed they left the state was because citizens needed more time to debate the issue. This is ironic because 12 of the 14 missing Senate Democrats passed Governor Doyle’s budget repair bill, which raised taxes by a billion dollars, within 24 hours of introduction and without a public hearing in February 2009. Senate Republicans vehemently disagreed with the bill and the process Democrats used to ram it through; however they stayed in Wisconsin, debated the legislation and made the choice to participate in democracy by casting their vote in opposition.
The Legislation has been public for two weeks and the Joint Finance Committee listened to more than 17 hours of public testimony on the budget repair bill. Yet Senate Democrats still remain out of state endlessly holding media interviews.
In one interview Senator Larson said, “it’s almost like a reality TV show.”
I have a message for Senator Larson: No it isn’t. This isn’t for entertainment, this is real.
We have a deficit for the remainder of this fiscal year and a $3.6 billion deficit for the next budget that starts on July 1. Our budget repair bill allows us to save $300 million from state government workers and gives local units of government the tools to save $1.44 billion in the next state budget. In addition, it gives local governments the tools to save even more in order to protect jobs and vital services. To achieve these savings, we need to pass our repair bill. That’s why the Senate Democrats need to come home.
I go to work every day to defend the plan I laid out to make the tough decisions needed to balance Wisconsin’s budget.
It’s clear Senate Democrats disagree with the bill I put forward. I understand and respect that. I’ll always be willing to cooperate and communicate with the Democrats, but that has to happen at the State Capitol in Madison.
—Governor Scott Walker
This is great:
In one interview Senator Larson said, “it’s almost like a reality TV show.”
I have a message for Senator Larson: No it isn’t. This isn’t for entertainment, this is real.
Could he run for President?
Every state legislature in the country ought to be crafting a law that allows them to declare bugout seats as vacancies. Then constituents wouldn't have to screw around with time-consuming recalls.
ping
Uh oh another Scott Brown moment?
bttt What a good idea!
I am getting sick and tired of people calling us a democracy, we are a representative republic, big difference. The communist use the word democracy all the time.
Agreed- we should all call our state reps today and/or Monday and ask if they’d agree to draft such a bill.
One more idea: That govs ought to be required to call special elections within a set period of time after a vacany occurs. A short period of time. NY-29, among others, has learned that the hard way. And last I knew our legislature hadn’t done that yet.
I love Scott Walker. Stay the course, Governor. Wisconsin stands with you.
I sure hope so! From what I've read the state seems pretty evenly divided for and against.
There were a few defections in the assembly vote last night- but what's amazing is the senate still seems to be holding together. The pressure must be unbearable.
I thought Democrats wanted CHOICE.
They don’t seem to want taxpayers to have a choice where they send their children to school or give teachers a choice of whether to join the teachers union and pay dues.
We should share stories of the problems that collective baragining imposes on the taxpayer.
Actually the term collective bargaining - should be changed to work rules.
For example WEAC has its own insurance company to collect the premiums for the teachers health insurance that covers 85% without competitive bids. This has cost taxpayers at least 50 million dollars per year for 10 years (that is a half billion dollars) The currect waste is now $68 million a year. It is time to stop this waste.
Do you realize that the Milwaukee teacher union pension is 6.8% paid by employer (taxpayer) and 6.2% paid? by employee == under the terms of bargaining the employer (taxpayer) pays both? There is also a supplemental pension that taxpayer pays at 4.2%.
The average Milwaukee teach pay is $56,000 and benefits asre $44,000.
So whats it like living there now? Besides the Capitol, Hows the attitude of people?
Because testbook Communism is merely Socialism that uses democracy, plain and simple. There is no reality basis for the belief, since it never works, hence they always chase after the fabled, mythical, textbook theory.
Exactly, which is why I question people, especially republicans that continue to use the term over and over again.
I’ve learned more about unions in this country in the last 2 weeks than I have since high school. Oddly enough, we learned the pros AND cons of unions. It really was a different country than this one we live in now.
Funny thing- my seventh grade geography teacher told us it was unlikely our generation would be able to collect social security- then he taught us about ponzi schemes and showed the similarities! Can you IMAGINE the howls if any teacher in America did that now?
oh yeah.. the minute he talks about running, there will be the usual number of Freepers who argue, he isn’t a true conservative, isn’t pure enough, that he is indeed a rhino..
that rhino McCain, would have been far better than the current Marxist and incompetant boob in the White House.
Agreed. I’m so sick of the PC garbage. I know of many people in school who said “I’m a democrat, because we live in a democracy.” It drove me nuts. Also the immigrant (largely legal back then) parents of other kids in school who came over to the U.S. would vote for the Democrat party for the same reason.
Just like all manner of fiendish cunning, the use of words is employed by the left. They know the word association will do what they themselves, through their policies cannot. Republicans, I believe, are largely afraid to sound self touting by saying Republican, or Republic. But the Democrats have no such inhibitions. It’s the same reason many laws are made. They are crafted to limit only the law abiding, not the criminals who will violate them anyway. That’s how PC works, it’s just a law of public perception, not legislation (in most cases...).
AMEN Brother! The one bone I had to pick with the Governor in this article was his use of that word. Pure democracy is mob rule, or as the saying goes, two wolves and a sheep deciding what's for dinner.
I think it was Marx, I could be wrong on that, but someone said that democracy is the first step to socialism.
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