Posted by: Editorial Post
in The Way We See It on March 18, 2011
From the March 13, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:
Recent polls suggest that Gov. Scott Walker has yet to convince a majority of Wisconsin residents that de-fanging public-sector unions is a good idea. If the polls are accurate, Wisconsinites like the idea of public employees paying more for health care and pension benefits, but reining in their collective-bargaining privileges remains a much tougher sell for the governor and Republican majorities in the Legislature.
This is surprising when you consider that Walker’s budget-repair bill ensures public employees still will be able to negotiate for wages and salaries, and will continue to enjoy broad protections under state civil-service law. They will remain, in effect, a uniquely fortunate group of workers.
Posted by: Editorial Post
in The Way We See It on March 07, 2011
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From the March 6, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:
Some observations as debate continues over Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-repair bill, and as local governments begin to account for sharp reductions in state-aid payments over the next two years:
• Wisconsin’s public-sector union bosses have said repeatedly over the last two weeks that they’ll accept provisions of Walker’s bill that require government workers to pay half of their pension contributions and 12.8 percent for health care premiums, provided there are no limits on collective bargaining. And yet, across the state, local and county governments — the Janesville and Evansville school boards among them — inexplicably are OK’ing union contracts that require much less from public employees.
Posted by: Editorial Post
in The Way We See It on February 28, 2011
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From the February 27, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:
So much for the new era of civility. Just weeks after cynical liberals demanded kinder, gentler rhetoric, lest right-wing political speech prompt another Tucson-like shooting spree, work-skipping public-union members stormed the Wisconsin Capitol demanding the Hitlerian head of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
It has been an unseemly display since Feb. 16, punctuated by vandalism inside the Capitol, illegal work stoppages by teachers in more than 50 school districts and angry rent-a-mob rhetoric in demonstrations increasingly engineered by the Obama administration and national union leaders. But hey, when you’re being threatened with job security in exchange for ponying up somewhat less than your fair share for retirement and health care costs, well, anything goes, right?
Posted by: Editorial Post
in The Way We See It on February 21, 2011
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From the February 20, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:
As he discussed the details of his controversial budget-repair bill, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker offered a reality check last week that should resonate with state taxpayers.
Asked to justify his plan to limit the influence of public-employee unions and their grinding effect on a state budget more than $3 billion in the red, Walker opted for the kind of plain talk rarely heard in Madison in recent years.
Posted by: Editorial Post
in The Way We See It on February 14, 2011
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From the February 13, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:
To say that recent unemployment numbers don’t add up is an understatement at best. More plainly, they’re absolutely strange.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate dropped .4 percent in January to 9 percent, yet the department also reports the economy created an almost statistically insignificant 36,000 jobs over the same period.
Posted by: Editorial Post
in The Way We See It on February 07, 2011
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From the February 6, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:
Just a day after President Obama’s languid State of the Union speech, during which he touted a recovering economy, the healing power of his signature health care mandate and new spending “investments,” a triple dose of reality gagged White House spin-meisters.
First came news that the federal budget deficit is considerably larger at $1.5 trillion than previously thought. In the Republican response to the president’s speech, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Janesville warned of the catastrophic perils of continued deficit spending and a looming entitlement bubble that threatens to gut the economy. Ryan’s retort proved especially meaningful, when, hours later, the Congressional Budget Office announced that Social Security will have a $45 billion shortfall this year, and will pay out more in benefits than it collects in payroll taxes through at least 2021 without legislative changes.
