tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758431.post5067722599250502713..comments2023-10-28T03:14:44.519-07:00Comments on Calhouns Can(n)ons: Nile Fever?NewsstandGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099049885765768069noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758431.post-85771088650859172202011-02-22T06:05:59.323-08:002011-02-22T06:05:59.323-08:00Things need fixing is the understatement of the ye...Things need fixing is the understatement of the year. Yup, they sure do. What I find funny in all this is the good people of Madison voted into office pols promising to bring those chickens home to roost, and now they've landed, the collective scream is deafening. Now, suddenly, it becomes, Oh, wait, I didn't mean ME. <br /><br />Sadly, nothing will get fixed until everybody stops lying about everything and begins to agree on certain numbers and certain "facts" and deals honestly with those numbers and facts. Politicians and Faux Media making up crap like "death panels" and other lies are a huge part of the problem. Enough, already.Churadogshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17701649330085709021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758431.post-73162499268146009432011-02-21T23:10:48.021-08:002011-02-21T23:10:48.021-08:00One nuance that gets overlooked is the difference ...One nuance that gets overlooked is the difference between "State" employees "Federal" employees and lesser government entity employees.<br /> They all tend to get lumped together , but there is one very large difference when you consider the power of collective bargaining.<br /> States and the Federal Government can not declare bankruptcy due to their sovereign power to impose taxes.<br /> That's the bottom line.<br /> And that is what makes Federal and State workers unions unique to other workers unions.<br /> They cant drive their employers out of business, ever.<br /> And the very people that get elected to oversee the benefits of those people are supported and elected by the same folks, It's a sky's the limit conundrum with an ever escalating ladder of enrichment that has no natural hindrance until the house that holds everybody falls down.<br /> Tax the rich? sure, but how much? and where would it end? <br /> Things need fixing on both ends.Mike Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14883036796650379771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758431.post-51670034323560891002011-02-21T20:00:31.730-08:002011-02-21T20:00:31.730-08:00Anderson Cooper just did a good spot on his CNN 36...Anderson Cooper just did a good spot on his CNN 360 show. Both sides of the issue spelled out very clearly on both sides.Sandra Gorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10850367686567164074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758431.post-82776941489104283142011-02-21T16:22:34.154-08:002011-02-21T16:22:34.154-08:00Regardless of the history, many states and local g...Regardless of the history, many states and local governments are now facing the reality of tough, real, budget dilemas. The Wisconsin legislature is working with a math equation--they either reduce the State's considerable share of employee benefit costs or they lay off a lot of people. The party in power there believes their approach of increasing the workers' share of benefit costs and avoiding a significant work force reduction is the best approach.<br /><br />As for "union busting," I understand that the unions would still have the right to collectively bargain for wages, and the state has an extremely worker friendly civil service system that would remain in place. <br /><br />These are difficult financial times and business as usual can't continue. States like Wisconsin (and California) need flexibility to govern in the years to come. The days of politicians giving unions very friendly contracts in exchange for campaign support must end. Wisconsin is a clear example of what will happen under that practice. The voters finally said "enough."TCGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11311070108486162937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758431.post-4698864967127882072011-02-21T15:45:00.376-08:002011-02-21T15:45:00.376-08:00Right again, Ann. Tax breaks for the wealthy, but ...Right again, Ann. Tax breaks for the wealthy, but not a penny for our hardworking teachers, the guardians of future generations of Americans? That's not going to fly. Down with the Tea Party. Down with the Republican Party and their rich corporate buddies too. It's time the People took their government back!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07117601102457898018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758431.post-86727680466331575552011-02-21T12:39:10.073-08:002011-02-21T12:39:10.073-08:00Thanks for this Ann. It's what anybody who'...Thanks for this Ann. It's what anybody who's paying attention can see. (Someone who has not been hypnotized by the foreign-billionaire-owned "Conservative" media.) <br /><br />I agree totally with this: "Hold Wall Street to account, restore the money stolen, then talk to the victims of that fraud about tightening their belts. When it comes to cutting a teacher’s salary or slapping a small tax on a millionaire, my choice is a clear one." <br /><br />Under JFK-- CEOs made about 20 times what their workers made. Now they make 1000s of times more. That started during the Reagan administration and has been getting worse ever since. THAT is the problem. And as long as people like Patrick above worship at the rear ends of the ultra rich (many of whom, like the owners of Fox News, are Saudis) the US will continue on its doomed path to becoming a very large, uneducated and dangerous version of Haiti and Somalia.Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13758431.post-37170300448371671032011-02-21T10:16:25.592-08:002011-02-21T10:16:25.592-08:00Great piece, Ann, but you won't be surprised t...Great piece, Ann, but you won't be surprised to hear that I take issue with some of it. I hold no brief for pension fund managers or misguided policy makers, but I do think the revolutionary forces in Madison are the ones in the state house. The crowds outside (ginned up by the Obama machine, natch) are reactionaries. It's hardly fair to call what Walker is doing "union busting," when the cheeseheads can still unionize and still bargain collectively for wages -- Walker only asked that they pay 12% of their health care costs (a helluva lot less than most of us in the private sector pay, BTW). Thomas Sowell sheds more light on the economics involved:<br />"What are called 'tax cuts for the rich' have been reductions in high tax rates under four different administrations, including the Democratic administration of John F. Kennedy. In each case, going all the way back to the 1920s, the reduced tax rates have led to increased tax revenues for the government.<br /><br />'The rich' have ended up paying both a higher total amount of taxes and a larger share of all taxes than they did before what were called 'tax cuts for the rich.' The reason is very straightforward: High tax rates that people don’t actually pay do not bring the government as much revenue as lower tax rates that they do pay."bob joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03547517190417481675noreply@blogger.com