This comment is too juicy not to post.
******************
Call me crazy but is this thing not being a little too hyped up? People are acting like it's the end of the fucking world, over dramatizing, running around like they make $5/hour to bust their ass for 20 hours a day scraping shit off of floors, having to eat cat food for a living, and now, NOW, this evil man named Walker wants to take MORE from them! I really don't get it. It's not like that. What is everyone afraid of? I understand that collective bargaining rights are huge for state workers. But without them, would the state workers not just be forced to become like every other hard working citizen who is NOT part of a union? My father does not work for a union, he has not had a raise in 3 years, pays 80% of his health care, pays for his own 401k, and does not get to negotiate his benefits, paid sick days, paid vacation, etc. Teachers, what exactly IS the average salary at Whitewater? What exactly DOES get taken out of your paychecks for your benefits? How many days a year do you already get off for holidays, plus sick days, vacation days? Are things really that bad? Do you believe they will suddenly turn into the scenario I described at the beginning of this? WHAT'S THE BIG FUCKING DEAL???? Senators left the state! What the hell is everyone so afraid of????????
Dear whiny Anon,
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is kind of a big deal for faculty, and for us studentsn and for your long-suffering Dad. Walker's power grab takes something around $1 billion out of the Wisconsin economy over the next two years; a punk move that could cost as many as 10,000 private sector jobs. Most all of the faculty are not union represented now but are fighting and had already agreed to extra contributions to health and pension funds before this union-busting stunt by the Governor.
The faculty are standing up for the janitors who mop up because you still pee on the floor a little or pick up the coffee cup you couldn't be bothered to throw in the trash can. They are speking out for the nurses at UW Hospitals and the teachers who gave you just enough education to be ungrateful.
This is a big deal for the UW system, too. If the Gov spins off Madison then their tuition pops up 20% the first year and your degree, if you ever bother to finish, will be from Whitewater State U. Try selling that to the high-powered law firm you were going to apply to back in Dumptruck County.
There's enough bad in this bill to take three administrations down the tubes. It consolidates power in the Governor's Office without oversight, it creates patronage jobs for campign hacks in place of dispassionate professionals and it backs off workplace safety for everyone.
Just because you have a keyboard and some free time doesn't mean you need to post every rant that you can think of. Get educated about the issues before you spout off.
Ok first of all, excuse me for questioning after looking for answers from other people on both sides of the debate and news sources and still not understanding what the deal is. Maybe my questions were a little too blunt by saying "WHATS THE BIG FUCKING DEAL" but I'm frustrated because clearly I do not understand the situation as well as you do. And to be honest, I still don't based on what you've said here. I do not consider myself ungrateful, nor do I fit any of the other descriptions you've mentioned. I also have not insulted anyone, as you have. And no, I was not trying to imply that my father was "long-suffering", I was just stating facts. Clearly I must go elsewhere to find some real answers. I obviously offended you with my "spouting", and you feel the need to criticize me, but for what? For being curious and upset because I have yet to get a straight answer from anyone/anywhere? I'm not going to bother to try by asking more questions here. Obviously, given your attitude, that would just lead to me being insulted further. It'd be nice if you and people like you would take the time and be courteous enough to get off those high horses you all seem to enjoy riding around so much.
ReplyDeleteI guess my first question to anon is whether you think Walker is being fair by not even listening to concerns or possible compromises? The Dem senators left and aren't coming back because Walker just refuses to talk. They don't want the bill to be rammed through without due serious conversation backed up with solid economic and governing sense. So do you think Walker is going about this in the right way?
ReplyDeleteThe first comment asks some reasonable questions, and right or wrong, this is what a lot of people believe and to a degree they are right. Wisconsin faculty and public school teachers have pretty good benefits and decent salaries and the cost of living is not terribly bad in this state. We need to learn how to address the arguments instead of engaging in personal attacks against each other. I believe that faculty should use this event as a teachable moment and address some of these issues in their classes like they were encouraged to do with the racial incidents on campus. Be nice to yourself and to everyone else. Do not demonize Walker, he is a typical GOP politician, although he is not a good politician or he would not have stepped into the prank call mess. The last bastion of worker power is public unions. I knew this was coming. Public unions are extremely powerful in numerous states, so if Walker wants to make this state a place for business, he has to drive down wages, and that is what this is all about. Crush the unions, then drive down wages, and they (the businesses) will come. Welcome to the new China!
ReplyDeleteDear Anon
ReplyDelete1--Your post was not "blunt." It was rude and you got rude in return. If you want information you should ask for information. If you start with attitude you will get attitude in return Hosea 8:7
2--You did offend me with your spouting. I expect no apology.
3--Yes. Without collective bargaining the state union workers would be just the same as all the other non-union workers; at the whim of caprice and venality. It would be far better if your father would stand up for himself as the teachers have done than for our Governor to pull down 5 decades of worker protections.
4--This bill is an assault on the very footings of open government in Wisconsin. Instead of posting about having to take required classes here on this blog many of the readers would be far better served by downloading and reading the bill using the critical skills that the professors at UWW are trying to instill in them.
Anon 2:44-- Walker is hardly a typical GOP politician. It was the GOP that passed the collective bargaining law in Wisconsin in the first place. Walker is a special sort of corporatist authoritarian. He believes that government exists to serve business and that people should serve their government rather than the opposite. He was booted from Marquette after being unrepentant for committing campign rule violations there, he flew MKE County into the ground by presenting one unworkable budget after another, only to be bailed out by a board that he refused to work with, and he's proceeding on a scorched earth policy that will force hundreds of municipalities to make unwanted and unwarranted cuts at the local level.
5-- Read and ask questions. Be humble when you ask and you can get the answers to almost any question. Save your capital letters and repeated punctuation for your FB posts.
Wow. Grumps, you don't suppose you are being a little grumpy?
ReplyDeleteWell golly jee and a basket of monkeys! Is that all I have to do Grumps? Thank you ever so much. You have shown me the way! I bow down to you, as humbly as I can, and I swear, I will never engage in the excessive use of punctuation, capital letters, or any real expression of anger at all, on this blog again (the "Critically Pissed"), lest I feel your wrath, noble know-er!
ReplyDeletePLEASE.
I am sorry, not for my post as you expected, but for the fact that you are so sensitive as to have taken a post such as mine so personally that you had to come back with insults and unnecessary, nasty commentary. I don't believe I was being so rude, I was not addressing anyone in particular, I was not name-calling, I just wanted to be crystal clear, perhaps I was in a heated moment as I wrote and could have spared some of those "!!!" or the swear words. But come on - be a little more understanding. Not everyone is perfect like you.
First of all, it is not the UW faculty doing the heavy lifting against Walker, it is the public school teachers and the rest of the unions. Due to their loyalty to their disciplines, departments, and colleges, it has always been extremely difficult to get faculty to act with a single purpose. Even at Whitewater there are numerous faculty members who are not supportive of a union. They are mainly in COB where salaries are higher and facilities are better (new building), and teaching loads are lower. So it is not accurate to say or suggest that faculty members in general are whinny. Some are and some are not! Second, the Madison Chancellor lobbied for the split. Lets face it, private colleges and universities for the most part are in much better shape during these bad economic times. Although Marquette and Beloit College receive state funds, they could give a shit about Walker. They are private! Overall this is a good move for Madison, to separate. For all practical purposes they will be private, like Northwestern, Yale, Princeton, and except for the appointment of a few regents, the Gov as well as the UW System will lose their dictatorial controls. So how will this play out? Walker's budget will whack the UW System real hard. All of the campuses will have to slash programs and faculty to make up the short fall, except Madison will be the only one that can raise their tuition 10 percent each year, the others will be limited by the Gov and UW System. So prepare yourself for massive cuts at Whitewater. Hold on Dorothy we are not in Kansas anymore. Welcome to hard times on crack street!
ReplyDelete