Daniel Tosh Knows His Shit

I don't know if you watch Tosh.0, but if you don't, you should. I'll admit, I feel a little guilty about finding humor in his horribily inappropriate and politically incorrect jokes, but I can't help it. The dude is just plain funny. Anyway, I already loved Daniel Tosh, but the picture below makes me love him even more. I'm sorry for yet another politically driven entry (I'll do my best to write more uplifting ones from here on out), but I saw this photo and felt the need to share its awesomeness with you. I completely agree with him. :)

Budget Bill Effects

After writing my initial entry about Governor Walker's budget repair bill, I keep thinking about it and feel the need to talk about some more of the direct effects that it will likely have on Wisconsin. Obviously, the majority of you know that I'm involved in higher education, so the impact the bill has on teachers and state employees is very near and dear to my heart. After doing quite a bit of research on the subject matter, I found what I believe to be a pretty credible source about the anticipated ripple effects of this ridiculous bill. Feel free to check it out here, but I'll also give a bit of a summary.

EFFECTS ON ECONOMY:
Those in support of this bill are running on the assumption that the cuts to public workers will somehow magically not have an effect on the rest of Wisconsin's residents. Wrong. As this article so eloquently explains, "At a time when Wisconsin is trying to grow the economy, cutting the disposable income of state, local and school district public sector families undermines purchasing power, the most crucial element in economic recovery and growth." If individuals lose money and can't afford to buy the things they normally buy, then those other businesses will undoubtedly see a decrease in sales, thereby having a negative and harmful effect on their ability to stay afloat.

EFFECTS ON TAKE-HOME PAY:
If Walker's plan manages to do everything it claims to do, then here are the shocking results of what he's proposing, according to the above article: For state employees (i.e., my colleagues), there'd be approximately a 10.9% reduction in total employee income ($429 million). For local employees, there'd be approximately a 7.0% reduction ($335 million). For school districts, there'd be approximately a 3.9% reduction ($230 million). Add it up. That's almost a billion dollars in cuts. If this sounds like foreign language, just think about what you make per year and then calculate how much you would lose if you took any of these pay cuts. Full disclosure here. I only make $28,000 per year. Not much given the fact that I have a Master's degree (not trying to toot my horn or anything, just stating the fact). That's a whole different issue that frustrates me - so many people in support of this bill think that people in education make a ton of money and are "spoiled" by the benefits they receive. I challenge you to find an administrator or educator who makes an outrageously large amount of money. And if you do find one, I guarantee you that person is the exception, not the rule. Anyway, if I were working at a public institution (i.e., UW-La Crosse), and I was making the same amount of money that I make now, you could essentially take my salary and reduce it by 10.9% to understand the effects of this. So, if I thought I was scraping by with $28,000, after this bill, I would potentially be making a mere $24,948 (before taxes, mind you) per year. In no way can I find the justification for this. How on earth does this HELP the economy? As stated in the above article, "Attempting to right the economy by slashing compensation for public sector workers is like trying to save weight on an overloaded boat by tossing the motor overboard. It just doesn’t help in getting you where you want to go."

EFFECTS ON EDUCATION:
Given what I just said above, it should come as no secret as to how this will effect Wisconsin's educational system. By eliminating collective bargaining, educators have very little control over a lot of things, one of those main things being class size. It has been proven time and time again that the smaller the class size, the better the quality of instruction. If a teacher has 20 kids versus 60 kids in a class, one could imagine why the larger class size would make it far more difficult to teach effectively. It's no secret that Wisconsin's public sector workers receive some pretty great benefits. No one is denying that, and in fact, those benefits are one of the main reasons Wisconsin has been able to attract such quality candidates in the past. That being said, I also have to address the individuals who keep saying, "Well, if all teachers are concerned about is their pay and their benefits, then it's time for them to find a new job because it should be about the kids, not about the money." I agree, but to make that argument right now is ridiculous. The vast majority of educators ARE in education for the right reasons, and to imply that them simply wanting decent pay and benefits is somehow selfish or immoral is beyond me. Keep the following points in mind. Wisconsin public sector workers are paid quite a bit less than many of their equal counterparts in other states. If you want to attract quality candidates, you do have to provide them with some incentive to come here and even more incentive to stay. I don't care who you are, in ANY job, you're at least going to consider different options if another job will provide you better pay and benefits. Why wouldn't you? Just because people would like a job that provides some security and some decent benefits doesn't mean they are terrible people who are only looking out for themselves. In fact, if you want to talk about people like that, look at Scott Walker. I'm genuinely afraid of the potential implications of this bill on education.

Okay, I'm sorry. I could seriously go on about this forever (obviously). I'm just very passionate about it and absolutely hate seeing how much one person has divided the state, and the entire country for that matter. I just want to make sure that we can make a positive difference for the state of WI when it comes time to get these misguided politicians OUT of office. Nothing would make me happier.

***I should also state that while much of this is based on facts, some of it is also my simple, heartfelt opinion. In no way am I trying to imply that I'm right or that I'm not open to hearing different viewpoints. This is simply my way of expressing my personal beliefs and discontent over what is currently happening in Wisconsin.***

Scott Walker = Downfall of Wisconsin

Alright, folks. I apologize in advance because this will probably get long, but I'm about to do a major political rant here. I'm usually not one to be so open about my political views, but with everything that's been happening, I feel like I have to say something. I don't know what your beliefs are or how much you follow politics, but I just have to say this. I believe that what Scott Walker is currently doing to the state of Wisconsin is unspeakable. For weeks, he's been trying to pass his proposed "budget repair bill," which in reality has so little to do with the budget that I'm not even sure how it's called that. He's tried repeatedly to convince people how broke this state is, but he's conveniently failed to mention that we became far more broke once HE took office in January. In addition, he has attempted to brainwash people into thinking that stripping unions of their collective bargaining rights is one of the only ways to fix this so-called budget crisis. Uh, wrong. If it were actually about the budget, then Walker and his little asshole followers would have been willing to negotiate the terms of the bill like normal politicians do; however, because this whole shittin' mess has been more about dismantling unions than it has about helping the state, he refused to negotiate his stance. Figures. For those of you who don't know, union members tend to vote largely Democratic, so by taking away their rights, Walker is essentially doing all of this for political gain in hopes that breaking up the unions will increase his chances for re-election next term. For God's sake, his camp has even admitted that that's what they're doing! Nothing like looking out for the good of the state. Right. I swear to God, if this guy gets re-elected, I will move out of this state. Granted, I'm not part of a union, but many of my dear friends are deeply affected by this and I fully support them. If you haven't been following, here's what you should know. In order to pass this budget bill, there needs to be a certain number of senators in session to meet the quorum necessary to vote. Perhaps you've heard of the 14 "missing" Democratic senators? Well, those Senators fled to Illinois to prevent the Senate from being able to vote on the bill until the rest of the members agreed to negotiate. The only time Walker offered to talk with these Senators was when he mentioned tricking them into a fake negotiation and voting behind their backs once they returned. Tell me this, if a policy you're trying to pass is so controversial that you have to trick people in order to get it passed, then maybe, just maybe, wouldn't you stop and think, "Hey, perhaps this isn't in the best interest of the people?" Not if you're Scott Walker. Anyway, no one knows how long the Dems will remain out of state, but sadly, tonight we realized that it doesn't really matter, at least not for the part of the bill involving unions. Because the collective bargaining piece of the budget doesn't involve spending money, those sneaky little Republican bastards were able to separate that piece of the bill out and vote on it tonight, even without the missing Senators. Sadly, it passed, hence the reason I'm so fired up and writing about this. Here's the thing. By separating that part of the bill out, they're essentially admitting that eliminating collective bargaining has no financial effect, thereby proving the point that this has NEVER been about the budget. What does it mean? Basically, the majority of union workers in WI will lose the right bargain for wage increases, and they also have to pay more towards their pensions and double their health insurance contributions. Interestingly, union workers agreed to these increases as long as they could keep their right to bargain, but nope. Walker still insisted that taking away their bargaining rights was the only way to go. Now that it passed, it basically means some pretty significant pay cuts for union workers. Um, how does this help the state again? Last time I checked, taking a significant amount of money away from the working middle-class who's already struggling isn't, or at least shouldn't be, at the top of the list for solving the state's budget problems. Seriously. This shit is messed up. In the words of Mark Miller, Democratic Senate Minority Leader, "In 30 minutes, 18 state Senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin. Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten." Couldn't agree more. Sadly, for me, it's not even so much about what Walker is doing as it is about how he is doing it. He is a shady character who will clearly do anything for personal gain. Anyway, maybe you don't care about this as much as I do, but if you have any interest in it, I strongly encourage you to stay informed. And if you don't do anything else, all I ask is that you PLEASE do not vote for this corrupt a-hole next time around. Ok, rant over. Thanks for reading. :)