To fight a general decline in competitiveness as a place to do business.

I know that often times those sorts of things are just talking points but on a state level they are valid. The rust belt is not competitive in general and it will continue to decline unless there are major overhauls.

Why do business in state X when it's cheaper in state Y?

The less said about the general detestable nature of teachers unions the better.

To divulge my bias for fairness' sake. I'd rather the money be in the hands of the 1% than benefitting the corrupt teachers unions and their forced beneficiaries.

His latest stunt is to cut 300 million from higher Ed and in the same breath publicly finance a new basketball arena for the Bucks. Not only is he a stupid creationist back slider. His priorities are seriously fcked up. How anyone can support this guy is beyond me.

Bad for Wisconsin and bad for America.

Platitudes don't bolster your opinion.

(02-14-2015 01:16 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  Platitudes don't bolster your opinion.

That is true, but just stating that teachers unions are evil doesn't bolster yours, either.

The guy has cut 2 billion in taxes!!! Billion! The lions share going to the top 1%. Then on top of that cut public retirees pensions saying we can't afford it.

A death spiral race to the bottom. Maybe we can all have outstanding public schools like the South!


Cheer it on people!

(02-14-2015 01:22 AM)Machiavelli Wrote:  The guy has cut 2 billion in taxes!!! Billion! The lions share going to the top 1%. Then on top of that cut public retirees pensions saying we can't afford it.

A death spiral race to the bottom. Maybe we can all have outstanding public schools like the South!


Cheer it on people!

For the record, the public school my fiancé teaches at is better than any school in your state.

(02-14-2015 12:54 AM)Machiavelli Wrote:  And that makes one ignorant? Because you feel the public is entitled to my negotiated pension after I have entered into agreement 20 years in to said agreement. If you want it to change you change it for new hires. What they did was criminal and ignorant fools like yourself cheer it on. It's disgusting. They might as well have done it at gun point. If they confiscated your 401 k I'm sure you would feel differently. Their scum as are the ones who support such theft.

How much does your union spend backing politicians? It should be easy to find.

(02-14-2015 01:22 AM)Machiavelli Wrote:  The guy has cut 2 billion in taxes!!! Billion! The lions share going to the top 1%. Then on top of that cut public retirees pensions saying we can't afford it.

A death spiral race to the bottom. Maybe we can all have outstanding public schools like the South!


Cheer it on people!

Ahhhhh.... the cheap shots. FWIW, the public schools in my county are just fine. I don't count on the government to raise my children though. I believe they'd do just fine where ever they are since I'm involved. No matter how much you'd like to take the credit, the bottom line is that public school rankings are nothing more than a reflection of the population's values regarding education itself.

Unfortunately the South is still recovering from cultural issues. We still have a lot of people who either weren't educated at all, dropped out, didn't go to college, parents fall into one of those categories, etc. The South has had a VERY different cultural experience when it comes to education. A lot of this is due to the base of our economy for 100 years which is farming. There's not much need for education when you know you're going to work the family farm.

(02-13-2015 11:00 AM)ECUGrad07 Wrote:  Haha those who attack folks who don't have college degrees are the same kinds of idiots who would hire 22 year old MBA over a guy with an Associates and 30 years industry experience.

At this level its a pre-req. it makes you question his motivation.

(02-14-2015 06:09 AM)firmbizzle Wrote:  

(02-13-2015 11:00 AM)ECUGrad07 Wrote:  Haha those who attack folks who don't have college degrees are the same kinds of idiots who would hire 22 year old MBA over a guy with an Associates and 30 years industry experience.

At this level its a pre-req. it makes you question his motivation.

Firm, you know as well as I that while there are many jobs where a degree is required, we as a country have been pushing this notion of degree requirements for many jobs where it really isn't required also.

While it is my understanding that he had a good job when he left college, it does surprise me some that with so little left to finish, he didn't somehow find a way to complete one more semester of school to cross the finish line.

I guess it wasn't a priority of his......

(02-13-2015 11:20 PM)UCF08 Wrote:  

Quote: In the early days, hell yeah they were good for the country. Not now. Fact is, the things and reasons they were beneficial early have been all but legislated away.

Like a livable wage? Controlling for inflation, our minimum wage has decreased and our average wage has stayed constant, despite large growths in overall wealth.

Livable wage ... what a f-ckin joke. Those dock workers make an average salary of $145,000. Half of them obviously make more than that.

Unions only extort higher wages than what a job would pay in a free market.

(02-14-2015 12:54 AM)Machiavelli Wrote:  And that makes one ignorant?

Still waiting for you to answer the question what do you think makes Scott Walker ignorant? Was there something so Earth shattering he missed out on in that last semester?

(02-14-2015 08:18 AM)UConn-SMU Wrote:  

(02-13-2015 11:20 PM)UCF08 Wrote:  

Quote: In the early days, hell yeah they were good for the country. Not now. Fact is, the things and reasons they were beneficial early have been all but legislated away.

Like a livable wage? Controlling for inflation, our minimum wage has decreased and our average wage has stayed constant, despite large growths in overall wealth.

Livable wage ... what a f-ckin joke. Those dock workers make an average salary of $145,000. Half of them obviously make more than that.

Unions only extort higher wages than what a job would pay in a free market.

Of course they do, but so does a minimum wage or any wage control. As for the dock workers, the vast minority is not the rule, and is not compelling evidence that every union must go unless you're swayed by illogical arguments.

(02-14-2015 09:35 AM)UCF08 Wrote:  

(02-14-2015 08:18 AM)UConn-SMU Wrote:  

(02-13-2015 11:20 PM)UCF08 Wrote:  

Quote: In the early days, hell yeah they were good for the country. Not now. Fact is, the things and reasons they were beneficial early have been all but legislated away.

Like a livable wage? Controlling for inflation, our minimum wage has decreased and our average wage has stayed constant, despite large growths in overall wealth.

Livable wage ... what a f-ckin joke. Those dock workers make an average salary of $145,000. Half of them obviously make more than that.

Unions only extort higher wages than what a job would pay in a free market.

Of course they do, but so does a minimum wage or any wage control. As for the dock workers, the vast minority is not the rule, and is not compelling evidence that every union must go unless you're swayed by illogical arguments.

On balance, unions are bad for the U.S., but I don't want all of them to be eliminated.

Mach, how much money do unions donate to Democrats? Still waiting for your answer. That certainly affects pensions.

Are corporations the same as government? They can both promise money to workers and then not provide it? Seems immoral even if it isn't illegal.

A couple of thoughts without emotions.

1. Are Unions even a political force anymore? I'm convinced that 90% of the angst felt against Unions from the right is political in nature. They used to be effective in a lobbyist sort of way. A GOTV arm of the DNC. That's why they had to be exterminated. The extermination has been very effective.

2. I think Scott Walker is ignorant for a plethora of reasons.

A. How can you cut public Ed and with the next pen stroke offer to publicly fund a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks? Answer that. Your priorities are out of whack.

B. How can you go to college for 3.5 years and not finish your degree? How is that possible to a motivated person. It's not finishing what you have started.

3. I feel that arctics of the Koch Brothers are being copied all over. These sweeping changes happened all over the country in 2010. They had a blue print and with the favorable political winds they executed it. To the detriment of the middle class all over the region. They are decimating public schools.

4. HoD. Yes you have talked about a magnate public school before. Yes, it's obvious that you can upgrade the experience of a minority of people at the expense of the majority. The overall experience of an average youngster growing up in a public school in the South is nothing to be proud of. It's a disgrace. This "public" school that your fiancé teaches in. How are the kids chosen to attend?

(02-15-2015 10:43 AM)Machiavelli Wrote:  A couple of thoughts without emotions.

1. Are Unions even a political force anymore? I'm convinced that 90% of the angst felt against Unions from the right is political in nature. They used to be effective in a lobbyist sort of way. A GOTV arm of the DNC. That's why they had to be exterminated. The extermination has been very effective.

2. I think Scott Walker is ignorant for a plethora of reasons.

A. How can you cut public Ed and with the next pen stroke offer to publicly fund a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks? Answer that. Your priorities are out of whack.

B. How can you go to college for 3.5 years and not finish your degree? How is that possible to a motivated person. It's not finishing what you have started.

3. I feel that arctics of the Koch Brothers are being copied all over. These sweeping changes happened all over the country in 2010. They had a blue print and with the favorable political winds they executed it. To the detriment of the middle class all over the region. They are decimating public schools.

4. HoD. Yes you have talked about a magnate public school before. Yes, it's obvious that you can upgrade the experience of a minority of people at the expense of the majority. The overall experience of an average youngster growing up in a public school in the South is nothing to be proud of. It's a disgrace. This "public" school that your fiancé teaches in. How are the kids chosen to attend?

From the right, there's a different perspective. We see it as a situation where the public employee unions have worked with the Democrat Party to loot the public treasury to gain lavish pensions and fund a system that taxpayers can't afford.

My mother-in-law worked for the state of Louisiana. She retired at age 43, receiving half-pay for the rest of her life. She is now 73 and healthy. Her half-pay could go on for a total of 50 years. We can't do stuff like that anymore. These pensions are killing us. This isn't emotional; it's math.

As far as the new stadium goes, Milwaukee only has the Brewers and the Bucks. There is no NFL or NHL team there. Losing the Bucks would leave them with just one pro franchise. For a city to be taken seriously, it needs more than one pro team. Maybe they feel keeping the Bucks is worth the investment. Maybe a majority of Wisconsin's citizens favor the stadium deal. I'm sure the stadium would be used for other events. And maybe they're trying to get an NHL franchise. I don't know Wisconsin sports.

Make whatever excuse you want Mach, it's better than anything in your entire state.