tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post7668367334607804472..comments2023-10-10T06:51:06.526-04:00Comments on Ryan's Take: Wisconsin, Here We Come? The Pledge, the Turn and the PrestigeRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04523572927796479670noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-59895448647791955062011-05-02T15:56:13.036-04:002011-05-02T15:56:13.036-04:00Mark, the problem isn't that the public sector...Mark, the problem isn't that the public sector has these rights, it's that the private sector doesn't (which, btw, isn't entirely true -- many unions in the private sector certainly have those rights). <br /><br />This divide-and-conquer thing the business interests in our country is sad because it's been so effective. We're so busy shooting ourselves in the foot, we've failed to notice 80% of the country's new wealth in the last decade went to the top 1%. You need to get your eyes one the prize.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04523572927796479670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-10929838495898047202011-04-30T09:54:04.785-04:002011-04-30T09:54:04.785-04:00Ryan,
What I'm seeing is a political sleight...Ryan, <br /><br />What I'm seeing is a political sleight of hand intended to grandstand and distract. <br /><br />Here, we have a Speaker mired in a Probation Dept. scandal in which he 'recommended' incompetents, no shows and campaign contributors for jobs, then lavished the crippled department with more funding than requested. <br /><br />This Speaker has rewarded the loyal bobbleheads with chairmenships [translation: extra pay, bigger offices, more staff] rather than competence. <br /><br />Those Bobble Heads have willingly allowed their own castration. <br /><br />In the last session, the bobbleheads, appeasing the Speaker, opposed some pretty basic 'consumer protections' [intended to make a Bad Bill less bad] in the grossly flawed gambling legislation that was passed.<br /><br />Rather than get mired in complex rhetoric of this flawed legislation, it is my understanding that the 'FIX' required was to change the state law that required ALL municipal unions needed to agree to collective bargaining changes. <br /><br />It would seem that the none too bright Speaker believes he can wave the banner of what a great job he's done, knowing it will ultimately be overturned in the courts - blame them for his failures. <br /><br />What the Speaker has accomplished is to whip up anti-union sentiment, when in fact, it's Beacon Hill incompetence that created the municipal burden. <br /><br />It appears that the Speaker will achieve yet another non-productive legislative session.MiddleboroReviewhttp://middlebororeview.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-85903771749632331202011-04-30T08:22:07.995-04:002011-04-30T08:22:07.995-04:00Under the legislation, mayors and other local offi...<i>Under the legislation, mayors and other local officials would be given unfettered authority to set copayments and deductibles for their employees, after the 30-day discussion period with unions. Only the share of premiums paid by employees would remain on the health care bargaining table</i><br /><br />The only thing I see wrong with this is that employees shouldn't even have bargaining rights for the premium share. <br /><br />Why do public employees need to have bargaining rights that most of us in the private sector don't have? If towns set benefits that are terrible the town employees can vote with their feet and go find other jobs with a compensation package that is more equitable for their skill set and value in the job market.<br /><br />The current economics of public pay, benefits, pensions, and OEPB is fiscally unsupportable.<br /><br />Unions did a lot to get the job conditions we enjoy today but they are an institution that has outlived their usefulness.Mark Belangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08377845343337691704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-59875010020544257002011-04-29T15:25:29.896-04:002011-04-29T15:25:29.896-04:00It's not about sympathy, it's about what w...It's not about sympathy, it's about what works. As I said, this is neither the best nor fairest way of doing it. We're not going to attract the best public employees if they get lousy health insurance - and allowing no bargaining for them is a surefire way to make that happen. There are other ways to get at the savings.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04523572927796479670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15133926.post-72420328317424764132011-04-29T12:35:57.355-04:002011-04-29T12:35:57.355-04:00Frankly Ryan if public employees weren't such ...Frankly Ryan if public employees weren't such obstructionists I might have some sympathy here, but I don't. <br /><br />Dave WAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com