GAB says cost of recall election will be at least $9 million

30 Responses to GAB says cost of recall election will be at least $9 million

1. Are you saying because I approve of what Walker is doing that I don’t care about my children or anyone else’s? What a bunch of unionist propaganda bullshit! The populace is not black/white or yes/no. There are a lot of maybes and grey. To label everyone on the right side of the politcal circle as racist, rich child haters IS racist and predjudice. Put down the union propaganda and start thinking for yourself.

   J.Spam
   01/07/2012 at 1:41 pm
   

2. J.Spam – Yes you are correct. There are a lot of maybes and grey areas. Including the previous posters comment that ‘if you support Walker you hate children.’ While this person has this opinion, please don’t assume that all Unions and union employees share that opinion. Republicans and Democrats alike do not like being wrongly assumed something just because of a few radicals within their political party. I’m not saying some people in a union or many people in many unions (or even people unrelated to unions) have that thought, but to lump everyone into that persons opinion is unfair.

   DeafandBlind
   01/07/2012 at 1:56 pm
   

3. I don’t hide the fact that my father was employed by RUSD for a good 20 years. I don’t hide the fact that a good deal of his paycheck, even 20 years ago went to provide a retirement fund for my mother and some of the best health care that I had ever gotten.

   That said…

   Dad would always wonder out loud where the money came for the Union steward in the shop to finance brand-new Cadillacs, put down payments on multi-million dollar homes, or to be able to pay for their children’s tuitions at private schools outright, while he, with seniority, made more money and had to work hard to maintain a good enough income to buy a 3-4 year old car.

   Unions, when they first started, provided a very useful tool for employees to make sure that their employers weren’t abusing them. But they, like the political system, became corrupt and filled with abuse of the system. Unions sometimes still do have their usefulness, but nowadays, serve as the impetus for companies to send their work overseas, as they can hire 10-12 employees there to do the job of one Union-represented employee here in the States.
   Just as the two-party system killed the Jeffersonian Democracy, the Unions are killing the economic backbone of America.

   antiwesley
   01/07/2012 at 5:29 pm
   

4. I agree and disagree with you Antiwesley. Yes, I believe there is corruption, greed, abuse within many unions. As you stated, it exists in government as well. A little bit of the pot calling the kettle black is going on now. (Gov’t blaming the Unions, and Vice-Versa)

   However I don’t believe that Unions are ‘killing’ the economic backbone of America. The majority of corporations in The United States are non-union (not necessarily anti-union). These companies are sending their jobs overseas and expanding overseas at an alarming rate. At the same time, Unions are slowly being disbanded for one reason or another. I don’t understand how unions are the cause of this outsourcing. To put it simply, I’m seeing less unions and more outsourcing. This however doesn’t mean unions keep jobs in The United States. There are great paying jobs that are union, and non-union out there. there are poor paying jobs that are union and non-union out there. If someone is unhappy with their pay or benefits, they have the choice to seek other employment.

   DeafandBlind
   01/07/2012 at 5:44 pm
   

5. When I say I am lucky to have a job, it means I AM lucky! My family has moved across the country twice in the past 12 years because of plant closings. It had nothing to do with my husband not being a hard worker or good at his job. It had to do with the economy and mainly nobody buying American because it is so much cheaper to buy from China. He is very lucky that is skilled and very good at his job that he can get one anywhere.
   I like Walker, and I do care about kids and education. I always have and always will. An education is one of the most important things you can give a child.

   Michelle
   01/07/2012 at 10:44 pm
   

6. DB – Why pay an American worker $15 an hour plus benefits, who is represented by loud-mouth thugs when you can use that same money to have 10 people in Taiwan do the same thing?

   They won’t complain when they get laid off either.

   My reasoning is that _because_ of the unions, or the threat of a union, companies find it easier to ship jobs overseas. Overseas employees have no representation, are a dime a dozen and in some cases, work for three bowls of rice and a roof over their head.
   Here in America, not only is a company expected to pay twice the minimum wage, but foot the bill for healthcare and retirement.
   While not necessarily a bad thing, Unions are partially responsible for things like minimum wage. Non-union workers needed to have that assurance that their wages would go up, as part of the plan to keep the Unions out.
   I worked at many non-Union businesses, and those appeasements were the only thing that kept us from Unionizing. (that and the company’s union busting tactics.)

   There are people out there in America right now who would work for 3 solid meals and a roof over their head, but the Unions lead them to the disbelief that they are more then they really are. (gods, that sounds horrible, but I can’t get the eloquence out at 12am.)

   antiwesley
   01/07/2012 at 11:55 pm
   

7. Antiwesley – I think I may not be explaining my opinion correctly. Jobs headed out of this country are union jobs and non-union jobs. I honestly don’t believe that the ‘threat of a union’ is the reason why non-union companies are moving out of this country. As history shows, unions are slowly disappearing and at the same time more companies are leaving. I don’t believe companies are afraid at all of the employees forming a union. The mentality I have seen in recent years resulting from the poor economy (which the blame lies in decades of poor government choices, not just one) is that people are just happy to have a job. People are ‘afraid’ to try and do anything that may risk their employment.
   So why pay an American worker who works within a union $15 and benefits…I don’t know. Why pay a non-union American worker that? Why have any business in America at all when we can produce it out of this country and import it all? You mention in America a company is expected to pay twice the minimum wages plus benefits. Truthfully, not many companies do offer benefits, and the ones that do, cost an arm and a leg. Let’s consider that a valid point for you so we can move past it. Not many companies pay twice the minimum wage. I’m sure we can agree that for one, it’s nearly impossible to live on minimum wage. The ‘quality’ of life on that wage for a single person is in my opinion poor. Secondly, there are more ‘non-skilled’ jobs out there than anything else. The pay for these non-skilled jobs is around $9-$13 hourly. In America, at least around here, it costs this much just to live. I personally don’t think that’s asking too much. On a side note, I am pleased that we are able to have a mature (not name calling/b*tchfest) that I seem to find over at the JT website. Thank you for that.

   DeafandBlind
   01/08/2012 at 1:36 am
   

8. Michelle –
   I know what it is like going through plant closings. I have been there myself a couple of times. It can be rough. Congrats on being able to overcome the difficulties it has posed for you and your family. Maybe in your case, YOU are a little bit lucky. Good thing you have good social skills to do well in interviews, and have a strong enough resume to even make it to the interview. Don’t discount yourself. Your husband I don’t consider lucky. (Hear me out!) You said it yourself, he is a skilled person who does good work. In my opinion, that means he has EARNED his job. Not everyone is willing to do that. To me, it sounds like he has pride in his work, and he is an asset to any company who was willing to recognize his skills. I wish more people would recognize that they aren’t the average Joe, and they have something above and beyond what other people may have, I like to give credit when it is deserved, and your husband deserves it.

   DeafandBlind
   01/08/2012 at 1:42 am
   

9. You are so right on that. Not everyone is willing to do that. He has said time and time again, there are a bunch of sorry people out there. He is a supervisor and he isn’t afraid to fire the people who won’t do their job. He trains them and tells them what he expects from them, and gives them chance after chance to get it right. They make dang good money and some just don’t get it.

   Michelle
   01/08/2012 at 10:46 am
   

10. This is an intelligent dialogue. I do believe we are in part to blame for things (along with NAFTA, etc). How many people own foreign made cars (I have laughed when I hear “union” members complain and what are they driving??? a new toyota or honda, I’m not trying to single them out but it’s a good example). Does anyone take a good look at where products are made? When you are out shopping for clothes or electronics, probably a good guesstimate would be 99% of those products are made over seas and shipped here. People in the US want things cheaply so things are sent over seas to be made and in the same case everyone here wants to make $30 a hour with benefits up the ying yang, can’t have it both ways. Maybe the entire dream can come true for everyone if we stop buying foreign made products?

    racineuncovered
    01/08/2012 at 11:28 am
    

11. That is part of the problem RU. We want cheaper prices, but that comes at a cost. It takes jobs away from our country, and sends them out of country to be produced at a cheaper price. This causes job losses here. In return, we need prices for things to be lower again. It’s a viscous cycle.
    Union member proud to buy union made things, and Americans being proud to buy American products, there is nothing wrong with that. It’s when these people think they are superior for doing so. It is not possible in this day in age to buy all union products, or buy all American made products. The most common example of how un-American some people are, is that they drive a Toyota or a Honda. You’d all be surprised of how much of the big 3 American automakers produce a large percentage of their vehicles in Mexico and Canada. Here is a little fun fact, the number 1 American made car is the Toyota Camry. Number 2? Honda Accord. The arguments I hear is that “well, all that many goes back to those countries, and doesn’t stay here in America” to which I reply “my money is going to the American worker.” To each their own though.

    DeafandBlind
    01/08/2012 at 1:58 pm
    

12. Deaf. You are correct, thank you for letting me know when I googled american made cars, this is what I came up with….http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&subject=ami&story=amMade0611

    It’s surprising what’s on that list and what’s not.

    racineuncovered
    01/08/2012 at 5:17 pm
    

13. Yes it’s surprising for sure. All I’m trying to say to people (in general) is don’t think your ‘better’ or more ‘American’ in these times because of the cars you drive, the clothes you wear, the job you hold, or anything you buy. We should all treat each other with respect and accept we know nothing about each other, other than what we say and do. People have different opinions on things, but we don’t have to resort to calling them names. As an example with the Walker/Union stuff going on…Just because one person who supports Walker chooses to curse, call people names, etc. It doesn’t mean that all Walker supports are rude as that person. Same thing for those who support the Unions side. Just because one person is cursing, being rude to others, doesn’t mean that all union members are that way (or democrats are that way). I would love to see just one story on JT regarding this topic, not turn into a ‘I can yell louder than you’ contest.

    DeafandBlind
    01/08/2012 at 6:06 pm
    

14. Amen Deaf!

    racineuncovered
    01/08/2012 at 6:45 pm
    

15. I glance at the JT every day on the web, but I stopped caring about what people said there… with their history of trawling certain websites, printing Mark Shilhavy’s religious rants every other day, and most articles being of poor quality.

    We are all obviously above that here… I have/had an ongoing feud with Enicar over there, and while we agree to disagree here, it’s more civilized. I think that the JT just brings out the lowest common denominator in people.

    I remember the comment about how we talked about putting up candidates, but did nothing about it. Thing is, we did talk about it, rather than just puke up the regurgitated pablum of our various parties or beliefs.

    That said, I read the article from that RU had linked, and it was interesting to see that they made the comparison I had made earlier. Canadians make a touch more than we do, but Mexican workers average about $3.75 an hour.

    I buy American when I can, but the onslaught of foreign products are so terrible that at times, I have no choice.
    Most recallers I know know that I don’t agree with their opinion and avoid the conversation altogether, but when there can be intelligent discourse on the subject, it is quite nice.

    Though I did read on the Wisconsin State Journal this:

    “People cannot say this is somehow worth the cost to have these frivolous recalls,” Vos said. “It’s a shame we’ve come to this. People around the state will have to make choices about what to cut to have these elections. Somebody’s going to pay for this and it’s going to be taxpayers.”

    State Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate portrayed the recall costs as the “best down payment” people can make for Wisconsin’s future.

    “We simply can’t afford to have Scott Walker as governor of Wisconsin one day longer than we have to,” Tate said.

    http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/article_76c2ef86-38b2-11e1-909f-0019bb2963f4.html?sourcetrack=moreArticle

    Yes, indeed, it does seem that the Democrats don’t care about the costs or how it will affect our taxes.

    antiwesley
    01/08/2012 at 9:32 pm
    

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