If you're not interested in the on-going struggle pertaining to two diametrically opposing political POVs vying to steer the direction our economy may soon have to contend with I would recommend skipping this Off-Topic post. Actually, IMHO, it's not entirely "off-topic". I hope our planet may soon benefit from the fallout of Rossi & Focardi duo (and possibly Mills & Co.) work, assuming it's not all smoke and mirrors. In the meantime, we must contend with the reality of the situation:
The reality of Broken Economies: Who are we going to blame. Versus How do we fix the problem. <Another Brief Public Service Announcement> On Friday, Wisconsin's state and local public employees offered to accept all of the economic concessions called for in the budget repair bill - including Governor Walker's pension and health care concessions, the very items our governor originally stated are absolutely necessary in order to solve Wisconsin's looming deficits. (Personally, I knew right from the beginning that the unions would eventually concede to all of Scott Walker's economic austerity cuts, even if it is unfair. It was the right thing to do under the current circumstances.) The unions only asked that Scott Walker remove the provision that does away with 50 years of collective bargaining. Governor Walker flatly turned the offer down. If the issue had really been about solving Wisconsin's looming budget deficit a budgetary solution is now at-hand. The unions have now conceded to all of Walker's key budgetary demands. It has become blatantly clear at this point that the primary agenda in Walker's modus operandi was never about balancing the budget; rather it is to get rid of unions, particularly the right of unions to bargain collectively. It is incredulous to me that our governor is willing to refuse a solution to our state's looming budget crisis by refusing to accept the very fiscal concessions he has constantly been calling for. It is my sincere hope that many readers of this post can at least appreciate why Wisconsin public employees feel just tad ticked off. Walker's political arm twisting is at least finally beginning to leave a bad taste in the mouths of many who in the past could have cared less about politics or unions. Scott Walker not only has an interesting political past life, he has interesting financial backers as well: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/wisconsin-scott-walker-koch-brothers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Walker_%28politician%29 And here's a gem concerning dirty politics: http://milwaukeecourieronline.com/index.php/2010/08/21/walker-fails-to-act-o n-campaign-controversy/ For some of the latest "raw" video footage of political unrest at the Capital Square: http://www.youtube.com/user/OrionworksVideos PS: 14 Wisconsin senators remain AWOL. At present all it would it take for Scott Walker to get the entirety of his bill passed as-is (with no negotiating), which would include the destruction of collective bargaining would be to nab just one "missing" senator and force him back to the capital to complete a quorum. Unless several remaining republican senators eventually take heart and demand that their governor follow through on what was presumed to be his original intention to balance the budget, budgetary concessions for which the unions have now met - the writing is on the wall. It was still a good fight. Maybe there will be another day. </Another Brief Public Service Announcement> Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks --- Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
