Last night Rachel Maddow revealed that Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) has a reputation for using a budget crisis to bust up unions while in power. Over the last week Walker has tried to push through a bill that would not only require public employees in unions to pay more for their pensions and health plans, but also to permanently give up their collective bargaining rights. The unions have agreed to the financial parts of the plan, but refuse to give up their collective bargaining rights in the future. Walker has denied that he has any motive in breaking up the unions, but has refused to compromise on the collective bargaining rights issue. As Maddow illustrated, Walker has a past which involves using a “budget crisis” to get rid of a unions.
Before he was elected Governor last fall Walker served a Milwaukee County Executive. While in that position Walker attempted to fire union security guards and replace them with private contractors from a firm in the United Kingdom called G4S Wackenhut. The County Board then overrode Walker’s decision, but he went ahead with the move anyway under justification of a budget “emergency.”
Later, an independent arbitrator determined that no real “emergency” existed in the country, and ordered the reinstatement of the union security guards who were fired. In addition, as Maddow points out, the hiring of G4S Wackenhut turned out to save much less money than Walker had predicted. With the ordered reinstatement, Walker’s move will end up costing the county about half-a-million dollars. Finally, and perhaps most damning, Wackenhut was subsequently involved in a scandal involving raunchy pictures taken of some of their personnel hired by the State Department in Afghanistan. In Milwaukee County Wackenhut ended up hiring a man with a criminal record as the security chief in charge of the county courthouse.
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Rachel Maddow falsely claims Wisconsin has budget surplus (VIDEO)
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Rachel Maddow falsely claims Wisconsin has budget surplus (VIDEO) - National Libertarian | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/libertarian-in-national/rachel-maddow-falsely-cl...
So how do we know she has the story straight this time??
One way might be to look at what else she says. Wackenhut is headquartered in Fla. since it was founded by Americans, Depending on the date of the event in question, it may have been an American company, a Danish-owned company or, since last year, a British-owned company. They hold high end security contracts all over the world but, despite the ownership, I believe the headquarters and management is here.
Now, wonder how much of "costs more than" should be chalked up to the lawyers??
Unions are the failed relics of the past, a once noble institution that has been twisted and corrupted in to a gross mockery of their intent. Their only purpose now is to put money in to the DNC coffers, bribes to continue down an unsustainable path of destruction.
Unions, like liberalism, are a disease, a cancer and it needs to be eradicated for the body that is this nation in order for it to recover.
Good wages and working conditions are like cancer.
Anarcho-totalitarianisme FOREVER!!!
(Have some more kool-aid Mick!)
This type of argument has been repeated over and over again for generations. Unions, like businesses, are very varied, but like businesses, are essential to the proper functioning of any democracy or successful economy. Wise employers, managers and leaders understand this, but there will always be the dogmatic types or those who can speak of some individual bad experience who speak of banning workplace representation. There are also those who are fundamentally anti-democratic and support 100% "big boss" control at all levels - these people court the eventual reaction we are seeing in Arab nations today.
"As Maddow illustrated, Walker has a past which involves using a “budget crisis” to get rid of a unions."
Never let a crisis go to waste.
Why is Rachel Maddow the one reporting this story instead of a WI journalist? These facts are public knowledge; certainly people in Milwaukee County are aware of this fiasco. When a guy like Walker is leaving a wake of bumbling mistakes behind him, you have to question his motives. And you have to wonder why it's not being covered at the state level. Are media in WI being threatened by advertisers that also want to depress wages?
Again, how do we know she has the story straight, that may be why no one in WI is reporting it!
What Rachel Maddow got wrong is that a budget surplus was projected before Walker gave away 150 million in tax cuts to business.
She retracted it - but what Walker and Paul Ryan have been circulating are flat out lies. Ryan: "There are riots in the streets in Madison .. it is Cairo in Madison right now!" There have been no arrests or violence in fact the Madison Police made a statement thanking the demonstrators for their civility.
Walker is filled with his own.
The real lies here belong to Fox News and the Republicans who are desperate to push through the Koch Brothers agenda to break unions and stop renewable energy as it threatens their coal business.
WOW!!!! All your inner demons in one sentence, Republicans, Koch Bro and Fox News.
Now is this the therapy your shrink told you to use?
Just because he's paranoid doesn't mean the Brother's AIN'T out to get him!
Actually there was no projected surplus. Just from reading the politico piece on it, it sounds like the person who came up with the memo did not factor in all the variables because he did not want to make any assumptions on what would be voted on and what the end costs would be. Taking those items out there was a surplus but unfortunately those costs needed to be factored in.
It may have been an honest mistake on her part but when you add in the fact that many, I am not sure if she did or not, tried to use the surplus in conjunction with the tax cuts for corporations which don't get factored in for a year or two..to paint a picture of tax cuts for the rich at the expense of the public employees then that is just wrong! !
Rachel...I would like to know why there has never been a clear answer as to why the parade route for Kennedy was changed at the last minute and who was responsible for changing it?
Wisconsin people not reporting it?? Are you serious?? We need the national media people to get the word out to help keep our collective barganing rights. We have had 20,000+ people trying to get Walker's attention in front of our state capital, he publicly dismisses them in each news interview he does. He has funding from the Koch brothers and that is his only agenda. Listen to his phone call....dismisses Obama...compares himself to Reagan.....he is a complete fool.
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