Archive for Government Workers
Tech Up; you have a right to record the jackboots!
Posted by: | Comments“Technology may be winning, but the real problem is that America has a class of government workers who believe that they are above citizen scrutiny, and who are prepared to abuse their powers to avoid that scrutiny. The only solution for this is to punish offenders severely enough that others learn their lesson.”
My humble advice is to grab the app for either your iPhone or Android device that will automatically record and deposit on the web your encounter with the jackboots out there. Just imagine how a certain Hudson School District board meeting would have played in the public eye had we had this technology only a few years ago!
Union Benefits As a Ponzi Scheme
Posted by: | Comments“We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.” Ayn Rand.
You would think that this quote may even be the sentiments of many of the unionized workers in the state of Wisconsin these last fifteen days. They look at the state as a bully taking away their candy bar from their bag lunch. Conservatives also look at the state as a bully as well, in the form of taxation. So if there is any common ground we have right now it is our shared disdain of government. This however is about as close as this debate gets.
The left only has this disdain when they are not in power. Right now they are not in control. The “brute force” that Rand spoke of is government. If you don’t play by the rules (law) you will get penalized. The confiscation of your hard earned capital via taxation to pay for government programs is nothing more than legal plunder. The unionization of government workers is wrong if the wages and benefits they demand and expect are better than those who pay them, and are not limited to what is in line with the private sector. Defined pensions should not exceed the amount that was contributed. Public workers contribute little if any to their pensions. The taxpayers are broke and should not be responsible for exponential benefit plans run like Ponzi schemes. That is what this whole national movement is all about. Taxpayers have voted in elected officials who want the system changed. Growth of government has to STOP. We need to shrink government.
So the left can’t have it both ways. They have a disdain for government who is their enforcer that extorts capital from the citizens to pay their wages and benefits. There is a bit of a dichotomy here. In this case, it’s the taxpayers who the government represents. The government is a representation of the people who are elected. The people have spoken. Even then, it is the majority of Wisconsin right now, who thinks that Wisconsin has not gone far enough. It’s the Conservatives that should be angry. This adjustment to unionization of government workers is only 10% of the trimming this state needs to do to balance the books. Dare tell when the rest gets proposed.
Behind the scenes with Handy Ranson
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Playboy Roy, looking dashing in his matching outfit
We’d like to welcome you to a new segment of Ontheborderline. We’ll take a close look at what goes on behind the scenes at the local fishwrap newspaper in Hudson. Many of the most vile liberals in town seem to work there and you can see their communist way of thinking in the “stories” that they write.
Our first interview will be with the liberal puke Handy Ranson and Playboy Roy. Handy is a tool of the lefties, always advocating for higher taxes and more government. Handy sometimes puts his name to articles and sometimes he hides behind the “Our View” editorial. Either way, you can tell it’s him with the editorial slant. His article about the government union thug protesters this week was no different. And Playboy Roy, well he’s the guy that is always wanting to steal from his neighbors (and sometimes not just their money…..).
So here is Handy Ranson and his local hero Playboy Roy, behind the scenes…..
Handy- So what did you think of the article Playboy?
Playboy Roy – Great work Handy. I love the way you slanted the article in favor of the union thugs. And nice picture of me by the way. I thought I looked rather dashing in my matching outfit.
Handy – Thanks Playboy. I do the best I can to influence the people of Hudson. Did you like the way I called you a “prominent Hudsonsite”? I thought that was pretty clever.
Playboy Roy – You printed it just the way I told you to Handy. Couldn’t have done it better myself. I can’t wait to run against Sheila Harsdorf in a recall election.
Handy – We’ll do the best we can to promote you Playboy. I’ll try to keep those stories about your marital infidelities out of the paper.
Playboy – Sounds good Handy. And don’t let the average people of Hudson know that I make tons of money off of the government workers planning their estates okay? That wouldn’t look very good.
Handy – Got it Playboy. Now I’ve got to get back to work. Plenty of left leaning stories to write this week.
Playboy – Great, me too. There’s got to be somebody I can sue today…..
Calling All Liberty Lovers – We’re Going To Madison
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Time: Saturday 12:00 Noon Central Time
Where: Madison Capital Building
What: Counter Rally To Support Taxpayers
If your a liberty loving patriot and are sick of providing government workers better benefits than you have then you need to be there. Expect a wave of 10′s of thousands of people JUST LIKE YOU to converge and support our Governor and Legislatures bid to reign in out of control spending. By hook or crook, find a way and be there.
What Interests Does a Candidate Represent?
Posted by: | CommentsIn a discussion with an acquaintance the other day, she touched on the topic of politics and the importance of the Massachusetts race for US Senate. Granted it is interesting how a special election in the heart of Democrat country could see a Republican win and thus kill any attempts to pass a socialized medicine healthcare bill. Her comments illustrated a problem facing taxpayers in the state of Wisconsin. People will spend hours talking about national politics and vote in droves for the election of federal offices, but nary will a whisper be heard about local candidates.
Local spring elections barely draw enough voters to the polling place that would fill up a good size movie theater. Yet county, city and school district taxes are a sizeable chunk of a person’s over all tax burdens. I recently attended a gathering of nearly 50 people at a private residence to hear a Congressional candidate speak. Imagine how many would show up to listen to a person running for school board or city council; maybe a handful.
Even though most yawn at the mention of local elections, an organization exists that is willing to put its money and manpower into candidates for local offices. Despite the economic hardships faced by many, local governments and school districts across Wisconsin have increased the tax burden over the last year. In the area where I live, both the county and the school district raised their portion of the property tax by nearly 9%.
Such actions have left many questioning the mindset of local elected officials. How can they vote to increase taxes in time like this and offer raises to government employees while at the same individuals are losing their jobs or their homes; why government does not suffer the same fate of the recession?
The answer may be found in the contents of an envelope going out to each of the candidates for the county board. The letter came from the offices of AFSCME, the government workers union. The opening sentence should send alarm bells to taxpayers about the true nature of local elections.
Dear Candidate for St. Croix Supervisor,
The AFSCME PEOPLE committee of the 3rd CD is considering endorsements for the Spring election of the ST. Croix County Board of Supervisors.
The committee decides locally who the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees will support in the upcoming election…
The letter then invites the candidate to be part of an interview process beginning with an enclosed questionnaire.
As part of the candidate interview process, we have enclosed an AFSCME questionnaire.
The second page of the letter deals with personal information including email, phone numbers, and details of the candidates campaign treasury (where they can mail the checks).
On the next couple of pages the union asks eleven support/oppose questions. No surprise the first handful of inquiries dealt with opinions on collective bargaining and” living wages”. The next set dealt with the idea of privatization, Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), and increasing the tax burden on wealthy individuals and businesses. One curious question dealt with the time of board meetings. Currently St. Croix County Board meetings are held during the day time when many taxpayers are at work, and therefore, find it difficult to exercise their Constitutional right to address grievances toward government. It is highly doubtful that government union employees are concerned that those who pay their wages and benefits are shut out of the process.
I find this letter from AFSCME and others like it very disturbing on several fronts (WEAC sends out similar invitations to school board candidates). The founding principles of the republic established a hierarchy of power. The Creator endowed the individual with rights. Government was a creation of the people, and thus subservient to the citizenry. In layman terms, the people are the true employers of government workers.
The very strong implication of the people’s representative having to interview with government employees flips the hierarchy and the foundations of the country on its head. By submitting to an interview with the government union, a politician puts the government on equal or superior footing with its creator. Liberty cannot exist under such a system. Read More→