If you care one iota about the way you are represented in Madison, follow these directions and watch Rep. Phil Garthwaite in action, "working" for you.
Click here to go to Wisconsin Eye
Scroll down a ways to:
04.15.10 | Wisconsin State Assembly Floor Session (Part 4/4)
Click on the Watch Link. Fast forward to 19:36.
Ask yourself, is this how you want Southwest, WI to be represented?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
In case you missed it...
Readers of this blog are well aware of Rep. Garthwaite's violent outburst on the floor of the Assembly last year when he screamed at businesses to take their jobs out of Wisconsin if they don't agree with his liberal, anti-jobs policies.
Readers may not have seen Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Patrick McIlheran's column on the subject.
Here it is for your reading pleasure:
'Reform' that helps no one
I think McIlheran nails it here:
Readers may not have seen Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Patrick McIlheran's column on the subject.
Here it is for your reading pleasure:
'Reform' that helps no one
I think McIlheran nails it here:
Nor do they (Democrat lawmakers) show the least comprehension of why all this might spook employers. Entrepreneurs fret about hiring a malcontent who will drag them into court over random dissatisfactions, but state Rep. Phil Garthwaite (D-Dickeyville) was denouncing as bigots any employer who might flee such jeopardy, saying in Assembly debate, "Good. Get your ass back down to the South. I don't want you here."
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Remember when Phil Garthwaite Increased the Price of the Platteville Police Station by $80,000 in a Single Vote?
As the election approaches, Rep. Phil Garthwaite is running from his record faster than his Madison-Milwaukee high speed rail project is pulling dollars away from Grant County’s infrastructure.
It’s our job to remind him of the poor decisions he’s made over the last two years and the negative impact they are having on our community.
Take the prevailing wage for instance.
Back in 1931 a group of progressive (mostly progressive Republican) Congressman enacted the Davis-Bacon Act creating the first national prevailing wage law. At the time their goal was simple - stop minority workers, mainly southern blacks, from competing with white construction unions.
Over the years prevailing wage laws have evolved. Although they still have the presumably unintended consequence of reducing the number of government construction contracts awarded to minority and women owned firms, this is no longer their primary intent. Today prevailing wage laws are enforced in many states to keep small businesses from underbidding large union shops for public construction contracts. They also dramatically increase costs for Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer.
During the last state budget, Rep. Garthwaite was the deciding vote in favor of a law change that has mandated the use of a much expanded prevailing wage, increasing the costs of public projects statewide by millions of dollars and taking away work from countless struggling non-union construction firms. He was given four opportunities to amend this provision of the budget. He voted not once, not twice, not three times, but four times to keep these prevailing wage changes in the budget.
These four votes along with a fifth, his deciding vote in favor of the state budget, had immediate negative consequences on Grant County. The cost of Platteville’s new police station, for instance, immediately increased by $80,000. Consider that and then think about all the other public construction projects taking place in Grant County. Think about the increased costs to the taxpayer, not to mention the jobs lost by small local firms as larger regional firms stepped in to take over the prevailing wage work. The costs on Grant County have been substantial.
Executive Director of the Platteville Area Industrial Development Corporation, George Krueger, said it best in his July 15, 2009 column in the Platteville Journal:
PAIDC Director Krueger went on to explain that Garthwaite’s vote increased the costs of the Holmen St. project in Platteville by 43% even as they used the exact same contractor to do the exact same work.
How about that for government waste and abuse of power? Garthwaite passed a law that forced a contractor to charge Platteville 43% more for a project and made the city pay. It would be laughable if it weren’t true.
Krueger also explained the state is now applying the prevailing wage to many private projects. It’s not just the taxpayer that is on the hook for increased costs. Private developers are too and that means even less development and fewer jobs.
Take a moment to think about all the projects that aren’t getting done now because the legislature increased costs so dramatically in the middle of a recession. Think about all the jobs lost in Grant County.
Talk to a small local contractor. Chances are they’ve lost out on a bid to a larger regional firm because of this law. Think again about all the jobs lost in Grant County.
Think about those jobs that we should have but don’t. Then think about the fact that our very own Representative Phil Garthwaite is responsible.
Scans of Krueger's Column:
It’s our job to remind him of the poor decisions he’s made over the last two years and the negative impact they are having on our community.
Take the prevailing wage for instance.
Back in 1931 a group of progressive (mostly progressive Republican) Congressman enacted the Davis-Bacon Act creating the first national prevailing wage law. At the time their goal was simple - stop minority workers, mainly southern blacks, from competing with white construction unions.
Over the years prevailing wage laws have evolved. Although they still have the presumably unintended consequence of reducing the number of government construction contracts awarded to minority and women owned firms, this is no longer their primary intent. Today prevailing wage laws are enforced in many states to keep small businesses from underbidding large union shops for public construction contracts. They also dramatically increase costs for Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer.
During the last state budget, Rep. Garthwaite was the deciding vote in favor of a law change that has mandated the use of a much expanded prevailing wage, increasing the costs of public projects statewide by millions of dollars and taking away work from countless struggling non-union construction firms. He was given four opportunities to amend this provision of the budget. He voted not once, not twice, not three times, but four times to keep these prevailing wage changes in the budget.
These four votes along with a fifth, his deciding vote in favor of the state budget, had immediate negative consequences on Grant County. The cost of Platteville’s new police station, for instance, immediately increased by $80,000. Consider that and then think about all the other public construction projects taking place in Grant County. Think about the increased costs to the taxpayer, not to mention the jobs lost by small local firms as larger regional firms stepped in to take over the prevailing wage work. The costs on Grant County have been substantial.
Executive Director of the Platteville Area Industrial Development Corporation, George Krueger, said it best in his July 15, 2009 column in the Platteville Journal:
“The State of Wisconsin budget passed recently. It is anti-business, anti-capitol, and anti-development. A big negative impact on economic development is the prevailing wage policy that was passed as part of the budget.”
PAIDC Director Krueger went on to explain that Garthwaite’s vote increased the costs of the Holmen St. project in Platteville by 43% even as they used the exact same contractor to do the exact same work.
How about that for government waste and abuse of power? Garthwaite passed a law that forced a contractor to charge Platteville 43% more for a project and made the city pay. It would be laughable if it weren’t true.
Krueger also explained the state is now applying the prevailing wage to many private projects. It’s not just the taxpayer that is on the hook for increased costs. Private developers are too and that means even less development and fewer jobs.
Take a moment to think about all the projects that aren’t getting done now because the legislature increased costs so dramatically in the middle of a recession. Think about all the jobs lost in Grant County.
Talk to a small local contractor. Chances are they’ve lost out on a bid to a larger regional firm because of this law. Think again about all the jobs lost in Grant County.
Think about those jobs that we should have but don’t. Then think about the fact that our very own Representative Phil Garthwaite is responsible.
Scans of Krueger's Column:
Friday, September 24, 2010
Politicians say the Darnedest Things
"I don't ever profess to be the brightest bulb on the tree."
Phil Garthwaite
Floor of the State Assembly
2-18-08
Phil Garthwaite
Floor of the State Assembly
2-18-08
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Politicians say the Darnedest Things
When asked if he would support a 500% increase in the beer tax Rep. Garthwaite replied:
"Yah, I could support that."
Citation: Southwest Alliance for Tobacco Prevention (SATP)/ N.E.W. Grant County (Wellness Coalition) Forum and WGLR Radio - 8/8/08
"Yah, I could support that."
Citation: Southwest Alliance for Tobacco Prevention (SATP)/ N.E.W. Grant County (Wellness Coalition) Forum and WGLR Radio - 8/8/08
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Politicians say the Darnedest Things
"First and foremost, socialized medicine isn't scaring anybody anymore."
Phil Garthwaite
League of Women Voters Candidate Forum
Platteville, WI
July 23rd, 2008
Phil Garthwaite
League of Women Voters Candidate Forum
Platteville, WI
July 23rd, 2008
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Politicians say the Darnedest Things
"The dumbest thing in my opinion that happened was when the state legislature got it in their heads that they were going to be the protector of Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer."
Phil Garthwaite
League of Women Voters Candidate Forum
Platteville, WI
July 23rd, 2008
Phil Garthwaite
League of Women Voters Candidate Forum
Platteville, WI
July 23rd, 2008
Friday, September 10, 2010
2010 not looking like 2008 for Grant County Democrats
I received this in an email from the Grant County Democratic Party last night:
It looks like the army of Democrat volunteers created by the Obama machine has not reestablished itself. On the other hand, one of Garthwaite's opponents Travis Tranel gathered 32 volunteers to walk in his parades. One can almost sence the distress in the author's voice as they added each exclamation point to the end of that sentence.
I urge the author to relax with a pint of Potosi and visit unnecessaryquotes.com. Demagoguery doesn’t mandate quotation marks.
We need to have a good turnout of volunteers at the Dairy Days Parade in Platteville this Saturday, Sept 11. Democratic candidate for governor Tom Barrett plans to walk the parade and it would be great to have a lot of Democrats to walk with him, Phil Garthwaite and Carol Beals. Just to give you a sense of what the "other side" is doing, Travis Tranel had 32 walkers at last weekend's parades!!!
It looks like the army of Democrat volunteers created by the Obama machine has not reestablished itself. On the other hand, one of Garthwaite's opponents Travis Tranel gathered 32 volunteers to walk in his parades. One can almost sence the distress in the author's voice as they added each exclamation point to the end of that sentence.
I urge the author to relax with a pint of Potosi and visit unnecessaryquotes.com. Demagoguery doesn’t mandate quotation marks.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
2009-10 Session Recap - Garthwaite on Schools
For years Assembly Democrats, especially rural Democrats like Rep. Garthwaite, have been promising to reform school funding in Wisconsin. They claimed that Wisconsin’s system of equalizing aid was broken and that they would fix it at the first opportunity.
Two years ago the Democrats were given that opportunity when the voters of Wisconsin granted them exclusive control over all three branches of Wisconsin’s government. Let’s see how Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrats did.
Class: School Funding Reform
Grade: F
Despite countless promises made in debates and on campaign literature, Rep. Garthwaite failed to pass meaningful school funding reform. One might assume that he and other Democrats tried to work on this vitally important issue but that they were block by Governor Doyle, outside special interests, or simply ran out of time. One would be wrong.
Rep. Garthwaite didn’t even introduce a bill to begin debate on this subject. He didn’t even try.
Class: Union Payback
Grade: A
After gaining complete control of state government, it’s no surprise that Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrats moved quickly to reward their greatest campaign supporter, the teachers’ union WEAC.
Rep. Garthwaite supported three major gifts for WEAC as part of the state budget.
1. Repeal of the Qualified Economic Offer – QEO
For years the union’s top priority has been to repeal the QEO. The QEO was a state law that guaranteed teachers a 3.8% compensation increase each year. If a local union got into a lengthy arbitration dispute with a school district, the district could invoke the QEO as a ceiling and resolve the dispute. This rarely happened and teachers usually received much, much higher total compensation. Thus Wisconsin remains ranked as the 4th highest taxing state when it comes to property taxes according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation.
Sit back for a moment and try to imagine a private sector worker in this economy complaining about a 3.8% minimum raise? Most people are losing hours, seeing their salaries cut, or losing their jobs altogether. Not only do WEAC members have 100% guaranteed job security but they also had guaranteed raises of 3.8%. That wasn’t enough for them so they had the law repealed.
In future years look for large property tax increases or the cutting of school programs as the increased costs of teachers’ salaries and benefit packages continue to outpace funding thanks to this repeal.
2. Find ways to increase property taxes to pad WEAC’s pockets
The best tool Wisconsin’s citizens have to keep property taxes down is called the revenue cap. The legislature put the revenue cap in place to keep local school districts from increasing property taxes by double digit percentages year after year.
The union’s second greatest priority has been to eliminate or weaken the revenue cap to feed its large appetite for higher property taxes.
In the 2009-10 state budget, Rep. Garthwaite voted to exempt several school expenses from the revenue cap. The affect will be visible in December when your property taxes go up by a bit more than they have in past years.
3. Give the union more power in arbitration
Unions exist to seek the best wages and benefits they can for their members by collectively bargaining (and to get Democrats elected to public office). This is all fine and dandy on an open and level playing field but that playing field no longer exists in Wisconsin thanks to sneaky changes that Rep. Garthwaite helped tuck into the state budget.
State law now prohibits an arbiter from considering local economic conditions first when negotiating contract disputes. School districts facing declining revenues due to high unemployment and declining property values (like most in Grant County) can’t go to the union and say, “Hey, we just can’t afford to give you a 6% raise and free Viagra this year because our community is hurting and they can’t afford it.”
This change will cause cuts to core educational services and property tax increases in the communities that can least afford them.
Rural School Funding
Grade: F
Rep. Garthwaite let the Milwaukee Democrats walk all over rural Wisconsin when it came to school funding.
He voted for a budget that cut state aid to many rural districts by as much as 15% but only hit Milwaukee with a 0.5% cut.
As a result, Southwest Wisconsin school districts are raising property taxes by record amounts:
Mineral Point – 24.4%
Lancaster – 8.3%
Schullsburg – 19.8%
Platteville – 7.4%
River Valley – 15.5%
Darlington – 22.4%
In contrast, what is Garthwaite’s school budget doing to the taxpayers in Democrat Milwaukee? Not much. They’re only seeing a 2.5% increase on their bills.
Two years ago the Democrats were given that opportunity when the voters of Wisconsin granted them exclusive control over all three branches of Wisconsin’s government. Let’s see how Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrats did.
Class: School Funding Reform
Grade: F
Despite countless promises made in debates and on campaign literature, Rep. Garthwaite failed to pass meaningful school funding reform. One might assume that he and other Democrats tried to work on this vitally important issue but that they were block by Governor Doyle, outside special interests, or simply ran out of time. One would be wrong.
Rep. Garthwaite didn’t even introduce a bill to begin debate on this subject. He didn’t even try.
Class: Union Payback
Grade: A
After gaining complete control of state government, it’s no surprise that Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrats moved quickly to reward their greatest campaign supporter, the teachers’ union WEAC.
Rep. Garthwaite supported three major gifts for WEAC as part of the state budget.
1. Repeal of the Qualified Economic Offer – QEO
For years the union’s top priority has been to repeal the QEO. The QEO was a state law that guaranteed teachers a 3.8% compensation increase each year. If a local union got into a lengthy arbitration dispute with a school district, the district could invoke the QEO as a ceiling and resolve the dispute. This rarely happened and teachers usually received much, much higher total compensation. Thus Wisconsin remains ranked as the 4th highest taxing state when it comes to property taxes according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation.
Sit back for a moment and try to imagine a private sector worker in this economy complaining about a 3.8% minimum raise? Most people are losing hours, seeing their salaries cut, or losing their jobs altogether. Not only do WEAC members have 100% guaranteed job security but they also had guaranteed raises of 3.8%. That wasn’t enough for them so they had the law repealed.
In future years look for large property tax increases or the cutting of school programs as the increased costs of teachers’ salaries and benefit packages continue to outpace funding thanks to this repeal.
2. Find ways to increase property taxes to pad WEAC’s pockets
The best tool Wisconsin’s citizens have to keep property taxes down is called the revenue cap. The legislature put the revenue cap in place to keep local school districts from increasing property taxes by double digit percentages year after year.
The union’s second greatest priority has been to eliminate or weaken the revenue cap to feed its large appetite for higher property taxes.
In the 2009-10 state budget, Rep. Garthwaite voted to exempt several school expenses from the revenue cap. The affect will be visible in December when your property taxes go up by a bit more than they have in past years.
3. Give the union more power in arbitration
Unions exist to seek the best wages and benefits they can for their members by collectively bargaining (and to get Democrats elected to public office). This is all fine and dandy on an open and level playing field but that playing field no longer exists in Wisconsin thanks to sneaky changes that Rep. Garthwaite helped tuck into the state budget.
State law now prohibits an arbiter from considering local economic conditions first when negotiating contract disputes. School districts facing declining revenues due to high unemployment and declining property values (like most in Grant County) can’t go to the union and say, “Hey, we just can’t afford to give you a 6% raise and free Viagra this year because our community is hurting and they can’t afford it.”
This change will cause cuts to core educational services and property tax increases in the communities that can least afford them.
Rural School Funding
Grade: F
Rep. Garthwaite let the Milwaukee Democrats walk all over rural Wisconsin when it came to school funding.
He voted for a budget that cut state aid to many rural districts by as much as 15% but only hit Milwaukee with a 0.5% cut.
As a result, Southwest Wisconsin school districts are raising property taxes by record amounts:
Mineral Point – 24.4%
Lancaster – 8.3%
Schullsburg – 19.8%
Platteville – 7.4%
River Valley – 15.5%
Darlington – 22.4%
In contrast, what is Garthwaite’s school budget doing to the taxpayers in Democrat Milwaukee? Not much. They’re only seeing a 2.5% increase on their bills.
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