Unemployment is up to 10.1% according to Gallup but perhaps more significantly, under employment or those working part time but looking for full time work is nearing 20%. This could explain the sharp, 24% rise in food stamp use in Wisconsin over the past year. Clearly things aren't going the right way.
Wisconsin specific unemployment figures won't be revealed until the end of next week. While I expect the Doyle Administration to do everything it can to soften the blow, I don't think they will be able to cushion the impact of rising unemployment enough to save the Democrats this November. Unlike states that have taken steps to improve their economic climate, Wisconsin's Democrat controlled government has made things much worse. Just look at the tax increases that Phil Garthwaite and the Democrat majority voted for over the last two years:
Phone Tax - $107 million
Utility Tax - $18 million
Garbage Collection Tax - $69 million
Gas Tax Increase - $224 million (failed to pass the Senate despite Garthwaite's efforts to pass it into law).
Nursing Home Tax - $71 million
Hospital Patient Tax - $1.1 billion
Meat Tax - TBA
Capital Gains - $242.5
Large Employer Tax - $215 million
New Income Tax Bracket for Small Businesses and "rich people" - 1% income tax increase
E-commerce Tax - $11 million
Forced Property Tax Hike - $1.5 Billion
Look at this list and then think about the top claim Garthwaite makes in his campaign literature: lower taxes. Phil Garthwaite voted for each of the tax increases listed above. That's not rhetoric, that's a fact.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Welcome New Readers
Our unique visitor counter as been climbing at an exponential rate the past few days.
Thank you for taking the time to educate yourself.
We hope you find this information useful.
Thank you for taking the time to educate yourself.
We hope you find this information useful.
Would you Give a Soldier Half of a Bullet Proof Vest?
Rep. Garthwaite spends a lot of time praising our Veterans and that's a good thing. He frequently mentions his support for them in his campaign literature and radio ads. That's also a good thing. We hope that all of our politicians, no matter their party, would fight for the men and women who lay their lives on the line to protect our country.
Unfortunately, a review of the two most important Veterans issues confronting the legislature over the last two years reveals that Rep. Garthwaite doesn't always vote the way he talks.
1. The Wisconsin G.I. Bill
In 2005, the then Republican controlled legislature created the the Wisconsin G.I. Bill to assist our Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with receiving a tuition free education at one of the University of Wisconsin or technical college schools.
In 2008, Rep. Garthwaite and many other Assembly Democrats (as well as Republicans) campaigned on the program as an example of their continued support for our Veterans. Once the Democrats were reelected and took control of the State Assembly away from the GOP, however, they jumped on board a Doyle proposal to gut the program.
Rep. Garthwaite voted along with the Democrat majority on this. If he claims that he opposed gutting the Wisconsin G.I. Bill but had to do so to pass a balanced budget, which he will likely do, he is not being truthful.
This amendment to the budget would have stopped the program from being gutted. The amendment died on a 49-49 vote. Garthwaite's vote killed it. Had he truly wanted to save this program, all he had to do was switch his vote and the program would still exist as intended today.
After the budget passed GOP Rep. Kevin Petersen, a 25 year Navy Veteran, introduced legislation to restore the benefit.
The Democrats first ignored the proposal, then stole it, and finally introduced their own plan to restore half of the benefit. Half!
This was the height of political hypocrisy:
Step 1. Run for reelection on a popular Veterans program.
Step 2. Gut the program.
Step 3. Restore half the program.
Step 4. Pat yourself on the back.
Step 5. Run for reelection for restoring half of a program that you gutted in the first place.
I hope that even Democrat readers of this blog can agree that this sort of politics stinks.
2. The Veterans Trust Fund
Unless something is done soon, Wisconsin's Veterans Trust Fund will go bankrupt in 2013.
The Trust Fund is responsible for:
* The Wisconsin Veterans Homes
* The Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemeteries
* The Wisconsin Veterans Museum
* The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs veterans benefits and services programs -- Home Loans, Personal Loans, Education Grants, Assistance to Needy Veterans and Military Families, and more.
In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs made several suggestions, and later pleas to the legislature to solve this problem.
Not only did Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrat majorities ignore these pleas, they actually tried to make things worse.
The Doyle administration proposed a 5% raid on the fund and suggested levying a $170/month tax on nursing home patients in the state's veterans homes.
Outcries from Veterans' groups and the GOP eventually killed these proposals that would have made things worse but Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrat majorities did nothing to make things better.
Republicans made an effort to resolve this issue. Democrats ignored it.
Unfortunately, a review of the two most important Veterans issues confronting the legislature over the last two years reveals that Rep. Garthwaite doesn't always vote the way he talks.
1. The Wisconsin G.I. Bill
In 2005, the then Republican controlled legislature created the the Wisconsin G.I. Bill to assist our Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with receiving a tuition free education at one of the University of Wisconsin or technical college schools.
In 2008, Rep. Garthwaite and many other Assembly Democrats (as well as Republicans) campaigned on the program as an example of their continued support for our Veterans. Once the Democrats were reelected and took control of the State Assembly away from the GOP, however, they jumped on board a Doyle proposal to gut the program.
Rep. Garthwaite voted along with the Democrat majority on this. If he claims that he opposed gutting the Wisconsin G.I. Bill but had to do so to pass a balanced budget, which he will likely do, he is not being truthful.
This amendment to the budget would have stopped the program from being gutted. The amendment died on a 49-49 vote. Garthwaite's vote killed it. Had he truly wanted to save this program, all he had to do was switch his vote and the program would still exist as intended today.
After the budget passed GOP Rep. Kevin Petersen, a 25 year Navy Veteran, introduced legislation to restore the benefit.
The Democrats first ignored the proposal, then stole it, and finally introduced their own plan to restore half of the benefit. Half!
This was the height of political hypocrisy:
Step 1. Run for reelection on a popular Veterans program.
Step 2. Gut the program.
Step 3. Restore half the program.
Step 4. Pat yourself on the back.
Step 5. Run for reelection for restoring half of a program that you gutted in the first place.
I hope that even Democrat readers of this blog can agree that this sort of politics stinks.
2. The Veterans Trust Fund
Unless something is done soon, Wisconsin's Veterans Trust Fund will go bankrupt in 2013.
The Trust Fund is responsible for:
* The Wisconsin Veterans Homes
* The Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemeteries
* The Wisconsin Veterans Museum
* The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs veterans benefits and services programs -- Home Loans, Personal Loans, Education Grants, Assistance to Needy Veterans and Military Families, and more.
In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs made several suggestions, and later pleas to the legislature to solve this problem.
Not only did Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrat majorities ignore these pleas, they actually tried to make things worse.
The Doyle administration proposed a 5% raid on the fund and suggested levying a $170/month tax on nursing home patients in the state's veterans homes.
Outcries from Veterans' groups and the GOP eventually killed these proposals that would have made things worse but Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrat majorities did nothing to make things better.
Republicans made an effort to resolve this issue. Democrats ignored it.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Descide for Yourself
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?
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?
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:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
