Recall Scott Walker

Started by Valerian, November 10, 2011, 10:11:34 AM

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Valerian

Twelve days until the recall and counting.

Walker's repeal of the Equal Pay Act was most obviously part of the radical Republican war on women, but it had a hidden sting against another group he loves to hate: veterans.

QuoteLost in the debate are little-known limits on the rights of veterans to sue in federal court, said Michael Gourlie, a member of the Wisconsin Association of Concerned Veterans Organizations executive board and Wisconsin’s Council on Veterans Programs, which advises the state Department of Veterans Affairs.

“This leaves one less incentive for war-weary employers of reservists and National Guard members — who have absorbed multiple combat deployments over the last 10 years — to hire and retain these patriots,” said Gourlie, an Army and Wisconsin National Guard veteran who served in Afghanistan before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. “Veterans were viewed, unfortunately, as collateral damage by small business, the Legislature and the governor in order to get that law through.”
Two Walker cronies already embezzled almost $64,000 from two different veterans' groups, so this is nothing new, really.  But then there's the whole thing about John Scocos, former secretary of the state's Veterans Affair Board, who lost his job by unanimous vote two years ago.

Quote
Among the violations listed was [Scocos'] poor communication skills, misspending money without board approval (he bought a $850,000 fire truck for the King Veterans Center which couldn't even handle a fire in all of the center's buildings), and arbitrarily raising rates for the veterans without notifying the board.

Scocos immediately cried foul and said his job was protected because he came back [from active duty in Iraq] a few months before.  The problem with his argument is that he had his job back as soon as he returned.  The problem is that as soon he resumed his position, Scocos continued to act inappropriately despite warnings from the board.

So he got fired.
The rates mentioned are basically rents for those staying in the Union Grove Veterans Home.  The raise amounted to about $30 per day.  I can't find any recent numbers, but last year the facility was at just 36% capacity because so few could afford it.

Anyway, Walker's gave Scocos his old job back last August, though he's still suing over being fired.  At least two other board members resigned over Scocos' return.


Then there are Walker's job numbers.

Every other state in the union uses something called the Establishment Payroll Survey to produce their job numbers.  The Department of Labor calls various workplaces and asks how many people are employed there in non-farm jobs.

Walker is now using the Current Population Survey, which is what gives us the monthly unemployment rates.  This is also the number that conservatives usually hate because they say it's skewed in a way that makes Obama look good for lowering unemployment rates nationwide.  When someone gives up on looking for work because they can't find anything, the unemployment numbers go down.

So he says -- just in time for the recall election -- "Look!  We gained 23,300 jobs!" when the truth is more that we lost about 33,000.  (Though if anyone out there knows more about how this works, please chime in.  The claims and counter-claims are a little dizzying.)

The real problem, of course, is that both numbers are very small, especially compared to the quarter of a million jobs Walker guaranteed he'd create.  It's being referred to as "dancing around zero".
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Oniya

From Robert Reich's blog:

QuoteMost observers pay attention to the official rate of unemployment, which edged down to 8.1 percent in April from 8.2 percent in March. That may sound like progress, but it’s not. The unemployment rate dropped because more people dropped out of the labor force, too discouraged to look for work. The household survey, from which the rate is calculated, counts as “unemployed” only people who are actively looking for work. If you stop looking because the job scene looks hopeless for you, you’re no longer counted.

Bolding is mine.  There may also be some index that's calculated based on the number of weekly unemployment benefit claims - but again, that doesn't take into account the difference between the ones that stop receiving because they got a job, and the ones that stop receiving because they ran out of benefits.
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Valerian

There was also mention of cases where someone might be living in Wisconsin but working in another state -- someone living in Beloit, near the Illinois border, might easily commute 20 miles every day to work in Rockford, Illinois, for example.  That one seems awfully hard to track, though, by any method.
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Oniya

I doubt that Walker can claim responsibility for creating jobs in Rockford.  ::)
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
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Callie Del Noire

Quote from: Oniya on May 24, 2012, 12:09:48 PM
I doubt that Walker can claim responsibility for creating jobs in Rockford.  ::)
If there is a way, he will though.

AndyZ

Quote from: Oniya on May 24, 2012, 11:44:14 AM
From Robert Reich's blog:

Bolding is mine.  There may also be some index that's calculated based on the number of weekly unemployment benefit claims - but again, that doesn't take into account the difference between the ones that stop receiving because they got a job, and the ones that stop receiving because they ran out of benefits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_rate#Measurement

Basically, U3 is what we currently use, and I think it got switched over sometime during 1994.

QuoteU4: U3 + "discouraged workers", or those who have stopped looking for work because current economic conditions make them believe that no work is available for them.
U5: U4 + other "marginally attached workers", or "loosely attached workers", or those who "would like" and are able to work, but have not looked for work recently.
U6: U5 + Part time workers who want to work full time, but cannot due to economic reasons (underemployment).
Note: "Marginally attached workers" are added to the total labour force for unemployment rate calculation for U4, U5, and U6. The BLS revised the CPS in 1994 and among the changes the measure representing the official unemployment rate was renamed U3 instead of U5.[88]

Personally, I think we should use U5, or at least U4.  However, all the numbers exist, you just have to hunt them down.
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Oniya

Useful to know.  Technically, I'm in U6, and Mr. Oniya is in U5 (although the move is giving him a kick in the butt, hopefully up to U3 or higher.)
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

ShadowFox89

 I would count as U3, I've been putting in job applications everywhere I can for the past several years....
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Oniya

I haven't been de-hired, but there's no more work on the contract, so my hours are zilch.  I'll be U3-ing it in about two weeks to any place within walking distance from the house (one advantage of a more urban environment.)
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Vekseid

Quote from: Valerian on May 24, 2012, 11:33:16 AM
So he says -- just in time for the recall election -- "Look!  We gained 23,300 jobs!" when the truth is more that we lost about 33,000.  (Though if anyone out there knows more about how this works, please chime in.  The claims and counter-claims are a little dizzying.)

Walker's numbers are based off of household data, IIRC, while the other number is based off of establishment data.

So Wisconsinites, themselves, may hold ~23k more actual jobs. But the number of jobs actually available in Wisconsin is down by 33,000. So about 50,000 additional people are commuting outside of Wisconsin for their jobs.


itsbeenfun2000

Quote from: Vekseid on May 25, 2012, 01:05:39 AM
Walker's numbers are based off of household data, IIRC, while the other number is based off of establishment data.

So Wisconsinites, themselves, may hold ~23k more actual jobs. But the number of jobs actually available in Wisconsin is down by 33,000. So about 50,000 additional people are commuting outside of Wisconsin for their jobs.

Which would make sense becuase the job market in the Chicagoland area is improving and Kenosha is considered one of Chicago's suburbs. Kenosha county has always had a lot of people working in Illinois and living in Wisconsin.

Valerian

There's a debate scheduled tonight between Barrett and Walker, the first of two, at 8:00 on WTMJ, Milwaukee.  Barrett says he plans to ask Walker what's going on with that "legal defense fund" of his, and also to ask him if he'll finally release any and all emails he might have exchanged with the people in his office who have been arrested and/or indicted for fraud.  The one email from Walker that's been leaked hints that he knew all about the fraud.

My guess is Walker is even now practicing saying, "Well, that really isn't relevant.  That's a non-issue.  Look, jobs!" in front of a mirror.
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Callie Del Noire

Oh.. I'd love to be there for that one. Not going to watch it.. but definitely want to hear about it afterwards.

I had one friend yell at me about why I was 'ranting' about stuff happening six or seven states away (his words). I pointed out rot starts at one point and spreads outward from there, you let one side pull this somewhere.. and the next cycle.. it will be happening in six more states. I don't think this is the ONLY governor that the Kochs want to buy.

itsbeenfun2000

I didn't watch the debate but it sounds like Walker was taken to task. Each candidate was allowed to ask the other a question and Walker avoided answering the one asked of him. Barret accused him of being the most divisive governor of our time and Walkers reply was we need to start working together.

Callie Del Noire

#139
http://uneditedpolitics.com/2012/05/26/wisconsin-gubernatorial-debate-scott-walker-and-tom-barrett-52512/

Interesting video.  Both candidates dodge some issues but I think Walker was more evasive.

And yes, the final question was completely dodged, though I think the mayor took a shot at the legal issues Walker is hiding from.

Major Major

I been watching this debacle in Wisconsin both here and on another site, which for privacy reasons I shall not name. And on this other site, I had the misfortune of meeting one of the more rabid sorts of Tea Party supporters, who I shall refer to by the initials SDB. He was less consistent in his position than Paolini was in keeping Eragon's plotline coherent, smugly gloated that the blatent corruption that the TP displayed was "A triumph for American Democracy over godless Liberals" (somewhat paraphrased) and said that, if Obama won, he'd actively try to sabotage the American economy to punish him for not being a WASP Reublican.

Needless to say, he's not popular on that site; in fact the mods are now just waiting for Obama to win, so they can watch SBD have an epic meltdown and childish tantrum, before perma-banning him.

RubySlippers

What if the governor survives and is retained in office?


Callie Del Noire

Quote from: RubySlippers on May 27, 2012, 06:46:41 PM
What if the governor survives and is retained in office?

Let's see.. so far he's ..

-Stolen the control of school districts/municipalities
-Severally damaged the concept of collective bargaining
-Robbed the Mortgage settlement that the State DAs to pad his budget
-Plotted to sell off (at closed bid) the state utilities to his sponsors.
-Inserted as many of his cronies into state government as he could despite 'downsizing'.

So.. most likely he'll
-continue to kick the unions when he can
-sell off the public utilities when and if he retains controll of the state legislature
-Expand beyond the public workers and unions on who he's going to disenfranchise. (want to bet the cops/firemen are next?)
-Push through more roll backs on the labor and business laws that protect workers
-Install more blocks to access the going ons of government (why ever do we need to let folks sit in on the assembly? Closed sessions will be the order of the day.)

ShadowFox89

 Well, if you ask his supporters, he can also turn water into wine and end world hunger with a wink.
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Callie Del Noire

Quote from: itsbeenfun2000 on May 29, 2012, 11:48:35 AM
I found this interesting.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/05/27/scott-walkers-latest-victim-deer-hunters/

Of course, and without the $$$$ to buy your way into these ranches, there is no need for mr Middle Class to have a rifle.  And he, the new Deer tsar will push for public land to be put in the management of the 'responsible' folk like himself. 

ShadowFox89

 Really, I don't trust either candidate. Neither one can produce reliable numbers. Not that I trust Walker more than the other guy.
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Vekseid

Quote from: ShadowFox89 on May 29, 2012, 04:34:48 PM
Really, I don't trust either candidate. Neither one can produce reliable numbers. Not that I trust Walker more than the other guy.

I'm pretty sure I can trust Scott Walker to do what I expect him to do.

Ideally, we'd get a political system that actively prevented these sorts of people getting into power. However, we can prune the worst of them.

Callie Del Noire

Quote from: Vekseid on May 29, 2012, 09:35:00 PM
I'm pretty sure I can trust Scott Walker to do what I expect him to do.

Ideally, we'd get a political system that actively prevented these sorts of people getting into power. However, we can prune the worst of them.

Only if we open our eyes and ears and listen. Problem is.. there is a LOT of voter apathy. THAT is why I'm glad to see the recall effort go forward, it tells me that the voter apathy isn't fixed and you can't coax the public into definding themselves.

Valerian

People in Wisconsin, particularly Madison, have a long history of exercising their right to speak up, and I really think that a large part of the reason the recall is happening is that Walker tried his best to take away that right, with all his ridiculous laws about four people constituting a rally, his locking of the capitol building, etc.  He made a lot of people mad with those maneuvers, myself included, even aside from all his other mishandling of issues.

I was startled to discover that the NRA is coming out so vehemently in support of Walker, though.  They have an ad screaming about how Barrett hates gun rights and will take away your right to own a deer rifle.  Hunting will end up as a thing of the past for a lot of people if Walker gets his way, so who cares if you've got the right to own a deer rifle?  You won't be able to shoot anything with it, unless the NRA is supporting more shootings of home intruders, which is a truly appalling thought.



Anyway, the DNR is falling apart, too, thanks to Walker, so I'm sure the public lands are all going to end up mismanaged, thus lending statistical support to his private game park plan.  The new, Walker-appointed secretary of the DNR is Cathy Stepp, a construction company owner and former Republican state senator who has long been a critic of the DNR.

Quote
She called [DNR] employees “unelected bureaucrats” who tend to “come up with some pretty outrageous stuff that those of us in the real world have to contend with.”

Former DNR secretaries, including one appointed by Republican Tommy Thompson, are criticizing her handling of environmental cases, using words like "unprecedented," "outrageous" and "indefensible."  The current scandal is over the handling of the Herr Environmental debacle, wherein a company that had already been in trouble for runoff pollution in 2010 (a case which they settled for $240,000), has recently gotten in trouble for "excess spreading of human waste on farm fields" (ew), and for cooking their books to hide it.  This time the case went to local prosecutors instead of the state DOJ, and the company paid a $4,338 fine, which is the minimum.

The person who referred the case there was Scott Gunderson, who's a former member of the state Assembly who received campaign contributions from Herr Environmental.  He claimed he forgot about the contributions and promised to check next time.  :P   Shockingly, Herr has also donated to Walker.

The number of environmental cases referred to the state DOJ in 2011 was 21.  The previous average per year was 65.  The new Republican appointees blame that on being understaffed, even though the agency was equally understaffed under Governor Doyle (a Democrat), for example.

To top it all off, the DNR won't make Herr Environmental pay to test the groundwater in the area, to see if any wells have been contaminated.  Cathy Stepp -- who has no training in such things whatsoever -- has helpfully reassured residents of the area that the potential for groundwater contamination is "relatively low".
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE