The Budget Repair Bill saved school districts so much money there were no layoffs and nothing needed to be cut. Despite the loss of 5 percent per pupil in revenue class sizes didn't increase, art and music are still on the curriculum. Perhaps you'll recall (pun intended) that state revenues and tax collections are down due to the Great Recession, the one-time stimulus money is spent and Wisconsin is already a high tax state.

Teachers now pay 5.8 percent towards their pensions and 12.6 percent for their health care premiums -- both are screaming deals compared with the private sector. Do you really think taxpayers are going to continue working until they're 68 years old so public union employees can continue retiring at 55 with fully paid health care thanks to the "banked" sick days scam?

Time to eat all your words, swallow your pride, open your eyes.

Yes - thank you governor Walker! This is one of MANY examples.

@Steve I am glad that there is a debate going on among those who want to Recall Walker --- it is democracy in action --- unlike Walker signing controversial bills aimed against women in Wisconsin, and the Republicans secretly drawing up a new voter district map in secret and even Making their Own Republican Lawmakers Sign a Pledge to Keep their Work on the Map Secret .... of course if you like that type of government along with the political patronage and payoffs --- Walker is your guy !!

This is what democracy looks like
This is what democracy looks like

Way to just insert some copy and paste liberal rant about how life is unfair and walker stole my teddy bear.

I thought the recall was about ACT 10? What now that it is a resounding success you have to change the subject and cherry pick other worthless talking points?

@ Steve Your comment "I thought the recall was about ACT 10? What now that it is a resounding success you have to change the subject and cherry pick other worthless talking points?" --- I am sure for the union folks that is their primary concern --- I think it is unfair, but it almost pales in comparison to the other agendas Walker is running. It has become Class Warfare --- OH MY --- that will set off every Rich Wannabe who thinks they will pay more in taxes when they get to the wealth level of the Koch Brothers --- Pity the Fools !!

In addition, having grown up in Chicago, I know just how corrupt politics and government can get --- Walker it seems, has studied those lessons hard, and has brought Patronage, Payoffs, Secret Deals, and Corrupt Bureaucrats to a new and higher level here in Wisconsin --- and he is financing this with mostly Out of State Money --- again, Pity the Fools !!!

I have personally seen corrupt politics and unions in Chicago as well. You are crazy to compare them to Walker. Such little depth, such great imagination.

Yes!

Choose Walker and the seditious ALEC agenda or the people of Wisconsin.

(Hint: Coke, Pepsi, Kraft, Intuit, McDonald's Corp., Wendy's Corp, and Yum Brands have all dumped the ALEC agenda).

Why aren't the Koch and the extremely affluent special interests?

Your only problem with the unions is that they tend to support Democrats. The members vote for their "union bosses" because it advances their economic positions.

For someone who obviously votes against his self interest is oddly proud of it, you are not expected to understand this.

@Bren
You are a one trick pony with constant ALEC references.

@Keith
The problem is not the unions supporting Democrats, that I can live with. The conflict arises when the Democrats support the unions and not the what best serves the state.

@WEACHATER

<<<So what is the choice going to be liberals?>>>

Get in a line behind Barrett and cheer until the march begins. Then watch everyone fall over when they realize he considered himself the end of the line and he is marching backwards.

Teachers work 180 days per year. Those are days that can never get back!! Is that fair???

Time to go back to what we had before Walker. 150,000 jobs lost in the 3 years before he took office. Too bad he's been slowing down that trend.

Illinois just raised its tax rate 64%, so now it has finally caught up to our lowest rate, but it will have to do another 30% increase to catch up to what we charge most people in this state, and another 64% to catch up to our top rate. Wisconsin also has higher corporate taxes than Illinois and pays more than any neighboring state on teacher healthcare.

We need to raise taxes more and more to stay ahead of our neighboring states. Businesses love high taxes.

By my reckoning it will take more than 200 years to achieve Walker's goal of 250,000 new jobs at current rates. It's actually more upsetting to me that he would make such a stupid pledge at the height of a recession, knowing there was no way in which this promise could be kept. It shows a disdain for the residents of our state that is highly offensive to me.

Remember: Democrats voted against thousands of jobs and a Mine.

Remember: Democrats have kept our state in political limbo for more than a year with constant voting and recalls.

Remember: Democrats are unable to resists socialism federally and locally. Obama's agenda trickles down all the way.

Remember: Before Walker we lost 150,000 jobs and had a 3.6 billion dollar deficit, in a state of only 5 million.

Governing is more than cutting taxes. We have to elect a leader, not a butcher.

How about Shorewood saving 1/2 million by dumping teachers union trust with no change in services Keith? What kind of evil butchers you have living over there?

EXAMPLES OF HORRIBLE ACT 10 STUFF HAPPENING IN WISCONSIN:

• Ashland School District - saved $378,000 on health insurance.

• Kimberly School District - saved $821,000 by dropping WEA Trust Insurance.

• Edgerton School District - dropping WEA Trust, expecting to save at least $500,000.

• Baraboo School District - dropping WEA Trust, expecting to save at least $660,000.

• Dodgeland School District - dropping WEA Trust, expecting to save $260,000.

• Elmbrook School District - changing health care provider, savings estimated at $878,000.

• Mequon-Thiensville School District - saving $49,000 on dental insurance coverage.

• Marshfield School District - saving $850,00 by dropping WEA Trust.

• City of Sheboygan - Mayor Bob Ryan says collective bargaining reforms will provide enough savings to make up for the reduction in state aid.

• Wauwatosa School District - tax levy decreasing, no programs will be cut, class sizes won’t increase, thanks to the reforms in collective bargaining.

• Manitowoc - Laid-off city workers may get their jobs back due to the wage/benefit reforms contained in Walker’s budget. Changes to overtime rules saving the county $100,000.

• Pittsville - will see a 9% decrease in the school portion of their property tax levy. “This is the first year we have not needed to short-term borrow,” stated Board President Strenn.

• Appleton School District - will save $3.1 million just in health insurance costs due to being able to bid out the coverage and being able to drop WEA Trust.

• Racine County - inmates can now be used to perform tasks such as landscaping, painting and shoveling sidewalks. Executive Ladwig states this is a win/win for the inmates and the county. It frees up county employees for other tasks, gives the inmates a sense of value, and helps the county maintain property that has been neglected.

• Kaukauna School District - hiring additional teachers, reducing class sizes, enacting a merit pay system, and due to Walker’s Budget Bill, Kaukauna’s operating budget has moved from a negative $400,000 to a positive $1,500,000. Much of this savings was due to being able to drop WEA Trust.

• Hartland School District - switched from WEA Trust and saved $690,000.

• Hudson School District - saved $832,000 on health insurance due to ability to bid the insurance. KSTP did a study of the savings in Sheila Harsdorf’s 10th Senate District. They found that Ellsworth, Prescott, Menomonie, Somerset and Hudson school districts are all reporting large savings due to the changes signed into law by Gov. Walker.

STOP THE SAVINGS!! NOW!!!

These are all one time cuts. Because of the decrease in state revenue thanks to job loss under Walker, there will be more state aid cuts to come. History tells us that nothing Walker does is thought through. Look at the mess of a bill that is voter ID.

Wisconsin will either recall him now or suffer through two more years and kick him out in 2014. Worse than Nixon.

@Keith

On the contrary, they will be continued year after year.

Yep, Keith is a little butt hurt that Shorewood used Act 10

►These are all one time cuts.◄

This is exactly why your business failed. Think about it.

High taxes + more taxes = jobs.

Sound of Walker's sucker supporters.

5:09 am, WoW Keith that's pretty early to be that drunk.

@Terrance Jones

I agree with what you just said, but if it is addressed to the Tom Barrett that is posting here on the Patch, you might want to take note that although it may appear at first glace that he is supporting Barrett, anything he posts actually makes the opposite point.

The two links above concern the fact that Falk and Barrett can't even tell us how they would have managed last year's budget, so the post is actually making fun of Barrett's leadership. He (Barrett the candidate) won't give us any details about what he would have done in the past or the future. I suspect that he can't possibly do the math, so he just avoids the topic.

Amauture hour candidates.

WOW --- If Wisconsin is really Open for Business --- why don't the employers know that ? Maybe Walker meant that Wisconsin is Open for Monkey Business LOL

Those are goobermint job loses, that is a net gain to all of us tax payers Mr. Tataowicz. Doing a little research on you my friend, what is it with you and not paying your bills? Is this how you envision Wisconsin operating, like Illinois? Just don't pay your bills?

@David
You completely avoided my point. I understand that politics is divisive. However, when a political party takes control is has it for 2+ years providing some stability. In Wisconsin, we have had no stability thanks to the Democrats. Instead, nothing is settled as to what will be the path of the state. In the other states you mentioned, business can adjust to the policies and move forward. Here what should a business do, abide by current policy or adjust to what might be repealed? If hold current policy you will kicked in arse if Walker fails. If you adjust assuming Walker fails you could be short changing yourself.

Democrats had absolute control under Doyle and ran a muck with the budget. The only solution was a 180, unless you prefer the massive deficits the IL has.

George Bush

@ TB As noted earlier this is just "cost shifting". The costs of insurance have not gone down, the payment of those costs were simply shifted from the government entity that agreed to them in negotiations with their labor, to the labor itself.

Nothing that Walker has done has addressed the fundamental issues of why costs are so high --- as hospitals continue to shift their facilities to higher income suburbs and actually overload the capacity in those suburbs, they have to raise their charges to pay for those expansions. NOTHING is done to regulate those un-necessary costs !

Instead of focusing on government teachers and DPW garbage men and electricians, etc., let's pass a law (and just for sake of discussion pretend it would be legal in the private sector) that all Law Firms must increase the contribution of their partners to pay more for their health insurance costs. The Law Firms can claim that they have lowered their costs --- which they have by shifting them to their partners. But they have done nothing to improve health care quality or costs by doing so.

In essence all that Walker has done is RAISE TAXES ON A SELECT GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS --- Government Employees! It is estimated that Teachers have lost almost $5000 of their income to this new Tax on their Income. Since they are government employees it is legal --- but is it fair?

Cops and Firefighters didn;t get hit with this new tax -- since they already paid up (off) to Walker with contributions.