After Knife In The Back, Walker Sends Makeup Email
A day after letting it be known that he intended to strip public sector workers of most of their collective bargaining power - - hence lowering their standard of living - - Scott Walker will send each state employee an email today thanking them for their service and asking them to understand how tough a job he hast.
He will get little sympathy, as Walker has made a career by scapegoating public employees and did not approach unions for concessions before he lowered the boom.
And has he ever said a word about Wall Street bankers and housing industry manipulators who plunged the country and the state into deep recession?
And what kind of a fiscal conservative hands out $90,000-a-year-state jobs to the likes of his former County Executive chief of staff and public pension double-dipping Tom Nardelli and to Jeff Plale, a defeated state Senate Democrat whose 11th-hour lame-duck vote with Senate Republicans doomed already-negotiated employee contracts.
And Nardelli's job to supervise building safety and inspection programs is money spent inappropriately.
Walker is using the state's fiscal problems as cover to push the traditional big business, Republican goals: weaken unions, accelerate road-building, diminish transit ($1.7 billion for the Zoo Interchange, forfeit $800 million for high-speed rail), give real estate interests easier access to open space (stop the Stewardship Program funding), and deliver tax breaks for high earners (HSA savings account holders) and business owners.
That's what Walker is giving the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and the Club for Growth.
Others directly involved are getting an email.
And then cuts.
8 comments:
I agree with much of what you say but I have to take issue with your comment about tax breaks to the rich for the HSAs. My family has an HSA and we are no where near rich, not even close to a 6 figure income. We have the HSA because we aren't rich. All we can afford for insurance is a PPO with a high deductible, just medical - no coverage for prescriptions, optical or dental. And the high ($3600)deductible qualifies us for the HSA. The regulations limit us to $5000 per year in contributions. The money can only be spent on medical expenses that aren't covered by our insurance. So I really wouldn't consider this a tax break for the rich.
To Anon: I over-generalized in my remark about HSA's. Most people I know who have or had them had to have substantial income to put towards them in the first place.
I am glad it is an option for you.
"And has he ever said a word about Wall Street bankers and housing industry manipulators who plunged the country and the state into deep recession?" -J Rowen
For any of your readers who are oblivious to the real cause of the housing bubble that burst and how that sucking sound of wealth keeps going upwards to those greedy powers that be will want to read this blog post:
http://my.firedoglake.com/daveparts/2011/02/10/carnival-of-capitalistic-anarchy/#recommend-53-15331
Simply summarized, banks are chartered and responsible for verifying veracity of loans they made, mortgages were then sold to Fannie and Freddie by the banks at full face value, the FDIC then auctions the notes off for 20% of face value to investors and banks, all backed by US tax payers financing the criminals while blaming the victims of this scam. Best article I've read on the subject, explained in layperson's language. Save your political anger for those who deserve it.
To Nonq: What about the role of deregulated hedge funds and investment bankers who turned those bundled mortgages into "securities," and made huge fees while the mortgages went bust.
Even in some cases bet against the securities, too?
The whole Wall Street culture...
The best part was seeing the email 90 minutes after reading about it being "sent" on JSOnline. First-class all the way.
Just to clarify about HSAs -
1. An HSA combines a savings account with major medical insurance. The HSA combines a savings plan with major medical insurance coverage, which helps keep the premiums relatively low. Money contributed to the savings account can be applied to meet the major medical plan deductible as needed and can be withdrawn on a tax-free basis to pay for eligible medical expenses. Contributions to the account are made on a pretax basis, meaning they will lower the insured's adjusted gross income. In Wisconsin that was only the case for federal tax.
Accompanying Major Medical Plan
2. An HSA must include a high-deductible major medical insurance plan. As of 2010, the minimum allowable deductible for a plan to be HSA-eligible is $1,200 for a single person and $2,400 for a family. Maximum deductibles are $5,950 for a single person and $11,900 for a family.
No Co-Pays
3. The major medical plan cannot provide any co-pays before the minimum deductible level is reached, such as for doctor's office visits or prescription drugs. The only exception to this rule is that payment for preventive care is permitted before the deductible is reached, such as for a periodic prostate exam or mammography.
Other Medical Coverage
4. Insureds cannot be covered by another form of major medical insurance, such as through a group health insurance plan at their or their spouse's workplace. However, if insureds are covered by a plan that only offers wellness or preventive care, or for only dental or vision care, they can still purchase a HSA for their major medical coverage needs.
Age Restrictions
5. The only age restriction to open an HSA is that the insured must be under age 65, which is the time when Medicare coverage eligibility begins. Also, when the insured reaches age 55, he can contribute an additional $1,000 per year into his HSA as of 2010.
Contribution Amounts
6. The insured is not obligated to contribute any money to the HSA, although the less he contributes, the less money he will have to apply to the deductible. As of 2010, the maximum allowable annual contribution is $3,050 for a single person and $6,150 for a family. Obviously, the insured is required to make premium payments for the major medical insurance component.
So many of those in the middle class who are struggling to afford their own health insurance might only be able to afford the high deductible premiums and therefore qualify for the HSA.
to Mr Rowen @ 6:52
I have not forgotten that part, but one has to start somewhere seeing that the MSM has neglected almost any facts about the real causes of our current national and state economic troubles. Just remarking on your great and specific lead.
We could also get into the conversation about US labor being of no value anymore to major multi-national corps creating jobs overseas, those moves being financed by US taxpayers. Also, foreign corporations opening factories in the US and importing their own foreign workers to run them could be discussed. So many topics, so little time. So little truthful information in the main-stream media. Thank you for allowing me to share your blog space with my comments. Thank you for your persistent, truthful reporting focusing more directly on Wisconsin issues.
Oh that he would only sticketh the knife in the back of the worker, and not twisteth the knife therein.
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