Friday, April 15, 2011

Is Walker Getting Ready To Drop Another Bomb?

Chatter is that Scott Walker wants legislators to give him power to declare a fiscal emergency in a local government and take it over - - an anti-democratic power grab dreamed up in Michigan that now gives the governor there the authority to void public sector labor contracts and bar elected officials from taking office for p to ten years.

Seriously, these people say they favor local control and hate big government? We're back to Emperor Walker if he seeks the power.

A few weeks I noted the participation of Wisconsin lawyers in the Michigan push.

Note the anti-union goal, according to Michigan Messenger, a news service:

“The legislation as it previously was didn’t give you much of a sword, it did not really allow you to deal with the biggest items like pension and post retirement options,” [Kevin] Lucey [of the Bloomfield Hills accounting firm O’Keefe and Associates] said. “Going after the contracts is kind of what everyone has been waiting for.“

"Lucey said that attendees were also excited about a provision of the bill (removed in the House but slated for reconsideration in the Senate) that would ban elected officials in towns where financial emergency is declared from running for office for 10 years."

4 comments:

rich said...

"Lucey said that attendees were also excited about a provision of the bill ... that would ban elected officials in towns where financial emergency is declared from running for office for 10 years."

Gosh, I wonder what that's a set-up for? Going after the political opposition.

Recipe for trouble.

rich said...

Look for it at a democratically elected municipality near you:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/15/967374/-And-so-it-begins-Emergency-Financial-Mgr-fires-entire-government-of-Benton-Harbor,-MI

CC said...

ANd I assume the governor determines if a community is in a "fiscal emergency" or not. This is an astonishing power grab, and I am aghast that this can happen.

CC said...

Walker just told WTMJ Radio 620 that him working on such a plan is, "Absolutely false." (I wonder how long before he springs it on us...)