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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's Victory Will Spur Other Governors

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Hitler never said anything like that (nor did he speak english), thus the quote is false. Remember to always do your homework before posting a quote otherwise you'll lose credibility in what you're trying to convey. http://andstillipersist.com/2011/03/the-left-reinventing-fascism/

dion of NV 4:11PM April 08, 2012

I was raised during the fifties. Everybody wanted to go to college to be a teacher. WHY? Well teachers made $4000.00 a year, working only nine month a year. They didn`t have to pay taxes because everyone making under $5000.00 a year did not have to.The only people that did pay taxes were doctors , attorneys, and bankers.etc. But then the thugs of the unions step in, and constantly took these poor suckers to the cleaners.OH! YEA!, I remember well.cause strikes that lasted sometimes 2 years just to get a 10 cent raise. They just kept taking money for union dues,from these poor suckers,and put the big Companies just about broke. Then one day the management of these co`s, brought the unions in open discussion and told them that it was over. There would be no more raises, because if employees got another raise their steel mill would have to close.But,the unions called their bluff,and the Big steel mill that kept that particular town or city alive for 100 years said GOOD BYE, and left to go overseas. What did those unions do? They skip out of that town and took all the money from them poor suckers and went onto the next town. And left them poor hard working people to lose everything they had, and the unions did not give a damn about their sorry as%%%. THAT, my sorryass stupid democrat union followers is what happened to your jobs, AND NOW YOU STILL WANT TO PROTECT UNIONS? ONCE A STOOGE , ALWAYS , A STOOGE. YOU WILL NEVER LEARN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

gaetano of TX 7:46AM March 20, 2011

being a bait-n-switch governor, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is going to have a real short career as a politician, but the Koch brothers will hire him again. This bum sure isn't working for the people. The people are waking up to corrupt politicians like Walker, who was bought and paid for by the Kochs. Its apparent that Walker hates the people of Wisconsin and its institutions, schools, and communities.
Its just as well this devil Walker has shown his true colors, and in the process has awakened a sleepy giant of the American public who won't put up with cads like this. Walker will be held responsible for turning Reagan Democrats back into Democrats and for having lost the Midwest for the GOP.

hank of TN 11:02PM March 17, 2011

Mr Roff:
How come you never mention the 15 million at-one-time-American-jobs sent overseas by American corporations? You fail to mention it as if our jobs were suddenly lost within these two years, and now there are just too many in the middle class. Millions in the U.S.citizens, before offshore job losses, would have plenty of jobs available right now, and we wouldn't have to lay off middle class teachers. You are right though, I have to admit that Walker DID warn us he was going to "shake things up. Middle Class citizens, however, were never warned, in all these years, that most of our Middle Class, American Jobs would be sent overseas.
In your blog (we are all now well aware there does NOT have to be truth in your blog) you state that "it (the Wisconsin Teacher --Protests) has emboldened GOP-leading groups like American Crossroads." Now, Mr. Roff, that is a really low blow. You know that the U.S. Supreme Court gave corporations their "Right" to American citizenship and, also, under the First Amendment, corporations have just as much "Right" as human citizens to donate money to the candidate of their choice--just reminding us all that Crossroads is a Republican gathering of corporation fans
American Crossroads is, as you know, a Republican organization that takes in political donations from corporations so that corporations will not have to post the amount of money given to each political candidates, nor will the candidates need to admit who gave them the money. All the candidate will need to say now is: "I got my campaign money from "American Citizen(s)." We will then live in a society that "bought" their President, their Supreme Court, their Members of the House and their Senate."
Mr. Roff, American Crossroads Organization (run by Rove and Gingrich (among other noted/notorious Republican politicians) now have, as we write, hundreds of millions of dollars in their Crossroads treasure chests, and will, from now on, have the best political candidates that money can buy!
In other words, corporations will be sure the candidates who win in elections will have only the corporations' interests in mind. I sure hope you (Fans of Mr. Roff and the Republican Party) are executives in a corporation. Things are finally going the Republicans' and the Corporations' way! Hurray! Republicans are carefully maneuvering their way into a permanent, corporate Republic! It's About Time!

Ann Keenan of MI 1:49AM March 15, 2011

DON'T BE MISLEAD, THEY ARE TRYING TO SILENCE AND ELIMINATE THE MIDDLE CLASS. WE HAVE OPENED OUR EYES IN WISCONSIN.

mike of WI 5:37PM March 14, 2011

It is past time that our union members act like adults and get on with the business at hand. The fact is, it will now be up to them to send their union dues to the union. If they elect not to do so, it will actually be a raise for them.
The GOOD NEWS FOR CITIZENS OF THE STATE IS: no longer will our politicians have a union rope around their necks, DICTATING WHAT THE TAXPAYERS WILL PAY IN TAXES TO FILL THEIR COFFERS! Other union members are finding a certain degree of freedom around the Country, including members from Lockheed!
We have witnessed leadership from Gov Walker. He stood up to the consistent intimidation from:
* Union bosses
* Teachers using some doctors to write bogus 'sick slips'
* Three weeks of demonstrators, some imported by union organizations
* Obama and the White House
* Michael Moore
* Jesse Jackson
* Physical threats
* 14 Senators running from their responsibility, and hiding in Illinois
The entire issue was MONEY and POWER FOR THE UNION – AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE. FORTUNATELY, THE CITIZENS WON!!
Thank You Gov Walker, and a fiscally focused Senate and Assembly!
PS: It is past time that Michael Moore, Jesse Jackson, and all of the media grabbers GO HOME! Decision Made!
Take a look at what union dominated public education has provided this nation over the decades!!
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPmjfDMN5nHOpeSIZYLwkVfKAHGQ?docId=c7dc0757afd54b5ca2836c00de44535f

GrannyCares of WI 5:01PM March 14, 2011

Thanks Bill for the information ... very complete. I wonder about this in my state

Tim B of WA 4:07PM March 14, 2011

"The average Milwaukee public-school teacher salary is $56,500, but with benefits the total package is $100,005, according to the manager of financial planning for Milwaukee public schools. When I showed these figures to a friend, she asked me a simple question: "How can fringe benefits be nearly as much as salary?" The answers can be found by unpacking the numbers in the district's budget for this fiscal year:"
•"Social Security and Medicare. The employer cost is 7.65% of wages, the same as in the private sector."
•"State Pension. Teachers belong to the Wisconsin state pension plan. That plan requires a 6.8% employer contribution and 6.2% from the employee. However, according to the collective-bargaining agreement in place since 1996, the district pays the employees' share as well, for a total of 13%."
•"Teachers' Supplemental Pension. In addition to the state pension, Milwaukee public-school teachers receive an additional pension under a 1982 collective-bargaining agreement. The district contributes an additional 4.2% of teacher salaries to cover this second pension. Teachers contribute nothing."
•"Classified Pension. Most other school employees belong to the city's pension system instead of the state plan. The city plan is less expensive but here, too, according to the collective-bargaining agreement, the district pays the employees' 5.5% share."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703408604576164290717724956.html

Bill Hedges of MO 3:08AM March 14, 2011

I don't envy the job which teachers have. From what Ann states, $50,000 per year does not seem excessive. I think like most people I really don't have an extensive understanding of what their total earnings are with the benefits. Does that vary a lot from state to state?
One I thing I have noticed again and again in the posts on US News is the vitriol directed toward other people who post a comment. A free society is one which allows all people to have an equal voice. That does not mean degrading someone else for a different point of view.
I raised my children which a respect for education, in which I feel I was mostly successful. I have heard of children coming from families which do not hold education as really all that important. It's obvious that parents must help to instill an appreciation of learning. Don't leave it all to the teachers and assign them all the blame for youths who don't learn much.

Tim B of WA 12:47AM March 14, 2011

Nothing like reminiscing about the "good ol' days" in Russia to motivate us all to adopt their 40 students-per-class educational system. This would be discrediting all the research done throughout the world that shows a high of 23 students is the maximum-student educational environment, with 17 per class as an ideal educational environment..
The average pay for a teacher is 50.000 per year, but teachers have to pay the same taxes that you do. Direct me to the state that pays 100,000 dollars to teachers! I have never heard of a salary this high for a teacher! A teacher's salary starts at, about 25,000 per year, and about 65,000 after 30 years. These are NOT astronomical salary figures.
As for unions, there are, obviously, some officials in unions who have been "fingered" as corrupt, but WORKERS who paid union dues are not corrupt. Before unions, teachers made, literally, poverty-level wages, and teachers retired in poverty. This, at the time, was considered "shameful that those who taught our most precious resource--our children--were left to die in poverty." Now they are "fat cats?" All this with a VERY expensive, self-paid college education? I KNOW "white collar workers" made more than public sector employees before and after unions. Have you all forgotten this?
My husband was a teacher and his retired teacher's healthcare plan is not great, although we ARE grateful to even have a plan, with 47 million people in "the greatest country in the world" WITHOUT health insurance! Anyway, our retired teachers' health plan only pays half of prescriptions, sometimes, then, totally hundreds of dollars per month for prescriptions are paid out for our family. We also have to pay 2,0000 of of healthcare before our insurance "kicks in." Even then, we still pay a percentage of the final bill (20%-30%).
There are still millions living now who lived before there were unions, particularly public service unions like teachers, fire fighters and police. Without unions, these groups ALL fell well into the poverty level over time. Fire fighters got enough time off to hold an extra job in addition to making a firefighters salary, so fire fighters got a little extra, but deserved it! Teachers, firefighters, and police deserve the 50,000 and higher salaries they get each year! I know teachers pay into their own pension funds; I do not know if police and firefighters do.
The poverty level in the U.S. is actually based on 30-year-old calculations, so I do not know what now, what represents a median salary, but 50,000 dollars (a median--an AVERAGE for all teachers) certainly does not strike me as "fat cat" wages. It has, however, definitely been proven that the PRIVATE sector's median incomes for the middle classes are definitely higher than the incomes of public services employees.

Ann Keenan of MI 10:35PM March 13, 2011