Gov. Walker reinstated bonuses for some state workers despite shortfall

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120420/GPG0101/120420128/Wisconsin-Gov-Scott-Walker-reinstated-bonuses-for-some-state-workers-despite-shortfall?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CGPG-News

When politicians start preaching about "efficiency," "becoming more like the private sector," and "tightening our belt," it usually means we're about to get screwed.

 

In other words, cuts in services to citizens.

 

Often, yes. But there's more to it than that. "Efficiency" is usually code for centralization to a large bureaucracy. "Becoming more like the private sector" is usually giving government business to a "private" company, usually a cronie of an elected official. "Tightening our belts" usually means all of the above, with cuts to services and staff thrown in for good measure.

 

All that stuff is pretty much a given. Bottom line is the guvvmint ain't gonna do nothin' for nobody anymore, except the billionaires.

 

Yes, let's instead make sure that the slackers are paid more than the hard workers. It's the liberal way.

 

From the story. By all means, read this and tell us your postulate has anything to do with the reality of this situation:

<i>According to the AP analysis, 218 employees across nine agencies received raises or bonuses adding up to $765,195 between Jan. 1, when the merit program took effect, and Tuesday.

The state Department of Justice, which couldn’t find enough money to fully fund services for sexual assault victims last year, was the biggest spender, giving out nearly $300,000 to 94 workers.

Assistant Attorney General Maria Lazar, who defended Walker’s collective bargaining law in an open meetings challenge and has handled the state’s defense of Republican redistricting legislation, got a $1,000 bonus and a $1.50-an-hour raise in March, bumping her salary by more than $3,000 to $104,730.

Deputy Attorney General Kevin St. John, who defended the collective bargaining law in front of the state Supreme Court, got a $2.51-an-hour raise in March that adds up to more than $5,000 per year and brings his pay to $134,307.

Thirty-seven DNA analysts, meanwhile, got raises worth $158,000.

The Justice Department handed out raises even after it warned budget cuts had forced it to reduce grants from its Sexual Assault Victim Services program by 42.5 percent. Walker later reduced those cuts amid an outcry from service providers.</i>

 

Do you actually READ the links that are posted? Is English your first language?

 

But he sure is creating jobs.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-20/republican-whipping-boy-illinois-beats-wisconsin-on-jobs.html

Scott Walker, the Republican governor facing a recall vote in Wisconsin, traveled over the Illinois line to argue that the tax increase backed by his Democratic counterpart Pat Quinn is killing jobs even as the Midwest rebounds from recession.

“Is it any wonder because of choices that were made right here in the state’s capital?” Walker, 44, said in an April 17 speech in Springfield. “When you raise taxes on businesses, that wealth and opportunity and those jobs more often than not go somewhere else.”

A broader snapshot tells a different tale. Illinois ranked third while Wisconsin placed 42nd in the most recent Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of States index, which includes personal income, tax revenue and employment. Illinois gained 32,000 jobs in the 12 months ending in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found. Wisconsin, where Walker promised to create 250,000 jobs with the help of business-tax breaks, lost 16,900.

 

Please note, Walker's Wisconsin lost an additional 4,300 private-sector jobs in March.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/state-lost-4300-private-sector-jobs-in-march-f452tp0-148126125.html