What do you think about the happenings in WI and OH?

monchichi

I am definitely not the most political person and, honestly, have a lot to learn in order to speak intelligently about the things that are happening.  My teacher friends (I'm a teacher as well) are saying one thing, but I also see that Walker apparently has quite a bit of support?  DH thinks that there are going to be A LOT of major problems if this goes through, and I'm really worried that MI will closely follow WI.

WDYT--any words of wisdom to share one way or the other? 

jessicaclare

Walker does have quite a bit of support (at least that is my understanding). Its just not as vocal. I've tried to not offer much opinion on the bill other than tos ay that there are parts I agree with and parts I don't. I do think that most people should read the entire thing, which I don't think many have done.

I'll be honest, I'm not very aware of what is going on in OH because so much of our local news has been focused on what is going on here, obviously. I think IN just proposed something similar too and some of their state senators also left the state. Maybe that is incorrect?

ilovemygirls

Admittedly, I've not read in detail about this.  One part that I understand about WI is that public employees are upset at possibly having to contribute more to their benefits (ie. health insurance) to help make up the shortfall in the state.  Personally, I don't see an issue with that.  In the private sector, business have had to do this to keep afloat during these economic times- why shouldn't public employees too?  My DH is a small business owner & our employees pay 50% of their health insurance premium.  There is no way we could afford to pay 100% of that premium for each person.  Some shared cost in that one thing could be very beneficial to the state as a whole.  Benefits are a HUGE cost to any employer.  I'm sure there's more to it that I haven't looked into, but that one item makes sense for me to have some shared cost. 

jessicaclare

ilovemygirls:

Admittedly, I've not read in detail about this.  One part that I understand about WI is that public employees are upset at possibly having to contribute more to their benefits (ie. health insurance) to help make up the shortfall in the state.  Personally, I don't see an issue with that.  In the private sector, business have had to do this to keep afloat during these economic times- why shouldn't public employees too?  My DH is a small business owner & our employees pay 50% of their health insurance premium.  There is no way we could afford to pay 100% of that premium for each person.  Some shared cost in that one thing could be very beneficial to the state as a whole.  Benefits are a HUGE cost to any employer.  I'm sure there's more to it that I haven't looked into, but that one item makes sense for me to have some shared cost. 

The public employees have, for the most part, already conceded that they will have to pay more in for their benfits. While it is an issue for them, most take real issue with the fact that they will be giving up most of their collective bargaining rights.

Angela814

Personally I think Walker is a quack who couldn't even manage to finish a college degree. That aside, what most of my teacher friends are worried about is the threat to unions. They're worried about working conditions in their classrooms (too many students, not enough aids, etc), which unions help bargain for. One has been teaching for years but recently volunteered to move to a 4K class because they needed a teacher. She's worried that because she's new to that class, she won't have senority if lay offs happen, even though she has so much experience. Unions help keep her job security if she moves around between grade levels or schools.

I'm sick of hearing people complain that it's "not fair" for public employees to pay so little for health care. Health coverage is so variable between private companies that I'm not sure there's a standard for what "fair" is. I wish people would stop quoting the commercials they hear from one side or another and try to form an original thought.

What I find most alarming is that Walker has stated he's not willing to compromise. He's supposed to be a public representative, and yet he's not willing to take into account what the public wants. Why?

ilovemygirls

jessicaclare:

ilovemygirls:

Admittedly, I've not read in detail about this.  One part that I understand about WI is that public employees are upset at possibly having to contribute more to their benefits (ie. health insurance) to help make up the shortfall in the state.  Personally, I don't see an issue with that.  In the private sector, business have had to do this to keep afloat during these economic times- why shouldn't public employees too?  My DH is a small business owner & our employees pay 50% of their health insurance premium.  There is no way we could afford to pay 100% of that premium for each person.  Some shared cost in that one thing could be very beneficial to the state as a whole.  Benefits are a HUGE cost to any employer.  I'm sure there's more to it that I haven't looked into, but that one item makes sense for me to have some shared cost. 

The public employees have, for the most part, already conceded that they will have to pay more in for their benfits. While it is an issue for them, most take real issue with the fact that they will be giving up most of their collective bargaining rights.

Aah- thank you.  That being said, I'm just not a huge fan of unions in general, so that's all I will say about that