Posted on 02/28/2011 9:04:47 AM PST by fightinJAG
Reuters) - Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker said on Monday that absent senate Democrats have 24 hours to return and vote on a measure to reduce the power of public sector unions or the state will miss out on opportunity to refinance its debt.
"Now they have one day to return to work before the state loses out on the chance to refinance debt, saving taxpayers $165 million this fiscal year," Walker's spokesman Cullen Werwie said in a statement.
"Failure to return to work and cast their votes will lead to more painful and aggressive spending cuts in the very near future," the statement said.
Walker's budget proposal has sparked nationwide protests from labor unions who fear it could be a harbinger of things to come in other states. To balance the state's budget, Walker wants to require public sector employees to pay more for pensions and health care, and to strip their unions of bargaining rights except for wages up to the rate of inflation.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Fire, and bring up on fraud charges, any government worker who called in ‘sick’ to attend the protests.
AMEN! Fire the absent senators and the teachers and move on. These people are like 2 yr old spoiled brats!!!!!
They think if they jump up and down screaming til their face turns purple that they will get what they want!
I agree. These folks should all be fired. The protester teachers are without a class and show no class. They have no class period. The Senate Dems are hiding out of state. Where are these actions stated in their job description? Fire all of them.
I believe it’s in the WI Constitution and not a ‘rule’... I thought I read about it while scanning the WI Constitution, but I might be misremembering as I wasn’t interested in the quorum part.
..prevent them from coming back...now that is brilliance!
see my tagline
You’re right ... Major league baseball,NFL football players, and etc.; have to pay income tax for every day they are there and making money — in almost every state.
Good catch!!!
With the firings, start with state workers in the 14 flea baggers districts. Is it retribution? Heck yeah, they voted for and support the cowards. No reason why everyone should suffer fir their stupidity,
You had best hope & pray that NEVER goes through.
The liberal trash infesting this country have used the liberal judges they installed to advance their agenda at every turn, no matter what we the people say, or how the Congress votes.
Do you actually believe that such black robed despots will declare the union contracts null & void?
Hahaha - They will order the imposition of crushing taxation to ensure that their ideological ilk get everything that they demand. - And you will pay for it, no matter what your elected Representatives do.
Hows that looking like it would work out for you?
The end of State sovereignty in toto
Sad that Mitch Daniels is coward and is not like Scott Walker.
From an article I linked, it would seem that they could pass a rule regarding this issue;
“What is unambiguously not in the Wisconsin Constitution is a statement as to where those legislators must be in order to be counted towards a quorum.
The Wisconsin Constitution assigns the state legislature the responsibility of crafting rules and definitions governing how voting is to be conducted, i.e., the mechanics of voting. Article IV, Section 7 empowers 51% of the elected legislators in each house of the Wisconsin legislature to do the following:
1) Define a quorum to include those legislators who have the ability — if they choose — to vote absently, either by electronic means or proxy. This would ensure that no citizens are ever deprived of representation in the state legislature even if their representative is in the hospital or out of town; and/or
2) Pass a statute (or legislative rules) that any legislator who refuses or fails to represent his constituents by participating in the deliberations of that body for more than 30 days is to be regarded as having resigned his office. Once again, this would ensure that no citizens are ever deprived of representation in the state legislature even if their representative is in the hospital or out of town or just refuses to show up for work.
Every state permits absentee voting, and more and more are permitting electronic voting from locales other than town halls and school gymnasiums. Extended times for voting (between Day X and Day Y) are also being enacted in a number of states.
Such a statute or rule for Wisconsin’s legislature would state that so long as a member can reach a telephone and is able to record a vote, that member should be counted as part of a quorum. The act of not voting, that is abstaining, has never been counted against a quorum. It’s the ability to cast a vote that is all that has mattered.”
Nailed.
This is a fundamental, Constitutional level problem that needs to be corrected before we can regain our country from the Communists.
“I’ve heard that if a state declares bankruptcy all it’s union deals are null and void (or something to that effect). JUST DO IT.”
Actually, it is a city that can declare bankruptcy and make the unions deals null and void.
States are not allowed to declare bankruptcy, yet.
There are rumors that that is being worked on.
I agree with you.With as many pople who are unempled there are bound to be qualified teachers,and people who could fill all of the other positions and be happy with the jobs.
“You heard wrong.
No State may declare bankruptcy, period.”
As far as you went, you are correct.
But cities MAY declare bankruptcy AND declare the union deals null and void.
Yes, the cities CAN DO IT.
Maybe they wouldn’t be back in a NY minute, or a Wisconsin minute....1. It would make them look like the pusillanimous pipsqueaks they are, and 2.they could very well be prodded by their union leaders (for implications of #1)into going ahead and taking this thing to its logical conclusions: the whole idea of ‘scabs’ plays very well, and clasically, into the 1930s mindset these unions are *still* operating under: the difference THIS TIME, and it will be obvious to more and more as time goes on, is that they are no longer the exploited workers of evil corporate interest, but are instead a hardcore minority exploiting US, the American taxpayer, who largely foots the bill for them. Considering how small their numbers actually are, compared to ours, should highlight the magnitude of the benefits they enjoy, at our expense.
An electronic quorum certainly sounds worth investigating.
“Credit rating and all that, I would worry that that solution would be more dangerous.”
It would sound dangerous, but from a taxpayers viewpoint, it could act as a brake on the government from overspending.
Like the people who cut up their credit cards, the government would have to live within their means.
Sounds good to me.
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