Governor Walker and I are about the same age, it looks like he would have graduated from high school in 1986 and I graduated in 1985. It is amazing looking at his biography and mine and seeing how much different I am from the Governor.
More below the fold...(It is worth it, trust me)
He worships at the feet of Ronald Reagan, while I would walk ten miles out of my way on hot coals to spit on the man’s grave. See, I don’t like Reagan much, I blame him for my Dad losing his job in the eighties…you can read more about it here in The Hidden Cost of Union Busting, suffice it to say, when my Dad’s boss tried breaking the union there were no protests, no celebrities came to join the cause. One day my Dad had a job, the next day he did not. It took a few years but eventually justice was served and the union won a settlement and my Dad got to retire somewhat comfortably.
What my Dad’s boss did in the eighties was illegal, and he did pretty much what Scott Walker is doing now. The only difference, Scott Walker is rewriting the laws. I guess that is where my Dad’s boss went wrong; he wasn’t able to write the laws…if he had been able to, my Dad would have really been screwed.
Some other comparisons to the governor and me, I was born and raised here in Madison, Wisconsin. He was born in Colorado Springs, moved to Iowa and then when he was ten he moved to Wisconsin…he may be the governor, but in my book he is not a native and thus is an “outside agitator.”
I see while he was in High School he participated in Badger Boys State where he got the “political bug”, me, I was working…I had to, I ended up quitting football and track so I could get more hours in, so I never had the opportunity to go to Badger Boys State, even though my Dad’s legion hall sponsored it.
In 1986 while Scott was in his senior year of high school I was at OP (Observation Post) Alpha on the border between East and West Germany serving my country, and this is where I have a real disagreement with Scott (hope he does not mind me being on a first name basis with him, we have so much in common) he claims Reagan showed the communists how tough he was when he broke the PATCO strike…and that is why the wall fell. I know he is trying to re-write history here…and he is wrong. See, I was there on that border and I saw it everyday for two years of my life. What brought down communism was the resolve of a succession of Presidents from Truman to George Bush I. Reagan, he made one good speech, and I was there the day he made it. When he said, “Mr. Gorbachav (sp), tear down this wall.” I felt shivers go down my spine. But, he is not the reason the wall came down. The reason the wall came down was because of the aforementioned Presidents, and the resolve of people like me who were stationed far from home doing what we thought was the right thing.
In 1988 and 1989 while Scott was not doing so well at Marquette University in Milwaukee I was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky where I earned my Air Assault Wings to go with the Airborne Wings I earned in 1985. I was pretty much a bad ass back in those days. I was also the only guy on all of Fort Campbell that voted for Dukakis…but, you can’t win them all.
In 1990 when Scott was being kicked out of Marquette University I was trying to reintegrate into civilian society…you would not think it would be that difficult for a peacetime soldier…but, it is…it took me five years to find myself again after I served in the Army. During those five years, I did not live up to my potential like Scott did, I worked a few crappy jobs, tried to attend school but found I did not fit in. I learned what it was like to live paycheck to paycheck. What it was like to not have health insurance. What it was like to be laid off from a job you loved.
All things in life must change though, and they did for me. I got married, buried my Father, and then had a wonderful son. Between the death of my Father and the birth of my son I suddenly felt motivated to finish school…so that my son would have a better life than I did. I went back to college…I got divorced and earned a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology…I paid for it all by myself as my GI Bill had run out, unused. Scott was an elected official during that time…living on the public dole.
Today, Scott is the governor of Wisconsin, me, well, I work full time as an Analyst in an IS department, am working towards my Master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin – Stout and I am a part time graduate assistant at Stout. I am raising a son, I still live paycheck to paycheck, but have health insurance. I pay my taxes and appreciate the men and women who provide the services that those taxes pay for.
Now some advice for Scott…and I am going to address this directly to him (Feel free to read it, I doubt he will).
In my 43 years, I have worked in the private sector since I was 12 years old. From what I can tell, you have worked in the private sector for about six years…other than that you have been a public official. Yet you complain about public sector workers being a drain on society…Scott, I hope you read this because I am going to give you some really good advice here…don’t beat up on the public sector workers, they are some damn hard workin’ folks. I know, my brother is one of them. So are several of my friends and neighbors. I don’t think you know what hard work is; you have never really worked a day in your life. I could be wrong, but I am guessing you have never built a house, driven a snowplow, picked up other people’s garbage or taught someone else's children.
And as for a way to solve this “budget crisis,” Scott, the answer is staring you in the face. We don’t have a deficit problem in Wisconsin; we have a revenue problem in Wisconsin. Now, had you actually struggled a little bit in your life you would understand this concept, or had you taken and passed an Econ course in college you might understand this. See, when you work for a living and have trouble making ends meet, you cut expenses, I get that. But, you can only cut so much. That is where Wisconsin is at right now, we have already cut everything out of the budget we can…we need more revenue. Now, whenever I have needed more revenue, I have gone out and gotten a part time job. Now, I am not suggesting you and all of the other legislator’s go and get a part time job down at the Dairy Queen, although, I think that would solve a lot of our problems, I do think you have missed a huge revenue stream for the state of Wisconsin.
The Beer Tax, I know, being a Wisconsinite and advocating for the beer tax to be raised is akin to blasphemy, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Currently the beer tax in Wisconsin is a paltry $2.00 a barrel…there are 160 bottles of beer to a barrel of beer. So that makes the tax on a six-pack of beer .075 cents. What I propose is that you raise the beer tax to $26.66 a barrel, which puts the tax on a six-pack at a buck. Now, a buck a six-pack ain’t gonna break anyone. Now, I don’t know how much revenue this will bring in; however, we drink a lot of beer here in Wisconsin, so my guess is, this would not only balance the budget but would leave us with enough of a surplus that we could probably pay off the national debt.
Oh, and Scott, I know you think you are the second coming of Ronald Reagan, but in all honesty, you are not even a pimple on Nixon’s ass.
Updated by Kodiak54 at Fri Feb 25, 2011, 07:49:21 AM
I see that my diary is scheduled for the Community Spotlight at 8 AM. Thank you to the rescue team. I am heading to work now so I do not know if I will be able to comment this morning.
Updated by Kodiak54 at Fri Feb 25, 2011, 08:40:50 AM
I got into work this morning and a coworker breathlessly asking if I saw the vote on the Union Busting Bill in the State Assembly...well, I just watched it in horror as the Republican leadership (what an oxymoron) gave the Assembly 17 seconds to vote on the bill....
Watch below...