Hello again friends,
I originally posted this statement on my website, but given the ongoing developments in Wisconsin, I also felt it was important to share it with you here his morning.
The proposed legislation in Wisconsin is an assault on the rights of workers, and a gift to the special interests supporting the Republican Party.
How else could one explain the clause of the proposed legislation that gives the Governor the power, unrestrained by competitive bidding, to sell the state’s power plants and energy infrastructure? The proposed legislation would let the Governor give these valuable assets to any private entity he pleases, leaving Wisconsin residents to the profit motives of energy firms such as Koch Industries. Perhaps not coincidentally, Koch Industries already has extensive operations in the state and donated $43,000 to the Governor’s 2010 campaign, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
While giving away his state’s assets, the Governor is trying to blame the state's deficit on the nurses, teachers and public employees who provide invaluable services in Wisconsin every day. The budget crisis could be largely averted if corporate tax giveaways hadn’t put the state staring into a deep fiscal hole. Yet they are, and as a solution, the Governor proposes to make Wisconsin workers pay for the tax breaks to multinational corporations. It is utter nonsense to blame the state’s fiscal problems on Wisconsin workers while giving tax breaks to corporations, yet that is exactly what the Governor wants to do.
Finally, the Governor proposes taking away the rights of workers to collectively bargain. The right to a seat at the table is one of the most important rights provided to American workers, and must not be taken away. I believe Americans see through the schemes of the Governor and his special interest allies, and I strongly oppose his dangerous attempts to take away rights from Wisconsin workers while catering to the needs of special interests.