Thursday, February 24, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
An Open Letter to Public School Teachers
An Open Letter to Public School Teachers
by Liz Buss Nameth on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 2:36pm
I would like to introduce myself. I am Liz Nameth and I pay your wages.
First off, I do understand your plight. Far more than you realize. It really sucks that the economy took a nosedive. Believe me. I know. Ten years ago I worked in management. Today I work as a bank teller. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful I have a job. I know too many people who don’t. But, the reality is that my wages have been cut in half. To compound the problem, my husband’s business has also declined by half. To say our finances have been devastated is an understatement.
We own three cars – one with a bad engine, another with over 200,000 miles which needs work and a third with 140,000 miles which needs work. I am thankful we have transportation. A lot of people don’t.
Our house needs a lot of work as well. Our windows are ancient and don’t hold the heat well. Our bedroom roof leaks on our bed. I am thankful we have a home. A lot of people don’t.
In the last three years, we have been able to afford to go camping once. My children don’t get Christmas or birthday presents because we can’t afford it. We struggle to make $200 feed all three of us for a month. We eat a lot of canned tuna. I am thankful to have food. A lot of people don’t.
Throughout all of this, I have continued to get up and go to work every day. I have continued to laugh and love and live. I am thankful for the abundant life I have – a husband who loves me, children who love me, a roof over my head, clothes to wear and food to eat. Compared to 90% of the world, I am wealthy beyond measure.
What does this have to do with your dilemma?
I read recently that the benefits package paid to employees in our local school district cost $20,400 per year per employee. I did the math on this. Using the highest income tax bracket of 7.75% in Wisconsin, someone in the private sector needs to earn $263,000 per year just to pay the benefits for one employee. Put another way, in my town, those benefits are covered by twenty average homeowners’ property taxes.
This has not even started to pay for the building or your wages or books or anything else needed to teach our children. This is just the benefits for the lunch lady. Is this sustainable? I don’t think so.
Don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for what you do. I agree you deserve to be very well compensated. But you know what? We can’t afford it anymore. What we deserve and what we can afford don’t always line up. It sucks, I know. But that is reality.
If you don’t accept a cut in your benefits, tax rates must be raised. We have a shortfall. We can spend all day bickering about who did what and who’s to blame but that won’t solve a darn thing. At the end of the day, we still have a shortfall and it still must be fixed. There are only two ways to fix it – raise taxes or cut spending.
So, what would you like me to cut from my personal budget to continue to pay your benefits package? Let’s not forget that the “tax revenues” which pay you are actually a portion of my wages. To continue to pay your benefits as they are means less money in my pocket.
We are all struggling to dig out of the greatest economic downturn in 80 years. “Tax revenues” (my wages) are down across the board. We are all hurting. In my book, you are not exempt from this simply because you work for the government. To prevent you from suffering a little means that I will suffer even more.
I am sorry but this time I have to say no. Not because you don’t deserve it but because I don’t have it to give. This is not a personal attack on your teaching ability. This is just me asking you to contribute and sacrifice a little as well for the good of my children you teach, our state and our nation. Let’s face it – your benefits package is far nicer than mine and most of my private sector friends and family. For three years now, my increased insurance premium has been more than my annual raise so I take home less now than I did three years ago. How about you?
I can’t help but wonder, when do you have enough?
As far as denying human rights, unions were created to protect the safety and welfare of workers – to end sweat shops and child labor in America. The unions did their job well. The laws have changed and today those basic rights are protected by law. Nobody is taking away your right to a safe work environment.
In closing, it is my hope that you are teaching my children because you love them. Love trumps money every time. Do you love my children enough to teach them anyway?
Sincerely,
Your employer
NOTE: Thank you all for the comments, messages and friend requests! Due to the overwhelming response to this letter, I have created a page called "Open Letters to the Public" to provide a forum for discussion. Please go to the link below to join the conversation! Thank you!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Letters-to-the-Public/165371280178140?sk=wall
by Liz Buss Nameth on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 2:36pm
I would like to introduce myself. I am Liz Nameth and I pay your wages.
First off, I do understand your plight. Far more than you realize. It really sucks that the economy took a nosedive. Believe me. I know. Ten years ago I worked in management. Today I work as a bank teller. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful I have a job. I know too many people who don’t. But, the reality is that my wages have been cut in half. To compound the problem, my husband’s business has also declined by half. To say our finances have been devastated is an understatement.
We own three cars – one with a bad engine, another with over 200,000 miles which needs work and a third with 140,000 miles which needs work. I am thankful we have transportation. A lot of people don’t.
Our house needs a lot of work as well. Our windows are ancient and don’t hold the heat well. Our bedroom roof leaks on our bed. I am thankful we have a home. A lot of people don’t.
In the last three years, we have been able to afford to go camping once. My children don’t get Christmas or birthday presents because we can’t afford it. We struggle to make $200 feed all three of us for a month. We eat a lot of canned tuna. I am thankful to have food. A lot of people don’t.
Throughout all of this, I have continued to get up and go to work every day. I have continued to laugh and love and live. I am thankful for the abundant life I have – a husband who loves me, children who love me, a roof over my head, clothes to wear and food to eat. Compared to 90% of the world, I am wealthy beyond measure.
What does this have to do with your dilemma?
I read recently that the benefits package paid to employees in our local school district cost $20,400 per year per employee. I did the math on this. Using the highest income tax bracket of 7.75% in Wisconsin, someone in the private sector needs to earn $263,000 per year just to pay the benefits for one employee. Put another way, in my town, those benefits are covered by twenty average homeowners’ property taxes.
This has not even started to pay for the building or your wages or books or anything else needed to teach our children. This is just the benefits for the lunch lady. Is this sustainable? I don’t think so.
Don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for what you do. I agree you deserve to be very well compensated. But you know what? We can’t afford it anymore. What we deserve and what we can afford don’t always line up. It sucks, I know. But that is reality.
If you don’t accept a cut in your benefits, tax rates must be raised. We have a shortfall. We can spend all day bickering about who did what and who’s to blame but that won’t solve a darn thing. At the end of the day, we still have a shortfall and it still must be fixed. There are only two ways to fix it – raise taxes or cut spending.
So, what would you like me to cut from my personal budget to continue to pay your benefits package? Let’s not forget that the “tax revenues” which pay you are actually a portion of my wages. To continue to pay your benefits as they are means less money in my pocket.
We are all struggling to dig out of the greatest economic downturn in 80 years. “Tax revenues” (my wages) are down across the board. We are all hurting. In my book, you are not exempt from this simply because you work for the government. To prevent you from suffering a little means that I will suffer even more.
I am sorry but this time I have to say no. Not because you don’t deserve it but because I don’t have it to give. This is not a personal attack on your teaching ability. This is just me asking you to contribute and sacrifice a little as well for the good of my children you teach, our state and our nation. Let’s face it – your benefits package is far nicer than mine and most of my private sector friends and family. For three years now, my increased insurance premium has been more than my annual raise so I take home less now than I did three years ago. How about you?
I can’t help but wonder, when do you have enough?
As far as denying human rights, unions were created to protect the safety and welfare of workers – to end sweat shops and child labor in America. The unions did their job well. The laws have changed and today those basic rights are protected by law. Nobody is taking away your right to a safe work environment.
In closing, it is my hope that you are teaching my children because you love them. Love trumps money every time. Do you love my children enough to teach them anyway?
Sincerely,
Your employer
NOTE: Thank you all for the comments, messages and friend requests! Due to the overwhelming response to this letter, I have created a page called "Open Letters to the Public" to provide a forum for discussion. Please go to the link below to join the conversation! Thank you!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Letters-to-the-Public/165371280178140?sk=wall
Friday, February 18, 2011
Did I miss something...I thought it was about the children
Teachers all over this state are showing their true colors. It isn't and has never been "about the children." It has always been "me me." What has the WUHS and WGSD done with teacher salaries over the last five years (those five very rough years for many, many people)? While taxpayers get laid off, take pay freezes and pay reductions, lose their homes, etc. the teachers and administrators kept getting raise after raise after raise - truly amazing in these times - and if you even suggested that they should take a simple one year pay freeze - my God you were attacking teachers. Well, this is what you get for being selfish and pigheaded - thumbing your noses at the taxpayers. Finally we will get control of the costs of our public employees, and teachers in particular.
For an 8 month of the year job - three months off over summer and another month during the year (Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks) - not to mention all the sick and personal days - kicking in toward your retirement and paying a small portion of your health insurance premiums is not a bad deal.
If you don't like it, quit!
For an 8 month of the year job - three months off over summer and another month during the year (Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks) - not to mention all the sick and personal days - kicking in toward your retirement and paying a small portion of your health insurance premiums is not a bad deal.
If you don't like it, quit!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Believe it or not, the WGSD wants to build AGAIN!!!
Believe it or not the WGSD wants to add an addition on to Fox River School to accommodate what some (wrongly) claim is a space need for fine arts and the cafeteria...even though the school enrollment is lower than it has been in other years. Enrollment at WGSD is and has been on a declining trend. That trend will certainly continue given the problems in the housing and new construction markets in the last several years, at present, and certainly for the foreseeable future.
Even if you assume there is a space issue (there isn't), there are many viable solutions short of spending millions on unnecessary construction. Once easy and obvious solution is to add an additional lunch period.
It looks like the district will be forming an ad-hoc committee - surely to be filled with teachers and administrators ready to unnecessarily spend our money.
Click here for a link to the minutes of the November WGSD meeting where they discussed the matter.
Even if you assume there is a space issue (there isn't), there are many viable solutions short of spending millions on unnecessary construction. Once easy and obvious solution is to add an additional lunch period.
It looks like the district will be forming an ad-hoc committee - surely to be filled with teachers and administrators ready to unnecessarily spend our money.
Click here for a link to the minutes of the November WGSD meeting where they discussed the matter.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
SPENDING INCREASES AT WATERFORD GRADED SCHOOLS
On November 2nd we saw a monumental election in which the American people rejected the Obama-Reid-Pelosi socialist agenda which has given us an enormous amount of national debt and no improvement in our economy. The voters clearly stated that the path we were going down is not one that American’s want to be a part of, and we need to get back to common sense budgets that promote job growth - not job killing taxation and bloated deficits.
This was most clearly seen in Wisconsin where the US Senate and US House switched to Republican control and ALL 3 state branches did also. The state suffered tremendously under 8 years of Doyle with irresponsible budgets and questionable ethics of pay to play. The state constitution requires a balanced budget so in order to pay for the Democrats’ excessive spending the taxes jumped to cover the costs. This drove companies and people out of the state looking for relief. For the first time in state history the number of government jobs exceeded the number of manufacturing jobs!
Scott Walker has a proven track record of a fiscal conservative and has a tough job to correct the 2 billion dollar shortfall in the next state budget. We know he won’t address the short fall by increasing taxes once again on the hard working people of this state. What we don’t know is what areas will he reduce spending and what the impact will be for K-12 budgets. During this time of uncertainty the best thing for us to do at the local level is to maintain our existing programs and wait to see what direction the state takes.
The current WGSD board president, Dan Jensen, has talked in a supportive way of the above changes. Unfortunately his actions speak louder and he is embarking on new spending initiatives.
The first sign was last spring when Dan introduced a new string program for band during a time we were discussing reductions in programming due to reduced state spending. The initial cost of this new offering is low ($18,000) during the introduction phase next year at just the 4th grade level. But the costs of the program will continue to go up as it is rolled out to each successive grade. This can put funding available for the current band program at risk for future years.
Recently Dan proposed spending $50,000 to introduce Mandarin Chinese to the district at just the kindergarten level. This program has the potential for spiraling costs as the program is rolled out to the other 8 grades! Chinese is not a language that is in huge demand in Waterford and those who take it will quickly forget the language since there is no opportunity to use it outside of the classroom. This program would be money not well spent during a time of tough economic times.
IF there are monies available the best course of action would be to roll out Spanish to all grade levels. Languages are learned more quickly at a younger age, and with our inability to address the porous borders and illegal immigration this language will be used more widely than Chinese ever will.
To top it off Dan is proposing spending up to $9 million dollars to add on to Fox River middle school. This is the same school that just 2 years ago the administration proposed replacing with a new school for over $20 million. That proposal was not met with much support from the community!
Even though our enrollment numbers have not increased in the last 2 years and we went to a house system to better utilize our resources, Dan is bringing forth again a proposal to spend millions of tax dollars on a school that some in the administration think needs to be replaced. Our Fox River enrollment was as high as 501 in 2000 and is only at 390 this year. Projections for 2013 are we will be down to 368 students.
We still owe over $15 million from the building done in 2000 since the notes are back loaded to try to get more people to approve the referendum. The economy is still struggling and could potentially take a turn for the worse when inflation hits due to the bloated federal deficit. Now is not the time to spend money on capital building projects while enrollment is holding steady or reducing!
Waterford is a conservative area based on past voting records and I ran for office to support those principals. I talked to Dan about this move away from fiscal conservatism, which he talks about supporting. He instead is embracing excessive spending and a negative impact on our taxes. He failed to change the path he is on at our last board meeting and I can no longer support him given the new direction he is embarking on.
I encourage those who agree with my positions to voice your concerns about the current excess spending proposals during this time of transition at the federal and state levels.
Chuck Poole
WGSD School Board Treasurer
Note: The opinions in this article are mine alone and not an official position of the WGSD School Board
This was most clearly seen in Wisconsin where the US Senate and US House switched to Republican control and ALL 3 state branches did also. The state suffered tremendously under 8 years of Doyle with irresponsible budgets and questionable ethics of pay to play. The state constitution requires a balanced budget so in order to pay for the Democrats’ excessive spending the taxes jumped to cover the costs. This drove companies and people out of the state looking for relief. For the first time in state history the number of government jobs exceeded the number of manufacturing jobs!
Scott Walker has a proven track record of a fiscal conservative and has a tough job to correct the 2 billion dollar shortfall in the next state budget. We know he won’t address the short fall by increasing taxes once again on the hard working people of this state. What we don’t know is what areas will he reduce spending and what the impact will be for K-12 budgets. During this time of uncertainty the best thing for us to do at the local level is to maintain our existing programs and wait to see what direction the state takes.
The current WGSD board president, Dan Jensen, has talked in a supportive way of the above changes. Unfortunately his actions speak louder and he is embarking on new spending initiatives.
The first sign was last spring when Dan introduced a new string program for band during a time we were discussing reductions in programming due to reduced state spending. The initial cost of this new offering is low ($18,000) during the introduction phase next year at just the 4th grade level. But the costs of the program will continue to go up as it is rolled out to each successive grade. This can put funding available for the current band program at risk for future years.
Recently Dan proposed spending $50,000 to introduce Mandarin Chinese to the district at just the kindergarten level. This program has the potential for spiraling costs as the program is rolled out to the other 8 grades! Chinese is not a language that is in huge demand in Waterford and those who take it will quickly forget the language since there is no opportunity to use it outside of the classroom. This program would be money not well spent during a time of tough economic times.
IF there are monies available the best course of action would be to roll out Spanish to all grade levels. Languages are learned more quickly at a younger age, and with our inability to address the porous borders and illegal immigration this language will be used more widely than Chinese ever will.
To top it off Dan is proposing spending up to $9 million dollars to add on to Fox River middle school. This is the same school that just 2 years ago the administration proposed replacing with a new school for over $20 million. That proposal was not met with much support from the community!
Even though our enrollment numbers have not increased in the last 2 years and we went to a house system to better utilize our resources, Dan is bringing forth again a proposal to spend millions of tax dollars on a school that some in the administration think needs to be replaced. Our Fox River enrollment was as high as 501 in 2000 and is only at 390 this year. Projections for 2013 are we will be down to 368 students.
We still owe over $15 million from the building done in 2000 since the notes are back loaded to try to get more people to approve the referendum. The economy is still struggling and could potentially take a turn for the worse when inflation hits due to the bloated federal deficit. Now is not the time to spend money on capital building projects while enrollment is holding steady or reducing!
Waterford is a conservative area based on past voting records and I ran for office to support those principals. I talked to Dan about this move away from fiscal conservatism, which he talks about supporting. He instead is embracing excessive spending and a negative impact on our taxes. He failed to change the path he is on at our last board meeting and I can no longer support him given the new direction he is embarking on.
I encourage those who agree with my positions to voice your concerns about the current excess spending proposals during this time of transition at the federal and state levels.
Chuck Poole
WGSD School Board Treasurer
Note: The opinions in this article are mine alone and not an official position of the WGSD School Board
Friday, July 23, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Kudos to the Waterford Graded School District and other local districts...
The Waterford Graded School district and other western Racine County school districts appear to be looking at sharing resources, staff, etc. as a cost savings measure.
Click here for the article....
Click here for the article....
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
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Friday, April 9, 2010
Economic Development Ideas Continued
In previous weeks, I've mentioned I have an economic development plan that I've introduced to the Legislature. I recently wrote about my $1000 jobs deduction plan. Another idea I circulated to the Legislature last week is an economic development superfund known as the Governor's Opportunity Fund to provide incentives to companies to relocate or expand in Wisconsin.
It's no secret that Wisconsin has a high unemployment rate and has lost well over 100,000 jobs in the last year. The Wisconsin Taxpayer Alliance reported that Wisconsin has lost 4.3% (6700) businesses between 2006 and 2009. That's a higher percentage than the U.S., as a whole, and any surrounding state, including Michigan.
To stop this huge loss of businesses and jobs, Wisconsin needs a bold plan. By creating a well-funded economic development incentive tool, Wisconsin will be able to rapidly respond and recruit prospective businesses to help replace the jobs and businesses we've lost because of years of anti-business policies.
While the Department of Commerce has long claimed that they have the ability to recruit businesses quickly, it became evident via a legislative audit that most incentive funds at the Department are either too specific or too mired in bureaucratic red tap to be useful. Further, the programs are underfunded.
The Wisconsin Development Fund (WDF), currently funded at $10 million annually, is one such underfunded economic incentive fund housed at the Department of Commerce. Additionally, it's often used as a slush fund to earmark money to specific projects. Just this week the Joint Finance Committee approved another new program to earmark even more money from the WDF for business loans for energy efficiency - further impinging on the flexibility of the fund to direct money for a very specific purpose that will not enhance economic development as a whole.
My proposal would allow for a fresh start with a new approach through a fund that won't be paralyzed by the bureaucracy. The Governor's Opportunity Fund will allow the governor to award grants and loans to businesses based on their job creation numbers and private investment commitments. The fund will also set aside a portion of awards for areas with higher than average unemployment and also for rural communities.
The fund will be a segregated account that I hope will someday exceed $100 million. While I understand that amount may seem implausible, especially in these tough economic times, I do have one idea that could provide existing funding through rooting out waste, fraud, abuse in government programs....but more about that next week.
I truly believe that economic development should be our number one priority. But right now, it's clearly not for the party in charge. I'm sure when the Legislature debates my proposal Democrats will ask how government could possibly be asked to find that kind of money for economic development. But compared to the big government social programs they've chosen to fund this year, any amount allocated to the Governor's Opportunity Fund will pale in comparison to what they've spent.
And, what's more, if we had better economic development tools in Wisconsin, we probably wouldn't need to spend so much on our social programs. Because there's no better social program than a good paying job.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Doyle and the Democrats throwing more of our good money away on choo choo's...
Here's a link to a DOT survey about state involvement in expanding rail service in Wisconsin.
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/state/railplan.htm
Sounds like they have some grandiose plans for our tax money. Survey response deadline is April 5.
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/state/railplan.htm
Sounds like they have some grandiose plans for our tax money. Survey response deadline is April 5.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Bad Ideas Abound in Madison
In this Week's Update:
Bad Ideas Abound in Madison
Rep. Vos to Appear on Up Front with Mike Gousha Sunday
This week was a vivid reminder of just how many bad ideas there are floating around Madison. On Thursday, the Assembly Transportation Committee heard a variety of transit bills, including the one to create a Southeast Regional Transit Authority (SERTA) that would be the governing body of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail line.
The bill proposes raising the sales tax, instituting room taxes, car rental taxes or wheel taxes (or a combination of all of them) to fund the train. However, it has taken the Democrats in both houses more than a year to come up with any sort of draft that might be palatable to all interests, and now it looks as though they still can't find agreement. The Racine Post recently posted an insider account of the inner-party strife occurring over this bill. Basically, some Democrats are afraid to vote for tax increases while others, including Governor Doyle, are hell-bent to get a shiny new train regardless of the cost.
However, they would all be wise to take heed of a new survey released today that shows that a majority of the people in southeastern Wisconsin are adamantly opposed to paying higher taxes for transit, even if it results in a direct reduction from the property tax.
This survey only proves what I've been hearing from my constituents for years. I'm hopeful that the people who continue to cry that commuter rail is necessary because it creates jobs will finally put their arguments to rest and realize that they can't pull the wool over the eyes of the general public who know this is nothing but a taxpayer-funded, unsustainable boondoggle.
Another reminder of bad ideas run amok were the 19 committee hearings held this week that heard a myriad of bills - almost none of which addressed job creation. This despite the report released yesterday by the Department of Labor showing only 6 states have experienced greater job loss than Wisconsin and that we're one of only a dozen states that have fewer people working today than at any time in the 1990s. The Department of Labor also reports Wisconsin has lost 71,700 jobs between December 2009 and January 2010.
Finally, I was reminded of a very old bad idea when a Democratic senator admitted this week that she was wrong in voting for a budget that hiked car insurance rates by as much as 33% in some cases. Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) introduced a bill to repeal those insurance increases and Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette) joined her in her fight by coauthoring the legislation.
Even though more comprehensive repeals had previously been proposed by Republicans and not supported by Sen. Vinehout, I'm happy she came to her senses and to the side of her constituents, who I'm sure were vocal in their opposition to these increases. But I fear the special interests and trial lawyers who benefit from these insurance rate hikes will be too powerful for any of the Democrats to help Sen. Vinehout in her attempt to repeal these provisions. My prediction is the bill never makes it out of committee and we continue to suffer the consequences by paying much higher auto insurance premiums.
Thankfully the legislative session is almost over. Once it is, legislative business will be halted and so will all the bad ideas that are currently floating around this building - at least for a few months. But it's my ultimate hope that the results of the next election will halt the bad idea machine for a long, long time to come.
Rep. Vos to Appear on Up Front with Mike Gousha
Tune into WISN Sunday at 9am to watch Up Front with Mike Gousha. The topic is the high speed rail no-bid contract executed by Governor Doyle for a $48 million train set from Spanish company Talgo. No other company was allowed to submit a bid for the job, and it's possible the deal could have resulted in a net loss of jobs to the state because Super Steel of Milwaukee was not awarded a subcontract. They announced last week they are in receivership. I will appear opposite Department of Transportation chief counsel, Bob Jambois.
This week, I joined my Republican colleagues on the Joint Finance Committee in submitting a request to the Committee's co-chairs for an informational hearing on the deal.
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