Wisconsin needs Tommy Thompson back !!!!!!!!!!

[JR]

After the local news aired this evening McCallum's(Wisconsin Governor)
True colors were shining once again.This guy should be impeached !!!
After Tommy Thompson took office in Washington, Wisconsin's debt just started increasing at an alarming rate. If you check government public records we actually had a surplus of money before McCallum.

jr
Wisconsin citizen

The next thing our governor will probably do is to promote commercial netting of walleyes on all Wisconsin Lakes. (Just joking)lol

[Pete]

Excuse me, but Tommy is the one who got us in the mess we are in today!!! No question about it. They have to quit spending. PERIOD!

[s.f.]

Don't feel bad...we in Minnesota have a bald headed wrestler for a governor. Don't get me started....

#49

[punch1]

I don't have the facts or figures, but I find it hard to believe that McCallum caused all this debt. It appears to be a combination of the recession as well as some of Tommy Thompson's and the Legislatures mis-doings. There is no doubt that something has to be done about the spending in this state. I disagree with McCallum in that I think the State should bear most of the brunt as opposed to just the local government. The State's budget has doubled over the past 9 years where as the local government has kept close to the pace of inflation. I saw that he just got rid of one third of the State's airplane fleet as well as 10% of their car fleet. I'm glad he appears to be serious about it though, I hope?

[JD]

Tommy did plenty to get us into the mess. Of course, the legislature had a part, too. We have no reserves in part because the state gave it back in form of a rebate. That is somewhat like me saying, "Well, I've got a good job and things are going well. Looks like time to spend my savings." It couldn't have happened without the governor and the legislature.

McCallum likes to play fast and loose with the facts. He says local government is the source of our spending problems, but state spending has increased at a rate far greater than that of local government.

I agree with him that there is some unnecessary duplication at the local level, but his budget treats everyone the same, whether there is good cooperative work being done locally or not. It also fails to recognize the fact that areas with low property values (like Beloit) can not raise money like those in wealthier communities (Waukesha). State shared revenue was intended, in part, to compensate for that.

[Mike2]

While I haven't decided if I will vote for him yet, I agree with the govenor on one thing. The way to solve our budget problem is NOT to raise our taxes. Wisconsin is already one of the highest taxed states in the country. All of the cities and towns are coming up with their own budget plans and except for McCallum's plan, every one of them raises my taxes. I think it is time for each city, township and county to get lean.

Mike

[Greggb]

Dont even get me started on Tommy. I am not defending McCallum, nor will I vote for him, but Tommy left him this mess. Neither of these two bozos care much about our natural resources. Tommy weakened the DNR, removed Office Of Public Intervenor, made DNR Secretary an appointment by the governor, instead of being voted on, appointed cronies to the Public Service Commision to ram through a huge power line to rape the northwoods and rob citizens of their land. The list goes on and on. Time for a change.

[Jim Ordway]

Tommy and legislature kept rolling everything forward until, bang, recession... There is enough blame to go around but there may be a silver lining. The State and local government bodies are now being forced to diet. Perhaps the long term benefits to the state, will be greater than the short term discomfort.

[FJH1]

If you're talking about the S.O.B. comment made to the irritating reporter, I have no problem with it. I like to see some fire from within. That reporter should be thanking his lucky stars - where does he work...Rhinelander (not necessarily a hotbed for news)? The reporter has had his name aired all over the state, maybe now he can get a job in Madison. The Wisconsin State debt is through the roof, McCallum didn't get it to this point, Tommy Thompson, endless social programs, and lack of Federal return got it to this stage. Now McCallum has to deal with it and try to be elected in the process - not an easy job.

p.s. I live in Illinois, but have a summer home in Wisconsin so I do take interest in WI politics (I've loved the Milwaukee fiasco :-)).

Best Regards,

FJH

[Jim Ordway]

All we have to do is impeach a few judges and we can annex Milwaukee to Cook County :)

[FJH1]

I like the idea, then I could move further north, keep my Illinois job and pay Illinois taxes :-). Maybe we could slip in a petition with the maze of Milwaukee County Board Member recall petitions - they'd never know!

Best Regards,

FJH

[Mike Michalak]

FJH1...

I'm usually pretty passive, especially in my postings here on WC. But you have the honor of being the first to really irritate me.

NO ONE deserves the comment our "governor" used. That "irritating" reporter was doing what he was paid to do. If Scott McCallum can't conduct himself in a professional manner while responding to questions that deserve answers, he doesn't deserve the job.

I spent 16 years at that station (12) as its news director and anchor. For this end of the state, it IS the "hotbed" for news. I personally interviewed then Gov. Schrieber years ago when he uttered those now infamous words "more trees than people" while referring to the north country. Well, those people vote...and he lost. It also got statewide coverage. Go figure. And, by the way, I turned down job offers in Madison AND Green Bay.

During my tenure, that station had the ear of the Governor's office on issues relating to treaty rights and mining, because we live here and know what's going on. McCallum callously tossed aside a reporters question at a Rhinelander news conference just last week by saying he'd rather answer the question of a "real citizen." That's pure BS.

If I were that reporter, I would've challenged him on the spot, being a taxpayer, property owner, business professional and a VOTER. A voter that just happened to have 365-thousand watts of broadcast power in his pocket. It's totally irresponsible to act in this manner for a public official, to a reporter or anyone. No matter where they're from or what medium they may represent. Do you think the Trib would've let this one slide? I don't. I see it front and center on the news stands.

As a Lt. Governor, we in the north country didn't hear or see squat of Scott McCallum. Maybe now, Wisconsin is seeing his true colors and we know why.

[EyeJacker]

Now, now boys, Remember the "No Pollutecs" rule.

Jack

[bigtrouble]

good one FJHI, you better be careful. you may have just irritated a potential advertiser on Walleye Central! HAHA

[Mapguy]

Bigtrouble...

Just an FYI...we already are a sponsor of Walleye Central! Worth every penny. (Don't tell Scott, he'll raise the rates!!) LOL

Mapguy

[Kingfish]

Yes-Mike 2: I totally agree with you. I work as a Supervisor within our cities system and have for 23 1/2 years. I set in on these meetings with the butcher, the baker and candlestick maker and am constantly amazed at the never ending things they can dream up to spend my tax dollars. P.S. I'am 13 weeks and 2 days from retirement and am sure the h--- going to get the h--- out of this state while I still have some money to spend. (Wisconsin is one of the states that even taxes your retirement). It's not Tommy or Scott, it goes right down to our home towns. Grants, Tifs etc. They call it free money. If we don't get it, someone else will. It usually helps make the rich richer. Well, we know now, it AIN'T free. It's time to pay the piper.

[gary]

When pigs fly!

[Inside WI State Government]

It seems our good, unelected governor-by-default prefaces every sentence these days with "If it weren't for September 11th..." The terrorist's attacks of last fall have been a wonderful windfall of opportunity for all politicians. We have had our civil rights and freedoms severely restricted and our government deficits have ballooned. Just blame it all on those dark-skinned foreigners.

The fact is that the pause in consumer spending while we were constantly watching re-runs of those planes slamming into the twin towers did have an economic effect. But it didn't lead to a recession. What it did was expose the folly of the state's financial plan - Spend the money now, use rosy projections for the future and book future revenues now to blance the books. The blip of 9/11 laid that sham bare for all to see.

So, now we have to 'cut back' on government. How should we do this? Tommy gave us all a 'sales tax rebate' just before the last election. The grateful sheep of WI pulled his lever at the polls. :) Face it - he BOUGHT enough voters to get re-elected knowing that he'd be gone if GW got elected president. After Tommy left, the Lt. Gov. that no-one even heard of gets his job. Do you ever wonder what a Lt. Gov. does? They collect a fat paycheck, cut ribbons, turn shovels and kiss babies. Knowing from 12 years of personal experience how difficult this job is, McCallum gave his new Lt. Gov. a 17% pay increase to over $100,000 dollars. How many of you got a 17% raise last year? Oh, fear not, the legislators got theirs too.

How to get out of the financial mess? Simple says the gov. Leave positions vacant and lay off state workers. Just not any of the administrators, assistant administrators, deputy administrators, deputy assistant administrators. Those folks are FAR too important to layoff. They are important because they give $$$ to the party in power (currently the GOP - DEM's are no different)! If they were laid off, they wouldn't have as much money to 'contribute'. Check the organizational chart of any state department. Write down the names, then go to http://www.wisdc.org/index.html and "Follow the Money." In short order, you will all have a much clearer picture of how government works and who they work for (hint: it's not you and I). Heck, if those laid off state workers were still on the job, they might get a 1% pay increase and then go spend their money at your bait shop, car dealership, grocery store, etc. Those businesses pay their employees too. Less business for them means they layoff as well. This is a domino effect. Government paychecks, indeed, all paychecks prime the economy's pump. Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of economics understands the velocity of money. Oh yes, our un-elected governor has a degree in economics. Lot of good it did.

Speaking from experience, WI state government has NEVER been more corrupt then it is right now. Right now the taxpayers are paying for high-priced lawyers defending the legislative criminals. Money buys the legislation a special interest wants. I have seen lobbyists come into the department I work in with legislation already written out! The politically connected, appointed department leadership then advance that legislation to their benefactors - the legistors of the party in power. The 'legislation' is sponsored and passed and you end up paying more because someone else will now be paying less. Nobody likes to pay taxes, but did you ever realize that with every new exemption, exclusion or reduction given to someone else, the legislature just increased YOUR taxes! Whatever 'they' don't pay will be paid buy who ever is left (hint: you). Why are property taxes so high? Because of the VAST amount of exempt property and undervalued property in the state. This property benefits from all the services you and I pay for. Personally, I believe that even government property should be taxable. On the face, it might seem ridiculous to have government pay property taxes to the government. But, only then will the government be forced to make more efficient use of their real estate assets. The true holding cost for those assets would then be known. If all property were taxable, You would likely pay 1/2 of what you pay now. Think about it.

Perpetual incumbency seems to be a factor here. That's while I've already decided to only vote for candidates that are challenging for an office or are one-term incumbents. Any candidate going for a third term is not getting my vote. The only way to clean up the cess pool in Madison is to flush out the #@%$. I hope many of you will do the same. Don't cover your eyes and blind yourselves to the filth in state government. Fish rot from the head, not the tail, so cut off the head!

Whew! That felt good to get off my chest! If we work together on this, we can regain control of OUR government.

Watchdog (just your average fishing, taxpaying citizen)

[Tommy "Stuck it to me"]

You are so right. I live in SE Wisconsin and I will never forgive him or his party for his "Stick it to them" remark when debating the tax increase on our county to fund a palatial stadium for multi-millionaire Bud Selig and his loser Brewers. Hopefully he will never come back (read: Tommy, please stay in D.C.!!!!). He cheated us taxpayers, he cheats on his wife, and now he's cheating the whole country. His prodigal son McCallum is even worse and 95% of the legislators are crooks.

I hope you folks in Minnesota will tell the Twinkies to take a hike. Just think about how many walleyes $300-500 million could buy for stocking or habitat protection and improvement!

[SnellTier]

I think you are right, Jim. Had we not had the tax refund, those varmints in our government would have SPENT THAT TOO and then said "oops, we are out of money". At least we got SOME back before they could spend it ... and it forces the diet sooner rather than later ... which in my opinion is a GOOD thing.