Budget

On merit pay, Walker channels Doyle

October 26, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Stick it to themA supposed carrot in the Walker administration's pile of sticks called the state employee compensation plan is the creation of discretionary merit raises intended to reward exemplary performance. Now, the Walker administration has budgeted absolutely no money for such merit pay. so if a state manager wants to reward a valuable employee (or a favored political appointee of the administration, or a suck-up, or, heck, even a relative), that manager will have to come up with the money by whacking something else in the office budget. Say, perhaps, another worker's position. Or a valuable public program. Not to worry, because, according to the plan, the administration will look over the shoulder of any manager who decides to run this gauntlet, and second-guess the decision.

Scotty Fitz says it's good to stiff public employees

October 26, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) is defending the Walker administration's new de-compensation plan for state employees, which freezes pay for two more years. Scotty Fitz said he was "proud" the GOP budget didn't include mass layoffs, "deep" pay cuts (what, six percent or more effective pay cuts for added benefit costs isn't "deep"?), furloughs. Or tax hikes, except for those well hidden but very real tax hikes Walker's budget imposed on lower and middle income taxpayers, of course. Also, the indirect -- and vast -- service and pay cuts required by what Walker called "tools" for local governments.

Fitzgerald summarized: "There are 240,000 people out of work in Wisconsin, and they aren't getting automatic pay raises either."

Maybe not, Scotty, but absent similar outrage from the governor and yourself, you and the state's other elected lawmakers are about to get what amounts to an automatic pay raise for the jobs you hold (assuming you keep on holding them after another term).

Big surprise: F. Jimmy doesn't bother listening to his constituents if he can help it.

October 18, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

F. JimmyI know it's an exercise in futility, but trying to talk sense to Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner is, in my mind, better than ignoring him. F. Jimmy is, unfortunately, my congressman and a number of times in the past I've written him to state my views on issues ranging from the environment to our nation's military posture. His office has always returned a form reply, disagreeing entirely with me, but at least they have paid attention. Not any more, apparently.

Recently I jumped onto Sensenbrenner's web site to compose a message urging him to reconsider voting against components of -- or better yet, the entire -- jobs package proposed by President Obama. Yes, this is a fool's errand, but I keep telling myself if we fill up their email queues with views and constituent requests contrary to their world view, senseless legislators like Sensenbrenner might just have to sit up and listen a bit -- if only to save a few votes in a fast-narrowing political environment.

Scott Walker's certainly wrong about the dangers of business uncertainty

October 7, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Risky, but goodI'm back a third time to talk about the currently fashionable Republican notion (at least, fashionable among Republicans) that reducing business uncertainty is the only real way to fix America's economic woes. Sorry if I seem tiresome and pedantic on this issue, but I really do think it's important and instructive in many ways. This time, I present yet another reason why Scott Walker is certainly wrong about uncertainty

This idea of uncertainty holding back job creatjion is, as I've noted, one that has been adopted wholesale by Walker, as when he commented on the state Department of Revenue's decision to slam small "roll your own" cigaret shops:

"What we hear from employers all the time … is they want the certainty of knowing what the law is, what the rules are, that they're applied universally and across the board."