The Train We Missed With Scott Walker 12 15 2010 Article#2
The state of the Wisconsin lost $870 million. Why? Because Scott Walker wanted to spite the current Democratic administration.
The stated reasons are different than this of course. He said that we didn't need it. He also said it would cost too much to operate in the future. I don't know about you but with $870 million I would find out a way to make that project come in under budget so that the excess could have funded some of the operating costs into the future. If you don't know about interest rates, $870 million would earn the state $21.6 million annually assuming we get the money up front and were able to invest at 3% while we're determining an implementation plan to effectively and feasibly build that rail system.
Funds have always been scarce to states from the federal government. Anyone who makes it to the position of Governor ought to have the competency to do this. You would think every small business owner that he placates to would also understand this. Scott would seem to be a man who bases his decisions on how things sound. In other words if he can make it sound like he is taking a strong tough stance he will then use blunt “sound” logic to appeal to his blunt constituency.
The first railroads in place across the country did not take the highest skilled labor. Was it an important job to do correctly? Yes it was as People's lives depended on it. Just like they did in the parking structure by Summerfest grounds that caved in and kill someone. Is this the real reason he denied us the rail money? He did not want to be responsible for another fiasco construction death? Maybe we needed as Governor a strong minded person to oversee such a project and didn't get one. Does Scott Walker not trust construction companies that most likely helped vote him into office to do such a job? It takes great oversight to manage such accomplishments. A hierarchy of competency and trust has to be created before such projects are undertaken. It doesn't speak well for the how the next four years Wisconsin will be managed.
Does Wisconsin have an influx of low skilled labor who poured into this country from the state our infamous George Bush governed while he governed it and while he was President United States of America? Yes it does. Would they have benefited from small unskilled jobs in such a project, rather than otherwise contribute to our demise. And Scott what do you have to say about illegal immigrants. Do they not pay taxes and yet work and are paid money. Might our economy be doing better if legal taxpaying American Citizen’s were being paid to do those jobs. Or would that hurt a certain constituency of yours that might rely on under the table labor to build parking structures and other jobs.
It would seem to me every policy Republicans profess only serves to dissolve our nation. Rather than build frameworks and infrastructures to support it. Does Scott see our universities are corrupt and therefore does not support the value of an education? Did he himself not finish college and therefore does not know the value of a higher education?
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services there were 5,679,639 people of all ages living in Wisconsin as of July 1st 2009. $870,000,000.00 divided by 5,679,639 equals $153.18 per person. When you look at it that way it does not seem like a lot of money. Out of a fifty two week work year, that is maybe half a week’s paycheck for the average low skilled worker. That is not a lot of money.
The reason he said we could not afford the project was because the operating cost would be too high in the future. Well if we assume that the operating costs are $15,000,000.00 (that reads 15 million for those who are not numbers savvy) and we divide that number by the population of Wisconsin we get a yearly operating cost per person of $2.64. That number seems even smaller to me. Doesn’t that number also seem small to you. Now $870,000,000.00 (that reads 870 million dollars) that seems rather large to me. Two dollars and sixty four cents per year that seems rather small to me. Anybody noticing a difference here?
I’ll pay my $2.64 yearly operating cost right away. You don’t even have to add it to a percentage on our sales tax like you did the Milwaukee County Stadium Tax.
I am going to change the topic a little bit but bear with me. That Stadium, that we paid for, also tried to cut costs. And the resultant aftermath is similar to what happened in the parking lot structure project that was under Scott Walker's management. “In this case un-benounced to no one.” I mean absolutely no one knew about it, human waste from the toilet system was dumped directly into the source of the water we drink. A good glass of that does wonders for the feeble minded now doesn’t it. If the current tea party members got a drink of that they would shut up for a good long while, in fact we would most likely never hear from them again. That would be "just desserts" for making a mockery or our countries history and of the need for taxation.
We are still paying that Stadium Sales Tax long after it was built. Why? Because somehow we have elevated professional athletes to a deity status! Some make two hundred and forty times the salary of the President of the United States. And many are indeed found guilty of criminal conduct. It sends a terrible message to block headed jocks in this world, and that is, “To just be good in sports and not educate yourself." And those who do not make it as professional athletes always have a chip on their shoulder because of this. They feel they are just as good as athletes that are paid that much. And I already know what you are going to say, “That stadium tax is now used for other purposes.” In Finance we would call that opportunity cost. We need to take a long reflection of what we just lost by not accepting the $870,000,000.00. What opportunity did we just miss? I elucidated why the train would be beneficial to the state in a prior article.
The answer to the professional athlete pay issue is not to pay the President more. Why? Because the position of President would attract even more bad role models for this country! And it is bad enough as it is.
And where were the good coaches to weed out those bad players who did bad things but still made the team, and then made it into professional sports? I’ll tell you. The coach who self pitied "himself" transferred that pity to the players. This is the nature of poor sportsmanship and what has lead to the downfall of our education system in this country.
So the answer here is to pay the players less. I have read enough of the biographies of the greatest players in the history of baseball to know that there are men of high moral conduct that would be willing to take a salary commensurate with that of the President of the United States and make a pledge to stay with a team if they started to win. I am willing to bet that a team like this could take every baseball team in the league. People do not stand up to competition from those who are truly good and righteous. I had a friend once justify them, he said, “They say hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things in sports to do.” Is it worth $60 million to a community to find a player to do this? Is it worth the message it says to those who are having a hard time learning in school that all they have to do is be good in sports. And what happens when such an uneducated person than has the money to seek political power? Might our education system then suffer because of this? You bet it would. Why? Because as leaders they would never have this as a priority! How could they, it was something they never understood or respected.
Can we expect that Scott Walker will not be willing to spend a dime of our taxes to the benefit of Wisconsin? Yes we can. Why? Because there is a corollary in business when a business thinks it cannot find a good use of its cash it often gives it back to the shareholder in the form of dividends. This is also often the hallmark of stallwart management. This will be one of the first things Scott Walker seeks to do as Governor, cut taxes. We might even see a rebate on our tax return. Here is what it won’t say, “Here is $153.18 we could have used to build the train system if I had cooperated.” It will be in the same amount as that but it will say, “I don’t know where we got the money to pay this back to our Wisconsin residents as we are in debt already.” Is anybody else still asking themselves why he should become Governor? Should Scott Walker be impeached before he serves a day as Governor?
Wisconsin should stand for preserving the beauty of our lakes and rivers not baseball.
Batter up.
The cost to read this article is $.25. To pay use the button below.
Thomas Paul Murphy
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
Originally published at The Milwaukee and Wisconsin News on 12 15 2010:
http://themilwaukeeandwisconsinnews.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment