An editorial recently published by the Janesville Gazette “Editorial Staff” should help open up some eyes of those who still think the Gazette is some sort of a moderate or politically balanced newspaper.
The editorial is largely self explained by the title, Act 10’s Big Winner: Taxpayers. But apparently the Gazette editorial staff has been drinking the koolaid concocted by the MacIver Institute when they attempt to claim that Act 10 has somehow “saved” Wisconsin taxpayers billions of dollars.
Of course when government cuts public employee pay or benefits it will “save” itself something. That’s only logical, but the claim is largely political propaganda based on hypotheticals with a total disregard in intrinsic value and real dollar costs to Wisconsin communities and families.
It also fails to take a global view of the state budget in the fact that while Act 10 tethered municipal budgets to assessed growth, Walker's budgets operate outside of those same growth restrictions and have grown dramatically every year since Act 10 was rammed through. As you know, the money for the increase in state spending came from somebody's pockets.
Sadly, the Gazette staff also paints the victims of Gov. Scott Walker’s bomb dropping attack as rabid and their protests "divisive."
But what’s past is past and we can only hope that a more progressive platform with a vision of optimism, collaboration and mutual benefit eventually gains traction in our state. However, don’t count on the Gazette to be part of that anytime soon because their editorial also suggests what Gov. Scott Walker and the state's GOP-majority legislature should do next.
JG Excerpt:
If Walker made a misstep with Act 10, he arguably wasn’t aggressive enough, which is strange to say given the rabid protests against it. The groups’ study notes municipality savings could have been even greater if Act 10 did not exempt police officers and firefighters, who make up about one-third of local government personnel.
At some point, the Republican-controlled Legislature should revisit extending Act 10 to all public sector unions to prevent disparities in pay among government workers and boost savings to taxpayers.
Hey firefighters and police officers - if it's up to the Gazette, you're next to be clawed down. But don't worry, Act 10 allowed you to save enough to keep buying those Gazette annual subscriptions.
Upon endorsing Walker the third time for governor, that is what the Gazette meant when they asked voters to re-elect him to finish the job.
Just more divide and conquer. Watch it:
On a separate note but related directly to the Gazette's support for cutting local fire and police compensation, the newspaper knows the city of Janesville gave away most of its future growth in assessed tax value to wealthy developers and city hall insiders for the next 20 to 25 years. They know the only political fix to flat-line the city budget for the short-term is by depressing public employee wages and benefits at every turn.
8 comments:
that should work....now we can make sure no one wants to be a policeman or fireman. maybe get more wisconsin people underemployed so that there are fewer people paying taxes....make the working class people pay more taxes...give all of our state land to walker supporters.. really we won't have any extra money to go camping or on vacations at all. we will all need third jobs just to buy food.
Walker is the worst thing that has happened to WI in many decades. The fact that he was the first one laughed off the presidential run should give his supporters cause for pause, not applause.
I suspect that the Janesville Gazette is not the only Wisconsin newspaper that is spreading such propaganda. Such newspapers are a disgrace to investigative journalism and are a contributing factor to the decline of what was once a great state.
Of all the hardened issues they could have ranted about, they pick the absolute worst one, take the wrong side and then relight the inferno.
What on earth compelled them to write such an awful unforgivable editorial? It has to be blind allegiance to the right-wing agenda.
It would be interesting to know who owns this rag, and if they contributed to Snotties campaign of terror on Wisconsin.
The Gazette has been owned by the Bliss family (Bliss Com) for generations. CEO Skip Bliss is a board member of the WMC.
The interesting thing here is the Janesville Gazette has always tried to maintain and get away with political duality in their editorials.
Editorials authored by WMC-board member "conservative" Bliss were expected to be rightwing engineered authoritarian talking points and GOP candidate endorsements. Editorials written by the "Gazette Editorial Staff" have been understood to be written by the newspaper’s self-described “liberal media” opinion writers and moderate conservatives at the worst. This "staff editorial" obviously changes that perception.
I used to work for the Gazette Corp. back in the 1980s. This embarrasses the heck out of me. Just shows how many of the Gazette staff are out of touch with their readers and the rest of the State.
With this editorial, the Gazette leaves NO doubts as to the source of their always Pro-Walker news "coverage" since 2010. When the local newspaper goes on record calling those teachers who protested against Act 10 "rabid dogs", what kind of future will any young teacher have teaching in Janesville?
With the hateful sentiments towards all public employees, especially Janesville teachers expressed in this editorial, I think there should be no DOUBT that the Gazette was an active participant in the inclusion of an extremely VILE anti-teacher insert into about 10,000 Sunday newspapers back in 2012. The Gazette has always denied that they were a part of that hateful teacher bashing, but the similarity between the editorial and the vile 2012 attack on Janesville teachers in striking.
Teachers have been fleeing the Janesville school district in droves since Act 10. As news of this editorial spreads across Wisconsin and the likely complicity of the Gazette in the vile attacks on teachers in 2012, I predict that very few young teachers will accept a teaching position in Janesville knowing that the local newspaper is so hateful of them and provides a reliable media platform to encourage HATRED of teachers in Janesville.
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