Yesterday a good friend who lives in southeastern Wisconsin sent me an email telling me how embarrassed she is to be from Wisconsin. The recent protests and the pathetic escape of the Senate Democrats to the nearby People’s Republic of Illinois have both angered and shamed my friend Margaret. She simply cannot believe that while she and her neighbors have been financially crippled over the past two years, these supposed public servants continue to grow fat while feeling no ill effects of the Obama recession. No longer basking in the glow of the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl victory, my friends on the other side of the border are positively beside themselves at the insane behavior of their public servants.
Another friend could only shake his head in disbelief. He wondered why Governor Walker’s “budget repair bill” has triggered so many clearly un-civil protests in the state capitol. As an accountant he understands that the Wisconsin Constitution requires a balanced budget and that union concessions would prevent massive layoffs. With the economy in shambles, isn’t it better to make a few concessions than sacrifice several thousand jobs? “It just kills me that we are expected to make so many sacrifices to pay for these people who don’t care one bit about us,” he added.
