Is Bankruptcy on the Horizon for Your City?

Salad Days of the Public Sector are Over

I confess I'm a little worried about my own local town. The screwballs on the County Board of Supervisors think the taxpayers are a money tree. First they expanded the sewage treatment plant which was sensible at the time because of the housing boom. It looked like Woodstock would be booming along with it. When the housing market collapsed we were left with a plant ready to handle triple or more the number of homes currently in the area, while the expansion plans disappeared overnight.

Then the county took an old Safeway building purchased over a decade ago and turned it into a massive human services building. Every time I go by I shake my head. There are 40,000 people in the county. That building should house the entire county government with room to spare. But there's a huge county building right across the street -- and more town offices a few blocks away. How much governing do 40,000 people need?

Last year the county bought property to expand the school system which a study showed we didn't need. Another study showed we didn't need a regional jail even the sheriff opposed, but that didn't keep the supervisors from committing one third of the funding from our county. Did the sheriff's opposition make a whit of difference to these porkers on the board? Heck no! They think they live in Fairfax and appear committed to growing the government exponentially.

Oh, did I mention the new courthouse? It's a huge multi-million brick building with two, count em, courtrooms. We already have a historical old courthouse and additional courtrooms adjacent to the jail. When my husband was called up for jury duty he never had to go. Apparently Woodstock doesn't have many jury trials. Well, maybe we can get more folks to commit crimes so the new courthouse will be better used. Oh...and the regional jail is in Front Royal about 30 miles away (Thank God it's not in Woodstock!) so the sheriff will have the expense of going to Front Royal to pick up criminals for trial, transport them to court in Woodstock, and drive them back again. What a great use of taxpayers money and the time of the sheriffs deputies.

I suspect that next election most of the supervisors will be booted over their irresponsible and expensive decisions. I certainly hope so. Give me a housewife or a janitor with common sense who knows how to balance a budget any day over the current board.

Balancing the Budget in Wisconsin

We're seeing in Wisconsin a microcosm of the country as a whole. There's no money and something has to give. With gas rapidly rising and people out of work, raising taxes will just make the problem worse. What Gov. Walker is doing is asking state employees to tighten their belts the way the private sector has been doing for a long time. My husband and I have family members in the business world who have lost jobs, seen their salaries cut and their benefits reduced. Why should public workers expect to be protected from the economic realities of life? And frankly, I'm sick of hearing about poorly paid teachers. I worked in a parochial school fifteen years ago and earned about $25,000 a year with a Masters degree. Believe me, it was a lot less than public school teacher. I'm not complaining. It was my choice and I wanted to be in the same school my children attended. There were teachers there who were single parents and widows among others. I never heard one word of complaint from those heroic women. These whiners need to grow up.

Below are links to some articles and a video about what Scott Walker is trying to do to restore fiscal sanity to his state. The unions should be helping instead of taking to the streets with their threats and bullying, a deplorable example for our children. Their behavior, unfortunately, is what you get in a welfare state where everyone thinks he deserves more from Obama's "stash." Sorry, folks, there is no stash; there are only taxpayers with limited resources and they're bled dry.

Governor's budget repair plan has merit

48% Back GOP Governor in Wisconsin Spat, 38% Side With Unions

Why Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Is Right About Collective Bargaining

Support Gov. Walker. You can take a survey on the governor's handling of the controversy in Wisconsin here. You can vote to support his approach in U.S. News' poll here. At present the poll is running against Gov. Walker which which may mean the unions have been organizing a response. Let your voice be heard as well if you support the governor.