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The student news site of Milwaukee Area Technical College

MATC Times

The student news site of Milwaukee Area Technical College

MATC Times

The student news site of Milwaukee Area Technical College

MATC Times

Life after recall

 

On June 5, Tom Barrett (D), Mayor of Milwaukee lost the high stake recall election to his republican opponent Scott Walker. Walker became the first Governor to ever win a recall election in the history of the United States.  

I was shocked after hearing the news. Even after 1 million signatures were collected, he still managed to win.  How could someone who plans on cutting needed benefits for public workers win?

 Walker’s victory could be seen as a future crisis for the labor movement and a money producer for the rich. Walker’s budget plans directly affect teachers, public workers, as well as recipients of government benefits. 

I honestly believe that Wisconsinites are just fed up with the recall election. We are spending so much money trying to remove someone from office; we could have used the money to help our struggling economy.  

Face it; people should have every right to bargain on their wages. Getting good benefits is part of the reason why some people go after the good jobs  because it includes healthcare. This would help tremendously to eliminate or reduce people’s fears. 

Walker believed that state union workers had too much power and were preventing necessary budget cuts. Maybe  Walker will want the police officers to cut their healthcare benefits? 

How can you ask someone who is sworn to protect and serve to cut back on their security and protection after retirement? Or what about the cutbacks on the teachers, the people who are responsible for the welfare of your child while they are at school. Walker plans on cutting 1.6 billion dollars from school aid. 

He also plans on cutting 250 million dollars from higher education – that means us! These budget cuts affect college students, and as well as public schools.

 Why should we have to get budget cuts across the board when the income taxes are not being raised for the rich? According to a recent story on June 24, the Journal Sentinel reported two billionaires paid no income tax in 2010. Obliviously, the Republican agenda favors the rich. Money can not only buy an election but also make you tax free.

Walker is not all bad news; he actually plans on putting 5.7 million dollars into transportation, which could create jobs. But if there is nobody getting on the bus because the fare is to high then what.

 Then there is the healthcare issue. Walker wants to cut 500 million from the state’s budget. He wants recipients of Medicaid to pay a portion of their services. That could cause people to stop going to the doctor and increase the amount of untreated people.

 I voted on June 5 because I believed that our voices would be heard and I wanted to prevent the cuts from happening. 

Ironically, Walker still has regrets. There are things that Walker believes he could have done differently. 

According to a Christian Science Monitor story on June 14 with the recall now in the past, Walker said, “His single regret is not spending enough time explaining to voters the reasoning behind his budget-cutting agenda early in his term. I was so eager. I fixed it, then talked about it. In the future, I’m going to do both,” he said.  

But how can you correct a mistake when the damage is clearly already done?

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