@Bren -

Your extreme partisan bias shames you! Honestly, what do you object to in Walker's address?

Bren doesn't like school.

Liberals love trying to tutor us in their ways but are never willing to learn the correct way from us.

What Bren should have said was "Nearly a billion dollars OF USELESS WASTE CUT from education... THANK YOU GOVERNOR WALKER"

Let's face it, all that many, many, many of Wisconsin school districts had to do was drop WEA as an insurance carrier, and they balanced their budget!

Bren- You are free to make a check out anytime to your local school district. Unless you are prepared to do so, you have no reason to say anything.

Bren is a hater.

Bren - I don't know who you are but I like the way you think and love following your posts here. If you are on Facebook, send me a friend request. I teach in Racine.

@Ron: that's just what Bren needs - a groupie!

You are right on board, Bren. Scott says one thing, and does the complete opposite. Making those comments is a complete slap in the face to all teachers. Never thought my opinion of Scotty could get worse, but he keeps proving me wrong over and over!

In response to THE ANTI-ALINSKY
Useless waste? Ya i guess your right...phy ed, art, choir, althetics, and clubs are completely useless. You need to stop listening to Walker and do some research on your own. Teachers are NOT overpaid. If you want the best, you have to provide incentives to attract the best!

Tosafan2001 -

The US currently spends the most on a per pupil basis for public education vs the rest of the industrialized world, and yet ranks 9/11 in terms of educational performance.

mat.usc.edu/u-s-education-versus-the-world-infographic/

8 other industrialized nations are achieving much higher performance results for a lot less money than we are. Why?

Considering that 80% or more of most school districts' budgets are allotted towards paying compensation packages, it would indeed appear that public educators are in fact 'overpaid' in this country.

Otherwise, how do you account for spending/performance gap that we are currently experiencing vs the rest of the industrialized world?

Hoffa, The government spends alot more money on unemployment, welfare, and medicare fraud then it does on teacher salaries. Lets make people who can work get a job, lets work on stopping people defrauding the welfare program, medicare, and child care assistance programs. Lets work on getting everyone to pay thier taxes. Shouldn't you be more upset and outraged when you heard about millionaires/billionaire not paying ANY state taxes for years on end? Why are the people/businesses who aren't paying taxes getting a free pass, yet you want to punish the hard working people who educate your kids, who protect your life & property, who collect your garbage, who maintains your street, etc etc.

@Tosafan2001 -

A popular tactic that liberals like to use when losing a debate is shifting the subject, which is exactly what you did in your comment.

None of what you said changes the OBJECTIVE FACTUAL REALITY that we spend more on public education than any other country on earth, and yet are still only achieving mediocre results at best.

Again, please try to stay on topic and answer the questions that Hoffa posited to you.

If teachers are not being over compensated, then why are we spending more than any other country on earth on public education and still only achieving mediocre results? And why, given the facts of the situation, do you feel that the only way to improve our performance results is to throw even more money into public education than we already are? The rest of the world has proven to be much more efficient and effective when it comes to public education. So why can't we do better for less money like the rest of the world does?

@Tosafan2001: "Useless waste? Ya i guess your right...phy ed, art, choir, althetics, and clubs are completely useless. You need to stop listening to Walker and do some research on your own. Teachers are NOT overpaid. "

What districts, other than the ones that purposely and foolishly extended teacher contracts, cut "phy ed, art, choir, althetics, and clubs"? What districts that did purposely and foolishly extend teacher contracts, cut "phy ed, art, choir, althetics, and clubs". I would like to see the list AND your source.

And I didn't say teachers were overpaid. I said taxpayers can now cut waste, such as the extra 20 to 25% many, many, many districts paid for WEA's insurance plan.

Spin away tosafan. The facts back ME up!

Johnny- Same advice as Bren. Just make a check out o your local school district or just keep quiet.

Brian Dey...tell that to the Elmbrook parents. Keep denying the consequences of your votes. If you say it enough it must be true. hahaha.

Quite happy with my vote Johnny! The parents in Elmbrook should be more upset with the waste still prevailing in their district and take it up with the school board.

Hey Bucky- Write a check buddy to your local schools. Show us how much you really care.

Damn it Bucky - what did Hoffa say about making vulgar personal attacks?

You're also receiving a fairly generous pension, I believe. In that regard you're better off than a lot of folks who worked just as hard as you did.

However, if you feel that "disrespected", perhaps the best thing for you to do would be to forgo your pension and associated healthcare plan, if any, and rid yourself of the awful reminders of the lack of respect you think you're currently experiencing.

Or you could just get over it and count your blessings.

@Mary -

You never stated exactly how Walker or Act 10 disrespected you as an educator. Please elaborate for us.

If teacher's want respect then they shouldn't have participated in the fiasco of the past 1 1/2 years. They could have acted like professionals but chose to act like hateful hooligans. Sad to say a major portion of the profession chose to support and participate in this activity.

Please plce the blame where blame is due. Your union leaders and the actions over the past 30 years have turned a noble profession into professionals treated like general laborers. No disrespect is intended to teacher's in general, but to the ones that have put their union first and our children second. That includes those that were involved in the sick-out, former teachers in Racine that went on strike. Or those that took off the day before exams in partisan politics like Allen Levie, the union president Jennifer Levie, John Scott, and the 13 other teachers that thought it was more important to get Walker recalled, then to prepare their students for exams.

Mary, 39 years and still in front of kids daily in Racine. Stay proud. I've been watching these same people rag on us for over a year now. Let them have their bully pulpit. As they say, resistance is futile. Just click unfollow and enjoy your "generous" retirement. Many people still respect our profession. Since I am single, I will stay in the classroom a few more years. I love my career and continue to be fresh every day. I may teach in South Korea when I retire. They pay extremely well and will fly you over and back. And they love us. My European friends are beginning to laugh at where this country seems to be headed, as directed by big money and the tea party. Take care Mary.

Hey Bob McBride, if teachers have it soo good (pension/healthcare plan), why didn't you get into teaching? Too hard for you? You don't have the education? No patience? The pay isn't as good? If you think its such a easy job with awesome benefits, why didn't you become one? The truth of the matter is...its hard work, its long hours, its a lot of responsibility, and the pay isn't that great. Teachers & all public employees deserve a lot of credit & respect. They didn't cause the deficit, so why blame them. Blame the people who don't pay taxes, blame the people who defraud the state, blame the people who would rather be on unemployment then to actually get a job!!

Tosa, teachers are getting compensated for their work, just like everybody else. The nebulous quality "respect" is not part of the contract. If they're being led to believe that it is, then they need to take it up with whomever it is who negotiates their contracts for them.

They did the job, they got paid, they knew what they were getting into when they took the job. Complaining about the job after having already left it is the height of absurdity. If I was on here whining about my job, I'd expect to be told the same thing.

Mary Susan Howard,

If you want to walk a day in my shoes, please let me know. I will provide you a way of contacting me.

While teacher's do provide an essential service and deserve respect, so do most other professions. While many of us had to deal with pay cuts, decreased 401k matches and increased insurance costs, public service employee's have not had to deal with that until ACT 10.

Welcome to the 21st century. No disrespect intended, but you are just ten years behind the rest of us!

If your profession is tarnished its from all the pathetic whiny losers who spoke for you during the recall and drum beating at the state capital.

Watching grown adults behave like HATEFUL SPITEFUL IGNORANT CHILDREN really turned the tide against your profession, great job idiot!

Ron - Delta is ready when you are.

@Ron -

"I've never made over $75K a year."

Are you including your pension, health care, union dues, and other benefits in that number?

Ron, after saying you like to hear Bren's hateful rhetoric, I am quite happy to hear that you lost 1/2 your retirement. In fact, it made my Sunday even better - thanks Loser!

I'm happy.

"First ex gets half my Michigan retirement. Scooter is probably going to raid my Wisc retirement."

I'm missing the connection. Does Scooter think you are a bad lay too?

steve, When the teachers shut the schools and forced very young children to attend a hate filled Anti Walker rally I felt more than disrespected 2011! I saw the Mao Red Guard at work.
One teacher had his charges all under ten singing anti Walker songs! What a violation of freedom of conscience. What a conflict with the family values. What if families did not want their young members hauled to an anti Walker rally and coerced to sing againd the new governor to fill the teachers union agenda?

Too many human rights and civil rights abuses I saw those early days of riots and foul mouthed demos by greedy teachers who are some of highest paid workers in the state.

Children may be a captive audience in school but are not the personal political props and property of WEA or WEAC or NEA. Our children need our loving protection.

These teachers are disgraceful, the list is long for the reasons why but you hit on a good one. Never forget what they put us through. Every election remind yourself.

brian, One reason there was no general srike in early 2011 in WIsconsin after the Republicans won and passed a budget repair bill was the section that made the governor the boss if there was such a general strike. A Madison teacher said on TV he wanted a strike but it fizzled. There was almost no support statewide.
Why no strike after a big hooky day on national TV?
Maybe a teachers strike fizzled because Gov Walker would fire them under budget repair emergency measures. If there had been a strike the local school boards AND SUPERS WERE NOT IN CHARGE OF TEACHERS jobs, Walker was. The rookie Governor was determined to balance the books and get the state finaces in order without raising taxes.

The thought of there being consequences to a strike seemed to hold back a strike over loss of collective bargaining and having the state deduct union dues from all workers whether they wanted to be public employee or teacher union members or not.

FDR in 1930s opposed publc employee unions for the reason they were public and could wreck havoc on the public. And buy politicans.

@celador2....Don't forget that in Wisconsin, it is illegal for public unions and public employees to take any kind of job action, including strikes.

Yep, everyone.
How have kids been hurt? My school district started some new programs with the money saved by Act 10.
Who is not being taken care of in Wisconsin?
Please provide details to support your emotions.

Scott Walker saved districts from lay offs and he offered teachers an option to go into a state insurance health plan instead of the WEAC monopoly.
Also Wisconsin is one of the highest taxed states in the union. Social services are quite generous including health care. The poor get vouchers for cabs and thousands a year for child care, higher education. The list goes on.

Walker did stand firm on not raising taxes and capped property taxes. For that I am thankful.

The deal Chicago offered was declined. It was a 16% pay raise and 400 mil in benefits according to a Drudge report headline. In a city strapped with record crime and social degeneration, why pay that kind of money when it might go to community building services and even police.
Vouchers for private school,. charter schools are a solution that Chicago needs put on the table asap.

I'm not sure what the definition of "inappropriate language" is. It doesn't seem to include rude and disrespectful language. Why do some people always have to be "right." Why can't they see that they have one opinion and other people have other opinions. One need not agree but couldn't we and shouldn't we be just as respectful as we would be if our children were watching. Or, is this how people talk in front of their children? I don't know, maybe it is.

You forgot to mention that only 6% go on to college. And those teachers are demanding a 30% increase in wages!

I'm watching CNBC. Becky Quick just mentioned that Chicago represents what is happening in the US on many levels, including entitlements. Joe Kernen mentioned the need for Scott Walker's reforms to be considered in Chicago.

.

@Brian Dey....One of the things that is clear in all negotiations, is that you never back the opposition into a corner with no means of exit. You must realize that the more you demonize public school teachers, it will harden their resolve and there will be less willingness to compromise. You are attempting to force teachers and their unions into a corner with an outcome of winner take all. This approach is the wrong and will have unwelcome consequences down the road.

Your personal vendetta against teachers is severely damaging both your credibility and reputation. It reinforces your image as a right wing extremest. Some free advice, focus your attention on your business where your efforts will be rewarded.

@Lyle

Is a 16% increase for the worst teachers in America "backing then into a corner"?

@Lyle: Demonize? Aren't we jumping the shark here with your hysteria? Dey makes a cogent argument and doesn't need your dismissive "free" advice.

brian, I am sick and tired of teachers kidnapping children ,a captive audience and hauling them to the capital protests 2011 and to do recall workin Racine 2012. They should be fired for removing a child from school for their union's political actions. We must protect and nurture our kids! We can not trust this agenda driven group of WEAC operatives toeducate and not indoctrinate!
If ever there was an example of why competition is needed this is it--vouchers, Charter schools and pell grants need come into play far more as choices to this monolithic machine that has a monopoly based mostly in union dues that buy school boards and Democrats to do their bidding.

Who works for who? Schools boards do not work for WEAC, or if they do they need be fired and replaced by public servants.

@Lyle
You have proven yourself to be dishonest and pathetic, Lyle. You in supporting the CTU and their thuggery? How can you support their tactices Lyle?

Tying teacher compensation to their classes test scores is part of Obama's Race to the Top contest - yet you are supporting the CTU by saying it's not fair?

You argue against yourself, idiot.

We can all agree that Lyle is a pathetic intellectual wimp, and doesn't even have the guts to say that CTU is making a mockery of unions.

What's wrong Lyle, afraid you might get kicked off the marxism club?

Lyle- The demonize themselves. I've negotiated teachers contracts and 5 other public unions, as well as negotiating for the IAMAW and the company side. Non-public unions do not behave the way public sector unions do. They feel that they are owed something more than what we can give them.

Now you see why we need charter and voucher schools. The parents that opted out of the unionized public schools in Chicago will never have to have their kids not get an education because of union tactics.

Personally, if I were negotiating this contract, I would be deducting 1% each day until day 16, and if that didn't work, I would do what Reagan did with the air traffic controllers and those that don't show up on the 17th day, would be terminated. You would see how solidarity dwindles when they face the consequences of losing their jobs.

If you haven't figured it out by now, Walker and the Wisconsin reforms are working and the movement is spreading. The majority of the electorate is with me on this Lyle.

When Obama's former Chief of Staff won't tolerate it any longer, the public unions are seeing the end of their stranglehold on the taxpayers and our children.

I hope the teachers keep this up and the politicians hold their ground. It will require a radical event to get someone to reach up an pull the lever on that toilet.

Then, perhaps, we can get serious about helping those kids in a way that has been demonstrated to work.