Rahm Emmanuel's new proposal for Chicago Public Schools

[turk]

Nor did I see anything but incremential pragmatism in Obama's budget speech or numbers, but on the national stage of course it was met with derision by entrenched out-of-touch politicians who still are so clueless about reality that they think they can afford to be idealogues. Practically speaking, the budget crises that are now maturing in municipalities and states are giving us a preview of what we absolutely will be forced to deal with on a national level, and soon.
Colin

Didn't obama already disregard his prior budget team's recommendation (before the last election in November - Austan Goolsby and someone)? Now, he is doing a redo, and talking spending cuts while playing the class warfare card (grandma under the bus by repubs etc.). C'mon. That speech was hyper-partisan. Pragmatic if you're an ideologue yeah, sure. On the other side, I didn't hear about grandma being thrown under the bus and the social safety nets being trashed for a few billionaires. Now we're talkin' about tax hikes again already a few months in. Campaign B.S.. Nothing more. The tax hikes will effect couples making more than 250,000 a year. It's in the old Obama proposal. The new republican proposal simplifies the code and closes loopholes for corporate and individual brackets. Obama simply plays the "tax-the-rich" card again, with nothing new laid out. So, he's probably back in D.C. now, hopefully getting back to his "job", instead of campaigning for it two years hence.

[chitwnvw]

None of that would occur to the designated "troublemaker" here though, RIGHT? It's more important to get yer little sneering point in for some reason. Hey, you are intelligent. Just a little prickly at times. Carry on troublemaker. You are a political savant.

Are you drunk? You sound drunk...

[turk]

Not when I wrote that. I believe that was in the morning. If I posted some of the stuff I think about drunk, I would be risking losing all possible due respect. I thought about that recently. Actually, I like what I think about drunk. It's just not appropriate in this venue.

[chitwnvw]

Not when I wrote that.

You should get drunk. It makes economics and unions easier to swallow.

[turk]

I'm working on it. Funny you mention that. I spent the last two nights not getting drunk when I shoulda ( Rocky Horror Picture Show Reunion and 30 year anniversary ). But I had to drive. I'm a "virgin" but I have to say the people who do that are great people.

[turk]

Detroit's mayor is taking on its teachers' union. link

[ruckman101]

An orchestrated attack. Smells to me that ALEC may be a driver.


neal

[turk]

I think these guys are democrats. I don't know if that makes a dif.

[ruckman101]

A fiscal crisis caused by...certainly not the unions or public sector employees. The guv gets to flex it's new ALEC written law for the Mayor, will the locally elected be replaced by corporate bean-counters aka emergency finance managers?


neal

[turk]

A fiscal crisis caused by...certainly not the unions or public sector employees. The guv gets to flex it's new ALEC written law for the Mayor, will the locally elected be replaced by corporate bean-counters aka emergency finance managers?


neal

Since the Mayor of Detroit is a democrat will he get the same media abuse as Scott Walker?

[ruckman101]

Perhaps he will tack similarly to Vermont, and talk with the unions, negotiate, you know, collectively bargain. But he won't have that option if his authority is handed over to a corporate emergency fiscal manager.


neal

[turk]

Where's the money gonna come from?

[ruckman101]

Where did the money go?


neal

[turk]

Obama Motors : the union owned car manufacturer. Now go get one of those $40,000 garage heaters known as the Chevy Volt. It's gonna save the planet, like Neil Young's LinkVolt burned his garage to the ground.

[ruckman101]

Michigan Emergency Managers Target Elected Officials, Teachers
Last week in Michigan, an emergency financial manager appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder issued an order taking away all powers of elected officials in the town of Benton Harbor. Meanwhile, the financial manager for Detroit’s public school system has sent layoff notices to all the city’s teachers—more than 5,000 people."

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/18/headlines#6

'Michigan City Takeover Plan Criticized as Attack on Democracy
Residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan, voiced outrage Monday night after the city’s elected mayor and city commissioners were stripped of all power by an unelected emergency financial manager appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. Last week, the emergency manager issued an order saying the city commissioners have no power beyond calling meetings to order, approving minutes and adjourning meetings. City Commissioner Dennis Knowles compared Benton Harbor to a dictatorship. He said, "For the people we represent, they are truly being disenfranchised." Meanwhile, Rev. Jesse Jackson toured Michigan on Monday to help build a coalition against Gov. Snyder. Jackson said, “We don’t like one-man rule, except in Benton Harbor. We are setting up here what we are fighting there. Your vote for elected officials doesn’t count, and that is decimating democracy."'

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/19/headlines#7

Personally, I have never been fond of a top-down management style.


neal