Growing radiation dangers in Japan

By The Last Word Staff

 - 

Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:42 PM EDT

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

There's been another set-back at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant as officials fear a reactor core may be leaking. Two workers were rushed to the hospital for skin burns from water at reactor 3.
Japanese officials released pictures from inside the plant of the people being called the "Fukushima 50." Plant workers rotate into the plant in groups of that number. In one hour, they are exposed to more radiation than a typical nuclear plant worker is exposed to their entire career.

Triangle Shirtwaist fire, 100 years later

Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Mario Tama/Getty Images

By Sarah Muller

 - 

Fri Mar 25, 2011 4:47 PM EDT

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory fire serves as a reminder of why unions exist to protect workers. Today marks the 100th anniversary of the incident in New York City, which killed 146 immigrant workers within minutes, most of them young women. It was one of the biggest disasters since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
Garment workers were locked into the sweatshop during their shifts. Owners of the building basically did it so workers couldn’t take breaks. But when a fire broke out, they were unable to escape. New Yorkers watched in horror from below as workers leapt to their deaths from the high-rise above.
The fire at Triangle Waist Company sparked a massive overhaul of the labor code. New York State also adopted new fire safety laws that served as a model for the whole country.

NEAR CLOSING TIME ON MARCH 25, 1911,

a fire broke out at the Triangle Waist Factory. Within 18 minutes, 146 people were dead as a result of the fire.

---

The ILR School Kheel Center is honoring the 100 year anniversary of the fire with a redesign of this well-known resource, including many new and updated materials.

Newly Discovered: Names of six previously unidentified victims.

LEARN ABOUT THE FIRE

• Read the story of the fire
• Review original text documents
• Listen to and read interviews of survivors and witnesses
• View photographs and illustrations

GAIN PERSPECTIVE

• View a timeline of events
• Explore a model of the 9th floor

RESEARCH FURTHER

• Find bibliographic resources
• High school students: Get tips on using primary sources

COMMEMORATION

• Remember the victims
• Learn about reforms and outcomes of the Fire's legacy
• Keep up to date on 100 year commemoration events

Voters' Remorse on GOP Govs

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

By Margaret Judson

 - 

Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:49 AM EDT

 The Nation's John Nichols and Katrina Vanden Heuvel explain why radical state budgets are causing voters to turn away from Republican governors.

Has the time come to 'recall' Gov. Walker?

 

David D. Haynes

March 22, 2011

"Is the JS editorial staff ready to issue a BIG apology to the working people of Wisconsin for its endorsement of Scott Walker for governor? Front page would be good."
This reader, and many others like her in recent days, is asking a very good question.
When we recommended the then-Milwaukee County executive to be governor, we had no reason to think that he would try to bust public-employee unions. Since his inauguration, Walker has displayed a strong ideological bent at times that distracts him from the work at hand: creating an efficient state government and formulating government policy to promote job growth.
He has, in short order, become the most polarizing governor in the country.
So isn't this a classic bait-and-switch? If so, why not "recall" him for his transgressions?
I think it's too soon to make such a sweeping judgment. And there are many of Walker's initiatives that we agree with. One example: His decision to try to close the state's chronic budget gap.
We've quarreled with Walker frequently over the years, and that hasn't changed. We've taken issue with him over a number of provisions in his proposed two-year budget, including a decision to cut family planning services for low-income families. We've disagreed with his effort to change siting requirements for wind farms. We think efforts to curtail collective bargaining for public-employee unions went too far - and we think that Walker played politics by exempting police and fire unions from the new collective bargaining rules, which will be a severe handicap as Milwaukee tries to balance its budget.
With big majorities in both houses of the Legislature, Walker rolled the dice and made a bet that he could push through a transformative agenda, albeit one with political overtones that resonate nationally.
Yes, Walker has been too ideological and too inflexible. A conservative I know recently observed that Walker may have made the same miscalculation as President Barack Obama - mistaking an election victory for a mandate for major change. The weak economy helped elect both men. Yet, instead of jobs, Obama spent a year on health care reform, and Walker seems to have made elimination of collective bargaining his mission.
That said, Walker's economic plan is solid. His creation of the new Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., a public-private agency focused exclusively on economic development, is sound. His effort to reform an out-of-control tort system was sensible (for the most part). And we think his cuts to shared revenue, while deep, may have the silver lining of forcing local governments to try harder to find efficiencies through shared services and consolidation. That's long overdue.
"If there is one thing Walker has shown in his tenure as county executive, it is an abiding intolerance for the failures of business as usual," we wrote in October. "The persisting dysfunction in Milwaukee County is not of Walker's making and arguably - with tight-fisted stewardship - is better than it was before he took office."
We still believe that. And we believe that it's far too early to predict the ramifications of Walker's agenda. Recall efforts now under way seem to be built more on emotion than on sober judgment. Walker's opponents argue that the loss of collective bargaining for public employees trumps everything.
We disagree. One issue - even a policy disagreement as large as this one - shouldn't lead to recall.
Our recommendation - like any piece of commentary - was based on what we knew at the time we published it. We know more now, but not enough to invalidate our judgment of last October. It's better to wait and evaluate Walker and legislators at the appointed time - the next election - when we'll have more information and more time to digest it.
We don't plan to "recall" our recommendation. But if there is a recall election next year, we, just like voters, will have a decision to make.

Special Section: Ongoing coverage of Gov. Scott Walker's controversial budget-repair bill and the battle over the 2011-'13 state budget

Snyder quickly falls out of favor

 

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Over the last few weeks we've found that voters in Ohio and Wisconsin have quickly soured on their new Republican Governors, John Kasich and Scott Walker respectively. But Michigan's Rick Snyder wasn't like Kasich and Walker. He campaigned as a moderate and won by 18 points in a state bluer than either Ohio or Wisconsin while his counterparts were just squeaking by in their races. You would think that even if Snyder's popularity has fallen after two months in office it hasn't fallen as far as Kasich and Walker's.

Think again. Snyder actually now has the worst numbers of this new trio of GOP Governors, with only 33% of voters approving of him to 50% who disapprove. And despite his overwhelming victory last fall voters now say that if they could do it over they'd pick Virg Bernero over Snyder by a 47-45 margin. Snyder's current status is definitely emblematic of the adage that the higher you climb the farther you fall.

What's happened to Snyder? What made him such a formidable candidate last fall was incredibly strong support from independents and an unusual amount of crossover appeal to Democrats. Neither of those things has lasted. His approval with independents is now just 32% with more of them at 44% disapproving. That's a remarkable drop given that our final poll of the race last fall found him leading by 40 points with those voters. He's also down to just a 10% approval with Democratic voters. If there's any silver lining in his numbers it's that he does maintain strong support within his own party- 68% of Republicans approve of him to 13% disapproving.

Snyder's ability to win big in a blue state was due to his successfully presenting himself to the voters as a centrist but he's lost that image with a lot of folks over the last few months. In September we found 46% of voters in the state thought Snyder was 'about right' ideologically to only 26% who thought he was 'too conservative.' Now those numbers are basically tied with 37% judging him about right and 36% too conservative.

A few specific things are causing Snyder these problems. His signature Emergency Financial Act has been a giant thud with voters in the state. Only 32% of voters support it to 50% in opposition. Democrats are a lot more convinced that it's a bad thing (71%) than Republicans are that it's a good thing (53%), and independents split against it by a 45/36 margin as well.

Snyder's also earned the ire of the voters because of the perception that he's targeting collective bargaining rights. 59% of folks in Michigan think that public employees should have the right to collective bargaining while only 32% are opposed, and 49% of voters even favor a state constitutional amendment to guarantee collective bargaining rights while 37% are opposed to such a measure. While union households are obviously the most supportive of collective bargaining, nonunion households support it by a 53/39 margin as well so the voters Snyder is antagonizing on this issue go beyond who you might expect.

The one good piece of news for Snyder in this poll is that as far as his stock has fallen, voters don't want to recall him. Only 38% go so far as to say they would support that move, while 49% are opposed. In Wisconsin earlier this month we found voters in the state evenly divided on recalling Walker even though his approval spread of 46/52 was much better than Snyder's. That suggests that even though Snyder has fewer voters standing with him than Walker, the ones unhappy with him aren't as unhappy. That leaves more room for his numbers to recover once things calm down. It's been one rocky start though.

Full results here

Police remove, arrest 7 people at TN Capitol after union protests

'Season of unrest' at Capitol

5:52 AM, Mar. 16, 2011

Written by

Chas Sisk
THE TENNESSEAN

Seven people were arrested at the state Capitol on Tuesday after a lunchtime rally organized by labor leaders to oppose legislation aimed at unions.

Police forcibly removed all seven people from a committee room around 3:30 p.m., after a larger group rose from the audience and disrupted a meeting with chants.

The seven were charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors. They were handcuffed and taken to Metro jail shortly before 5 p.m., where they would be given the opportunity to post bond, said Col. Tracy Trott, head of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which is responsible for security at the Capitol.
Associates identified the protesters as six members of the University of Memphis' Progressive Student Alliance and Ash-Lee Henderson, an advocate with Chattanooga Organized for Action. Henderson had spoken at the rally earlier in the day.
The arrests capped a heated day at the Capitol that began with a rally on Legislative Plaza that drew hundreds of people from across the state and the Southeast. More than a dozen unions took part in the event to protest a bill that would strip the state's teachers union of its ability to negotiate contracts with local school districts and other measures that they said would weaken unions in the state.
The hourlong event was the latest in a string of rallies, including a march 10 days ago that brought thousands to the Capitol. The events show broad opposition to the collective-bargaining bill and to other measures in the legislature that would limit the power of unions to sign up new members and contribute to campaigns, participants said.
"It shows the legislators — it shows the public —that we're here and we're not going to go away," said Jerry Lee, state president for the AFL-CIO and an organizer of the event.
The rally ended with a crowd being turned away at the entrance to the state Capitol as they tried to deliver a response to Gov. Bill Haslam's State of the State address to the governor. Instead, many made their way to committee rooms and the offices of state lawmakers.
"I think the focus should be on the thousands of other people, union members, that were up on the plaza, asking for Governor Haslam and the Tennessee General Assembly to create quality jobs," said Mary Mancini, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action, one of the rally's organizers.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said in a statement that the legislature "will not be intimidated by nomadic bands of professional agitators on spring break bent on disruption."
"We talk through our differences here," Ramsey said. "Tennessee is not Wisconsin."

Largest weekday rally

The lunchtime rally appeared to be the biggest weekday event so far by groups opposed to the legislature's union legislation.
Members of most major unions were clearly present in the crowd, but the event also drew student groups and civil-rights activists from around the state.
"I'm part of a family that believes, if you see a good fight, you get in it," said Kwame Lillard, 71, a retired environmental engineer from Bordeaux. "We're going to create a new generation of young people who will move us much higher in the civil-rights movement and the union."
Later, about three dozen college-age people stood up in the audience of a Senate Commerce Committee meeting and began shouting chants at lawmakers.
Other activists joined in, but after about 20 minutes the crowd began to dwindle, leaving only a smaller core group that shouted questions at senators who remained behind the dais. The group indicated that they were disappointed that lawmakers, who were hearing legislation dealing with rural telecommunications when the protest started, had not taken up any of the union bills.
Police moved in, and seven activists locked arms and fell to the floor. They were carried out one by one to a side room, where they were detained for about an hour before being taken to jail.
Tamara Henderson, who identified herself as Ash-Lee Henderson's mother, sat outside the room until the protesters were moved. Later, she expressed distress about the arrest but supported her actions.
"There's no doubt to me that Ash-Lee is courageous," she said. "I think that a lot of people in Chattanooga would be proud of her; Tennesseans would be proud of her."
The arrests were the first in some time at the Capitol.
"We haven't had it in quite a few years," said Trott, "but this seems to be the season of unrest, and we'll plan accordingly and deal with it."

Rosie Dunbar shows her support for workers' rights during a rally on Legislative Plaza. Hundreds of people turned out to oppose legislation aimed at unions. / GEORGE WALKER IV / THE TENNESSEAN

A state trooper pulls a pro-labor protesters who had disrupted a Senate Commerce Committee meeting in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Seven protesters were later charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

ERIK SCHELZIG / ASSOCIATED PRESS

State troopers work to remove pro-labor protesters who had disrupted a Senate Commerce Committee meeting in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Seven protesters were later charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Hundreds of protesters join a rally to speak out against a Republican bill seeking to strip teachers of their collective bargaining rights near the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 15, 2011.

Iron worker Kenneth Brown of Chattanooga waves a flag at a labor rally outside the Capitol in Nashville, Tenn. on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Hundreds of protesters joined the rally to speak out against a Republican bill seeking to strip teachers of their collective bargaining rights.

Related Links

Teachers unions compromise advances in TN House

TN Republicans back off ban on collective bargaining for teachers

TN GOP lawmakers offer compromise on teachers' unions

Labor rally at TN Capitol

 

Busted: Walker lies about support

By Margaret Judson

 - 

Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:40 PM EDT

Gov. Walker is under investigations for grossly overstating the support he was getting from citizens of Wisconsin through emails.

AP

On February 17th his numbers were way off in a press conference:

"The more than 8,000 emails we got today, the majority are telling us to stay firm, to stay strong, to stand with the taxpayers ... while the protesters have every right to be heard, I'm going to make sure the taxpayers of the state are heard and their voices are not drowned out by those circling the Capitol."

Watch the whole announcement:
 

After those misleading statements the governor was ordered to release the emails and pay $7000 for legal fees in a settlement with the Wisconsin Associated Press and Isthmus (a local WI publication).
Since sorting through the evidence, AP is now reporting that Walker had no business telling the press that "the majority" was in  support of his labor-busting bill--sometimes emails were even pouring into his inbox at a rate of 5 -1 in opposition.

LePage: Tear down that wall!

The Maine Department of Labor Mural
In the summer of 2007, I responded to a Call to Artists sponsored by the Maine Arts Commission. The call was to
create an artwork depicting the " History of Labor in the State of Maine". After a reviewing process, I was selected to do
the commission. Along the way, I met some wonderful, and dedicated people. I also got an excellent education in
Maine History.

Below, is the 11 panel mural that was painted on 4 x 8 sheets of specially prepared MDO board. The panels were
applied to adjoining walls in the Dept. of Labor reception area. In total, the mural measures 36 feet in length, and is
nearly 8 feet tall.

The Apprentice : Here, a Cobbler trains his young Apprentice. In the background, are scenes from that era.
Lost Childhood : Child labor was common in Maine. They frequently performed dangerous tasks for long hours.
The Textile Workers : Young women were often sent to the mills by their families, who could not, or would not
support them.

 The Secret Ballot  :For the first time, workers were allowed to vote anonymously in 1891.First Labor's Day : In 1884, Maine celebrated it's first  "Labor's Day", a day for the workers to celebrate.
The Woods Workers :A member of the IWW or "Wobblies" tries to organize the Maine woodsmen.

The 1937 Strike  :  Scenes from an unsuccessful strike attempt to create better conditions for women workers.
Francis Perkins  :  FDR's  Labor Secretary, and untiring labor activist, a Maine Labor icon.
Rosie the Riveter : Maine's version of WWII women workers participated as ship-builders.

The Strike of 1986 :  The   International Paper strike in Jay, Maine. One that still divides the town.
The Future of Labor in Maine :  A figure from the past offers a hammer to workers of the present, who are unsure
of it's value in a changing world.

By Tricia McKinney

 - 

Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:44 PM EDT

Maine's Republican Governor Paul LePage is at it again. First he told the NAACP to kiss his butt, then he said the worst thing the chemical compound BPA could do is give some women "little beards." Now, he's censoring art to appease anti-labor groups who are offended by the idea of workers' rights.
Today Maine newspapers are reporting that Gov. LePage wants this mural removed from the lobby of Maine's Department of Labor.
The Lewiston Sun Journal reports that LePage spokesman Dan Demeritt said some business owners thought the mural was hostile to business. A different spokesperson gave the Portland Press Herald a complaining fax from "A Secret Admirer":

In this mural I observed a figure which closely resembles the former commissioner of labor," the person wrote. "In studying the mural I also observed that this mural is nothing but propaganda to further the agenda of the Union movement. I felt for a moment that I was in communist North Korea where they use these murals to brainwash the masses.

For what it's worth, the artist says her piece is meant to depict Maine's labor history. It's not hard to see why businesses wouldn't want to be reminded of events like a 1937 shoe mill strike or a 1986 paper mill workers' strike.  Especially as right now Maine union workers are protesting a Republican bill that would make it harder for unions to collect dues.
Gov. LePage also reportedly wants to rename conference rooms like the "Cesar Chavez" room or the "Frances Perkins" room so as not to offend businesses. So he's planning a renaming contest!
I bet you guys could come up with some great suggestions!

 

 

By Kent Jones

 - 

Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:58 PM EDT

Last night we briefly mentioned that Maine’s Republican Governor Paul LePage wants a mural currently adorning the lobby of the state Department of Labor’s building in Augusta, to be painted over.  Apparently the vaguely pro-labor mural disturbs the delicate sensibilities of Maine’s business leaders, who would rather not be reminded of labor at all, even in paint. Said Gov. LaPage in a radio interview yesterday,  “I’m trying to send a message to everyone in the state that the state of Maine looks at employees and employers equally, neutrally and on balance. The mural sends a message that we’re one-sided, and I don’t want to send that message.”  Message received, governor. Message received.

Since Republicans are exquisitely sensitive to the messages conveyed by the nuances of public art, it comes as no surprise that this fake (fake, completely and utterly fake) memo has been circulated amongst Republicans nationwide:

GOP's war on middle class strokes backlash

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wisconsin tax bill hurts the poorest

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Interview With Scott Fitzgerald

March 24, 2011

Show: FOX ON THE RECORD WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN>

Date: March 22, 2011>

Head: Interview With Scott Fitzgerald>

Sect: News; International>

Byline: Greta Van Susteren>

Guest: Scott Fitzgerald>

Spec: Wisconsin; Labor>

VAN SUSTEREN: The fight in Wisconsin goes on and on. As you recall, last Friday a judge issued a TRO, a temporary restraining order, preventing the governor's new collective bargaining statute from going into effect. That did not make the governor and the Republicans very happy. Now they are fighting back, filing an appeal yesterday.What happened today? Senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald joins us. The DA today has filed a response. Explain, in light of your getting snarled up in this litigation why not vote on the statute, you don't need the Democrats it is not a fiscal bill and vote on it and give them their 24 hours and be done with it?

SCOTT FITZGERALD, (R) WISCONSIN SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I think Greta, you know as well as many of us that they would find something else to file suit on. The judge basically alluded to that in reading off a laundry list of things she thought the Republicans did wrong in and around this bill of which none of it is true. I've been doing this for 17 years. We know how the Senate is run. We know how the Senate rules are put together. Everything was done correctly.

VAN SUSTEREN: I'll tell you why I disagree. I looked through the order. She said public notice of every meeting of a governmental body shall be given at least 24 hours. If you go back run the bill through, pass it. And if you say Democrats come up with another issue, they didn't raise it here and they can't keep raising it piecemeal. There are certain things that are done deals.

I don't that I is true. I think they are dragging you down in the weeds. I think you can move this much faster that way

FITZGERALD: The attorney general feels good about where we are at with the appellate court. It appears those judges on that three judge panel requested information from the DA in a very short manner. And from that I hear from our attorney general here in Wisconsin they feel pretty good about this.

VAN SUSTEREN: How can they feel good -- as many cases as I tried I never felt good about what the judges are going to do. They are so unpredictable. Jamie Van Hollen may feel good, but they didn't go use outside counsel you have to pay outside counsel because you can take free services from lawyers because that is a political gift. So if you feel so good why isn't he doing it himself? It is going to take forever.

FITZGERALD: The next step is many people are saying the Wisconsin Supreme Court. As you probably know there's an election April 5th, so there's questions there. But this is about separation of powers from everything we understand. The question has been raised as to whether or not a circuit court judge or an appellate judge certainly want to insert themselves, not necessarily in the legislation, but in the middle of the legislative process.

And that's something I think is most baffling to us, that you would have any judge throughout the state saying we're going to tell the Wisconsin state Senate and the assembly how to run their chambers. It has become a separation of powers.

VAN SUSTEREN: You let them define the game for you. You could do collateral. You could let it sit in the courts and -- you say it is going to be April 5th, is the election. You can have a committee hearing vote to have the bill and give them the 24 hours. This is March 22nd. Could be done by March 24th and have your new bill. You got your bill many you got your law. Let the governor sign it. And the secretary of state will publish it and you're done.

FITZGERALD: You know the legislature is always very tentative. There are so many different factors that out there in trying to bring this together. The judge said the capital was not open during this process. We know the protesters would come back immediately if we announced we were going to run this bill through again.

I think we are in good shape in court. Of that's what the attorney general is saying. We are going to let this play out. This will be done eventually. If not now it will be done in the governor's budget which will be passed in May or June. The fact of the matter is ultimately this will be law.

VAN SUSTEREN: We'll be watching to see was. Never dull that's for certain. Thank you for joining us.

FITZGERALD: Thanks.

House Budget Chairman Dismisses Social Security Reality: ‘That Just Boggles My Mind’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) appeared on MSNBC last night, where hestrongly rejected the idea that Social Security cuts should be on the table during current budget talks. “I’ve said clearly and as many times as I can, leave Social Security alone. Social Security has not added a single penny, not a dime, a nickel, a dollar to the budget problems we have. Never has. And for the next 30 years, it won’t do that,” Reid said. “Two decades from now, I am willing to take a look at it. I am not willing to take a look at it now.”
House Republicans, meanwhile, have stated their intention to suggest “bold reforms” for Social Security in their 2012 budget, which House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) plans to release during the first week of April. At Politico’s “Playbook Breakfast” today, which Wonk Room attended, Ryan was asked about Reid’s position. Ryan said that Reid’s stance “just boggles my mind,” before later admitting that Social Security is “not a driver of our debt”:

I’m boggled. That just boggles my mind…I would argue, even though,it’s not really a driver of our debt, it’s not a significant part of our debt problems, it would build great confidence, fixing Social Security on a bipartisan basis, because it would tell not only the credit markets that Americans are getting their act together, it would buy us more time and space with them, it would show that our government’s not broken.

Watch it:
So, in Ryan’s mind, one of the most popular and vital social programs in the country’s history needs to be tweaked not because it’s driving the debt, but because it would reassure the markets. But remember, if nothing is done to Social Security, it will still pay full benefits until the year 2037. After that, the program is projected to pay out 75 percent of benefits until 2084, which is close to full benefits once inflation is accounted for. There are certainly progressive changes that could be made to bolster Social Security and provide more support for those at the bottom end of the income chain, but Ryan’s desperate quest to take an axe to the program is entirely unwarranted.
Of course, Ryan’s ultimate goal, as explained in his Roadmap for America’s Future, is to simply privatize Social Security, even though such a move wouldn’t put Social Security onto a path to solvency, as money would have to be diverted to the costs of setting up private accounts. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has said that the Republicans’ 2012 budget would contain “cost containment goals” for Social Security, but without any explanation for how to achieve them.

Maine Gov. LePage Asks For ‘Shared Sacrifice,’ But Is Exempt From His Own Pension Changes

By Pat Garofalo on Mar 15th, 2011 at 11:10 am 

Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME)

Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME) has called for “shared sacrifice” when it comes to balancing his state’s budget. “If you want prosperity, you have got to make sacrifices,” LePage said. However, as Zaid Jilani pointed out, LePage’s proposed budget asks the middle-class and public employees to bear the brunt of filling the state’s budget gap, while cutting taxes for the state’s wealthiest residents.As part of his budget, LePage proposed raising the retirement age for public employees and freezing their cost-of-living adjustments. He also increased the amount that public employees are required to pay into their pension fund from 7.65 percent to 9.65 percent, which constitutes a cut in take-home pay for these employees. However, as Mike Tipping at the Kennebec Journal reported, the changedoesn’t apply to LePage’s own compensation:

One public employee currently paying 7.65 percent, however, won’t see an increase.
The governor has exempted himself…If LePage faced the same increase as state employees, it would cost him $5,880 over his term.

LePage, upon leaving office, will be eligible for a $26,000 annual pension. A Maine teacher has to work for 25 years to receive the same benefit. Adding insult to injury, the money raised from increased employee contributions won’t even go towards immediately shoring up the state’s pension system, but “will instead pay for other budget priorities, including $203 million in tax cuts.”
The increased attention on LePage’s treatment of his own compensation led state finance commission Sawin Millet to say, “I won’t speak for where [LePage] would be on it, but I suspect that he’s not aloof from, or opposed to, considering that idea for himself.” “I intend to have that conversation, given the stories that have occurred over the weekend,” Millet added. As the Lewiston Sun Journal reported, “previous governors have reportedly sought separate statutory changes to their compensation to match their budget messaging.”

Gov. Snyder’s Budget: 86 Percent Cut In Corporate Taxes, Regressive Increase In Personal Taxes

By Pat Garofalo on Mar 14th, 2011 at 12:10 pm

Gov. Rick Snyder (R-MI)

 
As we’ve been documenting, several conservative governors have proposed placing the brunt of deficit reduction onto the backs of their state’s public employees, students, and middle-class taxpayers, while simultaneously trying to enact corporate tax cuts and giveaways. Govs. Rick Scott(R-FL), Tom Corbett (R-PA), and Jan Brewer (R-AZ) have all gone down this road.Following suit, Gov. Rick Snyder (R-MI) has proposed ending his state’s Earned Income Tax Credit, cutting a $600 per child tax credit, and reducing credits for seniors, while also cutting funding for school districts by eight to ten percent. At the same time, as the Michigan League for Human Services found, the state’s business taxes would be reduced by nearly $2 billion, or 86 percent, under Snyder’s plan:

Business taxes would be cut by 86 percent from an estimated $2.1 billion in FY 2011 to $292.7 million in FY 2013, the first full year of the proposed tax changes…Taxes on individuals from the state income tax would rise by $1.7 billion or nearly 31 percent, from an estimated $5.75 billion in FY 2011 to $7.5 billion in FY 2013, the first full year of the tax changes.

As the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found, the practical upshot of Snyder’s tax increases is to place even more of a burden on Michigan’s poorest residents, who will see a bigger hike than those at the upper end of the income scale:
Michigan already has a regressive tax system, which Snyder’s proposal will only make worse. Currently, someone in the poorest 20 percent of Michigan taxpayers pays a tax rate of 8.9 percent, while someone in the richest one percent pays 5.3 percent.
In addition to trying to make an unfair tax system even more problematic for Michigan’s low-income residents, Snyder has also asked that the state be given the power to dismiss local government and appoint emergency “town managers” who could break contracts and “strip powers from elected officials.”

The Constitution Forbids Michigan’s Governor From Using His Anti-Union Power Grab

Michigan Main Street Movement Protesters March Against Gov. Snyder's "Financial Martial Law" Bill

Although Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) anti-union crusade has received the biggest headlines, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) is poised to sign an even more drastic assault on working Americans into law. Yesterday, the Michigan legislature passed a “financial martial law” bill that allows Snyder to appoint “emergency financial managers” with the power to terminate collective bargaining agreements:

Contracts & Collective Bargaining Agreements. The bill would authorize the emergency manager to reject, modify, or terminate one or more terms and conditions
of an existing contract.
After meeting and conferring with the appropriate bargaining representative and, if in the emergency manager’s sole discretion, a prompt and satisfactory resolution were unlikely to be obtained, the emergency manager could reject, modify, or terminate one or more terms and conditions of an existing collective bargaining agreement.

There’s a pretty serious problem with this power grab, however — invoking it would violate the Constitution. The Constitution forbids state laws “impairing the Obligation of Contracts.” This provision provides a robust limit on a state’s ability to dissolve contracts between the government and a private party. As the Supreme Court explained in United States Trust Co. v. New Jersey, state laws impairing such contracts must be “reasonable and necessary to serve an important public purpose.”
The bill does contain some language requiring the emergency manager and the state treasurer to determine that they are not violating this constitutional limit before a collective bargaining agreement can be blown up, but Snyder’s own budget gives the lie to any claim that an assault on working Americans is “necessary” to ensure that Michigan governments can pay their bills. Snyder proposed a massive $1.73 billion business tax cut even as he was arguing that his anti-union power grab was necessary to restore the state’s fiscal balance.
The consequences of Snyder’s actions could be stark. If a state is free to break contracts whenever they feel like it, than no one will agree to do business with the state. Investors will refuse to buy the state’s bonds, and state contractors will demand all payments upfront out of fear that the state will accept their work and then tear up the contract requiring the workers to be paid. Creditors will charge the state enormous interest rates to secure against the risk that the state will just waive its hand and make its obligation to repay go away.
In other words, Snyder is so determined to chip away at collective bargaining, he’s demanded a power that he cannot constitutionally use and that would drive his state into an even deeper financial hole if he ever tried.

Former Corporate Lobbyist Gov. Barbour Endorses Huge Corporate Tax Cut

Potential Republican 2012 presidential candidate Haley Barbour (MS) has been rolling out his economic vision this week, with his stated desire to “change the damaging policies that pose an even greater threat to our economic future.” One of the cornerstones of his economic plan is a huge cut in the corporate tax rate:

There is a global battle for capital, and right now, American companies are sitting on more than $1 trillion locked overseas because of our mistaken tax code. We need to unlock that capital so it can be invested in new plants, new equipment and new jobs here in America, not overseas.While we’re at it, let’s finally cut our corporate income tax rate as nearly every one of our competitors has done over the last decade.

Barbour envisions cutting the current corporate income tax, which stands at 35 percent, in half. “We need to cut the corporate income tax in half like the rest of the world,” he said.
Already, corporate tax revenue in the U.S. is at one of its lowest points in history, and the U.S. raises less in corporate tax revenue than many of its main trading partners. And the reason for this is simple: there are myriad loopholes, credits, and outright giveaways in the tax code that allow many corporation to pay little or no corporate income tax. Major corporations such as Boeing, Bank of America, and General Electrichave paid nothing into the Treasury in recent years.
The Congressional Budget Office has found that a cut in the corporate tax rate is an ineffective job creation measure, saying that such a move “does not create an incentive for [corporations] to spend more on labor” and “is not a particularly cost-effective method of stimulating business spending.” But Barbour may have another motivation for gifting a tax break to the corporate world.
After all, Barbour spent years as a D.C. lobbyist, during which time he represented some of the largest multinational corporations. Barbour’s clients have includedMicrosoft, Bellsouth, Lockheed Martin, Nestle, United Health Group, “and a bevy ofenergy, pharmaceutical and tobacco companies.”
As governor of Mississippi, Barbour currently presides over a state with a 10.1 percentunemployment rate. He also has a history of implementing regressive tax hikes, while Mississippi has been mired at the bottom of national rankings when it comes to education, quality of life, and business climate. But as we showed in this reportyesterday, Barbour is hardly alone amongst conservative governors in believing that corporations need lower taxes while the working class should pay more.

Gov. Corbett’s Education Cuts 10 Times Higher In Poor Districts Than Wealthy Ones

By Pat Garofalo on Mar 17th, 2011 at 2:04 pm

Gov. Tom Corbett (R-PA)

 
Gov. Tom Corbett (R-PA) — like so many other Republican governors — has proposed a budget that cuts corporate taxes in his state while gutting important services such as education. In his budget address, Corbett said that getting the Keystone state’s budget under control requires sacrifice, particularly from educators. “If government is here to share the taxpayer’s wealth then everyone needs to share in the sacrifice. Educators, Pennsylvanians await your decision,” he said.However, it appears that Corbett doesn’t believe in shared sacrifice, at least when it comes to the distribution of his education cuts. Corbett has proposed about $1 billion in education cuts, and as the Education Law Center found, cuts for students living in poverty are in some instances ten times as deep as those for students in wealthier districts:

In some cases, cuts per student at urban schools would be ten times higher than their wealthier neighbors.
For instance, Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget means the Steelton-Highspire School District would get $1,139 less from the state for every student, or $28,477 less for a class of 25. That’s even though the district has a poverty rate of 68.2 percent and already has a tax rate of 24.3 mills, the second highest in Dauphin County after Harrisburg.
In contrast, Derry Twp., with a poverty rate of 12.3 percent, would get $121 less per student from the state, or $3,030 less for a class of 25. Its tax rate is 16.99 mills.

“In general, the cuts fall hardest on school districts with the greatest student poverty,” the Education Law Center said. Steelton-Highspire superintendent Audrey Utley said that the money cut from her budget has been going towards tutoring and aid for “struggling, impoverished students.” Education cuts as deep as those Corbett has proposed are bad enough: to put the brunt of the cuts onto poor districts is far worse.
But as I wrote when Corbett first released his budget, Pennsylvania doesn’t have togo down this road. By ending a series of special interest tax breaks, Corbett could raise enough revenue to render his entire education reduction unnecessary. Just taxing the gas “fracking” industry could raise $400 million annually. Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation’s top 15 gas producers that doesn’t levy a tax on this environmentally destructive industry.
Of course, Corbett received “a whopping $835,720 from oil-and-natural gas interests [during his campaign], including his largest single contributor — Marcellus Shale driller Terry Pegula and his wife Kim, who gave $305,000 to the Republican’s campaign.” And evidently returning the favor is more important than ensuring that students who live in poverty have schools that serve all of their needs.