By Octopus
Who is Sean Duffy, you ask? He is a GOP representative from Polk County, Wisconsin, who cannot make ends meet on his meager salary of $174,000 per year. Yet, he supports cutting salaries and benefits of public service employees along the lines of what his governor, Scott Walker, has proposed (story here).
THE EMBED CODE LINK ISN'T WORKING. GO HERE FOR THE YOUTUBE VIDEO.
What do public service employees earn in the cheapskate state of Wisconsin? According to this (source), an average teacher earns $48,743, which ranks 24 in the nation. How do teacher salaries compare in other states?
Indiana - $46,640 (national rank 25)
Michigan $52,300 (rank 12)
Missouri - $42,750 (rank 43)
New Jersey - $61,830 (rank 4)
Ohio - $51,343 (rank 14)
So Sean Duffy cannot make ends meet on $174,000; yet he wants to cut salaries and benefits of employees earning LESS THAN A THIRD of what he earns. Astonishing! Now you know why Sean Duffy and the GOP are trying to suppress this video:
And the Republicans are playing hardball. The GOP contacted this website hosting service, Blip.TV, claiming copyright infringement. You can see page 1 of the complaint here and page 2 here - the usual intimidation tactics. A spokesperson for Duffy called Democratic criticism of this videotape “a misleading attack.” I call it "newsworthy" in the public interest.
More than an embarrassment, the GOP does not want you to know what hypocritical scoundrels they are, and the best way to annoy Sean Duffy is to post copies of this video on the Internet. So please feel free to steal the video along with my commentary and go viral. It will annoy the hell out of them. My closing thought for today:
Suppression = Oppression
7 comments:
Not a lot of commentary needed... one might think 175k would be some pretty good lana in Wisconsin...
I am pissed! As a taxpayer I am disgusted in finding out that our elected officials do nothing but reproduce and then whine about their financial situation!
So, he expects me to keep paying taxes so he can have six kids, get a law degree, buy a home, and afford a car?
He could have gotten a job as a high powered corporate attorney...a REAL job! But no, he wants to suck from the tit of government largesse!
His wife sits at home and writes...she could get a job too! Put her to work at Walmart...maybe if she didn't sit around the house all day they wouldn't have so much time to make babies!
What would Ayn Rand think of this?
A brief recap: So Sean Duffy earns $174,000 but can’t make ends meet; the median household income for Wisconsin was $52,103 in 2008. He wants to balance the state budget and have people earning less than a third of his income make the sacrifice. Does he practice what he preaches? From TPM, here is a rundown of Duffy’s finances:
“From the 2009 disclosure form he had to file with the government: his family of 7 (wife plus six kids) is carrying between $250,000 and $500,000 in mortgage debt; between $50,000-$100,000 in student loans; between $15,000-$50,000 in credit card debt; and between $100,000-$250,000 in debt related to the family vacation home, a cabin not too far from his primary residence in Wisconsin.”
Jeebus! The sucker is overextended. As a ratio of income to money owed, Duffy is carrying at least 3 times more debt than the Federal government (note: US debt is 93% of GDP). Maybe he should cut up those credit cards and privatize the wife and kids.
I agree completely that his hand is deep on the cookie jar. Top government officials like this can easily have their pay cut to $90,000, and still be quite well off and in the economic elite.
This overpay is pure waste: taxpayer handouts to a very rich man.
At least he is not like certain "public servants" in Michigan who shake down the state for close to a million in yearly pay.
Tao said: "So, he expects me to keep paying taxes so he can have six kids, get a law degree, buy a home, and afford a car?"
But that's not enough. He needs a yacht and a couple of African countries. He's just one of the working poor struggling to make ends meet, you know!
why dmarks, are you becoming a populist?
I always have wanted government to spend efficiently in order to get its missions accomplished.
In the case of so many top officials who pull down millionaire wages from the government, the "you get what you pay for" means you get a money-grubbing millionaire who has no idea what public service is. Look at all the corruption scandals involving very high paid mayors and others.
Of course, I apply this idea to all other government workers (pay what is necessary to keep good workers and no more) which will likely put me at odds with you.
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