Friday, April 2, 2010

Your Tax Dollars Not At Work - The Good Furlough Friday Edition

Today was Day 4 of the 22 furlough days that Scott Walker dictated I have to contribute to his gubernatorial campaign.

As I have repeatedly pointed out, every day I miss work due to these furlough days, it is another $600 in lost revenue for Milwaukee County. Just on me alone, Walker has now squandered $2,400.

Wow, that's real fiscal responsibility! He creates his own deficit, and then makes it even bigger in a bogus campaign stunt.

And as Walker's campaign logistics coordinator (is that a fancy name for chauffeur?) pointed out in the comments of last night's post, Walker is dipping into my check to help pay for his campaign. So far this year, I am out about $500, which really hurts considering my wife's severe underemployment, caused by Walker's inability to lead the County out of the fiscal crisis it's been in for years.

But don't worry friends, starting next week, I will be joining other county workers and hopping on the OT train. With Walker laying off people, and prompting scores of other workers to pull the trigger and take their retirement, most areas of the county is severely understaffed. This situation is, of course, only made worse by the furloughs.

But there are state and federal guidelines to meet. Since there are not enough workers and Walker refuses to hire more workers to bring staffing up to the bare minimum, the only other choice is to pay the existing workers overtime.

Presuming I survive the layoffs* that are coming, I should make all the lost money back in short order. Unfortunately for the tax payers, that might mean nothing, or worse than nothing, since he is still cutting revenue streaming while increasing this spending.

But at least I made good use of my time off today. I actually slept for a full seven hours. It was the first time I slept more than five in I don't remember how long. True bliss comes from a full night's sleep.

I then got a pair of new glasses that broke on me yesterday. Kudos to LensCrafters for their excellent customer service and standing behind their products and service. And I do so enjoy the first day or two of having new glasses, when everything is sharp and bright. It makes the whole world look new and fresh.

I also donated an unit of blood. They say one unit of blood can save three lives, which means I did more for Milwaukee County residents in one hour than Walker has done in the last eight years.

I also took care of some Milwaukee County First business, which was a good feeling when it was done, since it ended with favorable results.

To end the day was a thoroughly enjoyable fish fry with family and friends.

These furlough days are a lot easier to take when I know that some extra money is coming my way. It's almost like having another vacation day.

2 comments:

  1. Where did you go for your fish fry?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Last night, we went to the Venice Club in Brookfield.

    ReplyDelete