The Truth About WI Teacher's Pay

The data on how much is spent on teacher's pay isn't hard to find, but the truth may bother WI's Governor in his bid to blame unions and collective bargaining for his budget priorities:

The average teacher's salary across all Wisconsin districts is $48,267.  According to the Census Bureau’s Median Household Income by State – Single-Year Estimates the average household income in Wisconsin is $51,237 -- a difference of $2,970/year which would amount to a 6% raise if teachers were just brought up to the average.

Collective bargaining hasn't made Wisconsin teachers rich, it hasn't even brought them level with the rest of their state, but their new Governor wants to impose a new regulation restricting their rights.  If you ask me, that's new government regulations when the GOP has been telling us job creation is their priority.

Actions speak louder than words.

If you want to dig deeper, or verify the data on teacher pay, check the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction link: "Statistical Information Center - School Staff and Salary Data." It's all there: the low salary, high salary, average salary, average fringe, average local experience, average total experience for staff in each public school district, and more, in spreadsheets you can download.

If Governor Scott Walker hasn't blocked access, that is.

Political Correspondent Thomas Hayes is a former Congressional Campaign Manager; he's a journalist, photo/videographer, entrepreneur, and communications consultant who contributes regularly on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community, who incidentally stands in solidarity with the citizens and workers in Wisconsin refusing to let their Governor's self-created budget "crisis" and new spending priorities be re-cast as a reason to undermine contractual obligations and collective bargaining agreements.

You can follow Tom as @kabiu on twitter. Tweet

Stock Market Gained 700 Points This Week

Finally it seems the stock market hit bottom.  After losing value since last fall, the market gained -- in fits and starts -- 700 points.  To me, it means the market hits equilibrium where the total wealth spent in the market has matched the price level.  Now, the President's policies have not entirely taken effect, but we can say that the efforts to save key Wall Street businesses set the ground work for this recovery.  To me we're all the way there -- recovered -- when the market his 10,000 again and that can happen.

President Obama's First News Conference: Transcript Of Statement By Obama

President Barack Obama gave his first press conference of his young administration Monday evening. Here's CQPolitics video summary:



Here's the text From WhiteHouse.gov of what he said to open the questions:

OPENING REMARKS OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA -- AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
First Presidential Press Conference
East Room, The White House
Monday, February 9th, 2009

Good evening. Before I take your questions tonight, I’d like to speak briefly about the state of our economy and why I believe we need to put this recovery plan in motion as soon as possible.

I took a trip to Elkhart, Indiana today. Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America. In one year, the unemployment rate went from 4.7% to 15.3%. Companies that have sustained this community for years are shedding jobs at an alarming speed, and the people who’ve lost them have no idea what to do or who to turn to. They can’t pay their bills and they’ve stopped spending money. And because they’ve stopped spending money, more businesses have been forced to lay off more workers. Local TV stations have started running public service announcements that tell people where to find food banks, even as the food banks don’t have enough to meet the demand.

As we speak, similar scenes are playing out in cities and towns across the country. Last Monday, more than 1,000 men and women stood in line for 35 firefighter jobs in Miami. Last month, our economy lost 598,000 jobs, which is nearly the equivalent of losing every single job in the state of Maine. And if there’s anyone out there who still doesn’t believe this constitutes a full-blown crisis, I suggest speaking to one of the millions of Americans whose lives have been turned upside down because they don’t know where their next paycheck is coming from.

That is why the single most important part of this Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is the fact that it will save or create up to 4 million jobs. Because that is what America needs most right now.

It is absolutely true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or economic growth. That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life. It is only government that can break the vicious cycle where lost jobs lead to people spending less money which leads to even more layoffs. And breaking that cycle is exactly what the plan that’s moving through Congress is designed to do.

When passed, this plan will ensure that Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own can receive greater unemployment benefits and continue their health care coverage. We will also provide a $2,500 tax credit to folks who are struggling to pay the cost of their college tuition, and $1000 worth of badly-needed tax relief to working and middle-class families. These steps will put more money in the pockets of those Americans who are most likely to spend it, and that will help break the cycle and get our economy moving.

But as we learned very clearly and conclusively over the last eight years, tax cuts alone cannot solve all our economic problems – especially tax cuts that are targeted to the wealthiest few Americans. We have tried that strategy time and time again, and it has only helped lead us to the crisis we face right now.

That is why we have come together around a plan that combines hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the middle-class with direct investments in areas like health care, energy, education, and infrastructure – investments that will save jobs, create new jobs and new businesses, and help our economy grow again – now and in the future.

More than 90% of the jobs created by this plan will be in the private sector. These will not be make-work jobs, but jobs doing the work that America desperately needs done. Jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, and repairing our dangerously deficient dams and levees so that we don’t face another Katrina. They will be jobs building the wind turbines and solar panels and fuel-efficient cars that will lower our dependence on foreign oil, and modernizing a costly health care system that will save us billions of dollars and countless lives. They’ll be jobs creating 21st century classrooms, libraries, and labs for millions of children across America. And they’ll be the jobs of firefighters, teachers, and police officers that would otherwise be eliminated if we do not provide states with some relief.

After many weeks of debate and discussion, the plan that ultimately emerges from Congress must be big enough and bold enough to meet the size of the economic challenge we face right now. It is a plan that is already supported by businesses representing almost every industry in America; by both the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO. It contains input, ideas, and compromises from both Democrats and Republicans. It also contains an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability, so that every American will be able to go online and see where and how we’re spending every dime. What it does not contain, however, is a single pet project, and it has been stripped of the projects members of both parties found most objectionable.

Despite all of this, the plan is not perfect. No plan is. I can’t tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans. My administration inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion, but because we also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression, doing too little or nothing at all will result in an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes; and confidence. That is a deficit that could turn a crisis into a catastrophe. And I refuse to let that happen. As long as I hold this office, I will do whatever it takes to put this country back to work.

I want to thank the members of Congress who’ve worked so hard to move this plan forward, but I also want to urge all members of Congress to act without delay in the coming week to resolve their differences and pass this plan.

We find ourselves in a rare moment where the citizens of our country and all countries are watching and waiting for us to lead. It is a responsibility that this generation did not ask for, but one that we must accept for the sake of our future and our children’s. The strongest democracies flourish from frequent and lively debate, but they endure when people of every background and belief find a way to set aside smaller differences in service of a greater purpose. That is the test facing the United States of America in this winter of our hardship, and it is our duty as leaders and citizens to stay true to that purpose in the weeks and months ahead. After a day of speaking with and listening to the fundamentally decent men and women who call this nation home, I have full faith and confidence that we can. And with that, I’ll take your questions.

Senators reach deal to cut economic stimulus bill to $780B

Senators reach deal to cut stimulus bill to $780B: “With job losses soaring nationwide, Senate Democrats reached agreement with key Republicans Friday night on an economic stimulus measure at the heart of President Barack Obama's plan for combatting the worst recession in decades. "The American people want us to work together. They don't want to see us dividing along partisan lines on the most serious crisis confronting our country," said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of two GOP senators who signaled support for the bill.

Officials put the cost of the measure at $780 billion in tax cuts and new spending combined. No details were immediately available, and there appeared to be some confusion even among senators about the price tag as floor debate continued late into the night.”

Sen. John McCain Shows Economic Stupidity, Again!

More from “The Washington Monthly”: “THE 'OLD' MCCAIN ISN'T COMING BACK.... As much as I'd like to ignore John McCain's "analysis" of the economic stimulus plan, he's not making it easy. For the last couple of weeks, he's been on all the networks, undermining the administration's plan, questioning the president's integrity, and making strange policy arguments. With no obvious Republican leader on the national stage, the media is still turning to the GOP's defeated presidential nominee.”

-- I agree with this must-read post. Senator John McCain's back to showing why he didn't win the election in the first place: a total lack of understanding of the economy and a lack of willingness to explain that he's misinformed. Yet, he's out there making stupid statement after dumb comment. Saying he fears a deficit, yet supporting billions in tax cuts, just to name one example.

Mayor Bloomberg paints grim economic picture for New York City 2009 budget

More at NY Daily News: “Mayor Bloomberg's bad-news budget tries to plug a $4 billion hole with less than $2 billion worth of spending cuts and new sales taxes - and counts on unions, Albany and the federal govermment to come up with the rest.
He proposed a $43.4 billion budget Friday for the fiscal year starting July 1, up $123 million from the year before - one that slices deep into the pockets of city residents and the ranks of city workers.
"Are we going to go through some difficult times? I don't think there's any question about that. But we have a plan to balance our budget," Bloomberg said. "It is serious, but I think it is manageable."”

Some Democrats Among Stimulus Skeptics - Why?

More at washingtonpost.com: “President Obama, who promoted the $825 billion package at the Capitol yesterday, says the proposal serves two functions -- creating jobs and stimulating the economy in the short term, and laying the groundwork for overhauls in energy, health care and infrastructure that would be felt for decades. But some administration supporters say that while they appreciate Obama's intent, the two goals are competing with each other, and that the package could end up missing both targets.

In testimony before the House Budget Committee yesterday, Alice M. Rivlin, who was President Bill Clinton's budget director, suggested splitting the plan, implementing its immediate stimulus components now and taking more time to plan the longer-term transformative spending to make sure it is done right.”

-- What I don't get is why some Dems are waisting time in doing something to solve this problem. It's almost as if some officials are afraid to 1) take action because it 2) may work, making Obama 3) even more popular. I don't think it's just the GOP who has jealously regarding President Obama. Meanwhile the economy continues to tank.