The recall elections in Wisconsin were a continuance of a panic/temper tantrum that the PEUs of Wisconsin have been throwing (with strong support from lefty allies) ever since Scott Walker was elected governor in 2010 with promises to control runaway state spending. Though Walker did nothing justifying a recall (ie broke no laws), the PEUs knew they had to do whatever it took to throw him out of office. This is typical of Democrats when they lose to pull every trick they can to overturn the will of the people. The PEUs rightly worried that if the policies Walker enacted succeeded, the PEU's power over budgets and policitians would be broken. In other words, that one of the greatest threats to our nation's stability and functionality would be overcome. From their perspective, they were rightly panicked and tried any and all options to get the man either neutered (through Senate and Court recalls/elections) or thrown out through his own recall.
But the people of this Blue State (still support Obama by a good bit over Romney) were swayed by someone who promised to get their fiscal house in order, by whatever means. Wisconsin went from having a $3.6 billion deficit to a $154 million surplus under Walker, even as property taxes dropped, and teachers' jobs were saved. As I said in a previous article, results count. Sound fiscal policies get results and people, even some Democrats, pay attention to these results.
The Red wave of Reality is striking at the State level across the nation. I think someone on our blog pointed this out, but the biggest and least-reported news about the 2010 Republican tidal-wave (I prefer English terms to Japanese) was at the state level - wholesale conversions at the Governors' and State Legislators' levels from Blue to Red. This is expected to continue. The current Governor balance of 29 Republicans to 20 Democrats is expected to change to 33 Republicans to 16 Democrats (not sure what's the deal with the missing state, maybe an Independent somewhere) after 2012. Why? Because it is getting through to the people that fiscal discipline is needed at the State level. States can't print money and devalue debt to get out of their budget problems like the Federal gov't can. They must work their way out of it, and the people know, regardless of their policital outlook, that Republicans offer their best hope of getting it done. And in places, here and there, it is getting it done.
This, by the way, is another good reason (besides it not violating the Constitution) for all these responsibilities (Education, Health Care, Welfare, etc) to be transferred back to the states: They must get it done in a fiscally sound way (ie, there will be greater control than if it is done at the Federal level).
The two referenda in California are interesting: one occurred in San Diego, which is a lonely Republican bastion in California, and the other in San Jose, a typical True Blue Democratic municipality. Both faced PEU benefit obligations that they simply could not afford. And guess what? They couldn't afford it, so the people voted to cut their benefits in both cases. As someone says "that which cannot go on, won't". This should give all us fiscal conservatives hope that, when push comes to shove, the problems we worry about will be addressed, rather than bring the whole nation's/world's economy down.
Keeping my fingers crossed for November.
I will restate my opinion on the matter:
ReplyDelete"I think what happened in Wisconsin is a good thing. Lets hope that the politicians can take on the looming debt crisis:
'The Congressional Budget Office is again warning that the government's mounting debt problems threaten to swamp the economy unless policymakers move to arrest out-of-control deficits.'"
"'The national debt would balloon to almost equal the size of the economy after a decade and would swell to twice the size of the economy in 25 years, the CBO says, assuming existing tax and spending policies stay in place.'"
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/05/cbo-issues-bleak-long-term-budget-outlook/#ixzz1x4cqr9qC
Something must be done and done soon.
"A difference that I see between Wisconsin and the larger national scene is that in Wisconsin it was about the public vs. the public unions and in the national scene it is the public vs. the public. In other words, the American people are going to have to elect politicians that will take away all of their, the public, government benefits and handouts. 'Some astoundingly grim news on the "economic recovery" front: half of American households are receiving government funds to support themselves.' http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katehicks/2012/05/26/recovery_half_of_american_households_living_on_government_benefits
"Americans are going to have to be willingly to endure some tough economic hardships and privations as enacting the necessary reforms to prevent the coming debt crisis will mean a short depression. When I see the American people willing to give up social security, medicare, food stamps, WIC, the GI Bill, VA disablility, section 8 housing, welfare, and etc. Then we can know that things have turned for the better."
What happened in Wisconsin is a good thing and a sign of hope that there is some possibility to delay the inevitable economic reset. But I am not sure that one can infer from Wisconsin that the public is ready to make the necessary changes to prevent this economic reset from happening because in Wisconsin it was the public vs. the public sector Unions and on the national scale it is the public vs. the public. And there will be an economic depression if the necessary reforms are made or if the can is continued to be kicked down the road. And events in Europe will be a major driving force behind economic events here in America. So Europeans will have to have a major change of heart. (Spain is now getting bailed out.)
In November, I would love to see Obama defeated. But it is disappointing and does not bode well for America's future that Romney will probably be replacing Obama. Romney winning the elections in November is a false hope. Thins won't/can't change. America does not have a choice of where things are headed.
"Human societies come under the influence of great tides of thought and appetite that run unseen deeply below the surface of society. After a while these powerful streams of opinion and desire move the whole social mass along with them without the individuals in the mass being aware of the direction in which they are going. Up to a certain point it is possible to resist these controlling tides and to reverse them, but a time comes when they are so strong that society loses its power of decision over the direction in which it is going."
This time has come.