“We’re Baaack!”

I rode to Madison on Saturday for yet another rally in the long series of efforts by thousands of Wisconsin citizens to raise their voices to be heard by Governor Scott Walker and his Republican minions. Once again the banners and posters were delightfully clever, but more importantly, they showed the breadth and depth of the fear and anger being expressed by protesters as well as the diversity of those raising their voices.

• “One Day Longer, One Day Stronger”
• “Stop The Attack On Workers’ Rights”
• “Our Nation Is A Union”
• “Care About Educators – They Care About Your Children”
• “We Are Standing (read that marching, rallying, protesting, recalling) Together For Our Rights”
• “Stop The Attack On Wisconsin Families”
• “Workers’ Rights Are Human Rights”
• “Minnesota Teachers Support Wisconsin Teachers”
• “Newsflash: Walker, The Whole World Is Watching In Disgust!”
• “I’m A Teacher; I Pay Taxes”
• “We’re Baaack!” (This one I found particularly revealing of the sentiments of everyone at the Capitol.)

Also in great abundance was the passionate mind-set that Scott Walker should and would be recalled. Many of the protesters against Walker are frighteningly aware of the multitude of issues that Walker is determined to quickly push through the Wisconsin legislature even without citizen input. Fear-provoking issues include: decreasing the general funding of education to K-12 school districts throughout the state by nearly $1 Billion; defunding Head Start, the low-income, early childhood school program; cutting Badger Care – the healthcare program that is a lifeline of care for thousands of Wisconsinites; cutting the Wisconsin Arts Board funding by almost 70% and placing control of the board under the Department of Tourism. It seems that no program affecting the quality of life is safe from destruction by the budget that Walker is proposing. 

But the people in Madison on Saturday, people of all ages and backgrounds, from all areas of Wisconsin, will not give up! They are educating themselves and those who were foolish enough to ignore their right to vote in November or who conscientiously voted for and were deceived by Walker, a candidate who revealed very little of the true ideological, political, egotistical agenda he had in mind for our state. It is actually difficult to list or explain all of the issues or significant aspects of life that are negatively impacted by Walker and his followers. The list is endless and continues to grow with each daily news release.

It may be a cliché, but Walker has definitely awakened a sleeping giant – a powerful, angry giant. This giant is roaring and taking action for the children, the families, the elderly and the disenfranchised throughout the state and by extension throughout the country. The giant is becoming increasingly conscious of the power of the people and it is delivering a forceful message: Beware, Governor Walker, “We’re Baaack!” and, United We Are Powerful!

Biblical Tradition of Tithing

I guess congratulations are in order for Mr. Henry Theisen, the chief executive of Neenah-based Bemis Company. I am certain that Mr. Theisen is a hard working, private sector employee who has probably worked for the Bemis Company for many years. That would certainly explain the 70% increase in his overall compensation package for 2010 to $9.69 million. (Business in Brief section Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 23, 2011) He may, in fact, be nearing retirement and, therefore, I am sure that Mr. Theisen is very relieved that his pension plan will be quadrupled from $825,922 to a nifty $3.5 million. Way to go corporate America! 

There is another top executive who was not quite as fortunate as Mr. Theisen. I’m sure we can all feel sympathetic for Mr. Gale Klappa the CEO for Wisconsin Energy whose compensation package in 2010 was actually 10.9 % lower than it was in 2009. Because of the reduction, his total compensation for 2010 was a meager $10.3 million. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 4, 2011) It is a bit puzzling as to why his compensation was less than 2009 since Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Energy, the parent company of We Energies, actually posted a 19.5% rise in profits last year, to $456.8 million from $382.4 million in 2009. How very strange.

Now I imagine that neither Mr. Theisen nor Mr. Klappa are a bit like the greedy public school teachers in Wisconsin or the other insensitive public employees who are trying to inflate their pensions at the expense of the taxpayers of the state. I am certain that they both try to lead lives based on reason and compassion. Therefore, I have a suggestion for these highly regarded Wisconsin executives that they may not have thought about since receiving the recent data on their compensation packages.

I think it would be a worthy gesture if these two decent, hard-working citizens, and possibly other similarly fortunate citizens of Wisconsin, would reflect on the ancient biblical tradition of tithing. Now, as many people are aware, tithing involves contributing 10% of one’s annual produce (maybe one of these hard workers has a garden) or of their earnings. Usually this contribution is considered a tax for the support of a church or the clergy, but perhaps there are some truly worthy alternate organizations that could benefit from a sum of money somewhere in the neighborhood of $1million.

One place might be the Neenah, Wisconsin Joint School District where that sum of money would come close to paying the combined salaries and benefits for Fund 27 which is the Special Education Fund as noted in the 2010-2011 Budget for the Neenah Joint School District. Another possible beneficiary might be the Glendale-River Hills School District where just slightly less than 10% of  the compensation packages for either of these CEOs would pay off the school district’s recently reported deficit. I’m sure the students and teachers in either district would be really grateful.

Since the federal tax rate for incomes over $373,650 is a whopping 35% I think this would be a real bargain for Mr. Theisen and Mr. Klappa. I am sure they would be able to write off such a kindhearted donation and really save themselves some money. There may even be other chief executives around Wisconsin whose corporate salaries have been enriched by Governor Walker’s largess and who might benefit from tithing to their local school district. It certainly seems like a real win-win situation for everyone. I hope my humble suggestion is helpful.