Ryan Outraged, but not over massive Tea Party Overreach on Tax Exempt Status.

Rep. Paul Ryan is now well known for packing the most lies into one jaw dropping political speech, so

why stop there?

While trying to divert attention away from the tea party tax exempt scam, Ryan feigned outrage over accusations the hearings and the sad tea party stories of "intimidation" were nothing but a side show.



Under the false premise that only tea party groups were targeted, or that Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott gave the IRS a pass, Ryan tried to make the case that scrutiny of any kind is intimidation and should be stopped. That would be irresponsible but also their sneaky goal. But take a look at the chart below, and you'll see how spread out IRS scrutiny extended.

FreeBeacan: Applause rang out as Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) slammed Rep. Jim McDermott’s (D., Wash.) implication that the Tea Party and conservative organizations were responsible for their own targeting by the IRS Tuesday in the Ways & Means Committee hearing:

PAUL RYAN: I am going to deviate from my original question in response to what I just heard [lots of cheering].
PAUL RYAN: We had the former IRS commissioner Shulman who knew about the political targeting long before was Congress was told, and has since implied that they were responsible for the targeting because they chose to apply for tax-exempt status? So you are to blame I guess is the message here? 

No, that's Ryan's message here.

Besides the actual targeting, this should also be considered:

Martin A. Sullivan in a June 3 piece in Tax Notes, a newsletter published by the Tax Analysts group: “If there were a surge in the creation of potentially political conservative organizations in the last few years (that was disproportionate to the creation of nonconservative organizations), more conservative groups would be targeted than nonconservative groups even if there were no political bias among IRS officials. Looking at the makeup of exemption-approved groups tells us nothing about bias unless we know the makeup of the group from which they were selected.”

Here's what Lawrence O'Donnell has been saying for a long time, and is now getting mileage on Capitol Hill:

State Republicans Target Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Boots them from UW!

While Republican whine about the IRS tea party being targeted, they decided to do a little partisan "targeting" themselves, by trashing the First Amendment:

WSJ: Center for Investigative Journalism targeted: The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism could no longer be housed at the University of Wisconsin under a provision added to the state budget. The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee voted Wednesday on the prohibition. No UW employees would be allowed to work at the center, either. The center is housed at UW-Madison and collaborates with the School of Journalism and Mass Communications as well as Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.

Democratic Sen. Bob Wirch opposes the prohibition, saying the Legislature should not try to stop investigative journalism. He says, "That is just very bad public policy."

This amazing attack on a non-partisan organization that costs the taxpayer nothing is just another example of the Republican winner-take-all authoritarian style of repressive government we can expect to see. Here's the other side of the story:

We were blindsided by the action of JFC, the Legislature’s budget-writing committee,” executive director Andy Hall tells Romenesko readers. “Oddly, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism doesn't receive direct state funding. Its $400,000 budget is supported by private foundations, individuals and news organizations.”

From Jim Romenesko.com, the letter from Andy Hall:

Today I’m overwhelmed by messages of support from journalists and journalism educators, here and across the nation. They’re concerned that the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee’s action could have a ripple effect, limiting the public’s access to critical information that holds the government accountable, threatening the operations of other campus-based nonprofit journalism centers across the nation, and unreasonably restricting academic freedoms of educators to draw upon the best resources for educating students.

The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism operates in two small offices in Vilas Communication Hall — used by its four-member professional staff and four UW-Madison reporting interns — under a Facilities Use Agreement that requires the Center to provide paid internships, classroom collaborations, guest lectures and other educational services.

Republicans showed just how grateful they were for the center’s recent help?

The Joint Finance Committee recently relied upon our investigation into the reliability of GPS tracking of offenders to curtail the governor’s requested expansion of GPS tracking until the reliability can be proven.

Here's another reason Republicans retaliated:

jsonline: The center in 2011 broke the story about state Supreme Court Justices David Prosser and Ann Walsh Bradley getting in a physical altercation.

Radio's yabbering Cancer Stick Vicki McKenna, on Drunken Democratic Power and Vanquished Terrorists!

Having shared the microphone with WIBA's smoke saturated voice of "reason" Vicki McKenna, I know  her weaknesses. What you hear each day is a combination of disjointed ideas tied together with pure fabrications that make her sound in touch with her listeners, when in fact, she's struggling to fill her time slot with something...anything.

Her Facebook page is an insight into her stupidity. Yes, she's really stupid. For example, this false premise:

She would have nothing to say if she didn't make "vanquishing al Qaeda" up for her listeners. 

But the biggest lump of nonsense is crazy enough to make Ripley's Believe it or Not! With super majorities of Republicans in the legislature bulldozing their policies through in the dark of night, and a radical Governor who's first directive was to "divide and conquer" Wisconsinites, McKenna still sees the Democrats as the party drunk with power. Believe it or Not!

John Peterson: "Anyone know where we put the duct tape...?"

Pure BS and pure projection.

Spreading Vouchers State Wide Formula for Republican Losses in 2014?

It's only a blueprint, but the JFC isn't making many friends with the divisive and unpopular voucher program, passed in the wee hours to avoid the early crowd of protesters who eventually went home. 

Under the shroud of darkness, vouchers slipped on through. I couldn't be happier with this part of the budget, because I know affluent conservative communities in the state with top notch schools will be pissed at what this will mean for their kids and to school funding. This might be the one thing that could topple a few marginally safe Republican seats in the 2014 elections. Go for it:

Christian D'Andrea, MacIver Institute Education Policy Analyst: After more than two decades of vouchers, Wisconsin is finally getting a statewide school choice program. However, it will be limited to just 1,000 students - or one-tenth of one percent of the state's public school students.

Check out talk radios cancer stick Vicki McKenna's hyperbolic accusation and natural paranoid tendencies. This passes for thoughtful analysis? See pic to right....

Free market principles thrown out the door: Why fund schools that cannot survive on their own reputation and without taxpayer money?

An increase in funding, a move that should help schools that were struggling to operate with spending levels that lagged far behind the state's traditional public school figures. 

Me, Me, Me…Another excuse to duck educating next generation: Parents who decided to not take advantage of their taxpayer supported "free" public education, now want to freeload off taxpayers with a deduction costing everyone else $30 million. And who can afford a private school? This is another tax break for the wealthy, that may lead to a separate, class based system for the elites. Again, Republicans keep spending more, not less:

Parents will be able to take advantage of an income tax deduction for families that send their children to private schools. This program is estimated to create $30 million in deductions in 2014-2015.

Anti-voucher protesters not just liberal anymore; Conservative areas of state are now coming out against vouchers. Knowing that, the JFC decided to do their dirty work over night, away from protesters:

A crowd of approximately 50 attendees made their stance clear by wearing anti-voucher stickers and t-shirts at the State Capitol at the scheduled 10 AM starting time. However, their numbers dwindled as the JFC meeting time got pushed back later and later after a heated Badgercare debate earlier in the day. While a dedicated group remained and sung songs long into the night, a once-capacity crowd had thinned out considerably by the time the education motion was heard at 1:30 a.m.

Nearly half the state, voters on the losing end of a close election, were ignored:

Democrat members of the JFC laid out four motions related to education that would increase funding to public schools, special needs education, and disadvantaged students. All four were voted down on party lines 4-12. 

Walker Recall Anniversary Gift? Late Night Deals and Legislation.

Just a few last minute tweets...

Republican Voters Silent on Walker throwing their hard earned Money Away by Refusing Medicaid Expansion. Hospitals open pockets for taxpayer cash.

Do conservative voters think their elected politicians are making sound fiscal decisions, when its obvious they're not, and they're digging us deeper in the hole? There's a stunning disconnect.

jsonline: Republicans on the Legislature's budget committee on Tuesday voted to pay hospitals up to $73.5 million over two years to care for uninsured patients, but otherwise stuck with Gov. Scott Walker's response to the Affordable Care Act that rejects $119 million in federal aid.

Medicaid expansion solves the uninsured patients problem. State conservative tightwads are willing to spend and waste an additional $73.5 million over two years as a show of opposition to Obamacare. This is looking out for "the taxpayers?"

Accepting the federal Medicaid expansion would save the state an additional $340 million through 2021, the fiscal bureau has found. A RAND Corp. study released Monday found that Wisconsin and 13 other states will spend $1 billion more on uncompensated care in settings such as emergency rooms if those states choose not to expand Medicaid under the federal health-care law. The report found 3.6 million more people will be left uninsured in Wisconsin and the other states.

And what about saving lives, surely that would that change a few minds...never mind.

Based on research showing previous Medicaid expansions led to fewer deaths, the study estimates an additional 19,000 deaths could occur annually if the 14 states don't expand Medicaid.

It’s an open admission their plan won’t lower the cost curve for health care at all, increasing it instead for purely ideological reasons.

Democrats said the inclusion of the hospital payments were a tacit acknowledgment that a significant number of poor people would not buy insurance through the exchanges. (Republicans) agree to pay hospitals up to $73.5 million over the next two years in anticipation they could see an increase in uninsured patients visiting emergency rooms. State taxpayers would fund $30 million of that, with the rest coming from the federal government.

Can government function when you have lawmakers with this much hatred for it?

Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) said the GOP plan would provide people with "certainty." Obamacare "is like quicksand," she said. "We don't know where it's going to go. We didn't choose to make Obamacare the law of the land. We didn't choose that, but we have to deal with it. And it's going to get more complicated."

Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) said passing up the $119 million in federal money was "mind blowing." "I feel like this committee is about to commit fiscal malpractice when it comes to health care," said Sen. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse).

Republicans are just admitting that any promise made, can be just as easily broken...by them. That’s not what would happen under Democratic control.

But Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) said lawmakers need to be skeptical of the promises written into federal law … "To think that there's this sack of money out there that's going to treat us so nicely — it's not," she said. "We have no guarantees that this will be sustainable."

This is something we should talking more about:

Before the vote, two opponents of the plan were led out of the packed committee room by police after they briefly disrupted the proceedings. "Who pays for your health care?" one of the protesters asked lawmakers. "We do. We pay for your health care."

State Republicans execute Bush Economic Policy with Tax Cuts.

Retiring Guy's Digest came up with this graph showing how Wisconsin Republicans cozy up to wealthy donors, with tax cuts and borrowing, although they have tried to downplay the latter with some success. This is the same successful formula Bush to crash the economy and lower wages.

60% of tax cuts would go to those earning more than $100,000, report says. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/3/2013)

Isn't DNA confidential Medical Information? Supreme Court Decision Chips away at Constitution.

Taking someone’s DNA and holding onto it should be illegal, unless that person has committed a crime. DNA should be considered private medical information.

It’s nothing like a finger print or facial image. Maybe later they can clone the individuals and develop a nameless army of assassins made up of genetically lawless jaywalkers and speeders. Bloomberg:

FELDMAN: …Or why we should worry about the Fourth Amendment. “If DNA sampling was actually like fingerprinting, this argument might be convincing. But of course it isn’t. Fingerprints are a phenotype that reveals nothing except a random pattern that no two individuals share. DNA, however, is your genotype: the blueprint for your entire physical person. If the government has my fingerprints, it’s like they have my randomly assigned Social Security number. If it has my DNA, it’s like they have the entire operating system.” Noah Feldman in Bloomberg.

Will someone tell Paul Ryan, Government doesn't give us rights, it protects them!!

Rep. Paul Ryan always starts his discussions off with a false premise. Like the one given in this audio clip below; Democrats and liberals think government gives us our rights. The simple truth; Bullshit.

Based on his premise, Ryan wants people to go back to "natural law, natural rights," given to us by God. Ryan clearly thinks government is there to protect and serve business. Natural law would allow corporations to be sued out of existence; Ryan's idea of government is to protect businesses from the risks and consequences under "natural law," creating "access," "opportunity," "upward mobility," and of course great wealth.

The following is just plain scary rhetoric. I don't know how else to describe it. Mr. Full-of-himself "wants to save civil society." Jeeze. Why do I get the feeling our natural rights from God flow exclusively from Ryan policy? And who will retire this ego-maniacal madman? Wisconsin Radio Network:

Ryan says the book will reflect his beliefs in natural law, natural rights, and that the “role of government is to provide a quality of opportunities so that we can make the most of our lives,” something he says Republicans have not done a good enough job of articulating.

Just as bizarre; when asked if his book means a run for president:

He says it’s not right to “cloud my judgment with other personal ambition concerns.”

I want Domestic Tranquility, not Death Threats from Gun Owners.

The psychological change a person goes through once they have a gun is one of the biggest issue facing our civilized society, yet no one seems to want to connect the dots. It's all about attitude.

The next step our adolescent gun owners are going through right now? Threatening those who don't play with guns, values life, and want the constitutional guarantee of domestic tranquility. I'm pretty sure getting your head blown off  ain't so tranquil.

NBC: A threatening letter was mailed to President Obama that is similar to two letters containing poisonous ricin sent to Mayor Bloomberg and his anti-gun group, officials

confirmed Thursday. 

The text of that mailing was identical to the letters sent to the mayor and his gun group, which threatened: "what's in this letter is nothing compared to what I've got planned for you. You will have to kill me and my family before you get my guns. Anyone wants to come to my house will get shot in the face. The right to bear arms is my constitutional God given right and I will exercise that right till the day I die."

Bloomberg is the founder of the anti-gun group and has emerged as one of the country's most potent gun-control advocates, able to press his case with both his public position and his private money.

"There's 12,000 people that are going to get killed this year with guns and 19,000 that are going to commit suicide with guns, and we're not going to walk away from those efforts," said Bloomberg, adding that he didn't "feel threatened." 

Charitable giving to Churches; 32%. Charitable giving to the Poor: 12%.

Charitable giving always implies helping the poor eat and get shelter. But did you know it also includes putting money during church service?

According to this chart at Wonk Blog, the poor are getting way less.

Republican Rep. Andre Jacque goes after Life Saving Scientific Medical Research using Fetal Tissue. Jobs No Big Deal.

Let me get this straight, we're desperately behind other states when it comes to the emerging green energy industry, not to mention high speed rails promise of mass transit, so now we're about to ban important medical research in Wisconsin?

Republican tea party zealot Rep. Andre Jacque shows his cluelessness over cloning in the following statement.

"The only thing that is prohibited under this legislation is the tissue that specifically comes from a child who is aborted," said Rep. Jacque, who believes that would affect only a small number of research projects.

Sly likes to call him Andre Jac-off. So true. His driven ideological agenda sees life saving science as the enemy. WKOW's Greg Neumann:

Rep. Andre Jacque introduced his third piece of legislation this session to restrict abortion-related activities … Jacque's latest bill would outlaw the use of aborted fetal materials in scientific research. Rep. Jacque believes there is no legitimate reason to use aborted fetal tissue in any research or experiments.  But people who are in the bio-tech industry say that's not realistic.

Open for Business? Only the chosen Ones: This is a big money draw for medical research funding and Wisconsin "job creators," all of which would go away if Jacque gets his backward, stone age wish.

And if there is one industry far outpacing the others in Wisconsin, its bio-tech. "We were five percent ahead in job growth during the recession, while the state was six-and-a-half percent behind," said Bryan Renk, Executive Director of BioForward, a lead advocacy group for the bio-tech industry in Wisconsin … Renk says researchers with bio-tech firms and the University of Wisconsin worry jobs would start leaving the state if Assembly Bill 224 becomes law … stem cell lines that come from aborted fetal tissue are used by dozens of Wisconsin research firms, because they are well-established, with some being used since the 1970s. 

"If this language goes through in the State of Wisconsin, then all of a sudden you're a criminal for helping with influenza on an annual basis because you use that cell line?  That's the really chilling part," said Renk. FluGen Inc. is owned by Paul Radspinner, who also sits on the board of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Renk says FluGen could not continue its research if the legislature passes AB 224. "They would have to shut down," said Renk.

Jacque is not concerned at how this looks nationally, who gets hurt by slowing research, and who leaves the state. Jacque has his strongly held “beliefs” front and center:

Rep. Jacque doesn't believe his bill would force any businesses to shut down or leave the state. "I don't think so. I think if they would, then that certainly speaks very poorly as to their respect for ethical standards," said Rep. Jacque. 

Government Official Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke continues to Spout Anti-American, Anti-Government Nonsense, as he Seeks Reelection.

Milwaukee voters will have a chance next year to either accept the idea of a fascist authoritarian state of law enforcement, or return to a nonpartisan system of law in their communities.

Sheriff David Clarke is up for reelection. And if the past is any indicator, considering Milwaukee reelected Scott Walker as County Executive, we’ll continue our downward slide into red state rule with, if you can believe this, a fourth Clarke term. Heck, Walker has a 51% approval rating.

The following is nothing short of anti-American rhetoric, with a splash of authoritarian trash talk:

Dan Bice, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: According to KTVI-TV in St. Louis, Clarke told a group of sheriffs that government is the "common enemy" that is becoming increasingly intrusive and oppressive.

"This is not about Democrats and Republicans; this is not about liberals and conservatives," Clarke said in a news report on the talk. "Because the ruling class in Washington, D.C., sees us as nothing more than subjects … that's what is becoming oppressive, that's what's starting to become intrusive -- more and more intrusive -- and that's what is encroaching on our liberties,” he said adding government is the “common enemy.” 

The thrice-elected sheriff was speaking at the convention of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a right-wing group that named Clarke its "sheriff of the year." Also speaking at the event were several proponents of nullification and a representative from the John Birch Society.

We're now seeing law enforcement turning on its own government, as if they're not an actual part of it:

The sheriffs association is headed by ex-Sheriff Richard Mack, who has said he considers the federal government a bigger threat to the U.S. than terrorists. He has also suggested that the primary duty of sheriffs is to protect local citizens from the tyranny of the federal government. After discussing the low odds of being killed by terrorists and the various scandals in President Barack Obama's administration.  

Clarke then said: "Yeah, you know what, on an everyday basis to me, federal government is a bigger threat." in February on syndicated radio talk show hosted by Alex Jones, best known for his anti-government views and conspiracy theories.

On the show, Clarke warned of a "second American Revolution" if Obama imposed strict gun control measures by executive order. 

There is a clear choice for Milwaukee voters. Let's see which way they want to go.

More Savings Realized with Expanded Health Care Coverage.

It's pretty obvious already that health care reform has not only changed the way providers do business, but it may result in lower costs overall. But, thanks to Scott Walker, we're still pursuing the most costly and chaotic way to coverage tens of thousands of Wisconsinites. He really cares about us.

jsonline: A state health insurance program that provided improved access to care for adults with very low incomes in Milwaukee County sharply reduced hospitalizations, suggesting that the cost of expanding coverage could be partially offset by the money saved from fewer high-cost hospital stays, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin.

The study — published Monday in Health Affairs, a policy journal — found an increase in visits to clinics and emergency departments but a 59% drop in hospitalizations and a 48% drop in preventable hospitalizations.

Some conservative commentators have contended that people covered by Medicaid programs are no better off than people without health insurance.

Benjamin Sommers, a physician and health economist at the Harvard School of Public Health dismissed that contention, asserting that it is based on either ideology or flawed research. "There's now a pretty good body of literature over the past several years that suggests you certainly don't hurt them," he said. "You probably help them in several ways. You help their ability to access care. They are less likely to have major medical bills. Some of their health outcomes improve. And you may even reduce mortality."

Sykes belittles the little man, Rep. Robin Vos!

Everyone's talking about how State Rep. Robin Vos collapsed under the interviewing pressure of TMJ's Charlie Sykes. Sykes' questions got Vos to admit he was lying earlier in the interview.

Deficits don't matter, again? While Rep. Paul Ryan ran on the presidential ticket pushing a balanced budget, Vos is happy with huge deficits. Republicans love having it both ways. Hear that teabillies?

Republicans don't really care about deficits. Vos is acting no different than his fellow DC Republicans during the Bush administration, where tax cut deficits were were all the rage. How'd that turn out? In fact, Vos brags he wouldn't mind having a billion dollar deficit. Just amazing.

Here's a shortened audio version of Vos' spanking. How pathetic is it to know that Sykes is in total control of our state assembly.



Root River Siren has a nice piece on this.

Rep. Mark Pocan got the full Colbert.

It was a great, embarrassing and uncomfortable interview by Stephen Colbert, but Rep. Pocan handled it well.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

Back from my Vacation out West....

Republicans Okay with using Taxpayer money for Expensive Hospital Emergency Care of Uninsured.

The whole argument against a single payer health care system centered around the idea that conservatives didn't want their money going to treat somebody else. Socialism.

Fast forward to today….Sen. Fitzgerald and Rep. Vos are seriously considering sending taxpayer money to hospitals to make up for their losses because Scott Walker turned down Medicaid expansion. We're talking expensive care for the uninsured in emergency rooms. Those are the same uninsured that would have been covered. But ideology first, common sense money management...not so much.

The difficulty for Democrats is to keep up with all the Republican flip flops and contradictory policies. 

jsonline: GOP lawmakers are considering making state payments to some hospitals to help cover the costs of emergency room visits by the uninsured. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said lawmakers are considering making a cash payment to hospitals to help them deal with a possible increase in emergency room visits from the uninsured.

This is so completely opposite anything the Republicans would stand for; why isn't this a bigger story? It’s a horrible way to waste taxpayer money on the most costly treatment. All in an effort to stick to their ideology.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said Assembly Republicans are firmly behind Walker's Medicaid plan and are hopeful that Senate Republicans will coalesce around it. He said legislative leaders are discussing giving additional payments to hospitals with a disproportionate share of indigent patients, but there is no agreement on whether to provide it.

And of course the desperate hospital lobby likes the idea:

The Wisconsin Hospitals Association supports the federal Medicaid expansion. But Eric Borgerding, a lobbyist for the association, said that the extra money from the state could help make up for higher numbers of the uninsured showing up at emergency rooms because of changes in the state's health care system. "I think it's a positive step," Borgerding said.  
Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee), a member of the Joint Finance Committee taking up the Medicaid proposal Tuesday, said "It just shows that the administration is living in a fantasyland that is going to result in fewer people insured, the state losing nearly $100 million and the hospitals seeing more people in the emergency room," Richards said.

And more taxpayer money paying for expensive emergency room care. Like Robert Kraig from Citizen Action of Wisconsin said:

This would add to the $119 million state price tag in this budget alone for turningdown the federal health care reform dollars. “By conceding that hospitals will be damaged by an increase in uncompensated care, such deal would be an admission that Walker’s plan will cause tens of thousands people throughout Wisconsin to lose health coverage. This has been denied by the Governor and his allies in the Legislature up to now.”

Skills Gap Myth Exposed. Big Business wants lower wages and fewer workers.

The skills gap excuse is an old one. Below, from The Progressive, is a look at a recent study that blows the lid off this ridiculous excuse by big business.

Very much related to this, check out my "Video History: Failed Republican Policy" tab, where I have many clips from CNN between 2004-05 explaining just how bogus the "skills gap" really is.

Corporate America has come up with a clever rationale for the plague of high unemployment. The problem is the “skills gap” between the requirements of modern technology and under-educated workers, they claim. This flimsy explanation for persistent unemployment and falling wages is thoroughly dynamited by Prof. Marc Levine’s recent study of the so-called “skills gap.” 

The “ skills-gap” salesmen tell us that we are faced with “structural unemployment” caused by the “mismatch” between the demands of modern technology and the inadequate skills of today’s workforce. Former Bucyrus International CEO Tim Sullivan issued the kind of explanation that we now hear across the nation: “We don’t have a jobs crisis in Milwaukee, we have an education crisis.” 

The blame-the-worker mentality lurking behind the “ skills gap” thesis was more explicitly laid out by PIMCO hedge fund owner Bill Gross, who declared, “Our labor force is too expensive and poorly educated for today’s marketplace.”

Some facts:

Fully 58% of all new jobs created since 2010 pay between $7.69 and $13.83 an hour.  
WAGES RISING TO ATTRACT SKILLED WORKERS? Wages Declining. 
MORE OVERTIME TO FILL THE GAP? Overtime declining. 
UNDER-SKILLED OR OVER-QUALIFIED? Over-qualified. 
FUTURE NEEDS: HIGHEST IN LOW-SKILL AREAS.  

You thought the IRS was Bad? See what Wisconsin Republicans want to do with our Bank Accounts and Judges.

Another Republican Big Government idea to control our lives for our own good. It's also a way to bring the unemployment funds back into balance on the backs of the unemployed. Would I kid you?

While Republicans on a national level are outraged the IRS has too much power over our lives, Wisconsin Republicans are doing just the opposite, by putting in place the prying eyes of their own big government. They want to look into and freeze our bank accounts.

Raw Story: A law is advancing through the Wisconsin state legislature that would allow the government to peer into (the unemployed) their bank accounts and freeze them if they believe the account holder has received overpayments in their benefits. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the co-authors of the bill insist that the changes would be for workers’ own good. “This is to protect the workers and lessen the burden on employers who are paying all the bills,” said state Rep. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown).

This is all about the employers and not about “protecting” the employees. They really think we’re that dumb?

Big Government Republicans have written something so breathtakingly intrusive, that the following section of the bill should damn well scare the daylights out of even low information teabillies.

The bill mandates that banks and financial institutions must hand over the private account information of any people suspected by the government of receiving overpayments. In the event of overpayments, even those caused by government error or computer malfunctions, the government would be able to freeze and collect from the accounts of people receiving unemployment.

I really never thought I’d see this day roll around. And this from the party outraged the IRS is asking for too much information?

And if you thought Republicans were really trying to put people work, try this unrewarding, draw dropping bad idea on for size:

(Currently) people receiving educational or vocational training in order to qualify for a job can continue to receive unemployment benefits past their original expiration date. The new law would stop those payments.

And if all this wasn't enough...you know business has already won the game when they are now demanding training for judges to rule in their favor:

The bill also addresses the concerns of businesses which say that the state has not done enough to train judges on how to rule in disputes between companies and employees.