Sparky speaks

I didn't know I was going to be audited by the VC IRS. Since the first of the year without me changing anything with my employer I have an extra $15 being deducted in federal income tax from my pay check. Plus this little nugget... Congress Sneaks Middle-Class Tax Hikes into 2010 Withholding Tables Here are the 2009 Tax Withholding Tables: 2009 Biweekly, Single, Payroll Period, after subtracting withholding allowances Not over $276: $0 in taxes Over $276 – $400: 10% payroll tax Over $400 – $1,392: $12.40 plus 15% of excess over $400 Over $1,392 – $2,559: $161.20 plus 25% of excess ove

Folks, it's common knowledge there are sweatshops in Latin America and Asia and probably a few other places on the planet. Agreed? With that in mind, I don't think anyone needs to document every generality or observation one makes in a post on a forum for a rock band with a footnote or a bibliography. If someone said working conditions in German factories were good, I don't think they would be required to post proof. It's kind of accepted that they are. Just like the idea that sweatshops exist in third world nations. It seems when someone holds beliefs or attitudes that go against the general

Here's some more crap... Sweatshops in Developing Countries Abroad, exploitation is endemic in agriculture, mines, and factories producing garments, shoes, rugs, toys, chocolate, and other products. The same abuses are common — 60-80 hour workweeks, sub-poverty wages as low as pennies an hour, and no benefits in hazardous environments. Workers are harassed, intimidated, forced to work overtime, prevented from organizing, and fired if they complain. Global sweatshops are mostly in Asia, Central and South America employing tens of millions of workers. It’s also a children’s issue as the In

Another corporate schill Gov. spews bullshit... Gov. Christie Brags About State Layoffs: ‘Unions Are Trying To Break The Middle Class’ Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) has been gaining lots of attention at the moment for his attempt to strip collective bargaining from many of his state’s public employees, essentially busting their union legislatively. But he is far from alone among Republican governors in trying to take a pound of flesh from his state’s working people. Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), for instance, proposed a budget yesterday that holds property tax rebates for seniors hostage to be

How Walker’s Wisconsin Plan Allows For the Selling of Energy Assets With No Bids. By Mike Konczal, courtesy of New Deal 2.0 Have you heard about 16.896? The fight in Wisconsin is over Governor Walker’s 144-page Budget Repair Bill. The parts everyone is focusing on have to do with the right to collectively bargain being stripped from public sector unions (except for the unions that supported Walker running for Governor). Focusing on this misses a large part of what the bill would do. Check out this language, from the same bill (my bold): 16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state−owne

Here's another guy who has helped bring on the collapse of labor, as well as the economy, who should be in jail... Obama's Top Economist Discloses Why The Administration Refused To Support U.S. Manufacturing For the past two years, executives of domestic manufacturing companies -- along with their workers -- were in a daze, wondering why the Obama administration pushed no policies to counter the hemorrhage and the continued offshoring of American production. Now it is clear. Obama's outgoing chief economist Lawrence Summers does not think it necessary for the United States to mass-p

Remember, many of those benefits that are being attacked now were granted at the expense of higher pay. There were trade-offs. Public sector workers had to play catch up for decades in the area of annual income compared to the private sector. We have witnessed a deterioration of those benefits the past decade even before the current bout of austerity fascism that is sweeping the nation. My take home pay is actually lower than it was four years ago due to increased medical deductions, pay freezes and increased state and federal taxes, etc. I'm not building a 7.7 million dollar mansion in Tampa

Just look at the conditions in the sweat shops throughout Latin America and Asia to see what things are like without unions. The corporations which have relocated to these countries to exploit the cheap labor pool are sitting on billions of dollars in record profits at the expense of the American workers they have left behind. I guess all those involved in the labor struggle who fought and died for improved working conditions and wages the past century and a half in this country, are the ones to blame for that according to the sentiment of some here. Being an American History teacher who does

Walker Whacks Wisconsin Taxpayers With Bill for Wackenhut After Illegally Asserting Powers MARK KARLIN FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT BuzzFlash has been writing a series of articles exposing the Manchurian candidate that Scott Walker is, a man who costs taxpayers more than he saves, and whose goal is to be the errand master for his rich funders for crushing unions and privatizing public property in fire sales. Kudos to Rachel Maddow for uncovering just one in many of Walker's wasteful stunts that left the taxpayers paying the bill. In essence, Maddow charges that Walker -- the then executive o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFqrmlbp79k&feature=player_embedded#at=154

Why America's teachers are enraged By Diane Ravitch Editor's note: Diane Ravitch is a historian of education and the author of the best seller "The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education." (CNN) -- Thousands of teachers, nurses, firefighters and other public sector workers have camped out at the Wisconsin Capitol, protesting Republican Gov. Scott Walker's efforts to reduce their take-home pay -- by increasing their contribution to their pension plans and health care benefits -- and restrict their collective bargaining rights.

Collective Bargaining as a Human Right Michael Zimmer A slight diversion from the normal content of this blog, I’d like to take just a moment to highlight the protests here in Wisconsin against Gov. Scott Walker’s desire to eliminate most collective bargaining rights of most public employees. (Note: I am a state employee, but UW System faculty are not unionized). The Governor’s so-called “Budget Repair Bill” will require state employees to make larger contributions to their pensions and health care coverage, and will also remove collective bargaining rights except for wages, which would be

Both parties out to destroy labor unions and the working class... Workers Rights: How to Win in Wisconsin and Beyond by Shamus Cooke The eruption of protests in Madison, Wisconsin against a rabidly anti-union Governor and legislature has become "ground zero" in a fight that, on the surface, appears to be labor unions vs. Republicans. Digging deeper will reveal a conflict brewing for decades in American society that pits working people in general against an increasingly bold corporate sector. The side that wins the battle in Wisconsin will be empowered and the loser demoralized, affectin

What if someone in the Wilco camp who reads this forum puts the questions posed here together and gets someone in Wilco to answer them?

Don’t let Wisconsin divide us. Conservatives and liberals actually agree about the most important things. Conservatives and liberals actually agree about the most important things. In fact, most Americans – conservatives and liberals – are fed up with both of the mainstream republican and democratic parties, because it has become obvious that both parties serve Wall Street and the military-industrial complex at the expense of most Americans. In reality, all Americans – conservatives and liberals: * Want to break up the unholy alliance between big government and big banks * Want to br

Poco (Furay) Stills-Young Band Beach Boys (Carl,Dennis) Dan Fogelberg CSNY Allman Brothers (Dickie Betts) Eagles (Meisner,Leadon) Aztec Two Step Manassas Oasis

This should calm some of you union bashers down... 10 things you should know(about the so called Wisconsin budget crisis) 1. The deficit is a made-up crisis. Like most states, Wisconsin is struggling in the recession, but the state government isn’t actually broke. The state legislature’s fiscal bureau estimated the state would end the year with a $121 million balance. Walker claims there is a $137 million deficit — but it is not because of an increase in worker wages or benefits. According to the Capital Times, it is because “Walker and his allies pushed through $140 million in new spendin

Stop the senseless bickering and start looking at the real causes for this mess. You have fallen for their trap. Identify the real culprits and do something about them instead of the lame labor unions are the cause of our economic collapse bullshit excuse. If you want to take care of the people you can start cutting here. The war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan has already cost ONE TRILLION dollars. I could give you a million dollars a day since the time of Christ and you would still not have received a trillion dollars. And remember we gave THIRTEEN TRILLION to banks and investment houses b

Here's something else to direct your anger towards rather than teacher unions... More than two-thirds of corporations filing income tax returns with Wisconsin in 2003 owed the state nothing, according to a study released Monday. The information came from an analysis of data compiled by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, said Jack Norman, research director of the Institute for Wisconsin's Future, who did the study. "It is no secret to the Wisconsin business community that their taxes are low," Norman said in a speech at Milwaukee's Central Library. He repeated the presentati

Look, teachers are evaluated on a regular basis by administrators who follow pretty strict guidelines in the district I teach. Tenure is not granted until after your fourth year of teaching. Four years of observations, some announced and most unannounced, should be more than enough to determine if that "new" teacher should be granted tenure. Before that time, they can be released without any recourse and several are released every year in my district. They get their layoff notice and are sent home with little or no help from the union. Once a teacher is granted tenure he or she cannot be dismi

And you are competent, educated and employed because you were taught by teachers who motivated and inspired you.

I recall people getting pissed off at teachers when we were making 10 grand a year while the rest of the professional work force was making three to four times that. I know, I was one of them, pulling in a whopping 9 grand a year and being threatened with jail if I went on strike. Everyone is quick to blame teacher unions for what they have gained by standing up for their rights and fighting for due process throughout the years. We have contributed large sums of money into our pension funds and we plan on getting what is rightfully ours when we retire. My state has underfunded their share of t

Had tickets to see Badfinger back in the early 70's but a snowstorm and a sick Pete Ham canceled the show. It was never rescheduled.

I use these on my Martin acoustics. They last forever and sound great... http://store.daddario.com/category/145811/EXP16_Light_12-53