Times are tough, but some days just aren't built for cooking. Saturday was built that way, especially since it had seen an couple extra sawbucks reach the family fortune. You don't have to be a UWP researcher to know these things add up to pizza. Deep-dish. Two toppings. And, at the behest of some empty Hamms' cans, delivered. In the intersection between all things dinner and all things Quicklund, this is called a splurge.
Dinner, delivery, and tip came to twenty dollars even. As the double-sawbuck parted brief company with my wallet, I silently wished it an active, capitalistic future. 'May you churn through the local economy, from delivery man, to tire vendor, to florist, to tuba instructor to ribbon store'. But I could tell from the anxious look on President Jackson's face that this particular greenback was no patsy. A merry future of new faces and fresh wallets was not in the cards. This 20-spot expected to be grubbed by oily fingers. Or worse, to spend an eternity in some dark Koch Brothers vault, far from alone but creating no jobs.
The pizza, and the requisite gullet-washing, set back the retirement fund by nearly $26.38. You don't need me to tell you, that's what you get when you divide "Wisconsin is broke" by "Wisconsin". A $3.6 billion budget shortfall over a two-year period works out to $26.38 per month, each.
The answer then to "What's for dinner?", is, "Your children's future." Much like the irate taxpayer who single-handedly shoulders every city employee's salary, I could have saved your kids - if only I had mailed in that $26.38! Pizza sounded better at the time. Thank you. Your children had a delicious future ahead of them. With gardenia.
So the next time you hear "What part of 'broke' don't you understand?", you might have a good answer. Perhaps something to do with responsible people and reasonable sacrifice. Reasonable, that is, and shared.
Now the other side of this coin, is that even $26.38 is not trivial. For some that means giving up a lot more than a pizza. For a family of four that's over $100/month. This is not a sales pitch to just raise taxes and be done with it. The state budget is in trouble. Costs must be addressed.
The point here is, the public is being panicked. Everyone knows the economy has been bad. $3.6 billion is a lot of money. It sounds insurmountable. Panic does not reason. Panic is the intent. Panic is Scott Walker's ally.
When you next encounter the 'broke' theme, understand that you are dealing with a panicked citizen. Stay calm; break that big number down. Remember, so long as Wisconsin has cheese for pizza, she has dough for teachers.
Republished from the Kenosha County Democratic Party blog