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1) No surprise [by Anonymous Citizen on February 15, 2006]
Just look at who these guys get their campaign funds from. MEA, BCBS, the usual cabal of tied together interest groups. It's no wonder reform never really happens without absolute crisis. The MEA threatens to kill any candidate who does not bow to their demands. All the rhetoric about the "race to the bottom" is smoke and mirrors.
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2) Rep. Cushingberry's "journal statement" [by Admin003 on December 3, 2005]
Rep. Cushingberry, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement:

"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:

I voted no because we should leave the issue of job conditions, benefits, compensation and retirement to the collective bargaining process. The problems of the cost of health care in the public sector are not only a problem for government but all commerce in America. The answer is simple. We need a single payer system of national health care, a modified version of the Canadian system with the opportunity to purchase private upgrades. This would eliminate the costly current system, cover the nearly 50 million Americans who are uninsured, and snatch back the competitive disadvantage American manufacturers suffer with enlightened countries.

Pensions should be left to the collective bargaining process. If people want to forego wage hikes in exchange for a fixed pension they should be allowed to so negotiate. The vagrancies and fluctuations of the securities market would certainly give rise to a desire to level out the payments in later life to insure a sense of security. For us to second guess the collective bargaining process is unwise, unfair , unduly burdensome, and deflects attention to the real economic problem in America today - a misguided war which is draining the life out of our national budget and causes rising interest rates, unconscionable energy prices, and a trade policy which exports good-paying jobs and allows unfair importation of finished goods which is a unfair trade practice under all our international treaties.

We need to concentrate on exposing these unfair activities, point out that we are competitive in the marketplace when there is a level playing field. American workers are productive! If this country does not act to discontinue these measures which allow subsidized foreign imports of manufactured goods and pilfered inferior patent and copyright infringed goods , these stop-gap measures we adopt will mean very little.

This is another example of the race to the bottom currently in vogue by the tax cut, wealth shift from poor and middle class to the rich crowd who seem to want to destroy all we have worked for to demonstrate the American dream. What do they want for our future? A nation of hamburger flippers who depend on foreign welfare to survive?

I continue to state that the key to our future is to educate adults so they can help their children and grandchildren. If we concentrated on shoring up the national pension system, and sanctioning unfair trade Michigan would do so much better.

I further voted no because it was suggested by a member of the house that I had broken a promise to support this bill. Well that is not the truth and I demand an apology from said representative or at least a writing, date and time when I so promised or a simple admission that he was misinformed by a third party, because there was never any promise made to him from my lips."

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3) Rep. Gonzales "journal statement" [by Admin003 on December 3, 2005]
Rep. Gonzales, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement:

"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:

Solving problems together is the best approach to the economic challenges faced by school districts and colleges. Key stakeholders have not provided enough input to this policy debate and we ought to do much better in this House of Representatives when we formulate new policies and systems concerning pensions and health care for school and college employees.

Every child is one of God's children. Each and every one of them should have the same chance to reach his or her full potential where they receive an education that gives them a genuine opportunity to pursue their own dreams. Without question, educators play a key role toward achieving these goals.

It is an outrage that through this bill's passage, you're left wondering why we should treat our educators with such economic injustice. I believe in reinventing government, but not with an unsound approach and a disingenuous methodology."

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