Vermonter.com

IBM takes the money and runs. Americans, don’t you really feel sorry for IBM? Apparently, the feelings aren’t mutual. Here comes that great “sucking sound” again, of jobs leaving the USA that Ross Perot warned us about a few years ago:

Washington – Computer giant IBM plans to cut a “large number” of US employees in its business services unit and transfer their duties to India, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper, citing “people familiar with the situation,” said that IBM generally avoids public disclosure of layoffs and the number of US jobs being eliminated could not be determined.

It said that earlier this year, IBM sent notices of layoffs to around 4,600 employees in its software, sales, semiconductor and finance groups.

The Journal, citing an internal document, said the global business services group targeted for layoffs is the largest at IBM in terms of revenue and employment, with 180,000 employees worldwide.

The newspaper said IBM had 398,500 workers worldwide at the end of 2008 and 115,000 in the United States, down from 121,000 at the end of 2007.

IBM is one of the few major corporations to have weathered the global economic showdown and ended 2008 with 12.9 billion dollars in cash and marketable securities in hand.

Battlestar Galactica (the new version, not the campy old 70′s series) debuted it’s final show last Friday night, after a 4 year run. It was arguably the best show on television and ranks right up there with the Sopranos and many other classic TV shows. Now it’s gone and there isn’t much reason to stay home and watch TV.

Hmm, maybe that’s why people drink so much and frequent the bars on the weekend? Unfortunately, many great TV shows have passed on replaced by crap like all those so-called reality shows and a dozen variations of CSI and those other medical shows. All of which are about as enjoyable as appendicitis.
So what are we left with? The Ghost Whisperer (aka the “Boob Whisperer”)? Sorry, not worth the wait. Fortunately, warm weather is around the corner and it’s a great time to get our fat butts off the couch.
Can Tony Soprano and Admiral Adama do for the American weight problem what others could not? Maybe. With the crap that’s on TV these days, we may all have to just close the refrigerator door and go out for a walk.
So say we all!

On February 20 members of the Vermont House of Representatives voted 88 to 50 not to take a 5-percent pay cut. Fast forward in time and now there is a bill in the works that, if passed, will pay for a laptop for every legislator – apparently from the pockets of taxpayers.

During the debate about whether to accept a pay cut, most of those who spoke in favor of the cut insisted that in such dire times, when so many Vermonters are making sacrifices, that legislators should also make sacrifices. However, of those who voted against the cut, most of those who spoke insisted that they work far too hard for anybody to think they should be paid any less than the pay they already earn serving in legislature.

There is now a bill creeping forward, which if passed, will provide each legislator a laptop computer – apparently courtesy of Vermont taxpayers. House bill 385 is sponsored by four Democrats, all who voted against the pay cut. They are Ken Atkins of Winooski, Richard Howigan of Fairfield, Tim Jerman of Essex, and Kathy Keenan of St. Albans City. The following is the “statement of purpose” as recorded on the bill.

“This bill proposes to appropriate sufficient funds for the purchase of laptop computers for every member of the general assembly.”

If this bill comes up for debate on the House Floor it will certainly be interesting to know why the legislators promoting this bill think we all need a laptop computer at taxpayer expense when many taxpayers can’t afford their own.

To find out how your legislators voted on various “roll call” votes, votes that are recorded, go to www.leg.state.vt.us.

The author of this article, Scott Wheeler of Derby, represents Brownington, Charleston, Derby, Holland, and Morgan in the Vermont House. He serves this district along with Representative Robert Lewis of Derby.

Unbelievable. Despite a deepening recession and 100′s of people losing their jobs in Vermont, the Democrats refused a pay cut and now want Vermont taxpayers to buy them laptops. To add insult to injury, Democrats are also proposing new taxes to take money from YOUR pocket. I guess it’s ok for Vermont legislators to take your hard earned money but they certainly don’t want to part with theirs!

From the VTGOP newsletter:

Just 2 weeks ago, House Democrats voted against cutting their own pay by 5%, but now some in the Democratic caucus want you, the taxpayer, to buy them their very own laptop computer. See the text of the bill below. You just can’t make this up.

BILL AS INTRODUCED
H.385
2009
Page 1

1 H.385
2 SHORT FORM
3 Introduced by Representatives Atkins of Winooski, Howrigan of Fairfield,
4 Jerman of Essex and Keenan of St. Albans City
5 Referred to Committee on
6 Date:
7 Subject: Appropriations; legislature; laptops
8 Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to appropriate sufficient funds for the
9 purchase of laptop computers for every member of the general assembly.
10 An act relating to laptops for legislators
11 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
12 (TEXT OMITTED IN SHORT-FORM BILLS)

Please forward this to your friends and family or take the time to contact your legislator. It is up to us to show Vermonters how out of touch the Democrats in the Legislature really are.