Mayor of Occupy Milwaukee

What do most of the Occupy (insert name of city here) protesters have in common?

-  they have a lot of free time to camp out, sing songs, yell, defecate and urinate in public, consume alcoholic beverages, share their drug stashes, indulge in sexual escapades, and cause general mayhem - leaving filthy cesspools in their wake for others to clean up (at taxpayer expense).  After all is said and done, we don't know what their goals really are - or if they even have any.

-  they don't seem to like work

-  they don't like successful private businesses or people who are employed by successful private businesses

-  they seem to abhor the fact that successful businesses make (here comes that dreadful word) profits!  By using utter contempt when saying the word "profits," the Occupy crowd seems to think that all business owners are greedy and evil.

-  they appear to to believe that everyone owes them a living -  that they deserve "their fair share" without having to lift a finger

With this all in mind, Mayor Tom Barrett would be an ideal candidate to lead the Occupy Milwaukee crowd - if such a group decides to camp out and trash any of the public parks in his own city.  

Why would Barrett be a shoo-in for leading the losers of the nation?  Simply because there are many similarities between the Occupy protesters and the Mayor of the city of Milwaukee. 

1)  Just like the Occupy crowds, Barrett  has contributed very little to Milwaukee during his terms as Mayor.  Tom Barrett has been the Mayor of Milwaukee since 2004.  Yet, does Barrett have any major accomplishments of which to speak since he has been mayor?  Can anyone think of anything?   Has the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District stopped dumping poop directly into Lake Michigan every time there is a thunderstorm?   Has Mayor Barrett overseen vast improvements in education in the Milwaukee Public School System - after yet another round of school violence and pathetic graduation rates?  Has Mayor Barrett done anything to address every-increasing property taxes in Milwaukee County ? What has Mayor Barrett done to help revitalize the ghost town known as the Grand Avenue Mall?  Has Mayor Barrett, with all the tax money and social programs out there, solved the poverty of the inner city?  NO. So, in essence, Barrett isn't really working - he's doing nothing.  Same as the Occupy crowds.

2)  Real jobs - those offering  honest-to-goodness employment- are leaving Milwaukee.  And what does Barrett have to say?  Not a whole lot besides a "goodbye."  Recently Frontier Airlines announced they were cutting 450 jobs from Mitchell International Airport.  Barrett had a "heads-up" on this - since 2009.  What is very interesting is that Denver, Colorado stands to gain a few thousand jobs from this very same airline for agreeing to nix four very pricey taxes that the airlines had been saddled with. 

3)  Kohl's Corporation just said "no" to building a new headquarters and parking structure in downtown Milwaukee.  Seems that Kohls would have faced much higher property taxes if they relocated to the Park East area than if they chose a site in the suburbs.   However, this isn't really what is key to the story.  How come Mayor Barrett isn't doing ANYTHING to attract out-of-state businesses to the downtown area?  Why bother with local Wisconsin companies?  All that serves is to take away the tax base from one area of the state and move it to another.   

What is really interesting is all of this is that Mayor Barrett did offer some cash ($100 million in public financing assistance) to Kohls to relocate downtown.  SAY WHAT?  A liberal politician offering money to a big corporation!  Why, first off - where did this money come from?  Do Barrett and  County Executive Chris Abele have a "stash" somewhere like Obama does?  And if so, why aren't the lefties outraged that Barrett would do such a thing!?!   Before anyone points out that this really isn't part of the Occupy Crowd's creed - yes it is. What Barrett did is an example of the total hypocrisy of the left.  They cry and moan about "big business" and all the "greed" and "corruption" of anyone who is successful in business, but then they offer MONEY for a big company to move to their neck of the woods?  C'mon Tom!  You let all your liberal followers down.  

Barrett did say after Kohl's representatives nixed moving to Milwaukee:  "I couldn't be prouder of the effort we made."   (Think that weak little sentiment would  have won accolades from Vince "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" Lombardi?).  What is so typical of liberalism is the idea that mediocrity deserves celebration.  The very notion of having "winners" or "losers" is bad because it might hurt someone's oh-so-delicate self-esteem.  Let's pat ourselves on the back for failure - but it was great that we really  tried!  Gold medals all around!    

So now Milwaukee continues to be a city in decline, but never fear - soon there will be a  $65 million dollar waste-of-taxpayer-money trolley that travels around in a circle, thanks Mayor Barrett!

4)  And now for the kicker - Mayor Tom "do nothing" Barrett actually has the gall to complain about Governor Scott Walker using some of the $140 million dollars the state of Wisconsin will receive in a federal foreclosure funds settlement to help the state budget.  Walker has said that he will use $26 million to apply to the budget to help taxpayers and the needy.   So Barrett is now feigning outrage.  Why?   Seems Barrett wants a hand-out - just like the Occupy protesters.  He wants the money for Milwaukee.  Yet, as Governor Walker pointed out, the foreclosure issue hit many - affecting unemployment levels and hurting all taxpayers in the state.  And the majority of the foreclosure dollars WILL go to those affected by the situation.  Whether it was due to loans being made to people who could ill-afford them in the first place or those who had no business purchasing homes they had no means of paying for.  (This all goes back to the Fannie Mae/Freddy Mac fiasco and horrible lending practices the federal government forced upon the banks with the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977.)    Funny how none of the liberals can point fingers at the true cause of the debacle, but instead get upset at Governor Walker.  Similar to President Barack Hussein Obama pointing his finger and blaming Bush for all his own messes - three-plus years into his disastrous presidency.

5)  When Barrett and the city of Milwaukee face any major problem, the root cause is never addressed.  Rather, the problems are blamed on "society" in general.   Case in point, the recent rash of "co-sleeping" deaths.  With the usual sleight-of-hand from elected officials in Milwaukee - including Barrett, drunk and/or drugged out adults who smother their infants to death while passed out are never taken to task.  Nope.  Cannot fault those who should know better and act responsibly - like PARENTS!  Instead, let's pass out free cribs and hang up a few disturbing posters about the dangers of "co-sleeping!"  Never mind that drunk/drugged out adults probably will ignore the message, and the problem will persist until such irresponsible losers are tossed in the slammer. 

In summary, when attempting to find ANY, just ANY of Mayor Tom Barrett's accomplishments, the following popped up:  he's a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition.   He recently announced a goal to reduce infant mortality in Milwaukee by 10% (free cribs!).  He has a vision to bring cleaner air and a healthier environment to Milwaukee.  He really wants to go green - the latest fad du jour.  He wishes to bring family-supporting jobs to his city. He tried REALLY hard to bring Kohls to Milwaukee.  He ran for governor and lost, not once - but twice.  And let's not forget the idiotic streetcar project to the tune of $65 million... 

(Now, don't jump to the conclusion that I dislike the Mayor personally.  I don't.  Mayor Barrett appears to be a nice guy and - to his credit - he did rush to the aide of a citizen outside of State Fair Park in August of 2009 who was being attacked.   While Mayor Barrett was attempting to dial 911 on his cell phone, he was severly beaten.  However, as a Mayor, leader, and politician, Barrett is sub-par.  Barrett is a "do-nothing" elected official, content to criticize Governor Scott Walker whenever he can, yet has no laurels himself of which to speak.)   

Given all the similarities between Mayor Barrett and the Occupy crowd, Barrett sure would be an ideal candidate - not as Wisconsin's next governor - but as a leader of the Occupy Milwaukee movement.