Headscratchers

There have been a few things going on recently that should have you scratching your head and saying "Hmmmmmm....."

---Earlier this week, we had a spokesman for the Wisconsin Association for Retired Americans join us on WOSH to promote a town hall meeting on "retirement security".  One of the talking points he brought up in the interview--and that was also sold at the meeting--is that the state should set up a retirement system for private-sector employees similar to the one for public sector employees.  When Bob Burnell asked why people in the private-sector couldn't just put money into Roth IRA's or other investments, the spokesman said "That is too risky! You could lose money!"  What he apparently doesn't know is that the Wisconsin Retirement System takes the tax dollars municipalities contribute on behalf of their employees AND INVESTS IT IN THE STOCK MARKET AND OTHER HOLDINGS!!!  How else do you think they pay out the guaranteed benefits that almost always exceed contributions over the lifetimes of those workers?  Of course, if it is a government-run system, that would require a union-staffed bureaucracy to operate--and if there is a decline in principal and returns, Joe and Jane Taxpayer would be there to make up the difference.  Hmmmmm.......

---Earlier this month there was an upset in the Democratic primary in State Senate District 17--where a former public employee who ran a "grass-roots" campaign edged out the candidate hand-picked by Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson--and who raised far more money--by just seven votes.  That led to a recount this week--and news that clerks have somehow "lost" more than 100 ballots.  Equally "surprising" is that the establishment candidate has already picked up enough votes in what has been recounted to erase the original deficit.  So a darkhorse candidate wins a primary in district that Democrats desperately need to win if they are going to regain majority control in the Senate and ballots mysteriously go missing?  Hmmmmmm....

---MTV maintains that it had no idea that "singer" (quotations used to indicate questionable status) Miley Cyrus was going to have a homeless guy accept one of her trophies at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.  The obvious publicity stunt was likely meant to "heal the image" of a former child star who has decided to market herself as the nastiest, over-sexed woman in entertainment (a battle that currently involves about 90% of all female music artists) and who embarrassed herself at the same show last year by "twerking" on stage.  But for anyone who knows something about TV production, camera positions are set for a show through a process called "blocking"--something that is perfected through rehearsals (either with actors themselves or with stand-ins)--yet without any idea that this was about to happen, MTV had all the perfect camera angles to catch Ms Cyrus sitting behind her "hero"--tearing up on cue--as he stumbled through his "unprepared" acceptance speech.  Hmmmmm.....  Oh, and the guy is wanted on an outstanding warrant in Oregon.  Hmmmmm.......