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Sarah Magnuson

Lindstrom, MN
Commenter for
1 year 41 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 02/13/13 at 08:15 pm in response to Obama tells Republicans: I’m tired of begging for cooperation

Republicans who chose to put their eggs in one basket. Instead of sitting at the table and contributing to Obamacare, they chose to dig in their heels and put all their efforts into making sure it didn't pass. When it did pass, they then decided to make it their mission to be sure Obama was a one-term President. Up until that election, I had voted exclusively republican. I was (and am) furious at my representatives for their churlish behavior...they were invited to the table and refused...

Posted on 12/04/12 at 09:47 pm in response to GOP leader Dave Thompson breaks on Republican strategies, but keeps the faith

The "surplus" claim advertised by my Republican House Representative made me laugh out loud every time I saw it on glossy postcards, newspaper ads, and pop ups on my computer. Unless you are a far-right conservative who reads exclusively the GOP schmooze mail and updates from the local and state Republican party without thinking, it is the only rational response to the surplus claim. My representative has an accounting background so it was beyond disingenuous.

Posted on 11/28/12 at 09:19 am in response to State kids failing graduation test, so drop math requirement?

The current test has not been around or required for nearly 15 years.

One of the reasons so many want-to-be high school graduates are failing this test is because it became more strenuous in 2005-2006. A student who entered Grade 8 in 2005-2006 or later now takes the GRAD test. Prior to this, the math portion was a Basics Skills test, equivalent to 8th grade math. The current math portion of the GRAD test, when passed, is equivalent to receiving an 1150 on the math portion of the...

Posted on 12/04/12 at 12:49 pm in response to State kids failing graduation test, so drop math requirement?

Just want to reiterate that this current test was changed in 2005. It used to be a Basic Math Skills Test that needed to be passed, which was the equivalent knowledge of very basic Algebra. Those who were in 8th grade in 2005 or later now have to pass a test that is much more stringent, equivalent to scoring a 22 on the ACT test or 1050 on the SAT (math portions). In my opinion, this is an unreasonable standard for high school graduation. As Pat commented, what appropriate math literacy...

Posted on 07/05/12 at 08:40 pm in response to Analyzing the Obamacare tax increases

Kudos to you Tim for compensating your employees well, both with wages and benefits. Based on your statements, it appears that you value your employees and understand that the excellent benefits they receive appear to be correlated with longevity and perhaps even efficiency at your plant because of lower turnover.

Because of that, I am confused by your rational of options you have. You state that you could reduce the scope of the healthcare plan and avoid what the tax/fee would be,...

Posted on 06/19/12 at 11:10 am in response to DFL begins throwing government shutdown back at GOP

As a former "republican" voter turned independent, I have a very vivid memory of the state shutdown, and while both sides are culpable, the voters in our household (all four of us) hold the "my way or the highway" Republicans more responsible. My republican house representative will not be getting my vote this fall. Perhaps I am an aberration, but as Tim says, we shall find out in November.

Posted on 06/11/12 at 10:19 pm in response to Let's stop the war on public school teachers

Rolf, why do you continue to insist that the public benefits in Wisconsin were/are underfunded. You are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts. You could generalize about underfunded pensions, but Wisconsin is not one of them. There are two states who have fully funded pension; New York and Wisconsin. The WRS (Wisconsin Retirement System) is 95-99% funded. It is one of the healthiest pension funds in the nation, public or private. Future payouts are included in this...

Posted on 06/11/12 at 10:46 pm in response to Let's stop the war on public school teachers

Part of the issue we have with the public/private employee debate is generalization--on both sides of the issue. It would be helpful if we could compare the compensation of an electrician employed by the U of M to the compensation of an electrician employed by say, Target. But what happens is a highly specialized administrator is compared to a janitor, and on it goes. Your example is cherry-picking an outlier and using it as the norm. I can do it too. There is a teaching assistant in...

Posted on 06/12/12 at 01:33 pm in response to Let's stop the war on public school teachers

Thank you, Rolf. If you clicked on the link to the PEW report you would see that the funded amount is 79 Billion (with a B). If the unfunded amount is $253 million, that would make it funded at 99.9%. This is after a huge downswing (to put it mildly) in the stock market. In the up market of the 1990's, the WRS was overfunded by 5%. The lowest it has been funded (during the stock crash) was 95%. This is a well managed fund, a hybrid of a "defined contribution" and "defined benefit", which...

Posted on 06/07/12 at 08:24 am in response to Walker’s recall victory won’t bring political peace to Wisconsin

Sigh...the average WI voter is misinformed, as are you, Rolf. The WRS is fully funded--that according to not a right or left leaning think-tank, but the non-partisan PEW Report. Citizens will not be taxed to make up the shortfall. If you were paying attention, you would have noticed that the media has said absolutely nothing about the pension fund being a liability, because it is not. If it were, don't you think that Walker would have pounded the very point you are trying to make? It is...