This is the text of an email this chick sent to Russ Decker and Jeff Plale this morning:
Dear Senators,
I am a state employee who is extremely upset today. I and 39,000 other people do not understand what we ever did to make you hate us so much. I am also the chair of the Winnebago County Democratic Party. Both of your votes offended me as a fellow Democrat.
Let me tell you a little about myself so that you know who you are talking to. I work at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in Polk Library, where I am the coordinator of Interlibrary Loan. I have a Bachelor's degree and I have worked at the University for 25 years. I make $35,000 per year gross, which amounts to about $26,000 after taxes. After I pay my mortgage and other bills, this leaves me around $25 or so per day to survive on. I drive a 10 year old car that needs new tires. My home needs a new roof badly and it also needs to be resided. I need a new winter coat and I am trying to figure out how I am going to manage to make my paycheck stretch enough to buy Christmas presents for my family. I am not married, but I share a home with my best friend, because we each could not afford to live on our own. I give to charity as much as I can, but that will most likely have to stop now, since we are facing more deductions from our paychecks. I feel luckier than some of my fellow employees. Many of them make a lot less than I do. They have families and a lot of them have had to take on second jobs. There are a lot of us who have to use food pantries because one check only stretches so far. I don't know anyone who makes more than $50,000 per year (and that's the minority of civil service employees here at UW Oshkosh).
I became involved in the Democratic Party because I thought perhaps it would make a difference in the lives of myself and other fellow workers. Apparently I was wrong. I feel sold out today. I am asking you to please go back when the state senate is called back into session this morning and change your vote to yes. Please don't hurt me and my fellow employees any more. Just for your information, you made a grown woman cry today as she was getting ready for work. Shame on you.
