Proof that an everyday average guy can become a local hero overnight. Michigan Resident, Jim Belec, decided to take matters into his own hands when he crossed the border and set out Friday March 6th to raise awareness for the failing Wisconsin Economy.
Mr Belec decided to dedicate his 40th Birthday to helping sustain Wisconsin jobs with his 40 Beers and 40 Bars challenge. When asked why he would embark on such a quest to raise awareness for a state he wasn’t even a resident of, he had this to say.
“You know, times are really tough right now…not just for us Yoopers but for everyone. I’ve been wanting to help but I just didn’t know how. I see people struggling everyday and I’ve been one of them at points in my life.
So one morning I got up and looked in the mirror…and I said to myself…Jim, what is it that you’re good at?…and then it hit me….
I said to myself….BEER….Jim you’re the best beer drinker I know…After I determined what I was good at it only took a few moments more to figure out how I could put my highly developed skill to a use for the common good.”
He began at 10:30 AM in Green Bay Wisconsin and it only took him about 12 hours to create more job growth than Scott Walker has in his 4 years as Governor of Wisconsin. It would be an exaggeration to say he did it all alone.
He had the support of a designated drinking buddy and a designated driver that helped him execute his plan, get him from place to place, and give him the inspiration to finish this nearly impossible task.
We had the chance to ask a few Wisconsin residents what they thought about Mr Belec’s heroic actions to save jobs.
Tony had this to say, “The man’s a hero…I wish there were more people out there like him, we need more good folk like him that care about the working class.”
Jill had this to say, “It takes a real man to think about others, but it takes an even greater man to act on it. If more people took the 40 Beers and 40 Bars challenge, it would be better than any government bailout to date. It would put the power of economic growth back into the peoples hands where it belongs.”
Not surprisingly, there was some opposition to this good deed.
Catherine had this to say, “I commend the man for doing something worthy of job creation but if everyone did the 40 Beer and 40 Bar challenge, I think that would inevitably lead to a shortage of beer and increased beer prices that could hurt the middle class.”
There were others in Wisconsin that were not supporters of Mr Belec’s job growth plan, some of them small business owners that should know better. Mr Belec was turned away from a few establishments and in other places they simply refused to serve him.
Just when you thought segregation was over we find it still alive today in the very heart of Wisconsin.
Their reasons for treating him like a second-class citizen?
Here are just a few poor excuses we heard for denying Mr Belec of his right to drink, right to work cause.
- He couldn’t stand up or walk straight
- They couldn’t understand his order
- He was making loud and obscene gestures at other patrons
- He fell asleep before his drink arrived
- He threw up all over the bathroom floor
Really Wisconsin, that’s the best you can come up with? Shame on you!
Wisconsin employs around 2.7 million people, approximately 1-2% of those employees are bartenders or their helpers. About 10% of the employees in Wisconsin are involved in the service of food and other goods not including those that are employed by Wisconsin’s brewing industry.
Mr Belec’s valiant efforts will help sustain the jobs of over 30,000 employees. In closing he had this to say.
“I’m just glad that I can do my part to help the people that really need it. If I can do it, anybody can. Go to the mirror right now, look at yourself, and just say, “What am I good at?”, no matter what the answer to that question is, it can be used to help others in need — so act on it. Who knows, maybe someday you’ll become a hero like me.”
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