Uppity Wisconsin

bySenator Kathleen Vinehout “Public education in Wisconsin should provide high quality learning for ALL children no matter who they are or where they live,” Eau Claire School Board President Chris Hambuch-Boyle recently told me. Chris and education leaders across the state read with interest details of the Governor’s plan for our next state budget. Governor Walker gave money to a number of new initiatives and reaped the praise of some education leaders. The plan picks and chooses among various proposals advanced over the last few years. Some new programs are funded and some existing programs get more money.

Scott Walker is gearing up to present his new budget, which will be more of the same predictable stuff - tax cuts to the rich, small amounts of money to schools and broadband, which will only slightly make up for previous gutting of these items, and more.

We need to remind ourselves that there are alternatives.  Citizen Action of Wisconsin has an alternative budget for all, which you can read at the link below. It is a big shift in priorities from what we are doing now. I am including a video of Dr. Rober Kraig at Citizen Action, where he explains what went into making this alternative budget.

Progressive Talk Radio returned to Wisconsin yesterday.

Mike Crute, one of the hosts of Devil's Advocates, recently purchased 1510 AM in the Milwaukee area, changing the format from Spanish-Language Sports to all-talk progressive radio. The station has limited coverage in the state (mostly the Milwaukee area) but is available via live stream everywhere.

A great deal of encouragement for this came from the Citizen Action Radio-Active project in Milwaukee, which has been monitoring right-wing talk radio in the Milwaukee area for some time now.

BySenator Kathleen Vinehout “Let me see how much you spent,” my mother said when I returned from the store. As the oldest of five children, I was often sent to the store to buy groceries. When I returned home, my mother checked the grocery bag, the receipt and counted the change. I knew I could buy no more than exactly what was on her list. She knew how much everything should cost. I needed to answer for every penny I spent. Everything needed to add up. This simple accountability seems to be completely missing at our Department of transportation (DOT). My mother has now gone to live with the angels.

BySenator Kathleen Vinehout “GOOD NEWS” read the text with a short article about how our pension funds grew 8.5%. My friend forwarded the article with a cryptic note, “apparently the lies keep working.” In what seems to me to be an effort to get ahead of a bad story, the agency responsible for investing almost $100 billion in pension funds – the largest single pot of money anywhere in state government - issued a press release touting an 8.5% increase in its core fund. As radio commentator Paul Harvey used to say, here’s the rest of the story. Yes, things are better in 2016. However, in 2015, the state pension funds lost money. An increase over a loss is good but not nearly as good as continual year-to-year growth.

Remember back when we were embarrassed every time we met someone outside of the US because we had elected George W. Bush as president?  Good Times, Good Times. This is from the Scottish Sunday Herald TV listings. Click on the image to make it bigger.

More than 200 attended the health care rally this afternoon in Eau Claire. The rally was organized by the Citizen Action Organizing Co-op of Western Wisconsin. Several people spoke on behalf of maintaining the ACA or an equivalent, including Rep. Dana Wachs. The crowd was spirited and strongly in support of strengthening the ACA rather than eliminating it. This rally was one of many across the nation today in support of affordable and accessible health care for all. I think the current administration will find it difficult to tell their constitutents that they are taking away the benefits of the ACA that go to people purchasing insurance on the health care exchanges, people on Medicare, and everyone else in the insurance market. 

BySenator Kathleen Vinehout Wisconsin is number one in hunting! Don’t take it from me. The Department of Natural Resources has studies to back it up. A new DNR report noted Wisconsin had the number one Boone and Crockett Trophy whitetail entries from 2005-2010 and the number one black beer harvest of all states. Wisconsinites hunt deer at nearly three times the US rate and fist at twice the US rate.

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Senator Kathleen Vinehout

The turn of the calendar to 2017 brings us hope for better prospects in our public affairs. I am particularly inspired this season for the many who wrote with solutions to problems facing our state.

The many letters from readers gives me optimism for a coming bloom of civic mindedness. Certainly your notes and letters bring a fresh approach to lingering problems.

I do see signs on the horizon that our state may be stumbling.