303 results for author: Phil Anderson

UWS Outsourcing One Year Later

  In May of 2014, the University of Wisconsin at Superior announced plans to outsource the campus custodians and grounds keepers as part of budget cutting plans. Throughout 2014 controversy raged about the necessity and wisdom of this action. In the end 27 people were laid off and their jobs were contracted out to a private, out-of-state company. What has been the impact of this action one year later? What happened to the laid off workers? What kind of jobs does the contractor offer? Did taxpayers save money? What has been the impact on Superior and the local economy? What happened? When UWS management announced the outsourcing, they ...

25 Years of Bombing Iraq

  Sunday, January 17 marked 25 years of bombing people in Iraq. It should be obvious that bombing is not effective and is not the answer. It does not solve problems and it does not keep anyone “safe.” A quarter-century later war continues. Bombing began in 1991 with the first Gulf War. It continued with a decade of a no fly zone. Then came the 2nd Gulf War from 2003 to 2011. The U.S. today is bombing Iraq and Syria in a vain effort to defeat ISIS. At the same time we’ve created millions of refugees, sent billions of dollars in weapons to the region, and sabotaged peace-making opportunities by refusing to talk with all parties ...

The Cost of Cheap Food

  In economics, as in much of life, everything has consequences. There are always trade-offs. You reap what you sow. The proposed CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) in Bayfield County is no exception. We all want and benefit from cheap food. But what are the consequences? Proponents of CAFOs claim that modern, large scale agriculture is more efficient. Cheap food is supposedly a great success story of the American economy. But is modern agriculture really cheaper or have many of the inevitable costs simply been ignored or shifted to someone else? CAFOs are large “factory farms” that confine animals to a small area, usually ...

NO DEMOCRACY IN NW WISCONSIN

  In NW Wisconsin we have one party rule. Currently there are no candidates to run against the incumbent Republican in the 7th Congressional District. The voters have no choice. Democracy is dead. Why is this? The primary answer is money. According to the Wausau Daily Herald, the sole democratic candidate for the 7th District dropped out because he needed $1.5 million to have a viable campaign.[1] He had raised only $144,589 to his opponent's $926,000. But the whole electoral process also discourages good candidates. The length of the campaign, the attack ads, personal attacks and mud slinging, in addition to constant fund raising, turns ...

THE “S” WORD: SOME PERSPECTIVE ON ECONOMICS

Bernie Sanders, a self proclaimed “democratic socialist,” is running for President. The “S” word will be used like a club to pillory him and his supporters. Even if he fails to be nominated, Hillary Clinton will be branded a socialist as well. The partisan attack dogs and the media pundits will spread the usual fear, falsehood, and misinformation which the public will swallow without question. Words like “socialism,” “freedom,” “democracy,” ”welfare state,” and “free enterprise” are often thrown around rather loosely with little regard to their actual meanings. These terms are given social and moral characteristics that ...

REMEMBER ARMISTICE DAY ON NOVEMBER 11

WWI was “the war to end all wars.” It was one of the most unnecessary wars in human history. Historians still try to figure out why it was fought. Ten million people died. Another 20 million were wounded. There have been many wars since. What the war did do was create a strong desire for peace by ordinary people. Especially in Europe, where the impact of the war was felt most, there was an unprecedented effort to prevent future wars. The fighting ended on November 11, 1918 and that day became Armistice Day. It was an international holiday to remember the war and work for peace. In 1926, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution creating Armist...

LAOS AND THE LEGACY OF THE VIETNAM WAR

“When the fighting stops the suffering continues.” This is the message Jim Harris brings to his talks on the legacy of our bombing of Laos. Jim and his wife Marty run the nonprofit organization We Help War Victims, Inc., which assists Laotian refugee families in America and victims of war living in Laos. The Vietnam War ended over forty years ago, but that distant conflict still impacts the lives of millions of people in both Asia and America. For ten years Jim has worked to remove unexploded ordinance in rural areas of Laos. He leads a team of skilled Laotian technicians who advance rural development projects by clearing villages of landmines, ...

IMPROVING OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

IMPROVING OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS By Phil Anderson The problems facing Wisconsin's public schools are complex. There are no quick or easy fixes. But neither are the problems insurmountable. People of good faith, working together, can find ways to improve our schools. We should begin by admitting that we are all part of the problem. The problems of our schools reflect American society. The inequality, racism, poverty, and violence common to American culture are reflected in our schools. We cannot blame teachers or schools for the social problems we are unwilling to address as a whole society. Children must come to school well fed, rested, feeling safe, ...

TEACHERS DESERVE RESPECT

TEACHERS DESERVE RESPECT By Phil Anderson The general public thinks teachers have easy jobs with high pay, good benefits, overly generous retirements, and all summer off from work. But the truth is quite different. Those who think teaching is an easy “part time” job should walk a few steps (a mile is not necessary) in their shoes. If you talk with teachers you get a different picture. Teachers have a difficult, demanding job, both physically and emotionally. Most teachers work long hours for modest pay. They do not have summers “off;” rather they are unemployed. And even though the work they do is critically important, they are unfairly ...

A LAUNDRY LIST OF BAD IDEAS

A LAUNDRY LIST OF BAD IDEAS By Phil Anderson In the last several weeks there has been an avalanche of policy changes floated by the Republican leadership in Wisconsin. All of them seem to be solutions looking for a problem. Three prior attempted policy changes were the “Wisconsin Idea,” voter ID, and “reforming” the open meeting laws. None were the result of thoughtful, well researched examinations of problems facing Wisconsin residents. Nor were their “solutions” likely to do any good. Given the Republican propensity to shove legislation through without much notice or public input, citizens will need to react quickly to the latest ...