HOW WOULD YOU SPEND $1 TRILLION?

If you could set the priorities, how would you spend the money? Look at current Federal budget priorities and vote for how you would prioritize funds.

WEALTH AND MONEY PART VIII: FRACTIONAL RESERVE BANKING

It started with goldsmiths. As early bankers, they initially provided safekeeping services, making a profit from vault storage fees for gold and coins deposited with them. People would redeem their "deposit receipts" whenever they needed gold or coins to purchase something, and physically take the gold or coins to the seller who, in turn, would deposit them for safekeeping, often with the same banker. Everyone soon found that it was a lot easier simply to use the deposit receipts directly as a means of payment. These receipts, which became known as notes, were ...

POVERTY IN WISCONSIN IS HIGHEST IN 30 YEARS

Poverty in Wisconsin hit its highest level in 30 years between 2010 and 2014. 738,000 people were living in poverty--a 20% increase from the previous five year period. Inequality is worse now than in 1984. Poverty increased more dramatically in Wisconsin than many other states and is increasing at a faster rate. 239,000 (or one in five) children are living in poverty. This is 18.5% of Wisconsin’s children—a dramatic increase of 50,000 more children from the period of 2005-2009. Research shows that brain development in children is affected by poverty due to ...

CREATING A SUPERIOR ECONOMY

Superior has two major chain retail stores closing. Both K-Mart and Target are leaving Superior. Businesses closing in Superior are nothing new. There are empty store fronts and facilities all over town. Superior has never been a hot bed of economic vitality. But losing two long established businesses at once is unusual. Why is this happening? One might speculate that Walmart has been successful in the big-box competition for customers. This is not hard to imagine when you look at the mostly empty parking lots of K-Mart and Target on your way to the well-stocked lot ...

WEALTH AND MONEY PART VII: PUBLIC BANKING AT THE CITY AND LOCAL LEVEL

Saving banks at any cost, making the public pay the price, foregoing a firm commitment to reviewing and reforming the entire system, only reaffirms the absolute power of a financial system, a power which has no future and will only give rise to new crises after a slow, costly and only apparent recovery. The financial crisis of 2007-08 provided an opportunity to develop a new economy, more attentive to ethical principles, and new ways of regulating speculative financial practices and virtual wealth. But the response to the crisis did not include rethinking the outdated ...

DEAR DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE

DEAR DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE First, permit me to introduce myself. My name is John Spiegelhoff and I am a middle class voter in the Midwest. I think it is appropriate to inform you that I have voted Democratic since as long as I have been a registered voter. I have financially supported Democratic candidates mostly at the state and local levels. Since-really-all politics are local. Or so I have heard. So with that in mind, I wish to respond to your survey but not on the mind numbing pre-fill form that you sent me along with the obligatory “send us some ...

WEALTH AND MONEY PART VI: BANKING AS A PUBLIC UTILITY

“The vast amount of money paid to Wall Street by America’s cities, counties, and states has profound impacts on our lives and local economies.” “It’s a staggering amount: Hundreds of billions of dollars move from taxpayer pockets into private Wall Street hands each year in the form of interest payments on bonds, loans, fees, and financial product costs” “The debt load is squashing local economies, ruining our school systems, letting our infrastructure crumble, and so much more.” “Breaking our dependence on Wall Street usury means reclaiming control of ...

WHAT HAPPENED TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY IN WISCONSIN?

Dr. Robert Kraig (Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin), spoke in Wausau on rising poverty rates in Wisconsin. Since 2001 the middle class of Wisconsin has shrunk the most of any state, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Clearly this is a bi-partisan problem. The job growth since 2008 has been in service jobs with poverty wages. According to DIP (Department of Public Instruction) Chart for Free Lunches, many Wisconsin children are in poverty. In Wausau the rate of children eligible for free lunch at school is 50%. To change the thinking ...