Economics


VOTE WITH YOUR MONEY….BUY LOCAL PRODUCTS

VOTE WITH YOUR MONEY….BUY LOCAL PRODUCTS. By Virginia Kirsch As you shop this week, look for products made in Wisconsin. Here are reasons to buy local…. Biggest job creators. Local businesses are the largest employers nationally. Circulates more money in our own community and grows the tax base. Helps local non-profits as local business owners donate more to local charities than non-local owners. Encourages local “character” and culture. Reduces environmental impact. Gives better customer service. Local owners re-invest ...

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TREATMENT……NOT IMPRISONMENT

TREATMENT……NOT IMPRISONMENT By Middle Wisconsin Editorial Staff “The simple message:  “Do NOT pass a budget that includes funds to expand the prison system.”  •    There are proven, safe ways to reduce the prison population.  The Administration can take measures to fix the broken parole system that is keeping hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people in prison longer that the sentencing judge ever envisioned.  The Administration can also increase efforts to provide alternatives to revocation for people on supervision who have not committed a new ...

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MEMORIAL DAY FOR WORKERS

Labor Law Poster
(Memorial Day began as Decoration Day after the American Civil War to honor those fallen soldiers of the North. Later Memorial Day was expanded to include all military personnel who died in the service of their country. Memorial Day has expanded to include all dear ones who have died. On April 25, 2015 Memorial Day for Workers remembered people who died while in the workplace. Here is the speech given by Randy Radke.) MEMORIAL DAY FOR WORKERS By Randy Radke I would like to thank everyone who was able to join us today to remember our fallen sisters and brothers. ...

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SAVING FOR RETIREMENT

SAVING FOR RETIREMENT By Joyce Luedke The numbers are stark.  Few Americans have saved for retirement. Those with access to 401(k)’s have not saved enough.  " Sixty five percent of respondents to an August 2012 AARP survey said they worry they won't have enough to retire and 72% believe they will have to delay retirement." Social Security benefits represent about 38% of income for the elderly . Twenty-two percent of married couples and about 47% of unmarried people rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income.  In 2014, 101,000 people 65 ...

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Why We Need Labor Unions in Our Community

Welder Working
By John Spiegelhoff and Dale Moerke What exactly is a Labor Union and why should I care about them? If you would ask a random person on the street you would get probably some interesting answers. Here is one textbook definition of a Labor Union: An association, combination, or organization of employees who band together to secure favorable wages, improved working conditions, and better work hours. But a Labor Union is much more than a textbook definition. Union members are your family members and your neighbors. They live in the same community as you. Union ...

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A Business Owes Nothing in Taxes & Gets a State Check?

Picture of Senator Vinehout
A Business Owes Nothing in Taxes & Gets a State Check? "Why doesn’t the press cover what’s happening with refundable tax credits?” I asked the journalist. We were chatting about what I found in the state budget. “Because the press doesn’t understand them,” she told me.“Doesn’t understand them?” I thought. “There has to be an easy way to describe what’s happening...”Imagine if you had no state tax taken out of your paycheck. You filed your tax return but you owed nothing. Now imagine the state sent you a refund check. Wow! This is like ...

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WORKERS’ MEMORIAL DAY – APRIL 28TH

Monument
Unless you are a labor historian, you probably wouldn’t know who Mary “Mother” Jones was. But her legacy in the labor movement is immense. Mary Mother Jones was born Mary Harris in 1837 in Cork, Ireland. She moved to Toronto, Canada at ten years old due to the potato famine in Ireland. In her early adulthood she moved to the United States, married and had four children. In 1867 yellow fever struck her entire family leaving her a widow. She moved to Chicago where her small dressmaking shop eventually burned in the 1871 Chicago fire. In her later years, Mary ...

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Worker Exploitation Laws

Protesters holding signs
A group of people decide to go out to eat. Everyone in the group knows that they will receive a bill when they finish eating. Two people in the group decide that the others will need to pay their dinner bill despite partaking in the benefits of the meal. After reading this hypothetical situation did you perhaps say to yourself “I would never think about doing something like that!” This hypothetical situation is similar to what people commonly and unfortunately call “Right to Work” laws. “Right to Work” is a name or slogan that can be accurately described ...

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Blue Jean Nation

Blue Jean Logo
American democracy is caught on the horns of a dilemma. Most Americans are feeling fed up with the Republicans and let down by the Democrats — with good reason — as both major parties are failing the country. Yet a third party isn't the answer. Like it or not, America has a two-party system. Ours was not set up as a parliamentary democracy, where competing factions can join forces and form coalition governments. We don't have fusion voting, or instant runoff voting, or proportional representation, or any of the mechanisms that would allow third parties or independ...

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RE-PURPOSING GOVERNMENT

Wisconsin: Sign of the Times
REPURPOSING GOVERNMENT This commentary is a distillation of Mike McCabe’s keynote speech at the Wisconsin Grassroots Network festival in Mazomanie on March 28. It was first published as an opinion column by the online news site Wistopia on April 3. It is reprinted from the Blue Jean Nation website at: http://www.bluejeannation.com/commentary04-13-2015/ It’s easy to be consumed by what or who we are against rather than what we are for. But if we are going to get Wisconsin and our nation out of the rut we are in politically, we cannot afford to dwell on what ...

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