THE BUDGET MOSAIC
Connecting dots can be very satisfying -- when it all clicks together our eyes get big, our jaws drop and we become stunned with our newfound knowledge.
The bigger the conclusion, the more satisfying the result. For legislators, much is the same for comprehending the state budget. Pouring over the details and reading the documents line-by-line can be dull, very dull. But when things start to click and make sense, it’s all worth it.
Governor Tony Evers listened to the experiences and values from many different people and put together a budget that represents a large ...
HOW WILL YOU CELEBRATE EARTH DAY?
The first way I will celebrate Earth Day is by using these canvas bags. They were purchased 30 years ago and have served me well. They were used for buying groceries, going camping, going shopping, and going to the library. They were made to last.
Many people compliment me on using them. People tell me they have similar bags and really should use them. But that is as far as that goes. How did using these bags become a habit?
Earth Day is on my mind each day. I hang the bags on the door knob leading to the garage.
The bags are put in the car and ready for their ...
Fixing Deficits With Better Priorities
“Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” Ambrose Bierce
Conservatives supposedly are for fiscal responsibility. We should live within our means. The government should not, according to them, spend more than it takes in taxes. As a corollary, taxes hurt the economy and must always be cut. These pious platitudes superficially sound good but are misleading and destructive in many ways.
Actions speak louder than words. The historical record shows that since 1980 federal deficits ...
When is Enough Enough?
The proposed federal budget for FY 2020 has been released. The big winner, again, is the Pentagon and the weapons industry. Endless wars produce endless military spending.
Most Americans know we spend a lot of money on the military and wars. Many of them blindly believe this is necessary to protect the country. But the more we spend the less safe we are. In addition we are not winning the wars. As William J. Astore. USAF LT COL (Ret.), has written,
“When it comes to the “world’s greatest military,” the news has been shocking... as the U.S. military spans the ...
WORKERS’ MEMORIAL CEREMONY APRIL 28
Every year on April 28th we remember those workers who died on the job.
Please join the Marathon County Central Labor Council AFL-CIO Sunday April 28th for the Workers Memorial Ceremony to remember the workers killed on the job in Marathon County.
Where: Workers’ Memorial Site (next to the Opportunity Inc site, formerly known as the VFW)
388 River Drive Wausau, WI 54403
Date: April 28th, 2019
Time: 5:00 p.m.
For information contact Marathon County Central Labor Council AFL-CIO @ 715-370-8908 or email marathonctylabor@gmail.com
Action Alert
Stopping Trump #39’s assumption of emergency powers will require massive citizen
action. The House and Republican controlled Senate have voted to overturn the declaration.
But Trump vetoed the resolutions. Overriding a veto will be very difficult and will only happen
with extraordinary public pressure.
Lawsuits have been filed to end the declaration. But these may take years to resolve and the
outcome is not assured. Most federal judges have been appointed by Republican presidents.
Historically the courts, especially the U.S. Supreme Court, have been ...
MODERN MONETARY THEORY UNIT I: MONEY AND PHYSICAL RESOURCES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6MGX1AKFm4
Let us take a moment to look at what was actually said in this 2005 discussion between Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank, Allen Greenspan, and Congressman Paul Ryan. The subject, of course, is Social Security:
Congressman Ryan: “Do you believe that personal retirement accounts can help us achieve solvency for the system and make those future retiree benefits more secure?”
Chairman Greenspan: “I wouldn’t say the pay-as-you-go benefits are insecure in the sense that there is nothing to prevent the Federal ...
Local people reduce their carbon footprint
On April 30th Clean Green Action hosted a Climate Change Forum at the Fine Arts Center in McMillan Memorial Library. Professor Emeritus Alan Haney reported from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
“The IPCC was established in 1988 by the United Nations Environmental Program in cooperation with the World Meteorological Organization to provide a sound scientific interpretation of the vast amount of information on climate change,” explained Haney. “IPCC enlisted the cooperation of nearly 1000 scientists from countries all over the world, including ...
Letter to the Editor
Editor:
For the past several years, people in the Wausau area have been voicing their concerns regarding the contamination issues from the Crestline/SNE/Wauleco site going back to 1946.
The Penta soaked through the soil and into the groundwater. Over many decades, hundreds of thousands of gallons of water contaminated with Pentachlorphenal, or Penta a wood preservative that was used at the site, have been pumped into the Wausau Waste Water Treatment plant. Some of this has been released into the Wisconsin River.
As recently as January 21, 2019, Penta reared its ...
Action Alert
“IF YOU ARE NOT OUTRAGED YOU ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION” Action Alert #3
What are the presidential emergency powers? The are many laws that allow a president to assume extraordinary “emergency” powers. The Brennan Center for Justice has identified 136 potential emergency powers available from such declarations. Many of these are reasonable responses to real emergencies. But others could be abused and used for political purposes.
A few of the more dangerous powers include; the use of the military in domestic law enforcement, freezing assets and blocking financ...