K-12 PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ALL

K-12 PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ALL by Kathleen Michel of Grassroots Northshore In its hasty and irresponsible passage of an omnibus motion funding the Department of Public Instruction, the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee disavowed the constitutional commitment that every member of the state legislature has sworn an oath to uphold. This principle, that every child in Wisconsin has a 'fundamental right to an equal opportunity for a sound basic education,' is at the core of our state's best traditions and promises. Those who seek to undermine this moral and legal obligation are vandalizing our history and undermining our future. Their ...

PREVAILING WAGE

PREVAILING WAGE By Nancy Stencil Oh my, such the times we Wisconsinites are living in! Wages are stagnant and income equality is at an all-time high in America. I can't believe the attacks that Wisconsin Republicans snuck into the budget at the last minute…provisions that will lower wages for all of us and weaken our middle class. The prevailing wage bill failed to pass using the normal democratic process. Weakening the prevailing wage was slipped into the budget, just days before it was signed, in order to avoid public debate and scrutiny. Prevailing wage is a law that protects our construction workers from poverty wages and also attracts ...

Rep. Melissa Sargent: GOP leaves no room for bipartisan cooperation

Rep. Melissa Sargent: GOP leaves no room for bipartisan cooperation June 23, 2015 4:30 am REP. MELISSA SARGENT | Democratic member, Wisconsin Assembly Two weeks ago I happened to read an opinion column written by Rep. Scott Allen that was published in the Cap Times. While I don’t usually make a habit of responding to columns like his, I couldn’t help but note the irony of him accusing Democrats of “partisan posturing” and creating “an environment of extreme rhetoric,” only to paradoxically stress the importance of bipartisanship and cooperation mere paragraphs later. Interestingly enough, all of those words indicate a ...

Options for Budget Solutions

Wisconsin Republicans claim that the state is broke and they have to make “hard choices” to balance the budget. They have no choice but to cut school funding and other social programs. Whenever I hear someone say we have no options, I get suspicious. Either they don’t want to see options or they lack the ability to see alternatives. There are always options. Better, more creative leadership would “think outside the box” and provide a range of options to solve problems. If the Republicans would take off the ideological blinders they might see some of them. May I suggest a few budget options? Collect unpaid taxes from the deadbeats! ...

Farmers say Budget Damages Farm Research, Schools and Conservation Input – By State Senator Kathleen Vinehout

“It’s very important that we are here today,” the farmer from Independence told me. “In fact, it’s more important that we be here than anywhere else.” Here was in my Capitol office. Local farmers were visiting as part of Ag Day at the Capitol. The weather that day was dry and warm. It was perfect for getting early spring chores done. Instead, these farmers drove hundreds of miles to meet with their legislators. They were on a mission to change parts of the state budget that hurt rural communities. The first thing on their mind – in every group that visited – was rural schools. “What are you going to do about rural schools?...

Economic Development $$$ Grow – Public Oversight Shrinks – By Senator Kathleen Vinehout

Senator Kathleen Vinehout “I’ve heard about the cuts,” the Buffalo County man said. “But this budget spends more. Who’s getting more money?” Folks are concerned about big cuts to the UW; cuts to local schools; scaling back of health programs for the disabled; public radio and TV losing state support. But the new budget spends $3 billion more than the last. Where is that money going? One place to look is the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). Despite its name, WEDC is a part of state government; in fiscal year 2012-13 it received over $62 million from the budget (including about $4 million in federal funds) ...