245 results for author: Phil Anderson

Wisconsin Senate and Attorney General Races

In prior articles I talked about selecting candidates for elected office with the ability to do a good job representing us. Like hiring an employee, voters need to look at the education, knowledge, work history, experience and skills of the candidates to make the best choice. Employers also look at the attitudes and personal beliefs of potential employees. With the candidates discussed this week basic qualifications are not the issue. It is the attitudes and beliefs of the candidates that voters need to consider. There are significant differences in political and economic philosophy that will impact you, your family and the future of Wisconsin. ...

Electing The Future

It is easy to think elections and politics don't matter. But politics is how we make decisions and run our society. Who we elect makes a difference in many everyday practical ways. Do the potholes get filled? Is the water safe to drink? Do your kids have a good school? Do they have health care? Can they afford to go to college or tech school? Do your taxes go to help your community and build a better country? Or are they wasted on corporate subsidies, tax breaks for the wealthy or some war on the other side of the world? Our future will be shaped by the choices we make November 8th. We are electing our future and the future of our children and ...

Other Wisconsin Candidates

  This article discusses two Wisconsin statewide races that get little attention in the press; Secretary of State and State Treasurer. How much do you know about these candidates? Do you have enough information to make an informed choice? Because you don't have any information, will you simply not vote for either candidate? In Wisconsin, Republicans have spent years weakening and under-funding these two independently elected offices. This has included eliminating duties and advocating to abolish both the Treasurer and Secretary of State. Since Trumps “big lie” about the 2020 elections bring “rigged” and all the false claims of ...

Wisconsin Candidates for Assembly

Voting is like hiring an employee. Voters are hiring a representative to take care of public business for all of us. Employers typically look at education, work history, knowledge and skills to assess the person's ability to do the job. With some jobs there are formal certifications or skills assessment tests that can help. Unfortunately, with elected officials there are no formal qualifications, certifications, or civil service tests to weed out the incompetent. In Wisconsin you can't cut hair or sell real estate without training and a certification. But any nincompoop can run for office no matter how ignorant or unqualified. So voters are on ...

Comparing the U.S. Senate Candidates on Retirement Issues

  Wisconsin and the nation is facing a retirement security crisis. Many people will have inadequate income for a secure retirement. Over 400,000 seniors in Wisconsin will be living in poverty by 2030. As a result, Wisconsin will need to spend an additional $3.5 billion on public assistance programs. Why is this happening? There are many reasons. Low pay jobs don't allow saving for retirement. One million people have no retirement program at work. Individual savings plans, like 401Ks and IRAs, don't work well for many people. They have high management fees, involve stock market risk and require considerable, consistent investment. People ...

Mr. Ausman Goes to Washington

Richard Ausman is running for Congress. He is the Democratic candidate for the 7th Congressional district in northwestern Wisconsin. He is not a politician. He has never run for office before. Like the James Stewart character in “Mr Smith Goes to Washington,” Mr. Ausman is a “common man” hoping to go to Washington and change things. He says. “It is time to stop playing the blame game and cool the radical rhetoric that divides us as a people. It is time to move back towards a more traditional moderate center of the road pro-American approach where we are united as neighbors for our common good.” All politicians portray themselves as ...

God Isn’t a Republican and Republicans Are Not Godly

“And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah. This is what the Lord Almighty said,  'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner, or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”  Zechariah 7:8-10 It is unfathomable to me that fundamentalist Christians so ardently support the Republican party. Few Republican politicians exhibit any of the “fruits of the spirit” that supposedly identify true Christians. Nor does the Republican agenda reflect any Christian teachings. Both Republican philosophy and policy objectives promote greed, selfishness, hate and ...

Politics Matter

It is easy to complain about politics. It is easy to take the apathetic road and believe the politicians are all bought, your vote doesn't count, money talks, and there is nothing you can do to change the world. You may think politics is dirty and you don't want to get involved. But politics is the way we organize and run our society. Whether you like it or not, politics will happen to you whether you are involved or not. There is a saying, “If you are not at the table you may be on the menu.” So we all need to to participate in some way – voting, learning about issues, supporting candidates, donating, volunteering or expressing your opinio...

Look Up and Act Collectively

“...humanity needs stories that highlight the many absurdities that arise from collectively knowing what’s coming while collectively failing to act...We also need stories that show humanity responding rationally to the crisis...” Peter Kalmus, climate scientist and author   Mr. Kalmus was writing in the Guardian magazine about the movie “Don't Look Up.” He says the movie (about a comet strike) is really a story about climate change and our ignoring  the warnings and danger to humanity. The same could be said for many critical problems we face.      People are good at collective denial. Our collective denial, our lack of ...

The Choice on Guns

Bad thinking and misinformation about guns is common in our country. Apologists for our crazy gun culture often use misleading statistics. Their arguments sound reasonable or appear to be supported by facts and numbers. But statistics can be misleading when they are misused, out of context or interpreted incorrectly. I recently read a letter-to-the-editor that claimed mass shootings were not a problem because they are a very small percentage of the 45,000 gun related deaths each year. The author  accused gun control advocates of exaggerating the issue. It is true that mass shootings (four or more people shot or killed in one incident) result in ...