Republican’s Flat Tax Nothing but a Boondoggle for the Rich
Wisconsin’s Republican leaders just can’t help themselves.
In November voters rejected a flat income tax when its proponent, Tim Michels, lost to Gov. Tony Evers. However, schemes to make the rich richer are the GOP’s trademark, so now Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu has proposed eliminating the state’s mildly progressive income tax and replacing it with a 3.25% flat tax by 2026.
No matter how they try to package it, the flat tax would accomplish only two things: drastically deteriorate our quality of life in Wisconsin and, yes, provide a windfall ...
Ground Clutter
How we crave that clear, blue sky after what sometimes seems like an eternity of clouds here in the dead of the Wisconsin winter. Moods brighten as, finally, the awaited sun brushes our winter pines a radiant green, sumac tops flame up and the alfalfa stubble in the field down the road turns from dull tan to flashing gold above the snow. Most of us are creatures of the day, content and absorbed in life under our heavenly canopy. But lately I've begun to sense a seductive, day-sky deception afoot here that obscures our fragile reality and in so doing may lead to our ...
DEAR LEGISLATORS
“Unchecked militarism is the fatal disease of empires.” - Historian Arnold Toynbee
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town ...
Wellbeing of Our Children
Legislators: This is a copy of the letter I will be sending to news outlets in central and northern Wisconsin. It is intended to promote thought about gun safety laws and the well being of children and families in our state. I'm sending it to you as a statement of support for both increased mental health and public school funding where mental health problems can be best identified and addressed.
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In the first 46 days of this year there have been 67 mass shootings in the United States. The recent Michigan State University ...
BALLOONS AND CIRCUS CLOWNS
Grab your cell phone. Go to google maps. Click on satellite view. Search for Beijing, China. Zoom in. Want to sit on the roof of the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong? Zero in – you’re there. How about the Beijing Marriott Hotel? Not a problem. Wander around Tianamen Square? Go for it. Check out the curving roof ridges on the buildings in the Forbidden City? It’s all yours. Hungry? Head for Hongrongyuan Dumpling or Wankelai Beefsteak Hotpot. Heard they’re great!
Ah, but let’s head back to America. Do a search for the White House, Pennsylvania Ave. Wander around the ...
Freedom Is Healthcare For All
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“America's health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system.”
Walter Cronkite, CBS Evening News anchorman for 19 years (1962 to 1981) and "the most trusted man in America.”
The United States is the only country of the major economic powers where medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy. Only in America do people live in fear of an illness resulting in financial ruin. Only in America do 30 million people, 9.0 % of the ...
A History of Mining Failures in Northern Wisconsin
Tom Tiffany’s mining fantasies have not been working out. He authored what may go down as one of the worst laws ever written, designed to create a low cost iron mine by removing the top of the Penokee Hills and filling in the headwaters of the Bad River, a major river feeding Lake Superior, with the mine wastes. It did not end well for Mr. Tiffany.
Then Senator Tiffany’s dream came true when he was able overturn the so-called “Mining Moratorium Law”, despite overwhelming opposition to his scheme. The law was never a moratorium on metallic mining in our ...
Supreme Court Elections
Day in and day out, our lives are impacted by decisions made by our state Supreme Court. Now, we get a say in making that court work for us. The only way to ensure that the Wisconsin Supreme Court does its job and represents our communities is to make our voices heard in the upcoming judicial elections. Please vote in the primary election on February 21, and the general election on April 4.
You might be seeing ads or reading stories about the political balance of our state Supreme Court. But this election is about more than just politics, it’s about the problems ...
Democracy and Political Violence
“The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his book “Strength to Love.”
Driving to Green Bay recently I noticed a number of billboards that said “Thank a cop.” That part of Wisconsin being staunchly right wing, one would assume this message was a reaction to Black Lives Matter protests and efforts to make police more accountable for excessive use of force against minorities.
We were driving through a snow storm and it occurred to me that ...