Return of The New Age Robber Barrons or Connect the Oligarchical Dots
The Wisconsin Supreme Court Election presented us with some interesting developments that tell us about the state of our democracy and especially the role of money in our elections. And the developments are troubling at best. It’s as if the major political parties have abandoned the notion of establishing good public policy positions and instead rely on misleading and or exaggerated dark money advertisements that appeal to emotional “red meat” sensations of low information voters.
In the uptake of the Citizens United decision by the United States Supreme Court ...
Wisconsin’s Budget
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has released his proposed 2025-2027 budget. In what has become a legislative tradition, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos declared Evers’ proposal “dead on arrival.” The next step in the biennial battle is for the Republican controlled Joint Finance Committee to write their own budget ignoring most of Evers' work.
Gov. Evers' budget proposes a $119 billion plan for investments in education, healthcare, public health, cleaning up environmental problems and tax relief for the lower tax brackets. There are a number of improvements for ...
HEAD START
Right now, Congress is working on a budget proposal that includes eliminating the Head Start program nationwide. For Wisconsin children, this could be devastating. In St. Croix County alone, Head Start funded preschool enrollment for over 9,000 children in 2023.
Head Start promotes school readiness for children from birth to age five who live in low-income households. Families also benefit from participation in the program, as it also provides prenatal care, housing support, job training, and education both for parents and staff.
Starting in 1965 ...
Why the Next Wave of NFT Marketplaces Will Live Inside Multi‑Chain Wallets — and What That Means for DeFi Trading
I used to think NFTs were a collectible sideshow. Then I watched a small artist in Brooklyn sell a series, split royalties automatically, and have buyers trade fractions in seconds — all without leaving a single wallet. Strange, right? That moment made it clear: marketplaces are moving into wallets, not the other way around.
Here’s the short version: users want fewer context switches. They want to manage assets, buy and sell, stake and swap — all from a single interface that understands multiple chains and the DeFi rails that connect them. The tech is catching up. ...
The Environmental Cost of Computers
There is an old saying, “Whenever you light a candle you also cast a shadow.” There are always downsides to any choices, changes or innovations. Computer chip technology, computers and the Internet have transformed everything and improved many things. But are we looking at the inevitable shadows?
The Minnesota Center for Environment Advocacy (MCEA) recently had a webinar on the environmental impact of data centers which run the online world. They explain the environmental shadows many of us are not seeing. You can watch the MCRA webinar, or read a transcript, by ...
139th Anniversary of the Bayview Massacre
Wisconsin’s most historic and bloody labor incident occurred on May 5, 1886 on the shores of Lake Michigan in the Bay View area of Milwaukee. That day dawned after four days of massive worker demonstrations throughout Milwaukee on behalf of the creation of eight-hour day laws.
As some 1,500 workers marched toward the Bay View Rolling Mills (then the area’s biggest manufacturer) urging the workers there to join the marches, the State Militia lined up on a hill, guns poised. The marchers were ordered to stop form some 200 yards away; when they didn’t, the militia...
Tom Tiffany Empty Town Hall
A Tom Tiffany town Hall was held at Wausau Infused on Thursday, April 24. As constituents living and working in Wisconsin’s wonderfully diverse 7th Congressional District, we believe it’s more important than ever for our members of Congress to have an open and honest conversation with the people they represent.
Whether it’s rising costs, economic uncertainty, or the future of programs like Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP, the decisions made by Congress are impacting the lives of all Wisconsinites, including children, aging populations, disabled community ...
Attacks on Freedom
Funding for institutions of higher learning, including the University of Wisconsin’s campuses in Wausau and Marshfield, is being used to coerce them into following philosophical mandates issued by the Trump Administration. Attempting to coerce universities to change admission and administrative policy is an assault on academic freedom and on the First Amendment to the Constitution.
The First Amendment is written for the express purpose of allowing people to speak in opposition to government policy without recrimination. The Trump Administration has been abducting and ...
Tariffs and Oligarchy
What is a tariff? It is a tax placed on items imported from another country. Does the other country pay the tax? No, the American importer pays the tax and then passes the increased cost of the product on to the consumer. Who benefits? If tariffs become the major way of collecting taxes it is the wealthiest members of society. People with lower incomes spend most of their salaries or hourly wages on their daily needs. When prices rise, because of the across the board tariffs, they will pay taxes on most everything they buy. Wealthier people make money they don’t need for ...
RETURN OF THE ROBBER BARONS 4.0
TIME TO REDISTRIBUTE THE WEALTH
NORTH DAKOTA NON-PARTISAN LEADER 1918 - - HISTORY REPEATS
https://digitalhorizonsonline.org/digital/collection/ppf/id/24639/rec/706
Senior citizens are rightfully concerned about the “security” of Social Security. We hear endless
warnings claiming the program is insolvent and bankrupting the federal government. The
“Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) would happily gut and privatize the program
(something the Robber Barrons of Wall Street have wanted since its establishment under the
Franklin D. Roosevelt ...