Economics
PENSIONS ARE THE BEST BET FOR WISCONSIN MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS
This month is Mental Health Month and I wanted to take some time to thank my fellow mental health workers throughout Wisconsin for their service. I feel truly honored and fortunate to work closely with a dedicated group of public employees across many disciplines, including nursing, social work, psychiatry, psychology, and occupational therapy.
Currently, I am a psychiatrist at the Mendota Mental Health Institute (MMHI) in Madison and at the Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI) in Waupun. At both locations, I work as part of a team to treat mentally ill patients, and ...
AUDIT: WEDC Cannot Be Certain of Any Jobs Created or Retained
Our state spends a great deal of money on economic development. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is responsible for overseeing much of the taxpayer money that goes to job creation.
A recently released audit by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) found that “WEDC cannot be certain about the number of jobs actually created or retained as a result of any awards that ended.”
By law, WEDC is required to report jobs created or retained. The agency meets the requirement through reports posted on its website. However, auditors found these ...
EDUCATION BILLS IN THE STATE BUDGET
Education bills will probably come up before the Joint Finance Committee by the end of May. Once the budget bill passes through the Joint Finance Committee, it goes to the Assembly and then the Senate for floor debates and votes.
Then it goes to the Governor who has veto power but cannot make additions at that point. The governor has suggested he will fund transportation needs from the general purpose revenues, the same source that funds school aid. Assembly leaders have introduced a tax/transportation funding plan that could diminish funds for public schools.
AB 267 ...
WHAT’S A WOMAN WORTH?
What’s a Woman Worth? was the topic of discussion at the Women For Women of Marathon County meeting Thursday, May 4th. The pay inequity gap women face leads to the retirement gap later in life.
Kathleen Marsh, a retired teacher and author, Kay Johnson a retired teacher and advocate for public school students and staff, and Joyce Luedke, a retired teacher and writer for Middle Wisconsin presented a Power Point Presentation based on research and a PPP done in 2017 by the American Association of University Women (AAUW).
The discussions after the PPP were animated and ...
Wisconsin Taxes 101
A favorite “wedge” issue of the conservatives is taxes. Everyone loves to hate taxes so it is easy to misrepresent the facts. Wisconsin is accused of being a “tax hell” with higher tax “burdens” than other states. Is this true? Of course this depends on what sources you cite and how you manipulate the numbers. Ultimately people will believe what they want to believe. This article provides some basic information on Wisconsin taxes from reputable sources to help better understand the issues.
What do Wisconsinites pay in state and local taxes?
Everyone pays ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXXII A HUGE WIN FOR PUBLIC BANKING
Santa Fe, New Mexico is a city of roughly 70,000 people. They have just won a major victory in overcoming the parasitic bonds of the Wall Street banking cartel. Rather than continuing to live in endless debt servitude to wealthy predators, the people of Santa Fe are choosing to invest in themselves. City wealth and capital will be placed in a community owned bank and interest on investments will be returned to the people. Millions of dollars in public funds that would have gone to Wall Street will now be used to improve life for the citizens of Santa Fe.
The Wausau ...
You Can’t Fix Stupid
On Monday, January 30th, the current administration moved to reduce government “regulation.” Trump signed an executive order requiring all federal agencies to repeal two regulations for each new one proposed. At meetings with business executives from large companies he has promised to cut regulation by 75 percent.
“If there’s a new regulation, they have to knock out two. But it goes far beyond that, we’re cutting regulations massively for small business and for large business,” Trump said during the signing of the order. The administration stresses that the ...
WEALTH AND MONEY PART XXXI THE FRIGHTENING IGNORANCE OF THE “BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT”
A dangerous assault on the United States of America is now well underway. It hardly makes the news. Under the guidance of the billionaire Koch brothers funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and other corporately supported think tanks, 29 states have passed a resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention for the purpose of passing a federal “Balanced Budget Amendment.” Only 5 more states are needed to reach the 34 required to force the holding of this historically unprecedented event (the original Constitutional Convention was held in 1787). Led by ...
THE WAGE GAP
Laura Dresser, Ph.D, the Associate Director of COWS (Center on Wisconsin Strategy) spoke at the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice Breakfast February 13th, 2017 in Madison. Laura Dresser is a co-editor of The Gloves-Off Economy: Workplace Standards at the Bottom of America’s Labor Market. She is addressing issues on the connection between quality care, quality jobs, and minimum wages.
In her speech, Laura Dresser addressed the issue of the wage inequity working women face in the labor force.
***Women are paid less than a man for doing the exact same job.
...
WEALTH AND MONEY Part XXX: THE CONQUERING (AND RESCUE) OF AMERICA
The Wall Street Bank System
Washington Public Banking Coalition
Public Banking Institute
One of the first actions President Donald Trump and his newly appointed cabinet members ( several of whom are former employees of Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs) plan to take in “Making America Great Again” is to substantially increase our already destructively bloated military budget. It will do nothing to make us more safe. While our corporately directed armed forces are manipulated to pursue pre-emptive, imperialist wars abroad, we as American citizens are being impoveri...