Government
The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness and the Rise of Scott Walker
The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness and the Rise of Scott Walker by UW-Madison Professor, Katherine Cramer Part 2
In Part 1, I summarized three themes people in the 39 rural groups spoke about: The role and size of government, taxes, and the animosity toward public sector employees. In Part 2, I will continue with the concerns of the rural people who were interviewed.
1. The need for good paying jobs. “[It’s a great place to live] if you like poverty.” Many people work two or more jobs while living in poverty. The mine was a contentious issue. ...
Wisconsin Civil Service Reform Is Ill Advised
Wisconsin's current administration was elected on an agenda of creating jobs, cutting taxes, and fixing the budgets shortfalls. They have failed to produce on all three points. Wisconsin is still lagging behind most other states in job creation. Tax cuts for most citizens have been zero or very small while fees have increased. The state budget is still a problem.
They have succeeded in creating an avalanche of ill-advised public policy changes which have nothing to do with their original goals. They began with turning down federal dollars for high speed rail and ...
THE POLITICS OF RESENTMENT
Growing up during the 50’s and 60’s in a small community in far northern Wisconsin, I was considered a “country hick.” Within this tightly-knit community, we parceled ourselves out by the church we attended, the jobs our parents held, whether we were farmers or business owners. Some community members were considered “high toned.” This term was applied to people who wore nicer clothes and drove a nicer car than most, worked “in town” rather than farmed or did manual labor.
The people “in town” were known as “city slickers” because we felt they ...
Socialism in the U.S. Military
Calling your opponent a socialist is a favorite American political slur. The public has been programed to equate socialism, or any deviation from pure free market capitalism, with being un-American. The Constitution, however, does not say much about organizing the economy. Capitalism is not synonymous with freedom or democracy. It is entirely possible to have a socialistic, or even communistic, economy and a representative democracy.
Bernie Sanders is unique in openly claiming to be a democratic socialist. He does not intend, however, to change the structure of the ...
Selective Memories
The good old days are the memories of things that never were. We remember what we want to and disregard the rest. Every Memorial Day, in our zeal to honor those who have served, we have a national picnic feast of selective memory about war.
Our government is engaged in selectively remembering the Vietnam War. The Department of Defense is spending $65 million in a project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war. It is all about “honoring” the troops. As President Obama stated,
“As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, we reflect with solemn ...
LOCAL CONTROL
Local control has been the bedrock of democracy and is responsive to the needs and health of the community. At an alarming rate, the party in control of Wisconsin since 2011 has been assaulting our rights and freedoms to determine our destiny at the local level.
Since 2011, Republican lawmakers have passed 128 measures that restrict or reduce local control impacting Farmland Preservation, Public Instruction, Regional Transit, Shoreland Zoning Standards to name just a few. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported this in a May 16 memo.
Eighty of these ...
AUDIT THE PENTAGON
In "A Golden Age for Pentagon Waste" (US News and World Report, 2-3-16), William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, cites examples of Pentagon waste:
*$17 billion spent on private villas and costly facilities that were barely used in Afghanistan.
*$7 billion spent on unneeded equipment by the Defense Logistics Agency.
*Congress inserted 11 additional F-35 combat aircraft into the last defense bill despite dubious value to the military. Over the last decade the F-35 project has cost $1.4 trillion and has yet ...
SAVE CIVIL SERVICE
To mark Public Service Recognition Week, the Wisconsin Coalition to Save Civil Service is calling for a repeal of Wisconsin Act 150, set to begin implementation on July 1st. Act 150 will eliminate civil service exams and dismantle other key parts of the Wisconsin Civil Service Merit System.
“Wisconsin Civil Service is no less relevant today than it was in 1905 when it was begun. Wisconsin Act 150 will decimate the idea that ‘the best shall serve the state’. Instead, cronies will fill public agencies and will refocus state government to serve corporate special ...
How Would You Spend $1 Trillion Dollars?
How Would You Spend $1 Trillion Dollars?
It is tax time again. Where do your taxes go? Would you rather see your tax dollars spent better? If you could be in charge, how would you spend $1 trillion?
Budgets are about choices. It is about choosing what you can do, or not do, with limited resources. Congress sets spending priorities each year in the Federal “discretionary” budget. They decide whether to spend more on education or tax breaks, cancer research or food stamps, space exploration or housing assistance, diplomacy or bombs.
The Federal budget ...
