Government
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 ...
