Help Thy Self

If you have ever heard of the state of Wisconsin’s largest lobbying group, Wisconsin Manufactures Commerce, it was probably in reading some article about a corporate taxation bill or the Annette Ziegler controversy. However, what the average Wisconsinite doesn’t read about is how the state’s largest business lobbying group is voting against the people of Wisconsin at every chance they get. Although there are a multitude of major bills that WMC both supports and opposes that affect all of us, there are several smaller ones as well.

In the state’s 2007-2008 Legislative session alone, WMC opposed multiple bills that hurt people throughout Wisconsin. They opposed Assembly Bill 133, requiring health insurance coverage of hearing aids and cochlear implants for infants and young children. They opposed Senate Bill 75, requiring an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee who is pregnant or who is breast-feeding her child. They opposed Senate Bill 178, guaranteeing health insurance coverage for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. They even opposed Assembly Bill 179, giving health insurance coverage for wigs for cancer patients. If you would like to see some of the other legislation the WMC has lobbied for and against, you can see it here.

 Although Bills such as these may not affect all of us, they could and would make a large difference in some of our fellow Wisconsinite’s lives. Even the small cost is outweighed by the huge benefit that these small pockets of people would gain. However, it seems that WMC doesn’t think in such terms. After looking at their positions on bill after bill, it appears they have replaced “help thy neighbor” with “help thy self.’