On Tuesday, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court will hear two cases challenging a voter ID law that, if implemented, would disenfranchise an estimated 300,000 otherwise legal voters.
MADISON, Wis. — A new report raises questions about the veracity of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s denial of the existence of a secret email system in the Governor’s office. An article posted today on UrbanMilwaukee.com reports that a source with knowledge of the Governor’s staff operation in the State Capitol described a system of top state […]
Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin, said Republicans donors have “pressed the panic button” on Walker’s campaign. ”(Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce’s) million dollar buy didn’t move the needle,” Ross said, referring to another recent ad supporting Walker. “And so now RGA is doing the dirty work and spending in Wisconsin before they’ve dumped money practically […] [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
The messages “unmask the real Gov. Walker,” said Mike Browne, deputy director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. “He is revealed as a politician personally managing the minutest details of his public persona and during times of crisis showing more concern for protecting his image and prospects for higher political office than solving problems,” Browne […] [Associated Press]
The emails raise serious questions about his ethics and trustworthiness as a politician and public official. [MSNBC]
Remember when news broke that AB 748, a bill dealing with voucher schools accreditation standards, was being put on the lightning fast track of having a public hearing a day after being introduced? Well, according to One Wisconsin Now they know why. It appears the American Federation for Children co-sponsored Rep. Jessie Rodriguez was more […] [Wisconsin Soapbox]
Legislation claiming to impose new accountability requirements on schools participating in the private school voucher program was written by the lobbyist for the school privatization industry.
Experts and legislators provided testimony to the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee on Monday in support of Assembly Bill 498, the Higher Ed, Lower Debt Act.
There are hundreds of thousands of borrowers with student debt in Wisconsin. They've done the right thing, working hard to get their education or job training and taking on the personal responsibility.
A standing room only crowd packed the room to share their stories and call for action on the student loan debt crisis at today’s Senate committee hearing on the Higher Ed, Lower Debt Act, Senate Bill 376.
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans continue to build on their shameful record on voter rights, today considering legislation that would ban communities from offering early voting in the evening after 6pm or on weekends. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross blasted the legislation, Assembly Bill 54, and comments from the Chair of the Senate Elections […]
Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Institute, noted that some steps have been taken to undo the damage of law changes adopted in the mid and late 1990s [Capital Times]
Research from One Wisconsin shows individuals who owe on student loans are less likely to purchase new cars and are more likely to rent instead of buy. [Badger Herald]
An innovative state solution to help tackle the $1.2 trillion student loan debt crisis will take a first step forward toward becoming a reality in Wisconsin with a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges.
State Sen. Glenn Grothman convened a legislative committee hearing today on legislation he authored to repeal a nearly century-old day of rest requirement for manufacturing industry employees.
In this case, there is no reason Wisconsinites should not be able to refinance loans. We would much rather see those same residents buying a new car or dining Downtown. [Racine Journal Times]
In his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama spoke to the need for greater access and affordability in higher education and job training.
On Tuesday, President Obama goes before Congress and the nation to announce his priorities for the upcoming year and give an update on the state of our union.
The state of the finances of nearly 40 million Americans with an estimated $1.2 trillion in student loan debt is in crisis, according to One Wisconsin Now's Executive Director Scot Ross.
A Wisconsin student calls for action on the higher ed debt crisis. HuffPost Live goes on campus to speak with two students fighting for change. [Huffington Post]
If we don't act we risk higher education at a university or job training at a technical college become nothing more than a multi-decade debt sentence instead of the path to the middle class.
Yesterday, in an appearance before a political special interest group to promote a new trickle down economic tax scheme, he termed proposals to increase the state minimum wage a “political stunt.”
MADISON, Wis. — The following are the statements of One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross regarding Senate and Assembly Republicans latest proposals, Senate Bill 459 and Assembly Bill 608, to make voting more complicated and less convenient for legal voters in Wisconsin: Ending attacks on the rights of legal voters was apparently not among the […]
According to a report by the One Wisconsin Institute, the impact of student debt translates into over $6 billion in lost automotive sales each year. General Motors is also taking note. [Huffington Post]
Missing from the reported details of the latest tax scheme to be unveiled by Gov. Scott Walker in this evening's “State of the State” address is any help for Wisconsin borrowers caught in the $1.2 trillion student loan debt crisis.
One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross was invited on Sly’s show to discuss the brewing scandal involving Rep. Joel Kleefisch. [SLY]
Corporate funded ALEC has vociferously promoted an agenda to boost their bottom line at the expense of the rest of us.
Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said United Sportsmen’s sole source of funding appeared to be a conservative political group and that its main spending went to a GOP campaign consultant. “It is clear, based on their track record, that had United Sportsmen gotten state funding as envisioned by Governor Walker […] [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
There has not been some sort of outcry from small business and employees asking for this protection to be removed. [MSNBC]
MADISON, Wis. — Media reports from Omaha, Nebraska say Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will be traveling there on January 27th to campaign on behalf of Republican gubernatorial candidate Pete Ricketts. Ricketts is a multi-millionaire with a reported distaste for paying his fair share of taxes. He ran a largely self-funded and unsuccessful, campaign for U.S. […]
We're incredibly proud to have Analiese on our team. Her efforts on the student loan debt crisis have been key in building a state and national movement to solve the crisis of student loan debt.
Discussing Gov. Scott Walker's upcoming State of the State FAIL, and the scandal orbiting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. [WMTV-TV]
One Wisconsin Now today requested Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel open an investigation to determine if Kleefisch broke any laws with his actions.
The liberal group One Wisconsin Now sent a letter to Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel asking him to investigate the drafting of the special-interest bill, saying “this affair reeks of impropriety.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
A lapdog Republican legislature has adopted Gov. Walker’s agenda built on billions in tax giveaways overwhelmingly benefitting the wealthy and corporations.
In 2011 the non-profit issue advocacy wing of the state big business lobby, the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Issues Mobilization Council, Inc. donated nearly $1 million to Wisconsin Club for Growth.
Recently, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch led a closed-door roundtable discussion about taxes with some business leaders in Beloit. After viewing footage of the meeting obtained by One Wisconsin Now, we can see why Kleefisch and the Walker administration didn’t want the public to hear what they discussed. [Shepherd Express]
“Ron Johnson wants people to be denied access to healthcare... He wants to reinstate things like lifetime caps and denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions.” [WLUK-TV]
Who would have thought that the best characterization of the legal action announced by Sen. Johnson today would come from fellow Wisconsin Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner?
“Scott Walker’s legislative confederate, who wants to eliminate the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday and voted to water down child labor laws, now has ending the weekend in his legislative crosshairs,” Ross said. “To do the bidding of their corporate donors, is restoration of indentured servitude coming next from the Walker Republicans?” [Wisconsin State Journal]
Grothman’s proposing legislation that “would allow an employee to voluntarily choose to work without one day of rest in seven,” according to an email sent by his office to other state lawmakers on Friday. The email, which was sent to The Huffington Post by the progressive group One Wisconsin Now, was asking lawmakers to cosponsor […] [Huffington Post]
One Wisconsin Now deputy director Mike Browne questioned why Walker would continue with trickle-down economic policies… “You’re increasing a tax burden on those least able to pay,” Browne said of raising sales taxes. “I’m not quite sure what that helps in terms of having a tax code that treats everyone in Wisconsin fairly.” [Wisconsin State Journal]
MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now is calling on State Representative Joel Kleefisch to, in his own words, apologize for plagiarizing three Republican U.S. Representatives in a recent legislative co-sponsorship memo on a proposed state bill allowing employers to replace overtime pay with compensatory time. A report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel details the episode […]
MADISON, Wis. — While claiming they will seek public input for an unspecified new scheme on state taxes, the administration of Gov. Walker is barring the media and general public from invite only, closed door meetings between top state officials and big business representatives. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross commented, “Banning the media […]
The “Higher Ed, Lower Debt” bill would operate under a method similar to refinancing home mortgage loans... One Wisconsin Now has been studying the implications of student loan debt on the Wisconsin economy for the past two years. [Capital Times]
The similarities were noticed by a Republican lawmaker, who asked not to be named because he works with Kleefisch, and the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. “Looks to me like good ol’ Joel is a taker instead of a maker,” said Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
The WISTAX study reveals how students and their families are increasingly being squeezed because of a system in which state support for higher education is being slashed and tuition is skyrocketing.
MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Walker is publicizing multiple “forums” across the state where, at his direction, top administration officials talk tax policy changes with big business representatives. At the first stop in Beloit that featured Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, the Secretary of the Department of Revenue and business representatives, Kleefisch order the meeting closed to […]
One Wisconsin Now organization has filed an open records request for a recording done in Beloit with Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Department of Revenue Secretary Rick Chandler. The two held a tax reform roundtable with local businesses at Beloit College on Monday. The Beloit Daily News was not let into the meeting until an hour […] [Beloit Daily News]
One Wisconsin Now today filed a request under the state open records law for video reportedly taken by a state employee of a roundtable event on state tax policy including Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch.