State Capitol ‘Run Against Walker’ to Focus on Walker, GOP Attacks on Health Care, Middle Class to Pay for $600 Million Corporate Tax Cuts

MADISON, Wis. — Massive attacks against health care, education and middle class priorities launched by Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican legislative majority are the focus of a “Run Against Walker,” scheduled at the State Capitol today. The “Run Against Walker,” a run/walk for citizens organized by One Wisconsin Now as part of the “Walkerville” activities on the State Capitol Square, will accommodate both runners and walkers who are united against Walker’s attacks on the middle class.

The run will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the top of State Street, travel down State Street to the University of Madison-Wisconsin Terrace and along the lake and back to the Capitol in advance of the “Walkerville” health care events scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

“Gov. Scott Walker and the Republicans call for ”shared sacrifice,’ while attacking the working people of Wisconsin,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. “But their idea is to sacrifice the health care, public education and priorities of the middle class, while allowing special interests to share more than $600 million dollars every two years in new corporate tax breaks and giveaways.”

Walker and the Republicans have already passed into law $140 million in new tax breaks that help corporations and the wealthy. In the recently completed Joint Finance Committee budget writing, the Republican-led committee passed nearly $500 million coming biennial new corporate tax giveaways. [Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau]

The unprecedented corporate giveaways by Republicans come at the same time Walker and his allies have attempted to pass the following attacks on the middle class, including:

• Allowing the Secretary of the Department of Health Services to cut, without full legislative approval, 70,000 Wisconsinites who pay for health care through the BadgerCare program;
• Increasing the health care costs for potentially 1 million Wisconsinites;
• Refusing to protect seniors from being forced after next year out of the successful SeniorCare prescription drug program and into the more expensive Medicare Part D federal plan that would result in higher costs for seniors.

Walker and his allies are also making drastic cuts to public education and higher education, including $1.6 billion in less funding for public schools, $71 million in cuts to the Technical College System and $250 million in cuts the University of Wisconsin system. Republicans have even voted to increase taxes on the working poor by $60 million.

“We will ”Run Against Walker’ as long as Walker runs against the values of the people of Wisconsin and remains in the pocket of corporate special interests,” said Ross. “ ‘Run Against Walker’ is our effort to make Wisconsin a healthier place for the middle class and workers across Wisconsin.”