I went to a few tea parties last week. There was a lot of singing and yelling, lots of costumes, and LOTS of signs with coiled snakes on them. I have to admit, in a weird, Dungeons and Dragon kind of way, it was kind of fun and easy to get lost in the moment: […]
Last year I wrote a blog about the fact that the Tax Foundation, the think tank behind “Tax Freedom Day,” was once owned and operated by Americans for Prosperity. And because today is today is Tax Freedom Day in Wisconsin, and because Americans for Prosperity will be using Tax Foundation talking points this Thursday at […]
Unless theres a murder, dont expect Walker and his staff to care about the doctors, nurses and patients at the mental health complex. After reports of repeated sexual assaults, we now learn that for months Walker and his administration ignored a doctors concerns about safety at the county mental health complex after multiple patients carried […]
Marty Beil, never one to mince words when it comes to standing up for working men and women across Wisconsin, responded to the continuing assaults by the GOP shills at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute against our dedicated public employees: ‘If Scott Walker wants to communicate with me, I would think he’s man enough to […]
Scott Walker references saving money to pay for his kids’ college education. Given the raise he gave himself, I guess his savings is going pretty well.
April Fool’s. He hasn’t. Since we were previously denied access to one of Scott Walker’s recycled ‘Brown Bag’ campaign gimmick stops, we have been trying to get him to answer five questions regarding fiscal management, spending, job creation and priorities. Again, Scott, our phone number is 608-204-0677 One Wisconsin Now’s questions: 1. How will you […]
Yesterday we were denied access to one of Scott Walker’s recycled ‘Brown Bag’ campaign gimmick stops in Fitchburg. We had just a handful of questions we were hoping Walker could answer for us regarding fiscal management, spending, job creation and priorities. We left him our phone number, but alas, he has not responded.One Wisconsin Now’s […]
If Davis wanted Tommy!’s endorsement for his bid for Lieutenant Governor, he should have thought twice about introducing a bill to reverse a 13-year old statute that Tommy! created, along with Scott Walker and the Republican controlled legislature back in 1997. And the RPW might have thought twice about throwing stones at a no-bid provision […]
Over the weekend we heard about Scott Walker’s $24,500 ‘Brown Bag,’ Rebecca Kleefisch’s plan to cut gov’t waste by creating more gov’t, and the Sean Duffy camp kerfuffle at a Wisconsin TEA Party. Chalk it up to spring fever’¦ or just right-wing ridiculousness as usual. First up: Scott Walker’s $24,500 ‘Brown Bag’ From the AP: […]
A new study from the Citizens for Tax Justice shows just how far Ryan is willing to go to sell out the middle class for the sake of Americas richest one percent. If the Roadmap were enacted, the federal government would collect $2 trillion less over 10 years, but the bottom 90 percent of all […]
Ed Thompson announced today that he’d be singing Grover Norquist’s ‘Taxpayer Protection Pledge.’ In his latest press release, Thompson raises the roof for Norquist and his group, Americans for Tax Reform, for championing a belief in anti-working class tax policies. Score another one for the fat cats.We’ve written about disciples of Norquist’s no new taxes […]
The latest talking point to trickle down from Fox News to the rest of the GOP is that an up or down vote, also known as reconciliation, on health insurance reform in the Senate is outside the Senate rules. GOPer talking heads have equated using reconciliation with the “nuclear” option — which, gentle reader, you’ll […]
Good news, Wisconsin taxpayers. There are more swimming pools in your future. Look for one in a backyard near you — but not at the park. Campaign press release: Scott Walker, Milwaukee County executive and Republican candidate for governor, told a crowd of over 125 at Sheraton Hotel this weekend that as governor he would […]
A great retort from AFSCME’s Marty Biel about WPRI’s attack on the state pension system that their president, George Lightbourn, a 20-year public employee himself who managed and now receives benefits from the system, posted by Sly this morning: Your State Pension Under Attack Executive Director Beil Blast’s Opponents of State Pension PlanDefends Public Sector […]
If theres one thing new Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce board chair Tom Howatt and his corporate cronies at WMC enjoy more than anything, its a big ole handout from the government. Take Howatts company Wausau Paper. In the final quarter of 2009, Wausau Paper reported its best earnings quarter in ten years, $9.2 million, the […]
During some downtime between creating super awesome and totally relevant Ayn Rand fanboy videos and posting them on Facebook, Paul Ryan managed to find time to offer up the latest GOP lead-balloon plan for propping up the rich and corporations while selling out the middle class. Ryans Roadmap for America was brought to the forefront […]
WISTAX Watch is asking the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance to explain why its latest report focusing on fee increases in cities and villages ignores county governments. The state is in the midst of a gubernatorial campaign between Milwaukee’s conservative county executive, Scott Walker and Milwaukee’s mayor, Tom Barrett. It defies logic that WISTAX focuses on […]
Rep. Marlin Schneider got called out by the Associated Press for a claim he made on the number of constituents who contacted him about his laughably-unconstitutional bill limiting the public’s right to the online Circuit Court Access Program. It reminded us of a similar constituent claim made by right-wing seat-filler Sen. Mary Lazich. Back in […]
Gotta quiz for you…Which supposedly “independent” and “unbiased” organization in Wisconsin fits the following? Its president and leading voice is a former Republican administration official and local Republican party executive committee member. Members of its board of directors since 1994 have donated nearly $1.3 million to Republicans and conservative political candidates.Fifteen of these same 33 […]
Readers of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel business section will know the name John Torinus. Torinus seems to be a busy man in the business community: he is the current chair and former CEO of Serigraph, Inc.; a current board member of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce—our state’s largest pro-corporate, anti-public investment lobby group; and a past […]
The failed conservative economic policies of giving endless tax breaks to corporations and the rich finally got a full-throated repudiation last night as voters in Oregon passed a tax increase on the wealthy and corporations to fill that states gaping budget hole. Voters sick and tired of watching corporations get rich while state services and […]
Before criticizing Doyle for statewide job losses during a recession, Walker should pay attention to what’s going on in his own backyard. In 2009 Milwaukee County lost over 30,000 jobs — with the unemployment rate jumping from 5.5% to 9.2% in just one year. (bls.gov) And just what sort of “economic development” has Walker been […]
So let me get this straight. Wisconsin’s facing a budget deficit of something like $2-billion, and Scott Walker’s idea is to dig the hole deeper with a big corporate tax break? And the news media treat him seriously? As Gov. Jim Doyle was getting ready to deliver his State of the State speech, Walker, surrounded by […]
Master Terrence Wall Street simply does not like the Recovery Act. In fact, he dislikes the Recovery Act almost as much as he disdains paying his fair share of taxes that the rest of us pay. The Untaxable Terrence, has not only used his Twitter to criticize efforts through the Recovery Act to turn America […]
Meet the Corporation I had always heard of these faceless corporations so I thought it wouldn’t be very much fun to meet one. But now that the Supreme Court has officially made them persons (sorta like they did with George Bush) I thought maybe I’d do what I’d wanted to for a long time ‘ […]
In his effort to portray the ‘fail, Democrats, fail’ movement also known as the teabaggers, consistent pro-GOPer mouthpiece Patrick McIlheran attempts to further the fallacy that teabagging is a non-partisan explosion of discontent, rather than Republicans who want President Obama and Democrats to, well, not succeed. Paddy Mac’s method: interviewing some joker who at one […]
After helping to bloat the state corrections system (in the 1990’s prison spending rose 246%), and taking political contributions from the for-profit private prison industry, Walker has now created a $5 million hole in Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke’s 2010 budget in his zeal to lie about raising the property tax levy. To cover this […]
Looks like Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has his rapid response done through the Journal Communications company. No sooner had One Wisconsin Now posted our analysis showing Scott Walker’s proposed county budget increases of 35% were higher than the state’s two other largest municipalities, the City of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin, than his […]
Happy days are here again, according to Scott Walker, the county executive who’s made such a mess of Milwaukee County government that his long-term solution is to abolish county government. Walker’s “state of the county” speech on Tuesday painted a rosy picture of his tenure, proposed even more privatization of services, and promised to reduce […]
Over the past months, a staffer from the conservative MacIver Institute has been attending press conferences in Madison and Milwaukee, armed with a camera to take footage and attempt to get interviews with legislators and other elected public officials. Be warned: The MacIver Institute is a not a news service. It is not a member […]
From the Oshkosh Northwestern: “A crowd of about 150 parents, teachers and concerned Oshkosh residents packed into a commons room at West High School Tuesday night for a public forum on upcoming spending cuts as high as $5 million. About 30 people spoke out against budget cuts that would close schools and layoff teachers.”The article […]
Walker’s legacy of managing the Milwaukee County parks: mid-year budget deficits, pool closures, underfunding, complete and utter mismanagement by his appointed staff, and taking credit for a national award that was granted because of the efforts of a creative director and private citizens who took park maintenance into their own hands. Walker’s often used strategy […]
Citing ‘new technology’ that supposedly didn’t exist eight years ago when he took hold of the budget reins of Milwaukee County as its executive, Scott Walker announced yesterday that he, himself, has ‘launched a public accountability link’.From the Walker press release:‘New technology allows us to post information for greater transparency in government spending,’ said Walker. […]
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate continues to drop, and while the economy still has a ways to go before it’s fully recovered from the disastrous economic policies of George W. Bush (worst President ever), we’re getting there, thanks in no small part to the Recovery Act and steady leadership from democrats in Madison. Let’s go back, gentle […]
Dear Mr. Walker, Yes, jobs are the top concern for people all across the state of Wisconsin. But unlike you, who didn’t start addressing job creation until after your announcement for Governor earlier this year, Wisconsin families have been concerned about losing their jobs in this Bush-created recession for nearly two years now. It’s great […]
The corporate shills at the right wing Wisconsin Policy Research Institute has a typical corporate response to the skyrocketing health care costs.
Once again, Scott Walkers desire to score political points with his right-wing teabagger base rather than act as an effective and responsible leader leads to a black eye for Milwaukee County. A revealing, albeit stomach-turning video at WISN.com shows overflowing trash bins, plugged toilets and at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Just last month, Walkers county […]
The employment outlook for Milwaukee County snowplow drivers? Like many other Milwaukee County employees, layoffs. Fully half of all the drivers in the county could be laid off in the next year unless the County comes up with more money. Milwaukee County might have enough funding to get through this winter, but next summer and […]
A prominant Milwaukee business leader garnered a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel yesterday for calling for the dismantling of Milwaukee County’s governemnt at a Rotary Club meeting. While I fail to see why a conservative calling for the dismantling of government is news, the story did reveal that a new study will be coming […]
Back in September, One Wisconsin Now called into serious question the Tax Foundation’s claim of being an objective research organization when it was revealed that it was a ‘Silver Sponsor’ of an Americans for Prosperity event. Everyone knows the research coming out of the Tax Foundation is fundamentally conservative, but this was a little much. […]
Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG) is running radio ads right now against a couple members of the Milwaukee Board of Supervisors, one of whom who earlier this week voted against the Board’s budget. Despite her vote against the budget, Patricia Jursik is apparently being targeted because of her support for spending in the past. Theo […]
News last week the unemployment rate nationwide is up over 10 percent for the first time since the Reagan administration. And of course, the Dow is back up over 10,000, because these days, when Wall Street gets rich, real Americans get screwed. Perhaps a different post for a different day. As weve been told so […]
One might ask Walker to join the 21st century or stop taking benefits on the government teat. Ask him loudly, in fact. Again, Walker if Milwaukee can give your family health care benefits, so should domestic partners have the same right. In fact, Walker, what makes your wife, or your two kids more worthy of […]
Dropping to new lows of complete and utter disdain and abuse of workers, on Monday Walker told a radio DJ that the layoff notices mailed to Milwaukee County workers were just a “political ploy” to force the Supervisors to approve cuts to rectify a budget deficit created by the idiocy and mismanagement of yet another […]
The colliding worlds of Scott Walker’s endless political hackery have been on full and unaduterated display in the past 24 hours. Walker’s administration suddenly announces and end-of-the-year budget crisis and offers, as maddenly-always, one solution: layoffs of workers. Milwaukee’s County Supervisors were hastily given this news by Walker’s lackeys — yep, Walker himself couldn’t find […]
There it is on the front page of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s website. Almost 800 words from George Lightbourn about ‘polling’ that concludes Gov. Jim Doyle’s Democratic backers in the state legislature are in peril. It’s an amazing coincidence. Somehow, the sciency-stuff keeps working out for conservatives in the WPRI-UW Right Wing Propaganda Polling […]
Read Milwaukee County’s life-long-health-benefits-on-the-public-dime Executive Scott Walker’s statement on the Milwaukee County Board’s Personnel Committee decision to support domestic partner benefits for employees. ‘I will veto the Domestic Partner Benefits plan approved by the County Board’s Personnel Committee today. Now is not the time to be adding any new benefits for public employees, let alone […]
Yesterday Walker announced that he would “borrow a page from his county budget strategy book” in reshaping the state budget if he’s elected Governor next year. Let’s get specific about exactly what those strategies look like: 1.) Unrealistic revenue projections that have led to repeated mid-year budget corrections (remember 2003?), resulting in pool closings, layoffs […]
Fear-monger extraordinaire Todd Berrys conservative talking points are once again proven wrong by, you know, reality. Berry claimed in September of this year the repeal of the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) in the state budget could lead to disaster — teachers salaries could explode out of control[!!!] bankrupting school districts and leading to MASSIVE CUTS […]
The latest study by the supposedly non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance is another example of the groups conservative bent and its willingness to manipulate data and flat out make stuff up to support its agenda of lower corporate taxes, regressive taxation on working families and less public investment. In order to raise the alarm about high […]