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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross was invited on Sly’s show to discuss the brewing scandal involving Rep. Joel Kleefisch. [SLY]
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]
Discussing Gov. Scott Walker's upcoming State of the State FAIL, and the scandal orbiting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. [WMTV-TV]
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]
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]
“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]
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]
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]
Support is growing for a Wisconsin plan to address the harsh burdens of huge student loan debt. Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, said many people are not aware of the magnitude of the problem. [Public News Service]
One Wisconsin Now wrote: “The Walton family, which owns Wal-Mart, controls a fortune equal to the wealth of the bottom 42 percent of Americans combined.” We rate the statement True. [Politifact]
The history of state and national politics teems with campaigns’ colorful and cutting attempts to breed distrust and even contempt for political rivals… And the liberal group One Wisconsin Now publicly refers to a Republican state representative from Hartford as Don “White” Pridemore, alleging his Arizona-style immigration bill is racist. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Governor Walker has access to an ungodly amount of money. His campaign co-chair runs the $500 million right wing funding Bradley foundation. His largest donor is the wealthiest woman in Wisconsin. [MSNBC]
There’s fraud in Wisconsin elections — but the impropriety isn’t happening in polling places on Election Day. It’s being perpetrated in our state Capitol where Gov. Walker and his lapdog Republican Legislature continue to manipulate the rules on voting to gain a partisan political advantage. [Capital Times]
Our research shows that if you have a student loan debt you're two thirds more likely to be a used car owner as opposed to a new car owner and you're two thirds more likely to be a renter or live with your parents. [WGBA-TV]
“These numbers expose the expansion of the unaccountable private school voucher program for the scam that it is,” said Scot Ross, director of the anti-voucher group One Wisconsin Now. [Stevens Point Journal]
Citing crippling student loan debt that prevents young adults from buying cars and homes, three state Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday pushed for creation of a new state authority to refinance student loans. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Good Jobs First also highlights the June 2013 report from the advocacy group One Wisconsin Now showing that executives at companies receiving subsidies from WEDC had contributed $429,060 to Gov. Scott Walker. [Capital Times]
[WMTV-TV]
The student loan relief bill wouldn't solve all the problems, but it could put Wisconsin at the forefront of recognizing and fighting them. [Capital Times]
What the higher ed, lower debt bill does is it’s going to take charge of that and allow consumers to have more power with their economic decisions. [WISC-TV]
Whether it will gain support among Republicans remains unclear… Ross and his staff have been researching the implications of student loan debt on the Wisconsin economy for the past two years. [Capital Times]
Just days before receiving the grant, the lobbyist for United Sportsmen offered free fishing excursions to Suder, the Journal Sentinel reported Monday. The day the trip began, Suder joined 17 other Republicans in urging a committee to give the grant to United Sportsmen. The liberal group One Wisconsin Now filed an ethics complaint with the […] [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
One Wisconsin Now is requesting the Government Accountability Board conduct an investigation of possible state ethics violations after United Sportsmen, a group set to receive a $500,000 grant which was later rescinded, offered a two-day Lake Michigan fishing trip to former Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, who helped author the grant. [Badger Herald]
The nonprofit One Wisconsin Institute, a liberal nonprofit research group, found that the average payoff time for a student loan was 21 years. That’s a long time to wait to buy a home. [Lender Hookup]
One Wisconsin Now filed a formal complaint with the state Government Accountability Board asking for an investigation of possible violations of state ethics laws based on the report, Scot Ross, its executive director, said in a news release. [Eau Claire Leader-Telegram]
A liberal group filed an ethics complaint Monday against former Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder and a lobbyist for a self-described sportsmen group for going on a fishing trip together just days before the group got a now-canceled $500,000 state grant. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
While private schools benefit, courtesy of taxpayer-funded vouchers that in many cases far exceed the tuition paid by other students, it is once again our state public schools that lose out under the agenda of Walker and the Republican Legislature. [Capital Times]
[WMTV-TV]
Melissa Harris-Perry talks to Mike Browne, the Deputy Director of One Wisconsin Now, about one state assembly representative’s attempt to prevent workers who are unable to cast a vote during normal workday hours from voting. [MSNBC]
State legislators participating in a student debt panel on campus Tuesday said despite holding statewide elected offices, they are still paying off the loans they took out to finance their college education. [Badger Herald]
One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross was invited to be a featured speaker at the 12th Annual Fighting Bob Fest, where he addressed the student loan debt crisis to an enthusiastic crowd. [Fighting Bob Fest]
On the heels of legislation introduced by Rep. Mark Pocan that would allow anyone with federal student loans to refinance them to the lowest interest rates available. [Capital Times]
The votes of Wisconsinites are there for progressives to take, Scot Ross told the crowd at Saturday's Fighting Bob Fest, the annual gathering of progressives. And it all comes down to student loan debt. [Capital Times]
Scot Ross said Pocan's proposal is a common sense approach. “Why should student loans not be able to take advantage of lower interest rates?” [Wisconsin Public Radio]
“A strong economy demands an educated workforce and a robust middle class, and students are taking responsibility for paying for their education and job training.” [U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan]
Said Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now, who provided a copy of the drafting notes to the State Journal: “Why can’t they come up with the IRS letter?” [La Crosse Tribune]
Scot Ross, Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner, and Judith Browne Dianis join Melissa Harris-Perry to discuss the continued need for the fight for voting rights, especially after seeing legislation pass. [MSNBC]
Liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now is hoping its latest complaint against Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign gets more traction than the last one. [La Crosse Tribune]
“This is part of a larger and continuing effort on the part of Republicans to restrict voting by the people they don’t want to cast a ballot,” Mike Browne, deputy director of watchdog group One Wisconsin Now, said. [Huffington Post]