This is not me as a reporter. This is me passing along info just received from a fantastic activist I know in Wisconsin. I haven’t stopped to check facts and figures, so don’t quote any of this as fact unless you check it out for yourself. But that said – I heard enough to be terrified. Because this is the bare, raw, Republican agenda, coming soon to a state near you.
Wisconsin is in far more trouble than you have even heard. My mind is reeling from all I’m hearing. The governor is essentially leveling by the minute a forest of important legislation it took 100 years to grow.
Walker is not only going to hand over control of public employee retirement pension funds to HEDGE fund managers – Gov. Walker gets to personally pick them! Political payback, at the expense of teachers, police, firemen – outrageous. The budget bill also allows Walker to dip into that pension fund money. Problem is, when a previous state employee, Tommy Thompson, did that some years ago, and used those funds for another purpose, the State Supreme Court made him pay it all back. So all this does is guarantee Walker will costs the state more money than he can get from those funds.
Gov. Walker was put in office in part by large contributions from construction firm Payne and Dolan. In thanks, presumably, Walker has moved up the construction deadline of the Zoo interchange (where I894, I94 and I43 meet, if I wrote that down correctly). The project was set to be completed in 2017, at a cost of 1.3 billion. Walker wants it done by 2014, and has cut state funding to schools by 1.3 billion to pay for this (in his proposed budget, I think – couldn’t caputre notes fast enough).
Gov. Walker is selling off the two biggest revenue-generating public universities – making them go private. So costs at UW Madison will rise 26% by September(!!) and the state loses the revenue generated, meaning smaller schools are going to be scrambling even harder to stay afloat.
Walker is wiping out the mandate for curbside recycling. No more requirements for homes or business owners to recycle. Without that mandate, recycling will drop, just as gas prices are skyrocketing.
Walker removed recently-enacted limits on phosphorous in agricultural and residential projects.
Walker is trying to open up a pristine wetland in the state so important that a previous developer who had been offered the rights refused to destroy the land. Walker said he will PERSONALLLY find someone to develop it.
Walker’s budget bill will cause the state to lose federal transit funding. That funding pays for kids to ride city buses to schools. And with gas prices soaring, and school cuts forcing school closures and more busing, how are parents going to be able to afford to get their kids to schools?
My friend is working hard to get a recall effort going. It’s not just about Gov. Walker, as the State Senate is now controlled by Republicans. But if they can recall at least three of the Senators who are going along with this wholesale destruction of years of legislation, then they can turn this around. The problem? They only have 60 days to do this. If anyone has time and wants to help – I can put you in touch with activists there. This is deadly serious, and they’re really going to need more hands on this.
MEANWHILE, KARL ROVE is now sponsoring Gov. Walker on a tour around the state where they will preach an economic emergency that ISN’T and lie to citizens to ensure these “reforms” go through. It’s so toxic in the state that neighbors and families and indeed, communities are splitting in two over these issues. The Tea Partiers are unable to comprehend the destruction they are bringing, but the ones who get it need to persuade all the ones who aren’t yet getting active that window to stop this destruction is rapidly closing.
I’m going to try to get to Wisconsin during this 60-day window for a few days to do all I can to help. Can you do the same? If not here, where? If not not, when? If not us, who? Do what you can. Because the other side isn’t sleeping at all. They’re running with their advantage. Don’t let them win, or we all lose so much!
