Economy

News

Walker Says Wisconsin's Broke, But the Facts Say Otherwise

by Jennifer Page — April 19, 2011 - 11:51am
  • Topics: Democracy, Economy, Propaganda, Wisconsin Protests

    • The Institute for One Wisconsin, a non-partisan organization, released a report (pdf) last week that says that "despite claims from Governor Scott Walker, Wisconsin is not 'broke.'" Their research found that the state's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has risen in the past twenty years, and though the state is overall quite wealthy, the bulk of that wealth has shifted to the richest people of the state, while Wisconsin's tax structure "is built around the middle class."

    How does this shift in wealth make the state look as though it was broke? One Wisconsin stated that "this discrepancy has led to tax revenues failing to keep pace with Wisconsin's GDP, an over tax-burdened middle class, and budget shortfalls, instead of surpluses." While tax cuts for the wealthiest of the country and state have been extended, the tax burden has now been handed over to the middle class of the state, creating a disparity in people's falling incomes and rising taxes in the middle class.

    Op-Ed

    Sarah Palin: The Koch Brother’s Union Maid

    by Mary Bottari — April 18, 2011 - 7:48am
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • Tax Day was approaching and the righties were out to denigrate government workers and government spending. Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska who quit her job in 2009, headlined a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, bought and paid for by the front-group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), but billed as a "grassroots" Tea Party event.

    News

    Badgers Drown Out Mama Grizzly

    by Jennifer Page — April 16, 2011 - 5:05pm
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • The wet snow and tense atmosphere did not deter thousands of people from coming to the capitol for Americans for Prosperity's Tax Day Rally. The major draw was former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who was announced as a speaker days before the event on Saturday. Crowd estimates vary from hundreds to thousands, but the majority of people were there to protest -- not applaud -- Palin. One local reporter paced-off the area where the majority of AFP protesters clustered and said it totaled 20 by 35 feet.

    Democrats are fighting back in Ohio

    by Jennifer Page — April 11, 2011 - 11:04am
  • Topics: Activism, Democracy, Economy, Labor, Politics, Wisconsin Protests

    • Ohio Democrats this week introduced into a divided state legislature a new bill that would allow Ohio citizens to recall Governor John Kasich and other legislatures. The state has been in an ideological upheaval for months after Kasich's budget bill was introduced, similar to the Wisconsin bill that has received incredible national attention for stripping unions of their collective bargaining rights, and eventually signed April 2nd after some concessions were made by the Republican-held Assembly and Senate.

    News

    Court Race Throws a Spanner in the Works of Wisconsin Wingnuts

    by Mary Bottari — April 6, 2011 - 2:15pm
  • Topics: Activism, Banking, Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Labor, Politics, Real Economy Project, Social Justice, Wisconsin Protests

    • While Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan prepares to shut down the federal government to prove that government is bad, analysts say the radical agenda of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker suffered a major set back today as his good friend incumbent Justice David Prosser was defeated for Wisconsin Supreme Court.

    Op-Ed

    Two Who Marched With King Take the Long Road from Memphis to Madison

    by Jennifer Page — April 4, 2011 - 10:00am
  • Topics: Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point, in Memphis. We've got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together. –- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his last speech in Memphis

    Editorial

    Wisconsin Governor Defies Court, Prepares for Coronation

    by Mary Bottari — March 31, 2011 - 7:56am
  • Topics: Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • Wisconsin continues to spin out of control and a constitutional crisis looms as a judge this week again ordered Walker's administration to halt implementation of his bill stripping Wisconsin public workers of collective bargaining rights. Walker's team moved to publish the law in defiance of the court order last Friday night and began implementation of the bill on Saturday. These actions prompted an irate judge this week to clarify her previous standing order, making it "crystal clear" that "further implementation of the Act is enjoined."

    Op-Ed

    "Have You No Decency?"

    by Mary Bottari — March 25, 2011 - 9:59am
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • William Cronon is a professor of history, geography and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the prize winning author of many books such as Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England, which revolutionized the study of environmental history. He is known as a guy with such a deep and abiding love of Wisconsin and its traditions that he leads the "get to know us" bus tour of the state offered to new faculty each year. Glaciers, rocks and history are on his agenda; politics and cheese he leaves to fellow-Wisconsinite and Capital Times editor John Nichols.

    But this mild-mannered professor kicked a hornet's nest this week with an op-ed in the New York Times on Governor Scott Walker, and the push back was immediate. The Wisconsin GOP is now demanding his emails.

    Op-Ed

    Will “Bitches” and “Turds” Decide the Fate of Wisconsin?

    by Mary Bottari — March 23, 2011 - 7:06am
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project, Wisconsin Protests

    • The reign of lawlessness continues in Wisconsin.

    Last week, a local court issued a stay temporarily blocking the implementation of Governor Scott Walker's radical proposal to do away with most collective bargaining rights for public workers and cripple labor's ability to collect union dues. The court put a halt to the publication of the bill (an act performed by the Secretary of State), so there could be a hearing on whether or not the Wisconsin Senate violated the state's strong open meetings law in its rush to ram the bill through.

    Op-Ed

    WI Firefighters Spark "Move Your Money" Moment

    by Mary Bottari — March 12, 2011 - 12:28pm
  • Topics: Banking, Democracy, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • On the day that the bill passed the Wisconsin Assembly effectively ending 50 years of collective bargaining in Wisconsin and eviscerating the ability of public unions to raise money through dues, a new front opened in the battle for the future of Wisconsin families.

    Bagpipes blaring, hundreds of firefighters walked across the street from the Wisconsin Capitol building, stood outside the Marshall and Ilsley Bank (M&I Bank) and played a few tunes -- loudly. Later, a group of firefighter and consumers stopped back in at the bank to make a few transactions. One by one they closed their accounts and withdrew their life savings, totaling approximately $190,000. See a video clip. After the last customer left, the bank quickly closed its doors, just in case the spontaneous "Move Your Money" moment caught fire.

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