Middle Wisconsin News - March 2013

7/29/2019 Middle Wisconsin News - March 2013

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Information Technology SolutionsMiddle WisconsinNewsA VOICE FOR

THE MIDDLE OF THE STATE

M a r ch 2 0 1 3

Winter of Our Discontent...........1

The Fight of Our Lives...............2

Endorse Fallone........................

3

Socialist Capitalism ...................4

Mining History............................5

Progressive Taxes? ..................6

Justice for All .............................7

Retirement for All.......................8

A Whole Which Is Greater........9

Voucher School Scam............

10

Working Wisconsin .................11

Challenging the Myth ..............12

2013 Midd le Wiscons in

IN THIS ISSUE:

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Can you hear the train barely audible but disnct?

Is it coming? How long will it take to get here?

Are there many passengers? Should I buy a cket?

For many years, ordinary cizens had lile voice to counteract the

right wing worldview. The conversaon was dominated by a media

beholden to money. We knew in our hearts that this propaganda was not how we treatedeach other in our communies. We found it hard to express our discontent with the direc-

on that our country was headed in.

But a train is a comin, and we can hear that whistle.

It calls us to acon. It gives us courage to stand up for what is just and fair. To have an

honest public conversaon over what we value: progressive ideals.

As Progressives, we believe that:

People should be valued over prots and communies valued over corporaons.

Smaller government means corporate governance and the dismantling of our naon.

No one makes it on his or her own. The private is successful because of roads, cleanwater, and infrastructure created and paid for by the public.

American democracy is built upon the ethics of cizens caring about other cizens. Its

moral mission is to protect and empower everyone equally.

Privazed educaon with public tax dollars only benets the elite and corporaons.

Nothing is free for the taking in our environment. Corporaons have a moral obligaon

to our environment and our communies.

When corporaons have enjoyed the public resources that made them wealthy, and

then they ship jobs overseas, it is immoral and should be characterized as the.

You are not free without health insurance or when health insurance denies needed car

Taxes are revenue that allows our children to be educated, roads to be xed, and thegeneral welfare to be supported.

Conservave scal policies create revenue neglect and under-taxing of the wealthiest.

Wealth disparity means power disparity.

This edion ofMiddle Wisconsin News focuses on some of the relevant naonal and state

issues that confront our communies: voucher schools, mining, the role of government,

wealth inequality, and unresponsive legislators who represent moneyed interests. This

is the Winter of Our Discontent, but we are NOT content to simply wait for the next train.

We are changing the conversaon in our communies.

Can you hear the train?

All aboard!

The Winter of Our Discontent

By John Spiegelhoff Merrill


2/12

We are in the ght of our lives, Mike McCabe ofWisconsin Democracy Campaigntold u

at the Wisconsin Grassroots Network Fesval in Mazomanie on February 16, 2013. Sever

hundred progressives from around the state gathered for a day of workshops and inspira-

on. McCabe spoke of the excess money in state and naonal polics, but concluded,

There is no cause for despair. We have faced this before and defeated these condions

before. With that challenge before us, we proceeded to three sessions of workshops. We

learned so much and were inspired by our progressive colleagues. Here are some high-

lights:

Mark Denning,of the Oneida Naon and a teacher at UWMilwaukee, told us how the

Iroquois Confederacy inuenced our Constuon and system of government. Did you kno

that George Washingtons childhood friend was Shenandoah? In the bier days of Valley

Forge, when General Washington sought help for his beleaguered troops, it was Oneidas

who brought food and clothing.

The Iroquois Confederacy was an umbrella for ve diverse tribes. The Confederacy fea-

tured a division of powers. Decisions were made by consensus. Representaon was based

on populaon. The Nave American inuence on our democracywas not wrien, but you

can see it. Government was for serving the people!

Solidarity Singersperformed during lunch. They also auconed o delicious baked goods

(made by the Singers) to pay their nes for singing at the State Capitol. They connue to

sing each weekday while their nes keep adding up.

Move-to-Amend (Fighng Money in Polics) has made great progress this past year. The

workshop was well-aended. Five panelists took us through the excellent Guidebook whic

is available online: There is an abundance of material at www.movetoamend.orgas well a

South Central Wisconsin Move to Amend, www.scwmta.org.

Wisconsin Grassroots Networkpresented a panel on the 72-County Strategy to build progre

sive values in all 72 Wisconsin counties. This panel was most helpful, speaking from experien

es and sharing ideas that worked for them. In Richland County, the unions, grassroots groups

and the Democratic Party work together and build continuously. It is important to find com-

mon ground in the community and work together (progressives, conservatives and others).The rural folks have been ignored too long. Talk, talk, talk with people of all persuasions.

Middle Wisconsin News M a r ch 2 0Pa g e


The Fight of Our LivesBy Virginia Kirsch Wausau

Mike McCabe

Wisconsin Democracy

Campaign

Mark Denning

Oneida Naon

Solidarity

Singers
http://wisdc.org/http://wisdc.org/http://www.oneidanationarts.org/mark-denning.htmlhttp://www.oneidanationarts.org/mark-denning.htmlhttp://www.iroquoisdemocracy.pdx.edu/html/assessment.htmhttp://www.iroquoisdemocracy.pdx.edu/html/assessment.htmhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/capitol-singers-keep-up-daily-protests-8a7p31o-180691711.htmlhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/capitol-singers-keep-up-daily-protests-8a7p31o-180691711.htmlhttp://www.movetoamend.org/http://www.movetoamend.org/http://www.scwmta.org/http://www.wisconsingrassroots.net/http://www.wisconsingrassroots.net/http://www.wisconsingrassroots.net/http://www.wisconsingrassroots.net/http://www.scwmta.org/http://www.movetoamend.org/http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/capitol-singers-keep-up-daily-protests-8a7p31o-180691711.htmlhttp://www.iroquoisdemocracy.pdx.edu/html/assessment.htmhttp://www.oneidanationarts.org/mark-denning.htmlhttp://wisdc.org/


3/12

Middle Wisconsin NewsM a r ch 2 0

Pa g e

People oen ask me, What has happened to the Wisconsin

Supreme Court? Good queson. The dysfuncon that has

been evident in our Court over the last several years has been

dicult to explain. We now are at a point where we are facing

an elecon that will either allow Jusce Paence Roggensack

to return to the Court, or enter a new era for our Court and end

the dysfuncon. Jusce Roggensack should not be retained.

Professor Ed Fallone is a highly qualied candidate for our

Court and deserves your vote.

Ed Fallone has been a professor at Marquee University Law

School for two decades. He teaches constuonal law, immi-

graon law, securies regulaon, and corporate law. He also

pracces law with a law rm in Milwaukee that specializes incomplex ligaon, including corporate and contractual issues.

Professor Fallone is an extremely intelligent man. In fact, his

knowledge of the law has been described as formidable. He is

an excellent speaker and is well-loved by his students. He is

truly interested in what the law says and is not polical. He be-

lieves that Wisconsin deserves a jusce who will be honest and

open with the people of Wisconsin.

Unfortunately, Justice Roggensacks record is quite the contrary.

Justice Roggensack has actually worked to close the doors of the

Court to the public. Justice Roggensack drafted a rule that the

public be excluded from the Courts administrative hearings. Onher motion, which passed on a 4 3 vote, with the conservative

bloc following her lead, it was decided that important administra-

tive business of the Court is now to be conducted behind closed

doors. She has been chastised by editorial boards across the state

for her proposal.

Ed Fallone has indicated that he will be the justice who respects

the importance of an independent judiciary, of being impartial

and fair. He has vowed to give a fair hearing to all sides of the

many important and contentious issues that make their way to

the Court. Ed Fallone believes that everyone in Wisconsin de-

serves equal access to justice. He believes that the role of the

Supreme Court is to be an independent check and balance onpolitical branches when they overreach their authority under the

Wisconsin Constitution. He has stated,

when justices seek votes based on their

partisan affiliation, the public will no

longer view their decisions as fair or in-

dependent.

Ed Fallone is not beholden to any poli-

cal party, facon on the Court, or any

special interest group.

Not so with Jusce Roggensack.

In 2011, the Wisconsin Civil Jusce Council, which represents

large corporate and business interests, put forward a studyth

demonstrated that Jusce Roggensack voted in lock step withJusces Prosser, Ziegler and Gableman, in favor of corporate

and business interests 100% of the me.

In 2013, the studywas completed once again. This me the

Wisconsin Civil Jusce Council rated Jusce Roggensack as the

Jusce who most oen supports the interests of corporaons

and businesses in her decisions.

Is it any wonder that these corporate interests are lining up to

provide millions to see Jusce Roggensack reelected?

Ed Fallone is not only a ne lawyer and scholar, he is also com

mied to his community. He is the founding President ofCen-

tro Legal, which helps families get access to legal counsel they

could not otherwise aord. He is the Past-President of the La

no Community Center, which helps keep children in school, o

the streets, and out of gangs. Ed and his wife have founded

Wisconsin Stem Cell Now, an advocacy and educaon group

dedicated to the promoon of life-saving medical research.

We have all seen Jusce Bradley's disturbing rendion of the

facts surrounding Jusce PrThe conservave Super PAC Club

for Growth, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the Wa

ton (Wal-Mart) and DeVos families, and others invested in

voucher schools are supporng Paence Roggensacks bid for

re-elecon to Wisconsins Supreme Court. They represent cor

porate interests who want to ensure her re-elecon.

Endorse Fallone for Supreme Court

By Christine Bremer Muggli

My mother always told me, Youll be judged by the company you keep.The conservave Super PAC Club for Growth, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the Walton (Wal-Mart)

and DeVos families, and others invested in voucher schools are supporng Paence Roggensacks bid for re-

elecon to Wisconsins Supreme Court. They represent corporate interests who want to ensure her re -elecon.

If you are not impressed by Pats company, vote for Ed Fallone on April 2.

Ed Fallone

Tom Ivey, Wausau
http://www.wisciviljusticecouncil.org/wwcms/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/WCJC_2011-Guide-Wisconsin-Supreme-Court.pdf.http://www.wisciviljusticecouncil.org/wwcms/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/WCJC_2011-Guide-Wisconsin-Supreme-Court.pdf.http://www.wisciviljusticecouncil.org/wwcms/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/WCJC-2013-Guide-to-the-Wisconsin-Supreme-Court-and-Judicial-Evaluation.pdfhttp://www.wisciviljusticecouncil.org/wwcms/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/WCJC-2013-Guide-to-the-Wisconsin-Supreme-Court-and-Judicial-Evaluation.pdfhttp://www.centrolegalwisconsin.org/http://www.centrolegalwisconsin.org/http://www.centrolegalwisconsin.org/http://www.wistemcellnow.org/http://www.wistemcellnow.org/http://www.wistemcellnow.org/http://www.centrolegalwisconsin.org/http://www.centrolegalwisconsin.org/http://www.wisciviljusticecouncil.org/wwcms/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/WCJC-2013-Guide-to-the-Wisconsin-Supreme-Court-and-Judicial-Evaluation.pdfhttp://www.wisciviljusticecouncil.org/wwcms/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/WCJC_2011-Guide-Wisconsin-Supreme-Court.pdf.


4/12

While the recent decision to grant the single-vendor contract to Innite Campushas both

consequences for the regional economy and the capacity to reveal a potenally corrupt

vendor-evaluaon system, we shouldnt overlook its illustraon of Governor Sco Walk

ers ideologies. Walker is a self-proclaimed small-government, free-market capitalist tha

has been outspoken about his disapproval of federal healthcare takeovers. He is a voca

part of Republican governors refusing to set up ObamaCareprovisions in their states. Bu

this decision to legislate a government-controlled monopoly runs counter to the theory o

government that Sco Walker promotes.

I should clarify. I believe socialism can be a helpful tool in a respon

sible government. Consequently, I approve of a unied student

management system. As a former teacher, I can aest to its valueStudents dont stay in one district, and our most at-risk kids tend to

move most frequently. It is challenging for districts to serve stu

dents without adequate informaon. Having one system that

equips accurate informaon to travel with students is benecial for educators, but that

sort of thinking isnt the brainchild of a free-market capitalist. This eliminates choice and

forces a monopoly onto school districts. If a Democrat had suggested such a shi, we

would have righully heard the S-word thrown around.

Moreover, Walkers selecon process itself ignores the basics of supply and demand. Cap

italism preaches that consumers will reproduce a version of economic Darwinism through

their spending to determine the product of greatest value. A true capitalist wouldnt send

this decision to commiee. He would look at the selecons made by the districts in the

state and trust the highest demand to designate the most favorable product. With ove

50% of the districts choosing Skyward, the markets clearly chose it as the best product

Sll, the Walker government felt the need to correct its consumers by imposing a non

market-based metric.

This is bad socialism, though, too. The purpose of a state government is to serve the people

within that state. If this were a federal decision, it would be reasonable to assume that Wis-

consin companies wouldnt receive preferential treatment over those in Minnesota, but we

would prefer the federal government to choose domestic companies over foreign ones. A

decision of this stature shouldnt simply take into account the cost of the product. It should

take into account the benefits of having such a business in-house. We should value support-

ing local companies. If possible,our standardized test should be written and scored using

local companies. Our school lunch programs should support farmers by serving locally grown

agriculture. BadgerCareshould work with Wisconsin-based insurance companies. We should

be installing windmills and solar panels made with Wisconsin manufacturing to build a Wis-

consin-based power grid. Thats smart state government investing our tax dollars in mar-

kets that will continue to cycle those dollars here.

Whether you believe that capitalism or socialism should drive governments inuence on

the Wisconsin economy, choosing Innite Campus was a poor choice. If Gov. Walkers

decision honors neither of those ideologies, maybe we should be asking what did mo-

vate this decision.


And that is where weare right now, facedwith the challenge of

creating a new way oflife. What do we wantour Wisconsin to be?Who will determine

its future? I know thatI would rather pose

those questions to thepeople in the streets,

chanting politely tobe let into theirstatehouse, passing

food over their headsto the people inside,

than to the Kochsand other corporate

billionaires whosimply do not see, or

even care to see,the Wisconsin that

I see and cherish.

Margaret Swedish

From her essay

Whats Really Going on

in Wisconsin

in the book

A Whole Which Is Greater


Walkers Slightly Socialist Capitalism

By Greg Wright Plover
http://www.infinitecampus.com/http://www.infinitecampus.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ObamaCarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ObamaCarehttp://www.skyward.com/Page.ashx/Homehttp://www.skyward.com/Page.ashx/Homehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BadgerCarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BadgerCarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BadgerCarehttp://www.skyward.com/Page.ashx/Homehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ObamaCarehttp://www.infinitecampus.com/


5/12


Pa g e

In 2003, U.S. Steel was ready and willing to sell the conservaon

rights on 16,000 acres of land along the Penokee Range through

negoaon with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) including their

mineral rights. This is the same land Gogebic Taconite (GTAC)

wants to mine... the same land for which GTAC has secured an

opon to obtain the mineral rights from current owners RGGS

Land and Minerals (Texas) and La Point Mining Company

(Minnesota) the same land that drove the Mining for Jobs bill,

SB1 and AB1.

In 2003, TNC applied for Forest Legacy Program funds to help

purchase the conservaon easement from U.S. Steel. Land andWater Conservaon Funds were to be used to help the Forest Ser-

vice buy another 6,000 acres. The resulng easements would

have maintained the recreaonal uses and mber producon on

a total of 22,000 acres along the Penokee Range. Mining would

not have been allowed.

Forest Legacy easements commit land to a forest management

plan that recognizes and encourages management of the forest for

public recreaon, scenic beauty, mber producon, and conserva-

on benets. The easements are permanent and binding on future

landowners.

The 2003 Forest Legacy Project was named Bad River Headwa-ters. Wisconsin DNR records indicate that the Federal Govern-

ment awarded $3,428,000 toward the purchase of the conserva-

on easements. The State of Wisconsin match funds totaled

$1,143,000. The total value of the land interests was $10 million.

The records state that although negoaons had been going well

between TNC and the landowners, one of the larger landowners

decided to sell their holdings to another party. The new owner

was not interested in selling a conservaon easement to the State.

A State of Wisconsin Final Report dated June 12, 2006, explains:

[t]he new owners have indicated that they may mine the proper-

ty in the future. The larger landowner was U.S. Steel. The pur-chaser was RGGS Minerals.

If there is a protable orebody on the Penokee Range, why was

U.S. Steel willing to sell a conservaon easement on that land?

The easement would have banned mining in perpetuity. Certainly

U.S. Steel knew the implicaons of a conservaon easement. Most

certainly, U.S. Steel knew the value of its mineral rights on the

Range. The other pares to this transacon also must have known

the value of the mineral rights. In fact, the State of Wisconsin was

required to obtain an appraisal in order to determine the fair mar-

ket value of the land interests. (State of Wisconsin Forest Legacy

Program, Pro-

gram Narra-

ve, 424 Appli-

caon, Fiscal

Year 2003, Bad

River tract.)

There must be

an appraisal of

the mineral value in the land GTAC claims it wants to mine. Clearl

all the pares in 2003 knew the value of the mineral deposits. Ce

tainly todays proponents of a taconite mine on the Penokee

Range must also know.

In 2003, one of the largest steel-producing companies in the

world was willing to sell a conservaon easement for its 16,000

acres on the Penokee Range, knowing that mining would be pro

hibited. Yet, in 2013, our legislators insist there is prot and job

to be had in those same hills. Facts suggest otherwise. We have

been duped. To what end?

The following are possibilies:

Wisconsin is a laboratory for a political agenda and an ideol

ogy driven by ALEC and other like-minded groups. Changing

our State's mining laws and our environmental protections

under the pretense of job creation would be a huge coup.

This is a scam on those of us who are desperate for work.

Without a provable orebody, there will be no jobs. The onl

folks who will get something out of this are the policians,

the lobbyists, and the possible mining companies.

By redening the term sulde ore body in SB1/AB1, the

way is paved to rescind our states sulde mining morato

rium. There are many other orebodies in Wisconsin, and

they are sulde-producing.

The speculaon game drives investments. Whether or not

a protable orebody exists is irrelevant to companies who

sell opons on mineral rights or start exploring and then

abandon the stated goal of mining. Theyve made their

money and moved on. Never mind the impact on local com

munies who built and prepared for jobs that never came.

To divide us.

Before changing our states mining law, our legislators should hav

demanded rst, Show us the orebody. To the people in the

know, we must seem like absolute fools.

Penokee Mining History

By Susan Sommer Phelps


6/12

Authors Sam Pizziga and Chuck Collins of the Instute for Policy Studies discuss

the link between the decline of the progressive income tax and the rise of wealthinequality in The Great Regression, in The Naon magazine (February 25, 2013).

The 16th Amendment, giving Congress the power to impose a federal income tax,

100 years old. The rst tax schedule enacted set the top rate at 7%. Preparedness

for World War in 1916 pushed the rate to 15%. By the wars end, the top rate was

77%.Tax rates hit a low of 25% in the 1920s. During the Great Depression, conservave

lost aempts to raise revenues via regressive naonal sales taxes. Tax rates toppe

o at 94% during WWII and held around 90% for the next 20 years. Republican

President Dwight Eisenhower viewed high taxes on high incomes as the andote tthe opulence that inescapably leads a naon to depravity and ulmate destruc-

on. In 1955, income over $400,000 faced a 90% federal rate, but with loopholes

the IRS eecve tax rate was 51.2% on Americas top 400 incomes.In 2007, Americas top 400 had an eecve tax rate of just 16.6%, with incomes av

eraging $345 million, more than 25 mes aer adjusng for inaon the $13

million that the top 400 reported in 1955.Dismantling of tax progressivity began under Democrac President John Kennedy

who assured America that a rising de lis all the boats. With his economists in-

sisng steep tax rates were a heavy drag on growth, Kennedy contended the fasteway to cause the de to rise was tax cuts for everybody, including the wealthy. In

1964, Congress approved a 70% top rate. Conservaves then extended the ra-

onale: If tax cuts could create the miraculous outcomes JFK promised, why stop

there? In the 1980s, under Republican President Ronald Reagan, top tax rates we

cut to 50, then 28%, clearing the way for Americas plutocrac restoraon.Pizziga and Collins point out that boom wage earners need an incenve to de-

fend progressive income tax rates. They propose seng the entry threshold for a

maximum tax rate as a mulple of the $7.25 minimum wage, say 25 mes. That w

the rao between CEO and typical worker pay unl recent decades, when CEO pay

jumped to over 300 mes worker pay. A married couple working at minimum-wag

jobs earns about $30,000 annually. If we pegged entry into the top tax bracket at 2

mes that, taxpayers making over $750,000 would face the maximum tax rate. If

the minimum wage rose to $10 an hour, the top bracket wouldnt kick in unl $1

million.Pizziga has recently published a book entled The Rich Dont Always Win: The

Forgoen Triumph Over Plutocracy that Created the American Middle Class, 190

1970. Collins is the author of99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality Is Wrecking the Worl

and What We Can Do About It. They also edit Inequality.Org.


Wisconsin lost an esti-mated $814 million dueto offshore tax dodgingin 2012. This is in addi-tion to $150 billionworth of federal tax rev-enue lost every year.

In Wisconsin, $814million in additionalrevenue would beenough to:

Double the size of Gov-

ernor Scott Walkersproposed income taxcut for individuals, withmoney left over to in-crease our budget sur-

plus, or

Pay in-state tuition for

over 100,000 Wisconsinuniversity students, or

Hire over 12,000 addi-

tional teachers for Wis-consins public schools

Source: http://wispirgfoundation.org/

news/wif/offshore-tax-

dodging-blows-814-

million-hole-wi-budget


By Jeanne Larson Phillips

Progressive Tax Rates?
http://www.inequality.org/http://www.inequality.org/http://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://wispirgfoundation.org/news/wif/offshore-tax-dodging-blows-814-million-hole-wi-budgethttp://www.inequality.org/


7/12


Pa g e

Marquee Law Professor Ed Fallone is

challenging incumbent Jusce Pat

Roggensack for a seat on the Wisconsin

Supreme Court.

If elected, Mr. Fallone pledges to overturn

the Roggensack Rule, which allows parties

with cases pending before the court to make

campaign contributions to Justices, a prac-

tice many call legalized bribery. Fallone be-

lieves overturning this rule is key to restoring

integrity to the court. He wants to ensure

the court is not biased toward special inter-

ests. He wants to change court rules to makeadministrative meetings open and transpar-

ent. Fallone says he will be the kind of Justice

that has the courage to be independent in

the face of political pressure and who will

rule according to the law.

Mr. Fallone has been an attorney for al-

most 30 years, practicing business and

corporate law for more than 25 years. He

is an expert in white-collar crime, securi-

ties law, constitutional law, and adminis-trative law. As a law professor, he has

taught practical skills and the ethics to the

next generation of lawyers. He helped

draft the Wisconsin Uniform Securities

Act and gives expert testimony in cases

where shareholders have a dispute with

corporations.

In the community, Mr. Fallone organized a

service that helps families get access to

legal counsel they could not otherwise

aord; worked in a program to keep kids i

school, o the streets, and out of gangs;

and, with his wife Heidi, founded Wiscons

Stem Cell Now, an advocacy and educaon

group dedicated to the promoon of life-

saving medical research.

During a joint interview of the two candi-

dates on Wisconsin Public Televisions

Here and Now on Friday, March 8, 2013

Fallone said Jusce Roggensacks acons i

the aermath of a physical altercaon in

which Jusce David Prosser put his hands

on the neck ofJusce Ann Walsh Bradley specically Roggensacks recusal of her-

self in Jusce Prossers judicial ethics disci-

plinary process has exacerbated prob-

lems in the court. Watch the full interview

at WPT.

Mr. Fallone has not had the advantage of

running TV ads in this campaign to achieve

name recognion with the public. In con-

trast, an outside group, the conservave

Club for Growth, spent an esmated$300,000in the primary in support of

Roggensack.

At his web site, falloneforjusce.com, you

can view an hour-long interview that Mr.

Fallone held with the Milwaukee Journal-

Sennel.

The more you learn, the more you will

want to vote for Ed Fallone for Supreme

Court Jusce on April 2.

Justice for All

By Jeanne Larson Phillips

Why should therenot be a patientconidence in the

ultimate justice ofthe people?Is there any better

or equal hope in theworld?

--Abraham Lincoln

First Inaugural

Address, 1861
http://video.wpt2.org/video/2341404927/http://video.wpt2.org/video/2341404927/http://www.clubforgrowth.org/http://www.clubforgrowth.org/http://www.wkow.com/story/21316851/2013/02/23/third-party-the-biggest-spender-in-state-supreme-court-racehttp://www.wkow.com/story/21316851/2013/02/23/third-party-the-biggest-spender-in-state-supreme-court-racehttp://falloneforjustice.com/http://falloneforjustice.com/http://falloneforjustice.com/http://www.wkow.com/story/21316851/2013/02/23/third-party-the-biggest-spender-in-state-supreme-court-racehttp://www.clubforgrowth.org/http://video.wpt2.org/video/2341404927/


8/12

Do you dream of rering with dignity and nancial independence? For many people, a

secure rerement is slipping out of reach. The Internet is full of grim stascs.

Only 42% of private sector workers age 25 to 64 have any pension coverage in their

current job.

Only half of American workers have access to a 401(k) plan, and only about 30% take

advantage of that plan.

75% of 401(k) have an average balance of $60,000. The median account balance is less

than $20,000.

One-third of households end up enrely dependent on Social Security and for low earn

ers, that poron is 75%.

Only 21% of private employers oer a dened benet, guaranteed rerement income

pension.

Why is this happening? Since the 1980s, tradional company dened benet(DB) pensions

have largely been replaced by dened contribuon (DC) or 401(k) rerement savings plans.

This has shied the responsibility for adequate rerement income from employers to em-

ployees. This is good for employers because they have lower, predictable costs and no re-

sponsibility or risk. But it is increasingly clear that for many employees, this change is not

working out well. Too many people are geng to rerement age without adequate nancia

resources to rere.

Why is this not working? Workers simply dont save enough in voluntary rerement plans.

They dont manage their accounts well. Market volality, investment risk, and administra

fees eat up savings. Individual 401(k) accounts do not share risk, take advantage of econo-

mies of scale, or provide guaranteed incomes. Individuals who save on their own using DC

plans have dramacally less at rerement, pay higher management fees, and get lower in-

vestment returns than DB rerement plans.

What is a soluon? When Im Sixty-Four: The Plot Against Pensions and the Plan to Save

Themby Professor Teresa Ghilarducci makes a proposal: Workers would contribute 5% of

their income. These contribuons would be invested in the markets, and the workers

would receive a guaranteed rate of return. The Social Security Administraon (which oper-

ates at a 2% overhead) would manage the program. Professor Ghilarducci esmates that th

program would provide workers with a guaranteed program that combined with Social Sec

rity, would replace 70% of pre-rerement income. She says the program is aordable and

would not stress the economy.

How would it work? The Wisconsin Rerement System (WRS) could be a model for a Wis-

consin Guaranteed Rerement Account program. The WRS is the highly successful public

employee pension program operated by the Department of Employee Trust Funds and the

State of Wisconsin Investment Board. The WRS was recently rated as one of the best public

pension systems in the country and the ONLY one to be fully funded. The WRS has a long

history of providing stable, secure pensions at a very low cost to the public employers and

taxpayers.

Many people believe WRS could do the same for the private sector. By using the strength

and management experse of the WRS, a private sector trust fund could be built, over me

that would provide good pensions for all workers. The queson is, Do we have the polical

will, foresight, and sense of community to do what is good for everyone?


The financial industryand political groups,

devoted to making gov-

ernment smaller, pro-

mote the replacement ofemployer pensions and

Social Security accounts

with individual accounts while ignoring what

public policy has ac-

complished for retire-ment security. Their vi-

sion of a reformed U.S.

retirement income sys-

tem moves away fromwhat good reform

should do that is,

make the system more

fair, enhance productivi-ty, and be more efficient.

No pension system

should wastepeople's money.

Teresa Ghilarducci

Author

When Im Sixty-Four


Retirement for All

By Phillip Anderson Maple
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92213600http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92213600http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92213600http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92213600http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92213600http://press.princeton.edu/images/k8608.gifhttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92213600http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92213600


9/12

Ranging from religion to revenue, colonialism to progressive coalions,A Whole Which Is

Greateris a remarkable collecon of essays which, taken altogether, provide a

thoughul look at recent and connuing social and economic developments in Wiscon-

sin and America at large. Edited by Paul Gilk and David Kast, the book is at once, philoso-

phy and fact, history and current events.

The devolvement of Wisconsin from a bason of progressive thought, with leaders the

likes of Fighng Bob Lafollee, to the regressive ideology we now endure under Gov-

ernor Sco Walker, didnt happen overnight, and didnt happen in a vacuum. The variedbackground of the 13 authors the 13 concerned cizens who have contributed

their work toA Whole Which Is Greaterprovides the comprehensive perspecve neces-

sary to understanding all that has occurred. Combining the thoughts of aorneys, histo-

rians, sociologists, grassroots acvists, spiritual acvists, college deans, and economic

consultants is probably the minimum foundaon required for moving forward wisely.

Following this line of reasoning, the opening essay, The

Big Conversaon, by James Botsford, seems the perfect

introducon. In Botsfords words:

There is an ever increasing and really quite irrefutable

body of knowledge out there telling us to think and be-

have more holiscally, more sustainably, to temper our

short-term desires, to make progressive changes that

begin to heal the damage we humans are causing to

the natural world; to act, as my Nave friends admon-

ish us, thinking of the best interests of those who will

come seven generaons from now.

This at its core is whatA Whole Which Is Greateris

about. How do we bring together the facts, the gures

the heart, the soul, the emoon, and the intellect needed to guide our world toward a

vision of life? How do we move toward a world that works for all? Hardly a new quest,indeed it is ancient, but it represents humanity at its best.

Take me to readA Whole Which Is Greater. We are going through a dicult period in

Wisconsin and in America. This is a work that provides the broad knowledge base need-

ed for moving ahead wisely. It is a work that gives hope, but not naively so.


Wipf and Stock Publishers

ISBN13: 978-1-62032-560-5


The rise of modernparticipatory

government was noless attended by thewillingness of com-

mon people to takerisks in pursuit oftheir own interests.The products of themodern history pro-

fession have providedus with copious exam-ples of the dificultiesfaced by most of ourfellow human beingsand all of our ances-

tors to create what isperhaps the most im-portant of all human

accomplishments:government for the

people, by the people.

Jeff LeighFrom his essay

Seeing Our Strugglefrom Distant Shores

in the bookA Whole Which Is Greater



A Book Review by Dave Svetlik Mosinee

Why the Wisconsin Uprising Failed
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=a+whole+which+is+greater&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=X2zP4d8VJU5r1M&tbnid=7kGXmKp2k85BYM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.wpr.org%2Fpost%2Fqa-wisconsin-uprising-author-david-kast&ei=mFg7UdG8Fu3iyAGMmYDIBw&bvm


10/12


Pa g e

Voucher schools are once again in the news aer Governor Walk-

er announced an unprecedented expansion of taxpayer-funded

private/religious voucher schools in the 20132015 state budget.

His proposals call for:

Increasing state aidto voucher schools by 9.4% (or $7,050)

per student for K8, and by 21.9% (or $7,856) per student for

high schools. The increase would be $73 million for 25,000 to

29,000studentsover 2 years. This increase is many mes

larger, percentagewise, than the proposed state increase to

public schools. Funding for public schools, which serve

870,000 students, would be $129.2 million.

Expanding the voucher school program to 4,000 more stu-

dents in nine cies leaving open the real possibility to expand

the voucher program in the future.

Breaking a link in state law that currently binds the percent-

age increase to voucher schools to the percentage increase in

state general aid given to publicschools.

A state board that would create more independent charter

schools that would be free of school district oversight.

(Charter schools will be addressed in Middle Wisconsin News

in a future issue.)

Senate President Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) states: This is phase one

of a wide-open school voucher program for the state. The gover-

nor didnt respect the thoughts of about 8 or 10 Republican sena-

tors who didnt want it in the budget.

Senator Dale Schultz (R-Ripon), who chairs the Senate Educaon

Commiee, states: This dramac expansion of vouchers leaves

me cold. We have a hard enough me to support one educaon

system in this state, let alone two.

Both Ellis and Schultz are also concerned that Governor Walkers

plan would apply to all students in the district not just those

aending troubled schools.

Larry Miller, a Milwaukee Public School District School Board

member stated: This is devastang. We lose the enrollment (to

more charter and voucher schools) and we lose the funding be-

cause theres no increase to the revenue limit.

State Superintendent of Schools, Tony Evers, stated: This means a

up to $1,400 per-pupil increase per-pupil funding for the 25,000

students in voucher schools, while freezing spending ($0 revenue

limit growth) for our 870,000 students in public schools.

Some of many quesons that must be addressed are:

How can this be constuonal? The Wisconsin Constuon

requires the Legislature to provide by law for the establish-

ment of district schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as

praccable; and such schools shall be free and withoutchargeand no sectarian instrucon shall be allowed there-

in (as cited by Patrick Ellio, January 31, 2013, in the Mil-

waukee Journal Sennel).

Why is taxpayer funding being diverted from public schools

to taxpayer-funded private/religious schools that do not

perform any beer than the public schools? Test results for

the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam in 2011 show

choice/voucher schools performed about the same or worse

than public schoolsin reading and math.

Why are voucher schools allowed to operate by different rule

than the public schools with no oversight from the state?

Why doesnt the state hold the taxpayer-funded voucher

schools accountable to the same standards as the public

schools and put them under the umbrella of the Wisconsin

Department of Public Instrucon?

For addional informaon, see Jason Stein and Patrick Marleys

arcle Sco Walker Proposes Expanding Voucher School

Program, Raising Taxpayer Support in the Milwaukee Journal

Sennel.

Voucher School

ScamBy Joyce Luedke Hayward
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/school-vouchers-harm-public-education-gs8ijgm-189279981.htmlhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/school-vouchers-harm-public-education-gs8ijgm-189279981.htmlhttp://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/campus_connection/are-private-voucher-schools-failing-to-deliver-as-promised/article_c3c0e074-7866-11e1-9849-0019bb2963f4.htmlhttp://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/campus_connection/are-private-voucher-schools-failing-to-deliver-as-promised/article_c3c0e074-7866-11e1-9849-0019bb2963f4.htmlhttp://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/campus_connection/are-private-voucher-schools-failing-to-deliver-as-promised/article_c3c0e074-7866-11e1-9849-0019bb2963f4.htmlhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/gov-scott-walker-proposes-expanding-school-voucher-program-ft8qmt8-191669951.htmlhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/gov-scott-walker-proposes-expanding-school-voucher-program-ft8qmt8-191669951.htmlhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/gov-scott-walker-proposes-expanding-school-voucher-program-ft8qmt8-191669951.htmlhttp://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=wisconsin+voucher+schools&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=9ExmLbVb1ozwtM&tbnid=SMqY7iV3HJPowM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrane-space.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fschool-voucher-scam-when-will-politicos.html&ei=clUhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/gov-scott-walker-proposes-expanding-school-voucher-program-ft8qmt8-191669951.htmlhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/gov-scott-walker-proposes-expanding-school-voucher-program-ft8qmt8-191669951.htmlhttp://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/campus_connection/are-private-voucher-schools-failing-to-deliver-as-promised/article_c3c0e074-7866-11e1-9849-0019bb2963f4.htmlhttp://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/campus_connection/are-private-voucher-schools-failing-to-deliver-as-promised/article_c3c0e074-7866-11e1-9849-0019bb2963f4.htmlhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/school-vouchers-harm-public-education-gs8ijgm-189279981.html


11/12

Song: Solidarity Forever

Tune: Bale Hymn of the Republic

When the unions inspiraon through the workers blood shall run,

There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;

Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,

But the union makes us strong (1st

verse)

Solidarity forever,

Solidarity forever,

Solidarity forever,

For the union makes us strong (chorus)

Ralph Chaplin began wring Solidarity Forever in 1914, while he was covering the

Kanawa coal miners strike in Hunngton, West Virginia. He completed the song on

January 15, 1915, in Chicago, on the date of a hunger demonstraon. Chaplin was a dedi-

cated Wobbly, a writer at the me for Solidarity, the ocial IWW publicaon in the east-

ern United States, and a cartoonist for the organizaon. He shared the analysis of the

IWW, embodied in its famed Preamble, printed inside the front cover of every Lile Red

Songbook.

Analogous to the turn of the century, workers are again under assault from corporate

greed. It is no secret that workers wages have not by any means kept up with the rate of

inaon. If this were so, the minimum wage would be around $21.00/hour. It is no secret

that corporate CEOs compensaon is 380 mes the workers average pay. It is no secre

that unions have been on the decline since the 1970s. Why do we (workers) appear apa-

thec in our response to this injusce?

If our neighbor had an emergency, we would most certainly provide mutual aid and sup-

port in some form or fashion. Well, the house of labor is on re. It is me to rise up and

heed the call. We are all in this together. Union aliated or not, we are all workers.


Heres what we arefacing: a blind belief in

the positive effects ofproviding wealth to

corporations, not prin-cipally corporationswhich produce prod-

ucts in the UnitedStates, but rather

those which outsourceproduction to save onlabor costs. And whenthe right-wing Repub-

lican and tea partyfolks cry out against

labor unions whichhave historically pro-tected workers rights,

they act utterlyagainst their own bestinterests. Only an ig-norant populace mes-merized by misinfor-mation in the media

could be so irrationalas to actively work

against their own eco-nomic interests.


By John Spiegelhoff Merrill

Emergency 911

Someone Call a Union Member

Working Wisconsin Labor News & Views

-Author John I. LaunFrom his essay World-

wide Neoliberal Devel-

opment, in the recently

published book

A Whole Which is Greater
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wobblieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wobblieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Songbookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Songbookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Songbookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Songbookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Songbookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wobblies


12/12

By Dave Svetlik Mosinee


Pa g e

And if all others accepted the lie which the party imposed

if all records told the same tale

then the lie passed into history and became the truth

George Orw

1984 (published in 194

CHALLENGING

THE MYTH...

The Myth of Balancing the Budget

We are all aware of the latest abdicaon of responsibility by our federal legislators. It is called the Automac Seques-

traon Cuts and, like the Fiscal Cli a few months ago, it is presented as though ordained by God himself. No mere

congressman or senator can do anything about it. It is the Almightys way of forcing America to reduce its debt. No

maer that the cuts will result in an economic contracon that will cause a now shrinking decit to once again begin togrow. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and we must never queson His judgment by bringing up silly facts.

This is governance in America, 2013. In the grossest of oversimplicaons, the budget of the United States one of

the largest economic forces on the planet; holder of the dollar, the exchange currency for the world is likened to a

simple household budget. Money in must equal money out. Aer all, we all have to pay our bills. Simple. Done. And

when we swallow this line of reasoning, hook, line, and sinker, we become the sucker at the end at the end of that

line.

We are watching the plundering of America the plundering of our communies, our schools, the commons all in

the name of debt reducon. But there is no true desire to end government debt or decit. Debt is the preferred weap-

on of plunder, and the oligarchy/plutocracy now in control of America has no intenon of giving it up. Starve the

beast and drown it in a bathtub are intended for our children.

The words of economist James K. Galbraith in his book The Predator State, present a larger picture. We must become

beer students, beer cizens We must teach ourselves...

In sum (and to put the matter bluntly), balancing the budget is a mission

impossible and a fools errand. For practical purposes, the realized budget

deficit no longer depends on federal budget policy decisions, but rather on

international trade and the financial position of the private sector. So long

as American foreign trade remains in a permanent state of deficit which

it has to do... So long as a growing and unstable world economy requiresdollar reserves, the federal budget deficit is basically permanent. Policy-

makers and pundits can say what they like about budget deficits. Nothing

sustainable can or will or even shouldbe done about them, except through

a change in the worlds financial system. That may come eventually. It

may, for that matter, be in its early stages at this writing. But whatever the

future holds, it is in the global financial system, and not in the halls of Con-

gress, that the future fiscal balance of the U.S. government and whether

it really matters to the well-being of Americans will be decided.

James K. Galbraith, The Predator State
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=the+predator+state+by+james+k.+galbraith&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=5h3Cgh2L_b_FqM&tbnid=gld72dpGwUvjgM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshinybookreview.com%2F2011%2F03%2F14%2Fjames-k-galbraiths-the-predator-stat

Middle Wisconsin News - March 2013

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