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Middle Wisconsin NEWS

A VOICE FOR

THE MIDDLE OF THE STATE

Octo b e r 2 0 1 3

The Harvest ............................... 1

Cuts to Medicare ....................... 2

Chemical Weapons .................. 3

Harvest Camp ........................... 4

Working Wisconsin ................... 5

Not About Jobs………………...6

We’re Proud .............................. 7

Public School Parents ............... 8

Rural Public Schools ............... 10

Letter to Mary Burke.…………11

We Want You .......................... 13

© 2013 Middle Wiscons in

IN THIS ISSUE:

w w w. M i d d l e Wi sco n s i n . co m

,

Middle Wisconsin News welcomes letters, articles, and essays on relevant topics. We ask that you limit submissions

to 600 words and provide sources when appropriate.

Submissions may be edited for length, clarity, and taste.

Emailed submissions should be sent in plain text or Microsoft

Word attachments to: dave@middlewisconsin.org

DARING TO BE

BOLDLY PROGRESSIVE

The Harvest of October

Welcome to our October issue, the month of the harvest. We celebrate harvest time with colored leaves, bright orange pumpkins, and vegetable gardens in abundance.

The full moon and bright stars grace our night.

Our October issue shows harvests of many kinds: We look at the harvest of statistics estimating the cost of Medicare in 2035. - the num-bers showing cuts are not needed. We consider the harvest of producing too many weapons and then having to deal with total reliance on war to solve problems. “You reap what you sow.” The Harvest Camp in the Penokees brings increased respect for the Lac Courte Oreilles people who live in the woods a few miles from the site of the iron mine. We see the harvest of labor and what happens when the full benefits of the economy are taken away from workers. We look at the harvest of a governor who promises jobs then says “It is not about jobs.” We consider the harvest we have reaped for so many years from our vibrant public schools - at the rising efforts to keep these schools vital and public. We consider the potential harvest of upcoming elections and what they might mean for us all.

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Medicare spending will cost less than previously thought. This is from the words of Dean Baker, co-founder of the Cen-ter for Economic and Policy Research, in the new Congres-sional Budget Office (CBO) projection. Just two years ago the CBO projected Medicare spending would be 5.9 percent of GDP in 2035. The CBO now projects it will cost 4.6 percent of GDP in 2035. The 1.3 percentage point decrease translates to about $220 billion a year less spending in today’s dollars. Despite this positive news from the CBO, major newspapers and mainstream news outlets continue to repeat the Wall Street mantra of groups like Campaign to Fix the Debt, the Can Kicks Back, and Third Way: We had tax increases in 2012. Now we must cut or privatize Social Security and Medicare. S.500, H.R.1029—Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act of 2013, to eliminate the cap on payroll tax on income above $250,000

Cuts to these programs are usually put in the context of a “grand bargain” which would increase taxes, (so-called shared sacrifices). Baker made an interesting comparison in his op-ed. The new CBO projections imply roughly $2,600 less in spending per year on each beneficiary, or a reduction in spending of $5,200 on a senior couple. This is for an age group with a median cash income of about $20,000 a year. Then he looked at the increase in the reve-nue side of the “grand bargain,” the tax increases that took effect the end of 2012: couples earning $500,000 a year pay about $3,000 a year more in taxes. Baker notes the lower Medicare costs come from lower projected cost growth and not cuts in services. He asks: “If we had crafted a grand bargain three years ago, would anyone have suggested cuts in Medicare and Social Security that would have cost a typical senior couple more than $5,200 a year?”

In other words, the new CBO projections might imply that much of any needed cuts in spending on seniors has al-ready been accomplished. Baker states there is enormous waste in our health care sys-tem. We spend more than twice as much per person as the average in other wealthy countries. Baker points out that if revenue were still at the 1990s level of 21.1 percent of GDP – the level the CBO at that time had projected for the indefinite future – the primary budget would be in surplus for almost 20 years and the debt-to-GDP ratio would be falling sharply. What can you do? Let US Representative Duffy and Senators Johnson and Baldwin know that what Wall Street’s lobbyists and big money campaign donors want—a “grand bargain” with cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits—is not in their constituents’ best interests or what their constituents want.

Suggest instead that they support these bills to save Social Security and Medicare: *S.740, H.R.1588—Medicare Drug Savings Act, requiring drug companies to provide rebates to Medicare on prescrip-tion drugs for low-income seniors that are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid; *S.117, H.R.1102—Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negoti-ation Act, to permit the government to negotiate prices with drug companies for Medicare seniors; Please call your representatives now: Senator Ron Johnson, Wash. DC 202-224-5323 Oshkosh office: 920-230-7250 Rep. Sean Duffy: 202-225-3365 Gov Scott Walker: 608-266-1212 State Senator Jerry Petrowski, 29th district 608-266-2502 State Rep. Mary Williams, 87th district: 608-266-7506

Cuts to Medicare Not Needed

By Jeanne Larson - Phillips

The United States should be taking action on chemical weap-ons. But it should not be military action. And it should not be just about Syria's alleged use of them. It should be a coordi-nated diplomatic effort to eliminate these weapons. We should be working diplomatically to promote reductions in weapons of all kinds. We should be leading by example to find peaceful ways to resolve conflicts. We should be building the infrastructure to deal with “rogue” nations and leaders. But over many years, and under both parties, we have not led the world toward peace and justice. Too often we have undermined international efforts to build a more peaceful world. We have generally opposed the United Nations except for when we needed a fig leaf to cover our military actions. We refused to ratify the treaty banning landmines. We abrogated the anti-ballistic missile treaty. We have refused to support the World Court or to accept its jurisdiction over our actions. The time to talk about accountability, respon-sibility, credibility and sending messages is before violations of international norms hap-pen. Unfortunately, our credibility in these areas is not good. We used napalm and agent or-ange in Vietnam. We used depleted uranium ammunition in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are the biggest seller of weapons around the world. We have a stock pile of chemical weapons and the capacity to use them. American companies sold the chemicals to Saddam Hussein. We routinely ignore interna-tional law when it serves our commercial and ideological purposes as demonstrated by Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, the CIA, and a long history of illegal military interventions in many countries. So why are we demanding action on one small incident in Syria? And why must that action be a military response? Could it be that the arms manufacturers need another bailout? Our response to the incident in Syria is an excuse to justify military action against the Assad regime. If we were really concerned about the manufacture, distribution, or use of chemical weapons, we would be actively working diplomatically to eliminate them.

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“When justice

rules instead of

force,

I want to be

in that number ,

when justice rules

instead of force.”

Solidarity Singers Madison, Wisconsin

© 2013 Middle Wiscons in

Get Rid of Chemical Weapons

By Philip Anderson – Maple

Since last March, members of the Lac Courte Oreilles tribe have lived in Harvest Camp, on public lands. It is the place of an Ojibwa village one hundred years ago. The purpose of the Harvest Camp is to “harvest” the woods, to explore its resources: tour-ism, healing plants, maple syrup, wild onions, mushrooms, and timber. The vision is that this old mountain range becomes the Penokee Hills National Heritage Park. I visited the Harvest Camp and walked the trails from one tent to another. We saw the individuals’ tents for sleeping as well as their covered areas for work: carving walking sticks, caning chairs and other furniture, as well as harvesting wild rice. There is a tent for cooking and supplies. Porta-potties are on sight and fresh water is delivered daily. It is a beautiful place to live. A few miles down the road is the site of the proposed taconite mine, planning to be the world’s largest iron ore mine. Never mind that the ore is third-grade and can not be mined at a profit. (There is more profit in harvesting mushrooms, wild onions and ber-ries.) U.S. Steel explored the mining area twice in the 1950’s and found nothing of inter-est. Drilling test holes at the site of the mine was done in July and pure artesian water bubbled up. We remember that all water is connected. The channels of underground water are complex. A mine would surely destroy the pure waters, waterways connected with miles of trout streams and Lake Superior, a jewel of the earth. What is behind the State Legislature passing the mining bill? The bill contains the right to bury radioactive waste, a project worth $2.5 billion a year. There are 21 aging nuclear power plants. The Federal Government is looking for places to bury the radioactive waste. Ports on the Great Lakes already exist. Railroads could be built to transport the waste. Michigan lawmakers are speaking out against a Canadian proposal to store nuclear waste underground less than a mile from the shores of Lake Huron, in Kincardine, Ontario. Ontario Power Generation wants to store low and intermediate-level radioactive waste deep inside limestone caverns nears its Bruce Nuclear Generating Station. The site is about 120 miles upstream from Lake Huron intakes that provide drinking water for much of Southeast Michigan. There is concern about the recent history of earthquakes in Ontario. It is not possible to guarantee that those caves would safely hold the radioac-tive waste. Harvest Camp is beautiful. The site is remembered reverently by many people. You are welcome to visit, to learn more, and help fight the destruction that a poorly regulated open pit mine would bring to this area. What is to be harvested? Beautiful land and wa-ter giving sustenance to the people, or destructive storage of radioactive waste for money for a few? The question is ours.

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“If we continue to address

the environment where we live

as though we’re the only

species that lives here,

we’ll create a disaster for

ourselves.”

― Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day, Former Wisconsin Gov-ernor and U.S. Senator

© 2013 Middle Wiscons in

WHAT WILL BE HARVESTED?

By Virginia Kirsch - Wausau

I remember long ago when entering college as a freshman that many of the classes that I could choose had “101” as a suffix such as English 101 or Biology 101. This was a basic course and, if I wanted more specifics, I could take the next course level. Not being busi-ness oriented, I didn’t take Economics 101. But I have learned a lot about economics in the real world.

I have learned that big businesses hoard their cash. This behavior

has contributed to the record income inequality in this country.

When ordinary workers aren’t paid family sustaining wages, they

don’t spend as much. When ordinary workers don’t spend, the

economy doesn’t grow.

Big businesses have experienced record -breaking profits throughout the last thirty years. Some CEO’s make 400 times the salary of their employees. Allegiance to the almighty dollar is the primary objective. They have no allegiance to their workers. This is a textbook defini-tion of greed. If you were to ever suggest that companies have an obligation to share their wealth with their workers, you would be chastised as a “socialist” or a “liberal”. You would be told that you don’t understand capitalism or the economy. The fact is most people do understand economics. They understand they make less than years before. They understand that a healthy economy entails more money in the hands of workers which equates to a thriving economy. A healthy economy puts money in the hands of the workers who then spend that money. Trickle up economics. Viewing employees as “costs” and minimizing those “costs” whenever and wherever employ-ers can is demeaning and selfish. Companies cannot survive because workers can’t afford goods and services. Employers have choices in the future of our country. They can continue to focus on making record profits by exploiting their workforce which is economic treason. Or they can share their extraordinary wealth with the country and the workers that ena-bled them to become wealthy. Paying employees as little as possible under the guise of “capitalism” masks the fact that employers are making a choice. Such choices have conse-quences in Economics 101. Ordinary workers didn’t have to go to school to learn this. It is time to demand better from our employers and our elected representatives.

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”They have taken untold billions

that they never toiled to earn,

But without our brain and muscle

not a single wheel can turn.”

Solidarity Singers Madison, Wisconsin

© 2013 Middle Wiscons in

Working Wisconsin

Real-World Economics 101

By John Spiegelhoff – Merrill

American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Middle Wisconsin NEWS Oc to b e r 2 0 1 3

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“We have a moral

obligation to continue

to fight back. We have children

and neighbors and grandchildren

to fret about. Can we walk away?

Nope. Now how do we fight

back?”

-Ed Garvey (Founder, editor and publisher of FightingBob.com.)

© 2013 Middle Wiscons in

“It’s really not about jobs,” was Governor Walker’s reply while at Northern Wire, in Merrill. August 26th to a reporter from WJFW, Newswatch 12, Rhinelander. Scott Walker had promised to create 250,000 new jobs by the end of 2014. January 2011 through June 2013 saw 67,182 jobs created. Wisconsin continues to lag behind the national rate of job creation. Wisconsin is 45th in projected job growth and 34th in job creation as of September 2013. Sadly on September 27th, Governor Walker once again blamed the poor job numbers on the recall election. Statistics from Workforce Development of Wisconsin from 2011 through 2012 give some star-tling facts: Over 60,000 people in that two-year period have had their lives altered by layoffs or permanent job losses. This statistic is for Mass Layoffs from companies with 50 employees or more. The 60,000 does not include companies with fewer than 50 employees--no statistics are available for this group. The 60,000 statistic does not include government workers. We can safely assume that the 60,000 statistic is much larger. According to Heather Thompson at Wisconsin Workforce Development, the crucial statistics/data regarding layoffs and job numbers for Wisconsin will no longer be available through Workforce Development because they lost their funding due to the sequester. Another ex-ample of how the sequester is harming our right to know. Heather will be re-assigned to an-other department. Another element to the Newswatch 12 story was added on August 27th. Walker’s spokes-man, Tom Evenson, asked Channel 12 to remove the video from its website. Channel 12 de-clined. Requesting that the segment be removed is in keeping with another incident that Scott Walker was involved in while a student at Marquette University. The Marquette Tribune, 10/26/2010, reported the incident. As a sophomore, Walker ran for president of the Associated Students of Marquette Universi-ty. Walker was “found guilty of illegal campaigning.” At first the Tribune’s editorial board endorsed Walker’s opponent John Quigley with a statement that either candidate would be effective. Walker’s supporters threw hundreds of The Tribune in the garbage after the edito-rial was printed. Later, The Tribune revised its editorial saying Walker was “unfit for presiden-cy.” As a senior at Marquette, Walker abruptly left and never graduated. Is he walking away from his promise of jobs in the same way he walked away from Marquette? http://marquettetribune.org/2010/10/26/news/walker-wpo1-tw2-je3-one-question-

controversial-claims-continue-in-walkers-campaign/

http://www.jsonline.com/business/wisconsin-added-24305-private-sector-jobs-in-12-months-ended-in-

march-b99106575z1-225348792.html

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/writers/mike_ivey/wisconsin-ranked-st-best-state-for-business-by

-forbes/article_67301452-261f-11e3-8d9f-0019bb2963f4.html

It’s Not About Jobs

By Joyce Luedke - Hayward

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Total

24.3%

Students from

Public Schools

67.3%

Students

from

private/

parochial

schools

By Tom Ivey - Wausau

We’re Proud of Our . . .

neighborhoods, towns, and cities,

diverse heritage and customs,

strong work ethic,

safe and healthy environment in

which we can grow and prosper,

Communities and Our Public Schools - The Power Behind Our Wisconsin Way of Life

The founders of the United States understood the unique role Public Schools play

in maintaining a strong country and the liberty of its people.

Public Schools Assure EQUAL opportunities for all our

children

Guarantee EVERY child access to a free

education

UNIFY our diverse population

Prepare students to be responsible members of

our local, state & national COMMUNITIES

"If a nation expects to be

ignorant and free, in a state

of civilization, it expects what never was and never

will be." - Thomas Jefferson

“The whole people must

take upon themselves the

education of the whole peo-

ple and be willing to bear

the expenses of it. -

- President John Adams

“A primary object should be

the education of our youth

in the science of govern-

ment. In a republic, what

species of knowledge can be

equally important? And

what duty more pressing

than communicating it to

those who are to be the fu-

ture guardians of the liber-

ties of the country?” --

- George Washington

Funding public schools is one of the RESPONSIBILITIES we share as citizens. Just as we pay taxes to support our police force, fire fighters, highways & military, we pay taxes to support our public schools.

Our investment in public schools makes our communi-

ties, state & country a stronger, safer and better place

for us ALL.

Middle Wisconsin NEWS Octo b e r 2 0 1 3

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Wisconsin’s (Statewide) Parental Choice Program (WPCP) failed to attract students from public schools. An overwhelming

majority of students (75.7%) enrolled in the new program did not attend a Wisconsin Public School the previous year. Less

than 25 % of students enrolled in WPCP transferred in from public schools.

“School Choice” is not really the issue, nor is “quality.” Wisconsin parents can already choose where they want their chil-

dren to go to school – public schools, public charter schools or private/parochial schools. Research shows that public

school students of similar economic backgrounds do as well as their private school counterparts, and in many cases better

and for less. The real question is…

“Should tax dollars be redirected from our community’s public schools to fund a family’s personal deci-

sion to ‘opt out’ of their neighborhood public school and send their children to a private or parochial

school?”

Parents who participate in the WPCP are eligible for a voucher and tax credit (deduction) to cover the cost of attending a

private school. While the money to support the WPCP does not come directly from school allocated tax dollars, it does

come out of the pool of money we call “the State Budget.” This impacts the amount of state budget money available for

schools, local governments and other functions.

Total

24.3%

Students from

Public Schools

67.3%

Students

from

private/

parochial

schools

3.3%

Home

Schooled

0.1% From Out-of-State

Parents of Public School Children -

Happy With Their Public Schools

4.9% No School

Total

75.7%

3.3% HmSchooled

4.9% No School

Continued on Page 9

Where Do Statewide Voucher School Students Come From?

By Tom Ivey - Wausau

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Currently, the WPCP schools in Central Wisconsin are:

Marshfield – Columbus Catholic Schools (83 students) Stevens Point & Plover – Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools (106 students) Wausau & Rothschild – Newman Catholic Schools (94 students) Wisconsin Rapids – Assumption Catholic Schools (109 students);

Immanuel Lutheran School (40 students).

Eventually, those pushing for the new law want to eliminate all restrictions and provide vouchers & tax credits for

all students regardless of income. The projected cost of such a goal would exceed $700 million dollars just to

cover all the students currently attending private and parochial schools in Wisconsin.

Senate Education Committee Discusses SB76 - a Bill Allowing

Out-of-State Companies to Run Local Schools with Our Tax Dollars.

Wisconsin has 238 Charter Schools authorized by, and under the supervision of, our local school boards. New leg-

islation is being considered which would expand the number of entities able to authorize privately run charter

schools. The net result would be private companies running private charter schools to profit from our tax dollars.

Unlike the funding from WPCP vouchers and tax credits, under SB76, funding for these new private charter

schools would come off the top of monies allocated for all public schools, thereby, directly reducing the amount

of money available for our community public schools. This disproportionately affects school districts with low

property values as they are challenged to make up the lost funding through local property taxes.

As of October 12th SB76 has not been released from committee, so there can be no action. However, this could

change, so keep your eyes open. Ask your Legislators to focus on funding our public schools and support Wiscon-

sin’s constitutional guarantee of a FREE, QUALITY, PUBLIC education for all.

Sen.Petrowski@legis.wisconsin.gov Telephone: (608) 266-2502

Sen.Tiffany@legis.wi.gov Telephone: (608) 266 -2509

Rep.Spiros@legis.wisconsin.gov Telephone: (608) 266 -1182

Rep.WilliamsM@legis.wisconsin.gov Telephone: (608) 266 -7506

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/Pages/default.aspx Statewide Contact Information

Parents of Public School

Children Continued . . .

Forty-four percent of the 860,000 Wisconsin students attend rural public schools. In the latest Wisconsin state budget, public schools did not receive the needed financial support. All schools are feeling the pinch, but for rural areas, it could mean more school consolida-tions and closings. Closing a public school in a rural area is devastating for the community. To that end, the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance (WiRSA) was organized in 2012. It is to help rural school districts use their facilities and staff to their best advantage. Members in-clude educators, school board members, business leaders and other concerned people. More than 100 school districts have joined the Alliance. WiRSA plans a conference in our area in Stoney Creek Inn, Rothschild, November 13-14. Click here for more information and registration forms. Topics and speakers include:

2013—2014 Wisconsin School finance, Statewide Private School voucher Program and Results of Research on the Milwaukee Public Choice program. Speaker is Jeff Perti, DPI Policy Analyst, University of Oklahoma

Power of Technology in Rural Schools. Speaker is Kate Morrow, Apple Distinguished Educator and National Presenter. Learn more about a small town teacher leading stu-dents to big things.

Advanced Manufacturing & Gold Collar Careers in Rural School Districts. Speaker is Mark Tyler, OEM Manufacturing President * Joni Geroux, UW Stout Outreach Coordina-tor

The Future of Rural Public Schools in Wisconsin. Speaker is Senator Kathleen Vinehout, Alma, Wisconsin

Attracting and Retaining our High Performing Educators. Speaker is Helen Ryley, Lead Consultant, Educational Services, Benchmark One. Tips, tools and solutions to attracting, developing and retaining peak-performing educators in rural districts with limited re-sources.

Whole Grade Sharing in Rural School Districts. Speaker is Rick Pederson, Sumner/Fredericksburg, Iowa School Districts Superintendent. This structure is used by 70 school districts in Iowa as an alternative to consolidation.

WI Rural Education Center: UW Oshkosh, Rural Schools & Community Partnership. Speaker is Fred Yeo, UW Oshkosh. Ways K-12 school districts and rural communities can utilize university collaborations.

Addressing the Future Needs of Rural Schools & Communities. Speaker is John White, U.S. Dept. of Education

Middle Wisconsin NEWS Octo b e r 2 0 1 3

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”Living and attending school

in the middle of nowhere

is the best thing that ever

happened to me.”

-Michael Perry, New York Times

bestselling author, humorist, and

rural Wisconsin resident

Michael Perry is the speaker for the Dinner at WiRSA conference.

He will tell stories about

living and going to school in rural Wisconsin.

© 2013 Middle Wiscons in

Keep our Rural Public Schools Strong

Dear Ms. Burke,

Like others across Wisconsin, I recently received notice of your intent to run as a Demo-

cratic candidate for governor. I am delighted to see a woman running for this position and I

am sure you have much to offer. Your previous experience as Commerce Secretary is invalua-

ble, and as a former small business owner, I admire your work as a corporate executive. As a

conservative, however, I am adamantly opposed to the radical use of a business model in

government. It has led to the “government bashing for private gain” ideology that is now

truly threatening democracy in America. I do not want my government run like a business. I

want it run like a government - for all, and with no thought of profit or privatization.

Ms. Burke, these are a few of the questions I feel any candidate for governor must answer

clearly and without political spin before I can consider giving my support:

Are you against privatizing government functions? As a conservative. I wish to preserve the traditional functions of government as established by my parents and grandparents.

Are you against selling off public assets to corporations and developers? I wish to main-tain the traditional public ownership of government assets paid for by my predecessors.

Are you against privatizing prisons? As a conservative, I believe law enforcement and criminal justice should remain, as always, public functions with no profit motive.

Are you against privatizing water utilities? As a conservative I believe public ownership of water and sewer systems has served our communities well for many decades.

Will you explain to the public that it is the concentration of wealth, illegal, unethical Wall Street "products," and the undermining of progressive and corporate taxes that have caused deficits and debts - not runaway government spending? As a conservative I wish to reinstate regulations such as the Glass-Steagall Act, that were established by my ancestors after the Great Depression to limited the criminal behavior of the financial sector. I also wish to return to the traditional progressive taxes established by Republi-can President Eisenhower that required the wealthy to pay their share. These taxes re-sulted in low unemployment because they ensured the fair distribution of wealth neces-sary for robust consumer product demand - the only true job creator.

Will you fight tooth and nail to protect the environment from corporate abuse? From a “conservation” perspective, events in the Penokees and with sand mining are shameful.

Will you openly speak out against any attacks on the Wisconsin retirement system?

Will you support an effort to include all Wisconsin wage earners, both private and public sector, in the Wisconsin retirement system? As a conservative I believe we should re-turn to the secure defined benefit pensions of the past that served Americans so well and protected them from the predations of Wall Street inherent in 401 K’s etc.

Will you join with other governors to support a financial transaction tax limiting com-puterized high speed Wall St. trading? I wish to return to the conservative tradition of Wall Street investing in America rather than the gambling and financial manipulation currently plundering our states and communities.

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People have hearts, they have kids,

they get jobs, they get sick, they cry, they dance. They

live, they love, and they die. And that

matters. That matters because we don’t run this country for corpo-rations, we run it

for people.

- Elizabeth Warren

© 2013 Middle Wiscons in

A Conservative’s Letter to Mary Burke

Democratic Candidate for Governor

Continued on Page 12

Will you join with other governors to fight against cuts to social security or Medicare/Medicaid and support an inflation adjusted hike in the payroll tax cap? As a conservative I wish to see no reduction in these long established earned benefits.

Will you fight to keep the UW system public? I wish to preserve our traditional public Universities and schools.

Will you openly explain to the public that it is the DeVoss family, the Walton family, the Broad family and other wealthy people who are seeking to turn Wisconsin's public schools into a profit making venture for their own personal gain?

Will you speak out against "tax credits" for people sending their kids to religious or pri-vate schools that drain critically needed funds from our public schools?

Will you fight to encourage the growth of both public and private sector worker un-ions? As a conservative I realize that traditional worker unions helped distribute wealth fairly and enabled a vibrant middle class and the traditional “American Dream.”

Will you lead Wisconsin in the fight for a constitutional amendment to overturn the radi-cal, precedent destroying "Citizens United" decision?

Will you fight to get corporate money out of Wisconsin politics? I wish to protect our democracy from moneyed forces and return to a conservative time when businesses and corporations actually cared about America.

Where is your own campaign financing coming from?

Will you publicly use and broadcast the names of Wisconsin legislators who are members of ALEC and explain to the public just what ALEC is and the harm it has done?

Will you tell the public what harm Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Wis-consin Chamber of Commerce have done to the state and explain how their recent tele-vision add "Thank you Governor Walker" about all the jobs he has "created" is a lie?

Will you fight for an inflation adjusted hike in Wisconsin's minimum wage and explain that it is demand that creates jobs, not extreme wealth in the hands of hedge fund man-agers who wipe out paper mills with financial gimmicks?

Will you explain to the public how radical "trickle down" economics deliberately and me-thodically redistributed the wealth upward?

Will you support a state public bank like the one in ultra-conservative North Dakota that made that state virtually immune to the “Great Recession?” http://publicbankinginstitute.org/

Will you support the Affordable Care Act and use it as a stepping stone toward universal single payer healthcare?

Will you re-establish a sense of community - a sense that the people of Wisconsin are in this together and it is not every man for himself? It is a conservative Wisconsin tradition.

Ms. Burke, good people of all political stripes are looking for someone who will fight for

them. A politician who will do so can be successful.

Sincerely,

Dave Svetlik

Middle Wisconsin NEWS Octo b e r 2 0 1 3

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.

“”Another world is not only possi-ble, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

― Arundhati Roy

© 2013 Middle Wiscons in

Letter to Mary Burke Continued . . .

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