The Capital Times, Jan. 30
Tony Evers calls across aisle for renewed commitment to Wisconsin Idea
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers began his State of the State address with a blunt statement about the disconnection between Wisconsin’s historic commitment to doing big things and the state’s diminished circumstance after too many years in which irresponsible Republicans - and some neglectful Democrats - have stood in the way of addressing fundamental issues.
“We are a state forged by the Wisconsin Idea - the notion that education informs our public policy and that knowledge should embrace the communities we’re called to serve,” said Evers. “But today, we are also a state among the worst to raise a black family, and we are a state that’s spending more on corrections than our entire UW System.”
That was an honest assessment of a reality that went unaddressed during the governorship of the man Evers beat last November, Republican political careerist Scott Walker; and that, frankly, was not a high enough priority for Walker’s Republican and Democratic predecessors.
We give the new governor credit for delivering that sharp assessment.
But we give him even more credit for using his first State of the State speech to focus so much attention on the need to get serious about the inequality that has held us back.
Evers recalled that, with Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, he had “traveled across the state listening to Wisconsinites talk about their values and their vision for our future. We talked about policies and solutions that connect the dots.” The governor then laid out a vision for making major interventions in hopes of addressing the long-term challenges that grew decidedly more and more intractable during the period of neglect by Walker and his legislative allies.
Next the governor got specific. As part of a broad agenda that touches on vital issues of providing affordable housing, raising wages, investing in small business, and reforming a criminal justice system that locks up too many people and provides too little in the way of needed rehabilitation, the former state superintendent of public instruction said, “The budget that I’ll be introducing in the coming weeks is about connecting those dots. And to no one’s surprise, it begins - as it always has for me - with education.”
“Connecting the dots means recognizing that what’s best for our kids is best for our state. The investment we make in our kids today will yield dividends for generations. That’s why our budget reaffirms our state’s commitment to our kids by returning to two-thirds funding for schools across Wisconsin,” said the governor, who announced that, in addition to providing necessary funding and ensuring there will be sufficient resources to aid students with special needs, the state would “get to work on closing the achievement gap for low-income students and students of color.”
Evers named the challenge: “Our state’s achievement gap is among the highest in the nation in reading and math scores.” He noted that, as superintendent, he submitted proposals that would have helped address our state’s achievement gap.
Evers named the roadblock: “Unfortunately, most of these proposals never made it through the legislative process.”
Then Evers named the hope. The governor spoke with the authority conferred upon him by the voters and said: “I believe this is the year (that legislators will stop neglecting the achievement gap).” And, he added, “my Urban Initiatives programs will also empower minority students in our state’s highest-need districts by expanding early childhood education and summer school grant programs.”
Some critics of Evers will suggest that he was too optimistic in making that announcement. Or too naive. But we think the governor’s approach is the right one.
Walker was a disaster as a governor because he failed to aim high. He never understood the Wisconsin Idea or this state’s historic determination to lead rather than follow. Walker was satisfied to collect talking points and “ideas” from right-wing groups funded by the out-of-state billionaires who paid for his campaigns.
The defeated former governor made no attempt to call on legislators to “go big” and take on fundamental issues. He was satisfied to spend his time attacking unions and public education and public services, and trying to make it harder to vote.
It is clear that a number of Republican legislators will, at least initially, choose to stick with Walker’s low-road approach. But we refuse to believe that every Republican in the Assembly and Senate is this useless. We know the GOP caucuses include able legislators, and we know that at least some of them understand that Evers is right when he says, “It is urgent that we increase support for our low-income students and students of color. The longer we wait to invest in closing our achievement gap, the wider the gap will get, and the more it will cost us in the long run.”
The new governor is a Democrat. The Legislature is run by Republicans. But the work of addressing the inequality that holds back our state must be infused with a sense of nonpartisan mission. And the neglected work of closing the achievement gap must be understood as a moral duty shared by all legislators, no matter what their party, no matter what their ideology.
Tony Evers is speaking of the vision that has always been at the heart of the Wisconsin Idea. He is calling across the aisle for its renewal. Honorable Republicans can and must answer the call.
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Wisconsin State Journal, Feb. 3
Don’t fret yet over Foxconn’s twists and turns
Foxconn’s confusing explanations for what it plans to build in Racine County haven’t changed this reassuring fact:
Wisconsin didn’t pay a dime to the Taiwanese company last year for jobs the technology manufacturer has pledged to create.
That’s reassuring because it shows the contract former Gov. Scott Walker signed with the company requires Foxconn to hire people and build things in Wisconsin before it can benefit from generous state subsidies.
Foxconn reported hiring 178 full-time employees in Wisconsin at the end of the year, which was 82 short of the minimum to claim state payouts. It can still collect millions in state assistance in the coming year - and billions over time - if hiring and construction pick up. But the contract appears to guard state taxpayers from being gouged if Foxconn’s plans fall apart.
Originally, Foxconn pledged to build flat screens for large televisions and other applications. Then it changed its tune, saying it would build smaller screens. Then last week, Louis Woo, a top Foxconn official, told Reuters the company was rethinking its project in Mount Pleasant, about 100 miles southeast of Madison in Racine County. The company might not build display screens here after all, Woo said, and a research hub was now possible.
Then on Friday, Foxconn went back to saying it would build small screens, with President Donald Trump claiming he had restored the deal. In reality, it wasn’t Trump or Walker that ultimately brought Foxconn here. It was more than $4 billion in state and local tax subsidies - an enormous sum that, coupled with other public assistance for manufacturers in Wisconsin, was far more than any other state was offering the company.
Foxconn has dropped plans for projects in other communities in the past, and Trump is a chronic exaggerator. So Wisconsin will have to wait and see what finally rises on the farm fields of Racine County.
But state leaders and taxpayers shouldn’t fret just yet over the ongoing twists and turns in this story. Foxconn is in the global technology business, after all, which can change fast. So the state should grant the company some flexibility. Foxconn still appears positioned to spur technology and growth here. And if the project moves slower and turns out to be smaller than touted, that also reduces the risk and cost to taxpayers.
After Woo’s abrupt comments last week, top Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin quickly pointed fingers at the new Democratic governor for supposedly ruining their Foxconn splurge. Gov. Tony Evers, in contrast, reacted calmly after speaking with Woo by phone. Evers said he’s comfortable Foxconn is committed to the state, though he wants more transparency and better communication from the company. That’s a reasonable request. He also should push Foxconn for better pollution control if a large plant is built.
Foxconn originally pledged to create up to 13,000 jobs, and it repeated that number Friday. Less clear is if it still plans to invest $10 billion here.
Wisconsin should hope for the best, yet demand strict verification of jobs and construction before writing Foxconn any checks.
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Beloit Daily News, Jan. 28
Compromise is not a dirty word
For those willing to see, signs citizens want collaborative government.
It didn’t take long for the rubber to meet the road regarding actions during a lame-duck session of the Wisconsin Legislature.
Readers will remember, following the election of Tony Evers over Gov. Scott Walker, for the GOP-controlled Assembly and Senate to call a special session to pass bills limiting the incoming governor’s ability to make changes. Prior to moving out of the Executive Residence, Walker signed all the legislative plans without revision or veto.
One change was to switch authority from the governor to the legislators to withdraw Wisconsin from a federal lawsuit. Last week Evers tried to pull Wisconsin out of a lawsuit challenging Obamacare. Then the new Democrat attorney general, Josh Kaul, took up the attempt to withdraw. It’s clear legislators will not allow it. Obviously, the balance of power between the executive and the legislature will be an ongoing battle.
Without taking sides in any particular dispute, it is interesting to point out a few facts:
- First, Democrats swept every statewide race in the November election - a clear signal voters are looking for some degree of change.
- Second, the respected Marquette Poll released its latest findings last week and focused its research on how Wisconsin citizens feel about priorities Evers has identified. A strong plurality favors Evers’ position on the Obamacare lawsuit and want Wisconsin to withdraw.
- An overwhelming 72 percent support nonpartisan redistricting for legislative seats, something the Republican majority not only has refused to do, but both Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald claim no one really cares about it anyway. Obviously, they are wrong.
- Nearly two in three voters (62 percent) want Wisconsin to accept federal money to expand Medicaid, again, an issue Republican legislators steadfastly have refused to consider.
- A majority of 55 percent want an increase in the minimum wage.
- Nearly 60 percent support legalizing marijuana.
- Increased state spending on K-12 public education is favored by 55 percent. Meanwhile, 39 percent prefer the Republican stance to hold the line on property taxes.
- The poll shows division on solving transportation funding, with a 52 percent majority opposing raising gas taxes.
What does all that mean? In our view, it’s a strong argument for the politicians to call a partisan truce and work a lot harder to find common ground.
For eight years Wisconsin has had Republican one-party rule. Democrats winning every statewide race suggests citizens expect changes. Likewise, the Marquette Poll shows Republicans are on the wrong end of public opinion for several issues.
To us, that doesn’t mean citizens have fallen in love with Democrats and want to sideline Republican ideas in favor of something more like one-party Democrat rule. Rather, it suggests citizens have had enough lack of consideration for any opposing views and want the parties to get things done much more collaboratively.
It also suggests - with 72 percent demanding nonpartisan redistricting - that voters are fed up with politicians rigging elections to insulate themselves from change.
The government is supposed to be responsive to the people - all the people. It has not been. Not even close.
Compromise is not a dirty word. Give it a try.
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