Paul Soglin: Waxing America

COVID - 19 This Pandemic Outcome: You Got What You Need Post #11

The inability of the federal government and the state governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic was planned. I reviewed two hundred pages of reports from the CDC and NIH including the one's linked in previous posts such as the Pandemic Influenza Plan 2017 Update.

First, the studies accurately predict and model what is happening. The U.S. government did not obfuscate the probability of a pandemic or the subsequent consequences.

Secondly, the strategy to address a pandemic was clearly inadequate. There are no recommendations that the federal government prepare the nation for a pandemic on the scale modeled. The reports contain a series of recommendations placing the responsibility on the individual states. That reports acknowledges that the states do not have the ventilators, respirators or other necessary PPEs.

A conscious decision was made to recommend an inadequate response.

If you examine the reports there is only one conclusion. The present crisis is a victory for those who want a smaller federal government, advocate for "state's rights," and who believe economically it is best not to prepare.

No one is to blame, the right-wing won this health and economic battle. The Trump, 'get back to work' and Texas 'old people can die' viewpoint is simply a continuation of the mentality that crafted the reports.

You can't always get what you want

You can't always get what you want

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes, well, you might find, You get what you need.

 

You  can't get your prescription filled at the Chelsea drugstore.

Yeah, and he said said one word to me, and that was "dead"

 

Response to Governor Walker's Budget Proposal

The crisis in Wisconsin today is not simply financial: it is a crisis created, exacerbated and perpetuated by the way in which the Walker administration handled the budget process to date.

Governor Walker has not been forthright with the people of Wisconsin. By releasing his plan piecemeal, he makes it impossible for residents and the legislature to properly evaluate, weigh the consequences and consider the options. While a candidate, Walker failed to disclose the full scope of his agenda. That failure diminishes his electoral victory. Finally, he has left no room for public discussion of other options.

We can do better in this state.

The time has come for people of good will from all political outlooks to make it clear to Governor Walker that more discussion is needed as is a serious discussion of alternative plans. It is particularly important that this message is delivered by Wisconsin leaders in both the private and public sectors who know the importance of education, workforce development, and a trained workforce.

SEIU Chief on Walker: "This Is All About Power, Not Money"

Monday there was a blogger sit-down with Mary Kay Henry, national president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). In Wisconsin the SEIU represents about 20,000 members, most of which work in health care-related fields.  About 4,000 are state workers, and the largest group of those are about 2,000 nurses at the UW Hospital, which ironically, isn't really a state agency now. The majority of Wisconsin SEIU members are in the private sector, and most of those are home health workers.

Henry is, in fact, one of those out-of-state union agitators Scott Walker blames for the occupation of the Capitol. She and some staff had flown in for the day to reinforce her SEIU ground troops in Wisconsin, and show the flag to inspire them and their brothers and sisters from the many public and private sector unions. Only in this case, the flag was a purple SEIU t-shirt.

Henry was energized by her experience at the Capitol, both from the scene inside, and the response to her speech at the noon outside rally. Cutting to the chase, she said: "This is all about power, not money."  Connecting the dots between Walker's actions and the national assault on the political clout of unions, Henry argued that "...collective bargaining is the last line of defense for the American middle class, and we will not concede on our voice on the job."

Emily Mills (Emily''s Post)  was also at the sit-down, and tied Henry's comments to the impending deep cuts in support to subsdized health care in Wisconsin:

Part of the debate about Walker’s budget proposal that’s been mostly overshadowed by the outcry over cutting collective bargaining, of course, is his desire to impose sweeping changes on the state’s Medicare system. That affects BadgerCare, Family Care, and SeniorCare, among other things. It’s all connected – especially for home health workers and for the working, low-income people of the state in general. Henry was sure to address those problems, as according to Shawn Doherty’s thoughtful piece in the Capital Times, “The provisions would allow the administration to revamp and even gut the programs without following state laws or the normal legislative processes.”

This is just as serious of an issue as the threat to union rights and deserves just as much of our indignation. We’re talking about putting into jeopardy the very well-being of our elders, the disabled, the most vulnerable populations in the state.

It's beyond ironic that many of the SEIU members providing health care services need BadgerCare themselves.

 

For a little much-needed humor, here's one of the best signs from Saturday, thanks to deke at Caffeinated Politics.

(That's very likely a SEIU nurse from UW Hospital. Anyone who has been cared for by them will tell you that UW Hospital nurses are wicked awesome.)

- Barry Orton

Madison Then and Now: 1960's and the Walker Protests

No, I never saw in the 1960's what is occuring today in this effort to stop Governor Walker's union busting.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:   

Soglin: "I've never seen anything like this"

Soglin said he has participated in the protests against Walker’s budget repair bill for a week, starting with a march Saturday from Memorial Union on the UW-Madison campus. The crowds have built every day, and on Thursday and Friday exceeded 20,000, he estimated.

He compared the mood of the crowds to those he saw during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. There’s anger, he said, but there was also “elements of joy and enthusiasm, and that’s what’s going on here as well.”

The anti-war movement, he said, was “all energized and angry - because it was focused on stopping a war. It could not have the almost spiritual nature of what’s going on in Madison today.”

Spiritual? Joy? Soglin said the teachers and other public employees from across the state are finding a bond with each other.

“There are a lot of people who are scared about the economic consequences of what’s going to happen” with Walker’s bill, he said. “But they’re also getting strength from all of the people they are meeting.”

Governor Walker Launches New Political Movement

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's attempt to crush public employee unions has changed both Wisconsin and the nation. While we do not know the outcome of Wisconsin Senate Bill 11, Walker's effort to end collective bargaining for public employees has triggered a response that is overwhelming and will be lasting.

Walker, elected last November on an anti-labor platform, never publicly disclosed that he planned to crush our unions with legislation that was scheduled to be adopted only six days after its announcement.

Know that hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin residents, both union and non-union folks, have said, "Kill the bill."

Here at the Capitol, dozens of people asked me today if I ever saw anything like this in the 1960's. 

No.

This is different.

The civil rights movement was joyful and enthusiastic.

The anti-war movement was energetic and angry.

Neither combined the dynamics we see here in Madison this week.

The rotation of people from throughout the state, coming in each day, is one of the reasons we are so vibrant.

The other factor is the young people. I have never seen anything like the energy from people under 30. It's both inspiring and energizing. 

We have much to do; more education, more planning, and the work to keep our elected officals from hijacking this grassroots movement.

Because this movement has legs.

 

 

Save Madison's City Channel!

Rookie Wisconsin State Journal columnist Chris Rickert hit a home run Wednesday with this column on the Madison City Channel. Facing a severe shortfall due to the phasing out of dedicated funding from cable television providers by the state's wrong-headed 2007 "cable competition bill,"  the City Channel could find its staff and resources severely diminished in next year's Madison budget. (Disclosure: for the last six months, I served on the Madison City Channel Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, which explored ways to address the shortfall, and recommended ways to mitigate its impacts.)

Rickert:

...paying attention to local government is kind of like voting. There's no valid argument for not doing it, but that doesn't mean people always do.

I have some confidence that Madisonians are a more civic-minded lot. Prove me right and show the City Channel some love: Tell your alderperson to fund it.

Coincidentally, Brenda Konkel posted a teaser yesterday on what she would do if she were mayor. She's not running (yet), but allowed how it was "likely only to happen if I just get mad enough to do it."  Of the 101 things she listed, number 67 was:

City Channel and WYOU would be supported at reasonable levels and explore a media center concept or other collaborations between Community, School and Government television stations.

This collaboration was a possibility that was outlined in the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee's report and makes good sense to pursue. The City Channel, WYOU and the MMSD's channel (MMSD-TV) perform valuable public services, and every possibility to help all three survive should be explored.

- Barry Orton

Wisconsin SD-07: Chris Larson Challenges "Pay to Plale"

The Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce is bi-partisan.  WMC loves almost every Republican in the legislature plus Senator Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee).  Plale chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Utilities, Energy and Rail and some of his biggest campaign donors are executives from the cable television and energy industries, and from the WMC. Plale has pushed deregulation of nearly every industry his committee oversees, and Xoff calls it "Pay to Plale:"

Do the special interests pour money into Plale's campaign because he agrees with them and has already done things they want to reward? Or do they give so Plale will do nice things for them in the future?

Some people say the legislature works like a vending machine -- put your money and legislation comes out. But sometimes the machine jams and you lose your money, or you have to start over and put money in again.

Some people call it Pay to Play. But that's almost impossible to prove, that there is any quid pro quo involved.

But one thing's for sure. The State Senator from South Milwaukee has some unusual friends. And they're willing to play the game, whatever it is, to keep him in office.

Just call it Pay to Plale.

Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Chris Larson is challenging Plale in the 7th Senatorial District Democratic primary, and has attracted a lot of union and grassroots support so far. It's very difficult to oust a seated Senator in a primary in either party, but it looks like Larson has a decent chance.

- Barry Orton

Glenn Grothman Comes to Snowball Fight With A Squirt Gun

I love Wisconsin politics.

Glenn Grothman, the Republican Wisconsin State Senator from West Bend just slipped on the ice, stepped into a puddle, and gave Waxing America a gift that will keep on giving for years to come.

Grothman, critical of city of Madison plowing efforts this month, suggested that there were external consequences as a result of the limited snow removal effort December 8th and 9th:

Saying Madison officials are endangering citizens' access to their state government and university, Grothman said Tuesday he's drafting a bill that would strip the city's ability to set policies for salting and plowing its main roads and give that authority to the state Department of Transportation...

The Senator must be reading Waxing America, where for years we continue to hammer home two progressive points:

• There is a larger societal benefit when government spends taxpayers dollars effectively on development and maintenance of public infrastructure and human capacity.
• The evaluation of any program must go beyond the silo that represents its budget. Funding public transit, is a 'loser' but it saves a considerable amount of money by avoiding additional road construction and maintenance.

It is our fervent hope that after two decades of Republican control and intimidation of most of Wisconsin government, Grothman and his colleagues learned something.

Next time they wail about taxation and government spending, these legislators should look at not just the costs, but also the benefits of public programs. Senator, this applies to more than snow removal, it applies to:

• public education
• environmental legislation that protects the air, land , and water in Wisconsin
• investment in cultural activities
• water and sewage systems
• sanitation and recycling systems
• and a myriad of other governmental functions

Senator, welcome to the real world and remember, Waxing America is committed to:

A candid examination of right-wing politics and the Democrats who play along and the horrid liberal policies designed to assuage the moderates but end up irritating everyone. And other stuff. 

First, it is true that Madison uses about 150 pounds of salt per lane mile where the rest of the state averages 300 pounds. Keep in mind that for forty years Madison effectively used 200 pounds. There is no reason to return to 300 pounds; there is a happy medium.

Secondly, salt application was only a small part of the problem. The most significant reasons for the failure was the lack of staff and equipment.

Glenn Grothman should have the good manners to follow Ed Garvey's blog, FightingBob.com, "Is this a private fight, or can anyone join?"

Next time Grothman enters the fray uninvited, he should come armed for the battle.

The hypocrisy of Grothman calling for state interference in local government is not worthy of comment.

Wisconsin Cable Regulation Back In Play

State-level cable TV regulation is back as a legislative issue. Representative Gary Hebl (D-Sun Prairie),  is gathering co-sponsors for a bill that would fix several of the major problems of 2007's Act 42, which deregulated the industry from local control and gave wired video providers perpetual franchises with no significant state oversight.

Jason Stein has the story on the front page in Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal. I like the on-line headline, "Price promises of backers of cable bill fall flat," much better than the print head, "Some prices higher under cable TV competition law." In either case, the story's focus is on a 2009 University of Minnesota Humphrey Center report, which found that cable rates in Wisconsin and most everywhere else went up significantly in the last few years rather than falling, even after the "competition" induced by state deregulation.

When interests such as AT&T pushed for a bill in 2007 to open up more competition in the cable television market, the proposal's supporters promised consumers would "see cost savings almost immediately."

Nearly two years after an intense lobbying effort helped push the controversial video competition bill through the Legislature, those lower cable prices haven't materialized. A recent study found prices for expanded basic cable increased nearly 28 percent from late 2006 to early 2009. Madison-area provider Charter Communications has said it will raise rates on its lower-tier cable-only customers by $3 in December.

"It was a form of puffery and everyone knows it," Barry Orton, a UW-Madison telecommunications professor who formerly did consulting work for cities opposed to the law, said of the predictions of lower prices. "And those rates prove it."

Back when the 2007 bill was partial-vetoed into law, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel encapsulated the key issues:

Legislators who fought the bill said Doyle's vetoes improved it but predicted that rural areas will not be helped by competition and new telecommunications products.

"People in many areas of the state won't see any competition . . . because companies such as AT&T have no plans to provide service beyond their existing service footprint, which covers less than half of the state," Rep. Gary Hebl (D-Sun Prairie) said in a statement.

Thad Nation, executive director of TV4US Wisconsin, which ran hundreds of TV ads statewide pushing the bill, predicted that "prices will fall, services will improve and companies will have incentives and bring consumers new, exciting technologies." (emphasis Waxing America)

So Stein now reports "A recent study found prices for expanded basic cable in Wisconsin rose between December 2006 and February 2009, in spite of a December 2007 law to promote competition among video providers."  Cable prices rose how much? Only 27.6% over the slightly more than two years, when the new law was going to lower them according to all the bill's sponsors.

Stein reports Hebl's draft bill would:

• Require cable outages to be repaired within 24 hours instead of 72.

• Allow all municipalities to charge up to 1 percent of video companies' revenues to pay for public access channels - not just the roughly 30 municipalities that currently collect such fees from cable companies.

• Require cable providers to give public access stations a prominent channel on the dial rather than one at the end of it.

• Require a renewal of currently permanent state cable franchises every five years and transfer the authority to award them from the Department of Financial Institutions to the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities.

You thought Waxing America was safe from this topic at last?  Too bad; there's more to come, as this bill gains additional sponsors, and AT&T and the cable industry push back against it with their formidable resources. For now, what the Cap Times editorialized in 2007, just before the Wisconsin Senate voted to pass cable deregulation, still holds, with a little updating:

AT&T wants a license to turn a quick buck and is about to get got it. 

Cable wants to extract greater profits from Wisconsin by getting rid of community investment and is about to get got it.

Residents should be hopping mad.

- Barry Orton

The Peanut Murders and Capitalism: Ask Wisconsin Institute for Leadership

Tainted salmonella peanuts that kill shoppers pose a dilemma for right wing free market capitalists.

There are a plethora of organizations that decry government regulation and claim that the free market will best serve the American people. In the Badger state, we have the Wisconsin Institute for Leadership. (WIL)

WIL works to educate and mobilize Wisconsin residents on policies that expand individual liberties, encourage free markets, promote high quality education and demand accountability from public officials.

Or just ask Americans for Prosperity.

Removing unnecessary barriers to entrepreneurship and opportunity by sparking citizen involvement in the regulatory process early on in order to reduce red tape.

It would be interesting to see how these organizations respond to the Peanut Murders. The free market obviously cannot regulate itself.

After enough people die from eating tainted peanuts, sales may drop and the offending companies are penalized for selling a less than wholesome product, but eight people are dead.

Of course, the criminal law will allow for the prosecution fo those who willfully put the salmonella laced food on the market.

There are weasel words in the statements from these groups, like unnecessary, after all, none of us want unnecessary regulation.

It would be nice to hear from WIL, or perhaps some candidates for Supreme Court justice as to where they draw the line between necessary and unnecessary government regulation.

From the AP:

Peanut Corp. president urged shipping tainted nuts

• In one e-mail, Lightsey wrote Parnell discussing positive salmonella tests on its products, but Parnell gave instructions to nonetheless “turn them loose” after getting a negative test result from another testing company.
• In another e-mail, Parnell expressed his concerns over the losing “$$$$$$” due to delays in shipment and costs of testing.
• Parnell in another company-wide e-mail told employees there was no salmonella in its plants, instead accusing the news media of “looking for a news story where there currently isn’t one.”