Progressive Thinking

Ensuring working moms and dads have access to family medical leave is one way we can strengthen families and expand economic opportunities for all.

LA CROSSE, WI - Whether it’s caring for a newborn or tending to a sick parent, at some point in our lives most adults will have to take time off from work to care for a loved one.

As a working mother with two young boys, my husband and I can relate to the daily challenges that families face when raising children and helping care for a relative. Like many others, we value flexibility and believe that reforming outdated workplace policies will strengthen our state and enable businesses to be more competitive.

Unfortunately, only 11% of U.S. employees have access to paid family leave through their jobs, which means millions of workers are forced to choose between family health obligations and the income they need to cover basic expenses.

Wisconsin was one of the first states in the country to adopt a Family and Medical Leave Act to protect the jobs of workers who must miss work to care for a sick loved one or newborn. Sadly, a recent Republican proposal would reduce access to family and medical leave protections and create more obstacles and barriers for working parents. This will take our state in the wrong direction and severely hinder further progress for the residents of Wisconsin.

Democrats are pushing for solutions to elevate Wisconsin families and address the changing work-life balance of modern families. With more dual-income households than ever before, our economy needs to move past the 1950’s-era family structures and implement workplace policies that ensure flexibility and create a healthier workforce.

Democratic leaders Sen. Janis Ringhand (D-Evansville) and Rep. Sondy Pope (D-Mt. Horeb) recently introduced legislation to create a Family Medical Leave Insurance Program that allows employees to contribute a portion of their paycheck into a trust fund. Employees would be eligible to receive a percentage of their pay during the time they take family or medical leave from work, at no cost to the employer. This innovative new proposal has earned the support of organizations that advocate for Wisconsin workers, including 9to5 Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Alliance for Womens Health.

Expanding family leave not only improves health outcomes and reduces health costs, but is an affordable way for businesses to support and retain workers when unexpected family and medical needs arise. All businesses, from Fortune 500 companies down to local mom and pop stores, benefit from a safe and healthy workplace. And so do working families.

If we want to boost our middle class, we need to focus on policies that will help families succeed. Ensuring working moms and dads have access to family medical leave is one way we can strengthen families and expand economic opportunities. Combined with additional Democratic solutions to expand health care coverage, student loan debt relief and affordable child care, we can modernize our workplace policies to be more efficient, cost-effective and family friendly.

WEDC has the new responsibility of overseeing the $3 billion contract for the Foxconn deal despite a very troublesome history watching over Wisconsin’s economic development efforts while tracking job creation, administering loans and verifying their work.

MADISON - “Can you find out the nuclear flaw in the Foxconn deal?” a woman asked me. She was referring to words leaked out of secret negotiations between the state and a Taiwanese billionaire.

Lawmakers, who recently voted in favor of the Foxconn deal, did so without seeing any contract. They put faith in a state operation known as Wisconsin Economic Development (WEDC).

Despite being paid for entirely with public funds, the $3 billion contract with Foxconn is not public. Nor do lawmakers who approved the plan know what problems exist in the draft contract. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Lawmakers and the public cannot see the details and are asked to trust WEDC negotiating the deal and later overseeing the Foxconn’s compliance.

But is WEDC worthy of our trust?

For years, the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) reported concerns about WEDC’s administration and oversight of economic development programs.

In 2013, nearly two years after WEDC was created, auditors could not report on state dollars spent by WEDC because their financial and accounting systems were not adequate. Members of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee learned spending was tracked largely by credit card statements. To remedy this serious problem, legislators passed a new law that included an independent audit of all WEDC financial statements. Financial statement preparation should be basic for any state agency.

At an October 2013 Audit Committee public hearing, WEDC leaders promised they had complied with all the LAB recommendations. However, a year later, auditors reported many problems related to basic operations and the tracking of money. For example, auditors found some spending not recorded in the accounting system and found past due loans that were missing.

By 2015, auditors discovered a larger than necessary cash balance at WEDC. By the end of June 2015, WEDC had accumulated in excess of $85 million as reported in a 2017 audit.

Losing loans and not properly accounting for internal expenses are problems associated with the operation of a troubled agency. But the problems WEDC could encounter in overseeing a large project like Foxconn are related to the independent evaluation of the company’s promises compared to their actual records.

Four years after WEDC was established auditors finally could report that WEDC made ANY effort to obtain information about jobs were actually created. However, further review by auditors showed the attempts made by WEDC only compared a company’s own promises to report and the reports a company itself filed. WEDC made no effort to verify the information submitted.

In its most recent audit, the LAB reported WEDC paid an outside consultant $24,900 to do the work they were required to do since their existence in 2011. Auditors found concerns including that the contractor’s work was limited and did not include grants.

In the LAB’s own evaluation of completed economic development projects, auditors’ findings included: companies gave money for job creation without any contract requiring such, companies quitting before the end of their contract period without delivering promised jobs, contracts to create jobs were written with no specific number of jobs to be created, WEDC forgave loans even though the company created or retained a lower number of jobs than required, and WEDC counting twice the number of jobs created by a company.

If Wisconsin taxpayers cannot be confident after seven years and the investment of hundreds of millions of state dollars that promised jobs were created, how can we possibly be confident WEDC can negotiate and oversee a $3 billion contract?

No local government would ever agree to spend money without seeing a contract. No banker would agree to loan funds without a contract. No businessperson would ever commit funds without a contract.

Lawmakers bought a pig in a poke – an unknown deal.

WEDC has not earned lawmakers trust, nor that of the public. Lawmakers can and should do more to oversee this project.

Bruce has over 35 years of experience in helping people make real estate decisions.

BROOKFIELD, WI - Many of you have asked how the real estate market is doing and the market is ever changing.

The first half of this year was fabulous in almost all sectors. Homeowners were receiving multiple offers within hours of putting their homes on the market! This did not happen in all cases, but if the home was priced properly based on condition the result was positive. Overpricing a home is always a bad idea, especially when the market is strong because buyers wonder why a home is sitting on the market for longer than a month.

I expect the market to flourish next year, especially in spring. The best months to sell are late February to the end of May. That is when buyers will pay the highest prices for the year. If you are thinking of buying first, the off months are the best time to buy (November-February). There are less buyers competition and sellers price their homes during the off months realistically due to need type sales (death, divorce, job relocation, health reasons). They are motivated to sell quickly and price homes accordingly. If you buy in the off months, you can then capitalize on selling your home in spring and you will know where you are going to live.

I am often asked what are the best improvements to make to get the ‘best bang for the buck’. Paint, paint, paint! That is the cheapest and best way to get your home ready for market. But the key is to paint with colors that resonate with today’s young buyers. Examples are steel grey in living rooms and hallways, pale green in kitchens and tope in bedrooms. There are many other colors that work and you can always go online to check out what are the most popular colors for today’s savvy buyer.

Make sure all defects are corrected, especially roof, basement and furnace. It is critical that your electrical system is at least 100amp circuit breakers because insurance companies won’t insure a home in most cases with 60-amp service.

If the exterior needs paint, do it now! It is still warm enough. So often I get a call in winter or early spring to sell a home and the exterior trim and siding show poorly. There is nothing you can do about that when temperatures are below 60 degrees in most cases. So, think ahead.

If you have a parent that needs to sell in the coming year or two, start the downsizing process now! We work with professionals who can help. Just give us a call or email and we will send you the information to connect with the professionals we trust. Downsizing can be so easy if you let others help!

Don’t hesitate to call us with any questions you may have. We have over 35 years of experience in helping you make the best real estate decisions for your future!!

Enjoy Halloween and we hope to connect with you in the coming year!

Candidate for Governor Mike McCabe talks about getting everyone in Wisconsin access to high-quality and affordable medical insurance.

ALTOONA, WI - Applying that common sense rule, Wisconsin’s whole population should be made eligible to get health insurance through the BadgerCare program. BadgerCare should be there for all Badgers who want or need it. BadgerCare provides excellent insurance coverage and is affordable. It should be a public option that anyone in the state could choose in the insurance marketplace.

BadgerCare is Wisconsin’s version of Medicaid but existing state law has restrictive requirements including income limits that make only the poor, elderly and disabled eligible to enroll. Changing a single word in state law would allow BadgerCare to be listed as one of the options on the health insurance exchange that currently only includes private insurance plans.

State law now says “An individual is eligible to purchase coverage...if all of the following apply” and goes on to list the requirements. Changing the word “all” to “any” would open up BadgerCare to the general population. No one would be required to enroll, but anyone could if they choose to.

Analysis done by the health care advocacy group Citizen Action of Wisconsin estimates that BadgerCare’s cost is on average 23 percent lower than other policies in the health insurance market. It also covers 100 percent of medical expenses, unlike many plans with sky-high deductibles and co-payments that leave patients paying for much of their care out of pocket.

Getting everyone in Wisconsin access to high-quality and affordable medical insurance not only will make our state healthier but also will stimulate the economy. There are so many people out there with great ideas for a new business who’ve dreamed of starting their own company but can’t leave a job that provides insurance for their families. If they could access BadgerCare, many would go ahead and start that new business.

Wisconsin’s entire population also should be eligible to participate in the state’s retirement system. In keeping with its name, the Wisconsin Retirement System should offer retirement security to all of Wisconsin. Employees and employers in every sector of the economy should be able to buy into the WRS, not only the public sector.

Currently, about 600,000 people are eligible to participate in the Wisconsin Retirement System, or only about one-eighth of the adult population of the state. Wisconsin has one of the most financially sound retirement systems in the country. Making participation an option for everyone in Wisconsin would make it even stronger. More people invested in the system means even greater financial stability. It also means more people with a stake in sustaining the retirement fund and defending it against political attacks. Social Security has lasted for more than 80 years because every working American pays for it and everyone stands to benefit.

Employers in the private sector who want to provide a retirement benefit to employees should have the WRS as an option and so should those who are self-employed and want to set aside money for their own retirement. As with BadgerCare, no one should be required to participate, but everyone should be eligible to buy into the system.

The closer we can get to the point where everyone pays and everyone benefits from what government does, the better off we all will be.

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Mike McCabe is a candidate for governor. He ran the independent watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign for 15 years and later started the grassroots citizen group Blue Jean Nation. His campaign’s website is GovernorBlueJeans.com.

Native Americans, originating from the Great Law of the Iroquois, have approached conservation decisions made today as ones that should benefit the people seven generations from now. Today, we seem to be rushing towards a new era, one where promises of the past are cast aside in the name of eliminating obstacles for business.

MADISON - Wisconsin has a rich heritage of conservation. From the Native American Tribes who inhabited this land for generations, to John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Warren Knowles and Gaylord Nelson – Wisconsin has been a national leader in protecting our land, water and air. The public trust doctrine, enshrined in our state constitution, guarantees that the waters of Wisconsin belong to the people of Wisconsin.

There was a time when this was a shared ethic amongst Democrats and Republicans. Our greatest environmental achievements have always been accomplished together, working toward the goal of making a better Wisconsin for our children and grandchildren. But today, I am disturbed by the erosion of that shared commitment. Governor Walker and Legislative Republicans seem to be rushing towards a new era, one where the bipartisan promises of the past are cast aside in the name of eliminating obstacles for business. Three examples from this legislative session alone demonstrate this regression.

In the early 2000s, water bottling giant Perrier had a plan to open a facility in the central sands of Wisconsin. There was great concern for the impact this might have on our groundwater resources. High capacity wells in that area have a direct impact on surface waters. As we can see today, they cause lake levels to decrease and rivers to run dry. The threat of Perrier brought together Republicans, Democrats and Democratic Governor Jim Doyle to pass what was supposed to be the first step in protecting groundwater quantity. 2003 Wisconsin Act 310 was passed nearly unanimously, 99-0 in the Assembly and 31-1 in the Senate and signed into law by Governor Doyle. In the years that followed, bi-partisan study groups continued to look at the issue to determine what those next steps forward might be to ensure everyone has reasonable access to the waters of the state.

The 2010 election resulted in the Republican control of both houses of the Legislature, the Governor’s office and an about face on the approach to environmental protection. Earlier this year, Republicans passed Wisconsin Act 10 on a partisan 62-35 vote in the Assembly and 19-13 vote in the Senate. The law allows for the repair, replacement and transfer of high capacity well permits without DNR approval. Because high capacity well permits are the only environmental permits without an expiration date, the provisions of this bill essentially grants permanent access to groundwater for those permit holders. This is in direct conflict with the Wisconsin state constitution which protects the waters of Wisconsin for the benefit of all users. It guarantees that the current problems with surface waters in the central sands will continue to get worse.

In the mid-1990s, the threat of a sulfide mine in Crandon, Wisconsin brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass the mining moratorium. This legislation, 1997 Wisconsin Act 171, was passed with overwhelming support, 91-6 in the Assembly and 29-3 in the Senate and signed by Republican Governor Tommy Thompson. Sometimes referred to as the “Prove it First” law, it simply requires that anyone wanting to operate an sulfide mine in the state of Wisconsin needs to demonstrate than another similar mine has been able to operate and close somewhere in the United States without polluting for at least 10 years. Because there has not yet been an example of a mine that can operate without causing pollution, Republicans now want to change the law.

Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) and Rep. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) have introduced Senate Bill 395 and Assembly Bill 499 which repeal the current Prove it First law. The bill appears to have widespread support on the Republican side. It passed the Senate Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry Committee on a partisan 3-2 vote and is rumored to be scheduled before the full Senate later this fall. It is widely opposed by Native American Tribes, conservationists, and government watchdog organizations. But that is virtually meaningless against strong Republican backers like Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and Americans for Prosperity.

The most recent attack was unleashed at the end of September. A new bill is being circulated by Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) and Rep. Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) that will end protection for isolated wetlands in Wisconsin. There are two kinds of wetlands and they are regulated differently. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, through the Clean Water Act, has jurisdiction over wetlands that are connected to navigable waters. Other wetlands, those that are geographically isolated, are protected by Wisconsin, thanks to a dedicated group of bi-partisan lawmakers.

In 2001, a U.S. Supreme Court decision, SWANCC vs. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, left all geographically isolated wetlands unprotected. In the wake of that decision, legislators in Wisconsin sprang into action. A concerted effort over a 5 month period led to Republican Governor Scott McCallum calling a Special Session to pass a bill which put in place state-level protection for isolated wetlands. 2001 Wisconsin Act 6 was passed unanimously by both houses of the Legislature. Since 2011, a number of proposals have chipped away at the 2001 law, but the latest, LRB 4115/1, proposes eliminating state protection for isolated wetlands.

What has happened to Wisconsin? Not that long ago, when faced with an environmental crisis, Democrats and Republicans worked hand-in-hand to come up with common sense solutions. I worked diligently with my colleagues on both the wetlands and groundwater laws during my tenure in the State Assembly and was proud to have voted for both. Now I see a new generation of Republican lawmakers, very different from the last, who fail to see the forest for the trees.

Native Americans, originating from the Great Law of the Iroquois, have approached conservation with the concept of the seventh generation. Decisions made today should be ones that benefit seven generations from now. While I know we have fallen short at times, the core of that philosophy has been at the heart of Wisconsin’s past environmental law. It’s what brought us together to ban sulfide mining, protect groundwater and isolated wetlands in an overwhelming, unified voice.

Today, there is not thought given to seven generations. Rather, the next generation will be saddled with the damage inflicted today. I hope that they are able to rise to the challenge and repair what has been broken.