Donald Trump’s bailouts and now new trade deals will not make them forget how broke his promises say farmers.

CAMBRIDGE, WI - Dairy farmers Tina and Duane Hinchley blasted Donald Trump’s trade policies Wednesday as too little too late. This comes as reports confirm that farm bankruptcies continued to spike in 2019. On a tour of their dairy and crop farm, which is comprised of 240 milking cows and 2,300 acres of land that are used to grow and corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa, they highlighted that Trump cannot turn back the clock on the irreparable damage he has caused them and other farmers across Wisconsin.

“Donald Trump’s trade policies cannot undo the damage he brought to our community. He thought he could buy us off with bailouts and now thinks he can pull the wool over our eyes with these new trade deals, but it’s too little too late. We’re not going to forget how broke his promises to us. If he actually came out and spoke with us dairy farmers he’d know this isn’t going to get us over the hump.”

The U.S. International Trade Commission found that the real economic gain that will come from the USMCA is the removal of uncertainty from Trump’s ill advised tariffs. What’s more is the Congressional Budget Office found the economic impact in 2020 from Trump’s trade wars will have a negative economic impact of up to 40% when compared to the benefit of the USMCA.

Last year, Wisconsin lost 818 dairy farms, which comprises roughly 10% of the industry. In addition, cash crop farmers have seen their revenue streams crash because of Trump’s erratic trade war, causing many to close their barn doors forever.

See below for how other farmers are responding to Trump’s trade policies.

Wisconsin Farmers Union President and dairy farmer Darin Von Ruden: Farmers across Wisconsin held out hope that Donald Trump’s trade war would be worth it -- but it’s clear that the USMCA and the Phase 1 agreement with China won’t come close to fixing the widespread damage he’s caused to our way of life. He broke his promise to us to expand markets and help our balance sheets, putting countless farmers in a perilous situation. Instead of offering a new path forward Trump has virtually  maintained the status quo with Canada and Mexico. All the while China is still able to buy and sell products from other countries, which is something they started doing due to Trump’s actions. The bottom line is Trump hasn’t taken care of farmers and we’re still decades away from being over the hump.

Ginseng Farmer Cody Scozka: I had one day hoped to pass my ginseng farm on to my children the way my father passed it on to me. But because of Trump’s trade war, our market has been cut in half and now I don’t know if this is a possibility. There was hope that it’d be worth the wait but these trade deals don’t even come close to making us whole again. The only thing Trump accomplished was make our lives far harder, and we won’t forget his broken promises to us.

DPW Rural Caucus Chair Nate Timm: Farmers across our state are facing bankruptcy at record levels because of Trump’s broken promises and failed trade policies which are major contributors to this rural tragedy. He undercut our markets with China and virtually kept the status quo with Mexico and Canada. His replacement payments are totally inadequate. This is a president who clearly does not care about the carnage and pain his policies have caused in rural Wisconsin and across America. A few tweets will not comfort farmers, as they leap with their bankers and plan for another season. Trump has become a clear and present danger to the future of Wisconsin farmers.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today announced his appointment of Marcy West of La Farge, Wisconsin to serve on the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board.

“With her years of service to the state of Wisconsin and various conservation and environmental organizations, Marcy West will be an excellent addition to the Natural Resources Board,” said Gov. Evers. “I am confident she will serve the Board well as she has dedicated her career to the preservation of Wisconsin's one-of-a-kind natural resources.”

For the past 23 years, West has served as the executive director of Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Prior to that, she worked as a coordinator for the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives and as the executive director of the Wisconsin Land Conservation Association Inc. She received her degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point.

This appointment fills a vacancy created by the resignation of Fred Clark. West will serve the remainder of the unexpired term that ends May 1, 2025.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/uwgb-students-s5.jpgGov. Evers Signs Executive Order #67 in Pewaukee Wednesday, Task Force to provide strategies to reduce education-related debt, prevent abusive practices by loan companies, and improve financial literacy education.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/clean-drinking-water-s5.jpgRep. Staush Gruszynski says bill would protect Wisconsin families from the harmful effects of man-made chemicals including PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and others through the ban of PFAS in food packaging applications.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/wisconsin_farm_windmill_s5.jpg Sen. Smith writes about the SOS Address and the urgency of prioritizing rural prosperity. He shares information about Evers’ three-part plan to support our farmers and invest in our agricultural industries and rural communities.

Aurora Health Care Inc.’s tactics show disrespect for employees and the patients we serve, says union.

Marinette, WI - AFSCME Wisconsin categorically condemns Aurora Health Care Inc.’s attack on workers’ freedom to organize at Aurora Medical Center Bay Area. Aurora Health Care Inc. anti-worker tactics include proposing poor benefits and wages shamefully below cost of living increases, stifling employees’ ability to pay union dues, and extending bargaining by consistently providing employees with inaccurate and incomplete information.

AFSCME Local 3305 represents nearly three hundred employees at the Aurora Medical Center Bay Area hospital in Marinette, Wisconsin. Employees’ contract expired on September 30, 2019. On December 17, 2019, Aurora Health Care Inc. utilized employees’ contract expiration to cease union dues checkoff, a tactic described by the National Labor Relations Board as an “economic weapon” in bargaining.

AFSCME Local 3305 President Chris Schneider stated, “throughout bargaining, Aurora Health Care Inc.’s tactics show disrespect for employees and the patients we serve. How could Aurora Health Care Inc. use an ‘economic weapon’ against employees? We’re devoted to our patients; we’re part of this community and we serve it with pride.”

Contract bargaining is ongoing. On January 29, 2020, employees will meet with management for their twelfth bargaining session. Still, with numerous incomplete offers from management on the table, bargaining will likely be extended.

Schneider continued, “It’s time that management respect our community by offering a fair contract with livable wages, quality benefits, and dignity.”

In response to severe winter storms and lakeshore flooding that occurred Jan. 10-12, 2020.

Oshkosh Legislator's plan would have provided $44 million for mental health services in schools, $14 million for grants to collaborate with health agencies, and $5.16 million for mental health and school climate training.

MADISON – On Tuesday, Representative Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) co-authored two amendments to increase access statewide to school-based mental health care services. One amendment would provide $22 million annually in categorical aids for school mental health services. The other would provide $14 million in grant funding to school districts for collaboration with community health agencies to provide mental health services to pupils.

Republicans rejected each of these amendments along party lines. Rep. Hintz released the following statement regarding these amendments:

“If you talk to any teacher, principal, or administrator across the state, they will tell you they need more resources to deal with school-based mental health care. After the officer-involved shooting at Oshkosh West High School, my superintendent and I discussed the challenges school districts face to meet the mental health needs for students across all grade levels. There is a significant demand for resources, and we must do all we can to fund these important programs.”

The amendments introduced Tuesday were based on Governor Evers budget proposal which included important mental health care funding and programs including:

·         $44 million for mental health services in schools that could go toward hiring counselors, psychologists or nurses. The Legislature approved $6 million.

·         $14 million for grants for schools to collaborate with health agencies to provide therapy and other services to students. The Legislature approved $6.5 million.

·         $5.16 million for mental health and school climate training, which districts could use for training school resource officers how to handle a student in crisis. The Legislature approved $220,000.

The increased funding for the mental health grants to schools has already proven to be successful. The Department of Public Instruction reported that in the first year of this program (2018-19) 141 applications were received, representing 182 schools districts. 52 received funding under the program, indicated there is more demand than grant funding available.

“If we, as legislators, are serious about addressing mental health care access in our schools, we need to do more than a pilot program in one county. We know what works because the funding and programs the governor proposed in his budget were built off of existing programs with high participation rates. Democrats will continue to work hard to give our schools the resources they need to support our students and keep them safe.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/wisc-dairy-farm-s5.jpgGovernor's Special Session legislation includes investments in mental health, farm-to-school and farm-to-fork programs, and increasing dairy exports.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/donald-trump-little-s5.jpgTrump wants to cut Medicare and Social Security, and that's a direct contradiction to his 2016 campaign promises. People have noticed and Democrats should continue to hold him accountable.