Foxconn was sold to Wisconsin taxpayers six months ago at $3 billion and now the total public cost is calculated to be as much as $4.5 billion. The price tag keeps going up.

MADISON, WI – This week State Representative Gordon Hintz (D - Oshkosh) offered the weekly Democratic radio address.

Audio File of Radio Address

Text of Radio Address

Hello, this is State Representative Gordon Hintz with this week’s Democratic Radio Address.

The Foxconn project is a bad deal and getting worse every day for Wisconsin taxpayers.

Governor Walker originally wanted to give $3 billion to a Taiwanese billionaire so he would build a factory in southeastern Wisconsin.

Now this week, the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau calculated that the total public cost to be as much as $4.5 billion.

That’s a 50 percent increase in just six months.

Foxconn is already the largest taxpayer giveaway by a state to a foreign corporation in our nation’s history.

Every Wisconsin family should be alarmed that the price tag keeps going up.

Foxconn follows Governor Walker’s track record on job creation and economic development.

Long on promises but short on results.

The Kestrel Aircraft Company received $25 million under Governor Walker’s watch to create 600 jobs in Superior.

Instead, Kestrel defaulted on millions of dollars in state loans and left local residents holding the bag.

Walker made outrageous promises to the G-Tac iron-ore mining company to bring mining back to Wisconsin.

They left the state in 2015 without ever creating a single job.

When Governor Walker was campaigning in 2010, he promised to create 250,000 jobs in four years, a number he has failed to reach in seven years.

The results speak for themselves.

Committing $4.5 billion over the next 15 years on a highly automated plant in a world with constantly changing technology is not just expensive, it’s risky.

$4.5 billion for Foxconn will come at the expense of K-12 education, higher education, and statewide transportation infrastructure.

Wisconsin Democrats understand that our state needs homegrown investment, not more of the same failed taxpayer giveaways from Governor Walker.

Wisconsin deserves better than the Foxconn deal.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/donald-trump-golden-wings-s5.jpgThis president is incapable of empathizing with the struggles of Americans, especially Americans of color, so it's of little surprise that he holds such disdain for people in other parts of the world.

Another Walker Non-Answer on Lincoln Hills Raises a Significant Question: "What changed to make your office finally address this crisis?"

MADISON - On Tuesday, Gov. Scott Walker’s clumsy cover-up of his neglect of the crisis at Lincoln Hills grew even more flimsy as he struggled to answer a basic question about its closure.

The following is an exchange between Walker and WSAW:

WSAW Reporter: "Why did it take so long to have your office do anything with regards to Lincoln Hills and the overcrowding. I was told by your office that you've been working on it for a little over a year, but you also found out about this six years ago."

Walker: "Well, the changes have been made by the Department of Corrections consistently over the last several years. We take safety and security -- so what was announced this past week wasn't the first step; it's one of many steps." (sic)

Walker’s evasive non-answer leaves the public wondering about the “many steps” Walker suddenly claims to have taken to address this crisis because he has done nothing to substantiate his claim that the plan to close Lincoln Hills has been in the works for over a year. 

This leads to a natural question: If there were many steps being taken before, why Walker’s sudden interest in finally addressing this situation?

Just two months ago, Walker told the AP that he was leaving it up to the Department of Corrections make whatever changes it felt were needed for security at Lincoln Hills. He made no mention of any ongoing planning, continuing to show a complete lack of personal concern over the crisis. That would be an unusual response from someone who at that point had been actively working on a plan to close Lincoln Hills for more than a year.

Walker’s timeline is suspect -- horrifying stories of abuse and mismanagement at Lincoln Hills have regularly emerged for years through aggressive reporting on the crisis.  The only things that have changed recently are the threat of a tell-all book from Walker’s former Department of Corrections secretary Ed Wall and the fact that Walker is facing a tough re-election.

“All signs point to Walker moving on Lincoln Hills in order to cover up his years-long neglect of this crisis and his utter lack of leadership,” said Martha Laning, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “The people of Wisconsin expect more than a governor who only does his job in campaign years.”

The laughable $7 million WEDC ad campaign recruiting white millennials in Chicago, Trump administration’s decision on Medicaid work requirements, GOP House resignations increasing the odds of a Democratic sweep in 2018, and more...

STATEWIDE - We discuss the Trump administration’s decision to legalize the imposition of  Medicaid work requirements designed to force people off health coverage. We look closer at the historic number of GOP House resignations that are increasing the odds of a Democratic sweep in 2018. The panel analyses the state of Wisconsin’s gubernatorial election with this week’s addition of Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, and Walker's curiously overwrought reaction. We dissect the laughable $7 million WEDC ad campaign recruiting white millennials in Chicago with idyllic images of Madison and Milwaukee. Ironically in the same week Walker blasted Madison as crime ridden socialist wasteland.

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A 2017 National Movers Study showed more people moved out of Wisconsin than into it last year. Wisconsin was one of the top 10 states in the Nation for people moving out and 60% of those moves were for jobs.

MADISON, WI – Senator Mark Miller (D-Monona) offered the weekly Democratic radio address today.

The audio file of this week’s address can be found here:

http://media2.legis.wisconsin.gov/multimedia/Sen16/millerradio011118.mp3

A written transcript of the address is below:

“Hello, this is Senator Mark Miller with this week’s democratic radio address.

“Despite Governor Walker’s statements to the contrary, Wisconsin is clearly not open for business. According to a 2017 National Movers Study by United Van Lines, more people moved out of Wisconsin than into it in the last year. The study shows that Wisconsin was one of the top 10 states in the Nation for people moving out and 60% of those moves were for jobs.

“With crumbling roads and aging water systems, a willingness to throw $3 billion in taxpayer money away to a Chinese manufacturer and the administration’s continued disdain for public education at all levels, there is little wonder why people don’t feel optimistic about the state of the state.

“This is not the Wisconsin we hoped for, this is not the Wisconsin we deserve. State economies rise and fall with the national economy. The critical measure is how a state compares to the rest of the country. By that measure, Walker has moved Wisconsin backwards. In the last 7 years there have been huge cuts in funding crucial services, more and more put on the credit card to balance the budget, giant tax breaks given to the wealthy and now a proposal to spend $7 million to beg people to come back to Wisconsin, something has got to give.

“Perhaps Governor Walker’s New Year’s Resolution should be fixing problems instead of creating new ones. I don’t think he wants to be known as Governor Pothole, but until the roads become a priority over wooing Chinese billionaires, resident’s cars will need to be realigned each year before moving out of state.”

Gov. Walker introduces proposal to fund program he vetoed four months ago.

MADISON, WI – After vetoing additional funding for low-spending school districts just four months ago, Gov. Walker announced today that if re-elected, he will propose doing exactly that. Despite school districts struggling with tight budgets, teacher shortages and growing classroom sizes for years, Gov. Walker and Republican lawmakers instead prioritized the largest state taxpayer giveaway to a foreign corporation in U.S history.

“Republicans must think taxpayers have a short memory when it comes to their actual priorities. This is another hollow campaign gimmick from Gov. Walker to further his own political ambitions at the expense of local schools,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse). “If Gov. Walker and Legislative Republicans were serious about funding our local schools, they wouldn’t have scrapped this plan in the 2017-19 budget. Instead, Republicans prioritized the largest taxpayer handout to a foreign corporation in U.S. history and are now in damage control mode as Election Day looms. School districts are still struggling from years of historic cuts and can’t wait until 2022 for the possibility of funding relief.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/veterans_army_medic-s5.jpgIn Wisconsin we say we value military service and our veterans, but some of our financially failing services will not survive unless we make smart decisions.

MADISON, WI - Representative Jonathan Brostoff (D - Milwaukee) provides this today's Democratic Weekly Radio Address.

Audio File of Radio Address

Hi, I’m State Representative Jonathan Brostoff and welcome to this week’s Democratic Radio Address.

2017 was a hard year for Wisconsin and for the nation.

At moments it felt like our country was being torn apart and as we reflect on 2017 and look forward to the year ahead, it is important to recognize the unique nature of this point in time.

So I started my morning playing basketball at the Y as I usually do and it got me actually thinking on 2017 and reflecting a little bit.

When you are working out, think about what you are actually doing. You are tearing your muscles and in that moment it looks so painful and it feels terrible, but we know when those muscles are done tearing, they are going to actually rebuild and repair themselves and actually come out stronger than they were before.

Now think about a particularly painful moment during this last year, a tweet, a hurtful comment, or a terrible rant, and in that moment it felt like we were being torn apart.

But we survived 2017 and 2018 will be a year of rebuilding.

A year of more civic engagement, more activism, more advocacy.

A year where we will come back together stronger and after the year of 2017 and the divisions we experienced, that’s what we need.

We need to be investing in our public schools, creating a living wage in Wisconsin, making healthcare a right for everyone.

2017 was hard. We survived it and we are going to be stronger for it. Together we can make 2018 a much more successful year. We can get those things done. Let’s do it.

Happy New Year. Let’s get to work.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/kewaunee-harbor-family-s5.jpgWisconsin families are working harder than ever but can’t seem to get ahead, while Gov. Walker and legislative Republicans are draining resources from our schools, roads and local communities to fund the huge taxpayer giveaway to Foxconn. We need to work together to move ahead.

MADISON, WI – Senator Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) offered the Democratic weekly radio address highlighting Democratic solutions to help Wisconsin families.

“Rather than pitting families against one another and favoring out-of-state corporations at the expense of home-grown businesses, we should work to level the playing field and make sure that everyone who works hard has the opportunity to succeed. That’s why Democrats are fighting for commonsense solutions to lower student loan debt, expand access to child care, raise family wages and increase retirement security.” – Sen. Jennifer Shilling

The audio file of this week’s address can be found here:

http://media2.legis.wisconsin.gov/multimedia/Sen32/senatorshillingradio122817.mp3

A written transcript of the address is below:

“Amid all of the upheaval in 2017, the holidays offer a time to reflect, regroup and refocus our attention on the year ahead.

“I’m Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling, and when I look back at the political battles that have been waged in 2017, I’m reminded that our state does better when we all work together. Rather than pitting families against one another and favoring out-of-state corporations at the expense of home-grown businesses, we should work to level the playing field and make sure that everyone who works hard has the opportunity to succeed.

“That’s why Democrats are fighting for commonsense solutions to lower student loan debt, expand access to child care, raise family wages and increase retirement security. Now more than ever, we need solutions that bring our state together, grow our middle class and support strong communities.

“From myself and all of the Wisconsin Democrats, we want to wish you and your family a safe and happy New Year!”