Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 31
Gov. Scott Walker needs to rebuild Wisconsin’s juvenile justice system
Wisconsin’s juvenile justice system is broken. It’s time for Gov. Scott Walker to take the necessary steps to fix it. At the very least, he should create a task force or blue ribbon commission to come up with reforms that will ensure youth offenders are dealt with appropriately, receiving the punishment and help they need.
The youth prison facilities in northern Wisconsin are under investigation by the FBI for alleged cases of abuse. Milwaukee County officials and others involved with juvenile justice argue that large facilities such as the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls simply don’t work and should be closed. We have joined that call.
That’s one problem. Another is that too many repeat juvenile offenders are walking the streets because the sanctions imposed in too many criminal cases are too light. The three youths charged in the murder of Greg “Ziggy” Zyszkiewicz, 64, all had prior run-ins with the law, as Ashley Luthern of the Journal Sentinel has reported.
“One of the teens charged in the fatal shooting of a city building inspector was free on bail after he was found in a stolen car,” she wrote. “Another had been charged four times in the past three years for illegal gun possession. And the accused triggerman, a teenager, had violated juvenile probation numerous times, but nonetheless was no longer being supervised by the county, according to sources.”
Mayor Tom Barrett told Luthern, “we are not doing the public any favors and we’re not doing the offenders any favors if there are no meaningful consequences to their actions.”
Milwaukee Aldermen Bob Donovan and Mark Borkowski have sent a letter to Walker asking him to “undertake a thorough audit and eventual reform of the state’s juvenile system.”
And Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn has weighed in repeatedly on the problems that released offenders pose for law enforcement and Milwaukee’s neighborhoods.
Any reform must deal with the problems at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake. We agree with those who think smaller facilities closer to home and coupled with treatment programs are a better solution.
At the same time, more serious consequence are needed for youths who now get what many think is a slap on the wrist for crimes such as stealing a car. Why would a teen who had violated probation not be supervised by the county? Why would someone who had been charged four times in three years with illegal gun possession be free to roam the streets?
In an email Thursday, Barrett said, “The state, the county and the city have a very serious issue that needs immediate attention. It’s important that the governor and the secretary of corrections join us in developing real solutions.”
Walker should pay attention. It’s time to dismantle Wisconsin’s juvenile system and build a new one that works.
___
The Journal Times of Racine, April 4
No state revenue-sharing on local referendums
In 2011, the Republican-majority state Legislature passed bills, which Gov. Scott Walker then signed into law, that made cuts to revenue caps for school districts, dramatically reduced state aid to those districts and mandated that any expenditure over the revenue cap must be approved by a referendum. While this legislation has hindered some districts’ ability to deal with budget shortfalls, we’ve come to recognize it as a prime example of democracy in action: If you want to raise the people’s taxes, you have to obtain permission from the people directly, at the ballot box.
Some Republican legislators have proposed taking this form of local control away, in the form of powerful disincentives to putting school referendum questions on the ballot.
School districts would no longer be able to ask voters to raise their taxes permanently and districts would lose some state funding if they exceed their state-imposed limits on raising property taxes through referendums under a package of bills Republican lawmakers released last week, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
“I believe there is more harm being done to our tax climate via school referendum than anyone realizes,” said Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville. “If everything passed, next year property taxes in Wisconsin would be $63 million higher just from operating (referendums) this election and voters would have approved a total of over $2 billion in school debt in the past 13 months.”
Sen. Stroebel is offering proof of the line that if you torture numbers, they’ll tell you anything. He’s taking the combined total of the various Wisconsin school referendums and presenting them as if you are on the hook for all of that $2 billion.
You’re not. If you live in the Racine Unified School District, your property-tax bill reflects only Racine Unified spending, not the spending in any other school district. Voters in the Yorkville and Burlington Area school districts went to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to fund improvements solely on their district’s facilities. What’s being done for schools in Verona or Tomah or Merrill has no bearing on your taxes.
But another bill, authored by Stroebel and Rep. Tom Weatherston, R-Caledonia, would reduce state aid for districts that exceed their revenue limits through a referendum. The reduction in aid would be equal to 20 percent of the amount the district raises property taxes above their revenue limits. That state aid would then be redistributed to the rest of the state’s school districts through the state funding formula.
Seriously?
If Racine Unified voters approve a referendum, why should one penny of that money go to funding school projects in Green Bay, or vice versa? We believe that even opponents of a particular referendum would agree that, should a hypothetical referendum be approved, all money collected from Racine Unified taxpayers should pay only for Racine Unified schools. There should be no state revenue-sharing on any district’s referendum.
A school referendum asks residents of that district about the future of its schools. We don’t think Hartland Arrowhead High School in Waukesha County needs palatial, NBA-style locker rooms for its boys and girls basketball teams - the school spent $280,726 to complement a $361,224 donation for the deluxe renovations, LakeCountryNow.com reported in 2015 - but then again, as we are not taxpayers in that district, it’s none of our business. Voters in Arrowhead’s district could register their approval or disapproval on the next election day. School referendums operate on the same principle: Local control. As in, the locals decide.
We think there’s some room for reform with regard to referendums. The frequency with which school boards go back to the well after “no” votes could stand to have limits imposed. We also wouldn’t object to a mandate of calendar consistency: Legislation that referendums may only be held in conjunction with school board elections, or on the same day as general elections, for example.
But as for the money questions? Right here in Racine County, Tuesday’s night referendum results in the Yorkville and Burlington Area districts, and the February results in the Waterford Union district, are all the proof necessary for the argument that the residents of a district are the best judges of what is right for their district. Not members of the central government sitting in Madison.
___
The Capital Times, April 5
Mark Pocan’s right: Donald Trump trade orders are talk, not action
When Donald Trump was campaigning for president last year, he promised a new approach to trade policy. It was a central theme of his campaign. He was against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He was against the North American Free Trade Agreement. He was against trade relations as they have developed between the United States and China.
His objections never amounted to much more than sloganeering. But, after years of being fed free-trade fantasies by politicians of both major parties, a lot of voters were attracted by the fact that the “billionaire populist” at least acknowledged that something was wrong.
Unfortunately, there is a problem when “billionaire populists” are elected.
Once they get power, their billionaire status tends to trump their populism.
That is certainly what looks to be happening with Trump.
Last week the president signed two trade-related executive orders - one that set up a study on trade deficits and one that set up a review of current enforcement mechanisms for trade deals.
Trump did it all with a lot of pomp and circumstance, and his usual array of big talk and “yuge” promises.
But Congressman Mark Pocan, D-town of Vermont, pointed out that when it comes to meaningful action on trade policy - as on so many other issues that he promises to resolve on behalf of American workers - this emperor has no clothes.
“During his campaign, Donald Trump talked about the disastrous impact of our trade agreements on American workers and promised immediate action to level the playing field,” Pocan announced after Trump’s signing ceremony last Friday. “Today’s toothless executive orders are yet another example of President Trump being mostly talk and little action.”
Pocan, the Wisconsin Democrat who has emerged as one of the most serious advocates for trade policies that respect workers, the environment and human rights, saw through Trump’s smoke and mirrors.
“Despite his rhetoric calling NAFTA the ’worst trade deal ever’ and labeling our China trade policy a disaster, he hasn’t taken any meaningful action to address these problems,” explained the vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “He broke his promise to declare China a currency manipulator on day one and has yet to address our trade deficit with China. He’s already reneged on his ’Buy American’ promise to use American steel for major construction projects and has so far failed to start the process of renegotiating NAFTA.”
Pocan, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, as well as the Subcommittee on Agriculture, has since his election to the House in 2012 been at the center of every major trade debate. He stood up to President Barack Obama when he knew the Democrat was heading in the wrong direction when it came to trade agreements, especially the TPP, and now he is standing up to Trump because he knows the Republican president is letting workers down.
“President Trump likes to talk about bringing jobs back to the United States, but so far he has done nothing to help workers here at home,” said Pocan. “Unfortunately, this is just another broken promise to the American people who need real action.”
What would real action look like?
As the 115th Congress was getting started, Pocan and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., outlined an agenda to address the outsourcing of American jobs.
“Too many working class families in our districts have been left behind because of the outsourcing of American jobs,” explained Pocan and Dingell, in a letter signed by 23 House Democrats, including Wisconsin’s Gwen Moore. The letter calls on Congress to take immediate action to jump-start the economic prosperity of the many communities hurt by outsourcing.
To begin to make real the promises made by Republicans and Democrats during the 2016 campaign, the letter asked House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, and other congressional leaders to prioritize the passage of legislation consistent with the following principles:
1. We should close loopholes in our tax code which reward companies that ship jobs overseas and punish companies that stay in the United States and invest in American workers.
2. Federal contracting and procurement policies should give preference to American labor and domestic-made goods so our taxpayer dollars benefit working class families in the United States.
3. We should increase investments in education and prepare workers for careers in advanced manufacturing and other industries that will be pivotal in the 21st century economy.
4. Trade adjustment assistance and retraining programs should be improved and expanded to give workers the opportunity to get back on their feet when confronting job displacement.
5. We should expand access to quality broadband services and increase telecommunications connectivity so all communities have the digital resources that are necessary to compete in our digital economy.
6. The promise of a secure retirement must be upheld by preserving benefits that workers have paid into and earned, including Social Security, Medicare, and workplace pension guarantees.
Pocan’s right. Trump’s executive orders are just more talk. Working families in communities like Janesville, which Ryan is supposed to represent and which Trump promised to help, need action.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.