REPORT: TOP 10 DISASTROUS Policies From The Wisconsin GOP You HAVEN'T HEARD About

Segami

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Fri Feb-25-11 02:47 PM
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REPORT: TOP 10 DISASTROUS Policies From The Wisconsin GOP You HAVEN'T HEARD About

:smoke: :smoke: :smoke:

CITIZENS, WAKE UP!!

" As the standoff between the Main Street Movement and Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) continues for the twelfth day, much of the media coverage � and anger � from both sides has focused on Walker�s efforts to strip Wisconsin public workers of their right to collective bargaining. But Walker�s assault on public employees is only one part of a larger political program that aims to give corporations free reign in the state while dismantling the healthcare programs, environmental regulations and good government laws that protect Wisconsin�s middle and working class.

Below, ThinkProgress examines ten of the most disastrous policies the Wisconsin GOP is pursuing:

:puke: 1. ELIMINATING MEDICAID: The Budget Repair Bill includes a little-known provision that would put complete control of the state�s Medicaid program, known as BadgerCare, in the hands of the state�s ultra-conservative Health and Human Services Secretary Dennis Smith. Smith would have the authority to �to override state Medicaid laws as sees fit and institute sweeping changes� including reducing benefits and limiting eligibility. Ironically, during the 1990s it was Republicans, especially former Gov. and Bush HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, who helped develop BadgerCare into one of the country�s most innovative and generous Medicaid programs. A decade later, a new generation of radical Republicans is hoping to destroy one of Wisconsin�s �success stories.�

:puke: 2. POWER PLANT PRIVATIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL NEGLECT: The same budget bill calls for a rapid no-bid �firesale� of all state-owned power plants. �a highlight reel of all of the tomahawk dunks of neo-Gilded Age corporatism: privatization, no-bid contracts, deregulation, and naked cronyism� and suggested that the provision will open the way for large, politically connected corporations, like Koch Industries, to buy up the state�s power plants on the cheap. While it�s unclear whether corporations would be interested in buying the plants, a similar proposal was vetoed six years a go by Gov. Jim Doyle (D), who called the plan fiscally and environmentally irresponsible. Many of Wisconsin�s power plants are in violation of federal clean air regulations and desperately need to be upgraded and cleaned up � not dumped into the private sector.

:puke: 3. DANGEROUS DRINKING WATER: Republican lawmakers have introduced bills in both the Senate and the House which would repeal a rule requiring municipal governments to disinfect their water. Conservatives have said that the clean water rule � which went into effect in December � is simply too expensive. Yet the rule only affects 12 percent of municipalities and the price may be worth it. In 1993, 104 people died and 400,000 fell sick when the Milwaukee water supply became infected. Even two decades later, the Environmental Protection Agency Advisory Board notes that 13 percent of acute gastro-intestinal illnesses in municipalities that don�t disinfect their water supplies are the result of dirty water. Municipalities can keep their water clean for as low as $10,000 per well � but apparently for the Wisconsin GOP that is too high a price to pay to keep citizens safe from deadly microorganisms.

:puke: 4. DESTROYING WETLANDS: In January, Walker�s proposed regulatory reform bill exempted a parcel of wetland owned by a Republican donor from water quality standards. But the exemption was more than just an embarrassing giveaway to a GOP ally: environmental groups believe the bill�s special provision would actually affect the entire county, eliminating public hearings on proposed wetland development, short-circuiting approval of development projects, and disrupting the region�s water system.

cont'

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/02/25/10-gop-disaster/

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