Wisconsin: Mary Burke's OK with the iron mine, just don't rush it

The only currently-declared Democratic candidate for governor says she's open to a proposed open pit iron ore mine in the Penokee Hills, but she says she would have vetoed the Republican bill passed this year that speeds up the mine permitting process.

Mary Burke was in Superior, Ashland and Bayfield over the weekend as part of her state campaign tour. She says she got an earful about mining. “People are concerned about whether we are risking the sustainability and natural resources that are such assets to the state without the needed protections,” Burke said. “People are concerned about jobs, and want to make sure we do have good paying jobs, but also want to make sure that that's balanced with protecting our resources, which are important for not only this generation but generations to come.”

Burke says she's still looking into the issue and thinks mining can happen, but only under certain circumstances, not those set by the Republican legislation. “If the conditions are right, we should be looking at opportunities that are going to create jobs, but we make sure we are protecting our natural resources.”

While in Ashland, Burke didn't meet with Bad River tribal officials, who are among the leading opponents of the mine, but she says she'd like to do that. She says it's important to meet with people who would be affected by an iron ore mine.

Mary Burke Addresses Trek Outsourcing 99.5% of Their Bikes: "Trek Does What it Can to Manufacture Bikes Here"

Trek public relations manager Eric Bjorling says that out of the appoximately 1.5 million bicycles the company produces annually, about 10,000 are made in the United States. However, according to statistics from the National Association of Bicycle Dealers (NABD), because 99% of the bicycles sold in the United States are made in either China (93%) or Taiwan (6%), Trek does the have dubious distinction of being the leading manufacturer of "Made in USA" bicycles.

And, while most don't brag about being the cream of the sour milk, Democratic candidate Mary Burke does just that:
"It is the largest manufacturer of bicycles in the United States, it employs more people than any other bicycle company in the United States, so there's nearly 1,000 employees right here in Wisconsin and over the last 20 years the payroll has nearly doubled. So I think Trek works very hard to keep employment in Wisconsin."

Burke adds, "Trek does what it can to manufacture bikes here" and that bicycles "are a very competative industry," echoing Trek's public statements that they have outsourced simply to survive as a company. She also repeats the standard line that if Americans were willing to pay more for the product, they would produce bikes in the United Staes: "If there was a greater emphasis by consumers to buy American goods, I think that would also make sure that American manufacturers' products were able to garner a higher price that would reflect the increased cost,"

For a variety of reasons, including heavy self-protection, bike shops haven't experienced the price falling trends like the non-bike shop sector. Trek and other medium to high end brands sell for the same price or more than they did before the drive to move to cheap Chinese labor. For example, Trek 520 is one of Trek's best known bikes that is been around almost as long as Trek has-- since the early '80s. In 1983, the Trek 520 sold for $318 which, adjusted for inflation to today's dollars, would be $903. Today, the Trek 520 actually sells for more than it did then, $1,490. The main difference is that in 1983, the Trek 520 was made in the USA and in 2013 it's made in China.

Mary Burke Promises She Won't Remove Walker's Statewide Voucher Program

In his manifesto, "Public Schools: Privatize Them," (Milton) Friedman hatched a plan to end public schools: vouchers. Vouchers, he said, were "a means, not an end" to privatize public schools and that by draining resources and allowing public schools to wither on the vine, students would gradually be lured out of public schools and into the private sector, paid for with vouchers.

That, in a nut shell, is why progressives and anyone who wants to pass on to their children and grandchildren the tradition of truly public schools, abhor vouchers. That is why the Democratic party opposes vouchers in our platform and the NEA has identified opposition to vouchers a "top priority."

So, yesterday, when Mary Burke finally made a promise and told the Wisconsin State Journal that, although she opposed Walker's statewide expansion of vouchers, she nonetheless would do nothing to remove the statewide voucher program, jaws dropped throughout Wisconsin's progressive community:

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke said Monday she wouldn’t have expanded private school vouchers statewide, which Gov. Scott Walker did in this year’s state budget. However, Burke said if elected she would keep the statewide program in place with a cap of 1,000 students and seek accountability for private schools receiving public funds in Milwaukee.

St. Paul Pioneer Press and Kaiser Family Foundation Research Confirm Citizen Action’s Report

The Citizen Action report released in late October, A Tale of Two States: Why Wisconsin’s Health Insurance Individual Marketplace Premiums are Dramatically Higher than Minnesota’s, shows that two critical decisions made differently in the two states explain a substantial portion of the rate disparity. The full report can be downloaded here.

Key Findings in Citizen Action Report: Wisconsin health insurance marketplace premiums for single coverage will be on average 79% to 99% higher than premiums in Minnesota, before tax credits are applied. That is a difference of over $1,800 a year. The health insurance cost differential will be even worse for some major Wisconsin cities. Rates in La Crosse are 136% higher than the Minnesota average, rates in Eau Claire are 116% higher, and rates in Milwaukee are 112% higher.

Two key decisions in Wisconsin’s Affordable Care Act implementation play a substantial role in raising health insurance rates in Wisconsin relative to Minnesota: the decision to reject enhanced federal Medicaid dollars, and the decision not to implement rigorous review of health insurance rates.

Wisconsin has the opportunity to bring down rates by accepting enhanced federal Medicaid funds and using state powers such as reviewing and rejecting excessive rates to make health insurance more affordable. Wisconsin’s rejection of a state-based marketplace strip policymakers of additional tools for moderating health insurance rates.

Dear Scuba,

Why is credit card giant Visa helping to bankroll the gun lobby through its affiliate program?

Purchases made with the National Rifle Association (NRA) Visa Card help fund "legislative action in support of...Second Amendment rights." That means that Visa is helping to pay for NRA lobbyists who advocate against common-sense policies like background checks on gun buyers, and for dangerous legislation that would force K-12 schools, colleges, places of worship and businesses to allow the carrying of loaded guns on their premises.

Click here to tell Visa to stop funding the gun lobby.

On their website, Visa talks about "the importance of supporting the local communities and neighborhoods in which we all live and work." But their credit card program is undermining this goal by funding lobbyists who are making our streets more dangerous.

Not only is the NRA's agenda a threat to our safety, their leaders are politically extreme zealots who should be toxic to any company concerned about its public image. Visa's brand and money are supporting an organization whose board members threaten violence against our elected officials, engage in racist rants, and compare homosexuality to polygamy and incest.

A Fortune 500 company should not be helping to promote and pay for an extreme, pro-gun agenda that is causing untold suffering in neighborhoods across America.

Sign this petition and tell Visa: End your affiliate program with the National Rifle Association and stop funding dangerous policies.

Thank you for your support,

Josh Horwitz
Executive Director
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

Add It Up: The Average American Family Pays $6,000 a Year in Subsidies to Big Business

1. $870 for Direct Subsidies and Grants to Companies The Cato Institute estimates that the U.S. federal government spends $100 billion a year on corporate welfare. That's an average of $870 for each one of America's 115 million families. Cato notes that this includes "cash payments to farmers and research funds to high-tech companies, as well as indirect subsidies, such as funding for overseas promotion of specific U.S. products and industries...It does not include tax preferences or trade restrictions."

2. $696 for Business Incentives at the State, County, and City Levels The subsidies mentioned above are federal subsidies. A New York Times investigation found that states, counties and cities give up over $80 billion each year to companies, with beneficiaries coming from "virtually every corner of the corporate world, encompassing oil and coal conglomerates, technology and entertainment companies, banks and big-box retail chains." $80 billion a year is $696 for every U.S. family. But the Times notes that "The cost of the awards is certainly far higher."

3. $722 for Interest Rate Subsidies for Banks According to the Huffington Post, the "U.S. Government Essentially Gives The Banks 3 Cents Of Every Tax Dollar." They cite research that calculates a nearly 1 percent benefit to banks when they borrow, through bonds and customer deposits and other liabilities. This amounts to a taxpayer subsidy of $83 billion, or about $722 from every American family.

...

5. $1,268 for Overpriced Medications According to Dean Baker, "government granted patent monopolies raise the price of prescription drugs by close to $270 billion a year compared to the free market price." This represents an astonishing annual cost of over $2,000 to an average American family. OECD figures on pharmaceutical expenditures reveal that Americans spend almost twice the OECD average on drugs, an additional $460 per capita. This translates to $1,268 per household.