I forgot to post this earlier in the week… here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News on Tuesday.
Governor Tony Evers spent last week telling the people of Wisconsin what his values really are by vetoing several bills that would have made Wisconsinites wealthier, healthier, and safer. Our governor’s actions tell us that he would rather Wisconsinites be poorer, sicker, and less safe if it means that he can appease his liberal benefactors and the social justice warriors.
In light of the state of Wisconsin’s projected budget surplus, the Republican Legislature passed a tax cut. The idea was simple. The people of Wisconsin are paying more in taxes than the government has budgeted to spend. The Republicans voted to reduce marginal tax rates so that those excess taxes would never be collected. Instead, that money would have been left in the pockets of Wisconsinites to spend on their families, businesses, and priorities. The Republican tax cut would have had the greatest impact for lower- and middle-income earners whose lives are most impacted by high taxes.
Governor Evers vetoed the tax cut in its entirety. In doing so, he said that he wants to use any tax surplus to spend more money on the state’s government schools. Despite the fact that statewide enrollment is declining and Wisconsinites spend more on education — by any measurement — than at any time in the history of humankind, the governor just wants to spend more. It is no coincidence that Wisconsin’s government education establishment supports Evers.
The Republicans passed another bill that would have made direct primary care agreements exempt from insurance law. The idea here is also simple. The cost of health care in Wisconsin is too high and the high cost prevents some people from getting
the care they need. One of the reasons that the cost is so high is because of the regulatory structure and insurance middle man. DPC agreements are a way to cut out the insurance middle man and lower costs with a direct fee structure.
In a DPC agreement, a person or their employer pays a subscription to a health care provider that gives patients access to primary care, urgent care, lab work, and other relatively routine health care services. In doing this, the patient does not access their health insurance except for the truly critical issues. By making primary care available through a low-cost subscription, patients and their families can get the routine care they need without jumping through the insurance hoops or paying huge deductibles. The bill passed by Republicans would have clarified the law to ensure that DPC agreements do not fall subject to onerous insurance laws that would render DPC agreements unviable.
Governor Evers vetoed the bill in its entirety because it did not specifically prohibit health care providers from discriminating against people based on sexual orientation. Because Governor Evers wants to curry favor with the LGBTQ lobby, Wisconsinites will continue to have to pay more for health care and have fewer health care options available to them.
Perhaps worst of all, Governor Evers vetoed several bills that would have made Wisconsinites safer. One bill would have required that the Department of Corrections recommend revoking a person’s supervision or probation if they are charged with a crime. One would have thought that if a person was on probation and committed a crime, that they would be automatically put back in jail. Unfortunately, under current law, people often commit crimes while on supervision or probation and no action is taken.
This bill would have left judges with the discretion to actually revoke a crook’s supervision or probation, but it would have required the DOC to recommend revocation.
In another bill, the Republicans would have extended the restrictions for who is eligible to get released early from prison for certain crimes. Most of the crimes that the bill extended the restrictions for were child sex crimes. For example, the bill would have made people who commit the crimes of incest, child enticement, or sexual assault of a child, ineligible to be released from prison early.
Governor Evers vetoed both of those crime bills and several more anti-crime bills. One can only conclude that Evers wants more criminals on our streets — even those who are convicted of child sex crimes. Evers’ goal of reducing the state’s prison population takes priority over the victims of crimes.
Thanks to the actions of Governor Evers last week, Wisconsinites will be poorer, sicker, and less safe than they could have been if he had signed these bills into law. But at least the government teachers, LGBTQ lobbyists, and criminals will be better off.
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