My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a part:
Beginning the week of March 15, the number of initial claims skyrocketed. It peaked the week of March 22 with 116,129 initial claims filed and was half that by the week of April 5. The DWD call centers received 1.4 million calls the week of March 22 and almost 6 million calls the week of April 12. All told, there were 41.1 million calls made to the DWD call centers between March 15 and June 30. Of those, 93.3% were blocked or received a busy signal; 6.2% of callers got through but hung up before being answered; and only 0.5% of calls were answered.
The DWD woefully underreported the extent of the problem to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The DWD reported the number of calls blocked, abandoned, and answered. The calls it reported as “blocked” were calls that reached the system and the caller was told to call later and disconnected. They did not report the number of callers who just received a busy signal. In doing so, the DWD failed to report 75% of the calls that were unable to reach the call centers.
When challenges arise, leaders rise. Unfortunately, there were not any to be found at the DWD or in the governor’s mansion.
It is important to follow the dates…
[…]
If Wisconsin had a competent governor with a competent administration, they would have anticipated the rush of Wisconsinites seeking to file unemployment claims when they effectively shut down the state’s economy. They would have aggressively worked to expand the capacity of the DWD UI staff, expanded hours, worked overtime, accelerated outsourcing, and done everything possible to serve Wisconsinites who were forced out of work due to government action. Instead, the governor, DWD secretary, and agency bureaucrats plodded along at government speed while unemployed Wisconsinites waited and worried.
Governor Evers forced his DWD secretary to resign as the administration’s scapegoat, but he should take a hard look in the mirror and ask why his administration failed precisely when so many Wisconsinites needed it most.
Which ones of our trolls have previously commented on this, blaming the GOP and or Walker? I know they have hypocritically (that’s in the verb form, Foust) come on the record calling Covid the “Trump Virus”. Funny how these little voles can change their blame and proximate cause on things depending on Political Party. Right Penguin?
Reading this and other columns from Owen about the unemployment issues, it seems obvious that he has never-ever even heard of the “legislative branch” of gov’t let alone aware of what their role in state government is.
The Assemble & State Senate are the ones who originally broke the system and they are the ones who control the purse strings – they need to end their recess, get back to work, and fix this mess they created.
It’s not trolling to point out that the Governor can’t make laws all on his own – but I can understand why folks who are totally ignorant about how the checks&balances work in our state government would think it is a false statement.
None of the issues cited in the audit have anything to do with a law or regulation. It was poor management, lack of reasonable foresight, and a complete lack of urgency.
You’re saying that how the DWD functions has nothing at all to do with laws that have been passed regarding its functions? You truly think that our Governor can simply repeal those laws that were designed to slow down the entire unemployment process? And you beleive our Governor has complete control over the budgetary process to pay for the overtime, additional staff, and upgraded computer systems that are needed?
Heh. It’s kinda cute that you think as such, but the actual reality is that the problems with unemployment were created by the State House and needs to be solved by the State House. The fact that you honestly beleive that the Governor can simply fix all these problems without the Legislative branch being involved at all speaks volumes, and shows that your opinion in this matter is not an informed one.
penguin, answering phone calls has nothing to do with any legislative action.
Did the legislature’s set up a rule not to answer phone calls? If so, which law?
There is no way they could have foreseen Trump would take a strong Obama economy with less than 5% unemployment to almost 15% unemployment.
Of course they were scrambling to catch up given the Trump-lead economic disaster.
>There is no way they could have foreseen Trump would take a strong Obama economy with less than 5% unemployment to almost 15% unemployment.
There is no way anyone could have… because that’s not what happened. So it’s still on Evers…. who actually caused WI Unemployment to climb.
There is no way anyone could have… because that’s not what happened. So it’s still on Evers…. who actually caused WI Unemployment to climb.
Trump said he has ultimate authority, thus he deserves ultimate responsibility Jason.
https://youtu.be/gSHwjmD3f74
>Trump said he has ultimate authority, thus he deserves ultimate responsibility Jason.
He did say that. Then every liberal in the country cried out at the same moment, and now it’s on them. Personally, I agree with them, Trump doesn’t have authority to do what State Governors did. Or that Biden says he can do, but really can’t. I’m willing to give Trump a pass on saying it when he was wrong… he’s not a career politician with 40 years in the senate and 8 years as a Vice President. Takes a special kind of stupid to stand there for a political ad and say “I’ll implement a national mask mandate” when he should have the experience to know that he cannot.
Thought I would take a look at the background of Caleb Frostman. Looks to be weak sauce and in over his head.
Pay attention to this: long-term issues involving the approval of payment of benefits to applicants during the COVID-19 pandemic which dated back to before the state’s first stay-at-home order.
Evers mistake was over estimating the capabilities of a Democrat politician from up “nord”. At a time like this, a well seasoned experienced executive was needed.
Always illuminating when someone (Jason in this case, Mar in the past) admits they have different standards for different people.
Of course, if they change, they are not really standards, are they?
But it is what I have come to expect from Trump supporters. Trump has a free pass from them.
Hardly a free pass… dumb dumb
>Personally, I agree with them, Trump doesn’t have authority to do what State Governors did.
He was wrong, I said he was wrong. I then qualified that by saying he doesn’t have the decades of experience his opponent does… by the way, his opponent still thinks he can implement a nationwide mask mandate … because patriotism or some bullshit … wanna go on record for or against that? Wanna go on record as saying that Biden is going to own Covid in 2021 – if he wins – since he has been on record for being able to implement a nationwide mask mandate? Come on tough guy, here’s your chance to put a stake in the ground.
“Wanna go on record as saying that Biden is going to own Covid in 2021 – if he wins – “
I’ll go on record. If Biden wins, which I’ve been very much assured he won’t by the knowledgeable folks on this site, but if by some strange coincidence he does, I will say he owns it in 2021.
Randall, all people who follow politics and have favorite candidates are usually going to be political at 1 time or another.
But you are smart enough to that, so you are just trolling now.
“But you are smart enough to that,“
Huh?
Funny, I could have sworn the Governor used ‘public health emergency’ powers to create a mask mandate and shut down ‘non-essential’ businesses. It does not seem like a stretch to me for the Governor to give 60 days of permission to hire personnel for an emergency that will clearly over balance one of his offices.
Sure penguin, you can mince words that his 60 day emergency mask mandate was not making a ‘law’, but to me it throws the lie in your manipulating face to say he can do a 60 day mandate that will seriously over-work one of his branches, but he cannot move or even react to it when the vastly overmatched office fails.
So, if I am reading your words right, a Governor or President can declare emergencies, but then cannot send any help even to his own cabinet, and has to wait until the legislative branch is re-convened and moves to support the emergency? Hmmm, doesn’t sound quite right to me. For instance, how did he get us to close our businesses, wear masks and stay at home earlier this year? Was that approved by the Legislature? On checking your balance, I think the ignorance factor may be tilting a little further your way than you think. Unless I am reading you right, in which case you well knew what the truth is, you were just trying to score points against ign’ant cons. Also known as trolling… So are you ignorant or trolling?
Pointing out that someone is wrong is not “trolling.” Here’s one definition, picked at random:
So are you trolling by saying something that the WisGOP “cons” would find controversial?
Is Kevin trolling when he changes the subject to evolution or awfulness or climate change?
Not a stretch to think that at all, ’cause once the emergency was declared he did do exactly that. Fund were shuffled from other sources and re-directed towards the DWD…actions he was not legally allowed to do unless we are in a state of emergency.
He is still limited in how much he can do – for example, he can’t create new funding…it all has to come from elsewhere. The powers that he has under a state of emergency are meant to be bandaids – only the State House can actually fix the problems.
Unless the WisGOP can’t think of a single thing one way or the other that they want to be on the record to do, and then they can sit on their hands.
Sitting on their hands will get us to number one in the country, I suspect, and fill our hospitals. Slowly but surely. Plenty of people still sitting in bars without a mask like nothing’s happening.
“Sitting on their hands will get us to number one in the country, I suspect, and fill our hospitals”
More Chicken BS.
You are so uneducated about the medical field.
Stick to computers, where you know a little bit more than the average bear.
OK, from now on, I’ll call you Dr. Mar.
Where’d you get your doctorate? Where was your residency?
From the University of KMA.
You don’t need a doctorate to use common sense.
Something you obviously don’t have.
Korea Military Academy?
University of Kiss My Ass, home of the great Butt Kickers.
A very prestigious college. Many great people went there.
mar:
Are saying that the real medical professionals are wrong?
https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/2020/10/01/brown-county-emergency-room-doctor-says-crisis-could-come-soon/5880521002/