Opinion

Wisconsin’s senior senator supported the border aid package but needs to do more.

Illinois has once again opted for a spending plan that grows government with increased taxes. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin budget includes tax relief, responsible investments, and doesn’t unnecessarily grow government.

Embracing prevailing wage in Wisconsin reflects our values of supporting the middle class, respecting the taxpayer and standing up to extreme perspectives. It’s a mainstream policy that’s good for Main Street.

And returns $23 dollars for every $1 invested. Strong state support pays off.

The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com. Wisconsin’s open records law applies to...

It is important to remember that having the governor’s seat does not make one a dictator. Split government means that compromise requires both sides to give a little bit. Sadly, the only attempts to work together came on the part of the Legislature.

The most glaring budget omission was the failure of the GOP-controlled legislature to include Medicaid expansion.

Wisconsin congressional Democrats have a different approach than Trump and Republicans: pass bread-and-butter legislation, while standing up for farmers and middle and working-class folks.

While the economy may boost Trump's reelection chances, he also faces barriers.

A nonpartisan celebration of America’s independence will be turned into a Trump-GOP campaign rally.

The impact of busing in Milwaukee and other cities.

Wisconsin Examiner adds to Capitol press corps, with a "people's" perspective on policies.

Cop killer Jordan Fricke is the latest case undermining that theory.

Non-profit he will run has lots of money. But he can’t run for office.

That’s how admirers view Rep. Mike Gallagher. Can Democrat Amanda Stuck beat him?

All signs suggest this state could determine whether Trump wins reelection.

Wisconsin could decide the election and those small towns are crucial.

The liberal bubble has swollen to levels that threaten to snatch away an exceedingly winnable election against perhaps the most disliked incumbent president in history.

It’s ours. All of ours.

The ethanol industry’s latest demand is for the president to eliminate lifelines used to help small refineries that experience disproportionate economic hardship from the Renewable Fuel Standard.

President Trump has made reducing the price of prescription drugs a cornerstone of his presidency, and that effort continues to fly largely under the radar in Washington. It’s a worthwhile effort, but Trump and Congress should be wary of embracing the type of inhumane, socialist-style price controls adopted in other countries.

There is something for everyone to love in this budget – from fiscal conservatives, far-left progressives, Republicans, taxpayers, Democrats, big-government loving special interests, lobbyists, to local governments – and something in this budget for everyone to hate.

Bipartisan efforts to assert the legislative branch's war powers is a welcomed start.

The only hope Evers had was a compromise on spending increases. Republicans gave it to him—and then some—even after pledging to stop what they called his out-of-control spending.

To say that Evers is inventing new ways to spend money isn’t just a figure of speech anymore. In the most ludicrous expansion of line-item veto power in recent memory, he circumvented longstanding constitutional norms and $86 million in K-12 education spending to Wisconsin’s biennial budget.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has spent the past few months desperately trying to get the Milwaukee Common Council to approve a $52 million expansion of the streetcar route to the Fiserv Forum in time for next summer's Democratic National Convention.

A Wisconsin legal expert talks about gerrymandering.

As a presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren offers detailed policy plans. But is that the smart thing to do politically?

Evers could have (and, in my view, should have) made history by being the first Wisconsin governor to veto an entire budget.

Trump’s approval rating in Wisconsin is already a couple points higher than it is nationally, and there’s reason to suspect that some of his voters just sat out the 2018 midterms as opposed to being won over by the Democrats.

To read some of the pundits these days, you'd think that the "far left" Democratic candidates for president are pushing radical, out-of-the-mainstream ideas that will surely lead to the re-election of Donald Trump if the party is foolish enough to nominate them.

We are living in a time when it's not a U.S senator from Wisconsin leading the intolerant among us, but the president of the United States himself — not screaming about communists, but about "socialists" who are the enemy of America and need to be demonized.

While there surely are examples of government bungling — our immigration crisis is one of them — the truth is government programs typically work for all Americans.

The current policy of transparency, officials say, helps protect the lottery's integrity. In other words, it helps assure the public that the system isn't rigged.

Once again, the university has shot itself in the foot by opting for secrecy over transparency.

Zweifel writes about Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg's recent comments about the treatment of immigrant children at the Mexican border.

Who would have thought that getting your kids vaccinated for measles would become a political issue? Unfortunately, that's exactly what's happened in this era of self-centered behavior that shows little regard for the welfare of others.

While he commands the news cycles with another bizarre and outlandish tweet that every media outlet feels obligated to report, the sleaze among his appointees continues unnoticed.

Imagine if Barack Obama had said to Trump during his campaign of belittling America — if things are so bad, why don't you go back to where you came from?

The answer may depend on where you live. Folks in New York City and Los Angeles and perhaps even Chicago seem to relish the ideas that moderate Democrats call extreme. In states like Wisconsin, where the voters may lean Democratic, the successful gerrymandering of a decade has locked the Republicans in legislative power -- despite a smart Democratic governor.

I hope everyone listens to Mueller’s House testimony. Yet don’t expect him to draw a simple road map for the unthinking. He clearly believes his report has outlined his findings and explains his limitations as a dutiful member of the Justice Department, which has opined that a sitting president can’t easily (some say ever) be criminally indicted.

A great legal scholar, but her style created bitter turmoil on the court.

Myths about incarceration causes preventing real discussion of prison population reduction problems.

It was another lesson as to why government is essential in our lives, and the ones we pay to do this work are most deserving of our deep appreciation.

Too often the issue of sex education becomes a one-way lane to only talking about abstinence. While there are legitimate reasons to encourage teens to wait for their emotional growth to match their bodies, it is also incumbent on schools to address the reality of what is actually occurring for many of our youth.

The ruling was a disappointing one for many of us in Wisconsin, dashing hopes that the Supreme Court would set standards for fair maps in Wisconsin after years under a partisan gerrymander.

For Illinois drivers, gas is 26¢ cheaper in Wisconsin.

Digging deeper into Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget vetoes.

We know our warming, stormier planet is in crisis mode. Which means we know it's time to revive the sanity and simple science behind a half-century-old precept--"Think Globally, Act Locally."

Walker's announced punt out of Wisconsin politics in 2021 leaves him plenty of time to change his mind - - but he says he's off to run a youth-oriented right wing foundation in suburban Virginia near DC and turn America's young people away from socialism.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald is extending his party's assault on Gov. Evers' veto powers by targeting money that might be spent on Milwaukee city rail, which Republicans have been sand-bagging forever.

The GOP monkey-wrenching duo of Fitzgerald and Vos running the Wisconsin State Legislature is approaching the seventh month of holding hostage the confirmation of any and all Tony Evers' cabinet secretary nominations.

Governor Tony Evers' budget vetoes actually increased government spending, something that was not supposed to be possible.

U.S. Supreme Court decision leaves it up to voters to demand non-partisan redistricting.

Once again Vos and Fitzgerald try to scapegoat Milwaukee.

Many assume legislators are on summer break after passing the budget, and I can’t help but wonder why. After all, families are still struggling to make ends meet, thousands of us are still waiting for affordable health care and many public schools continue to lack much needed resources. The list is long, and I can honestly say I’m having trouble relaxing this "summer break" knowing our needs haven’t been met.

Our state, our communities, and our families deserve the Democratic vision that works towards better outcomes and a brighter tomorrow.

Deployments which have nothing to do with the security of America or Wisconsin take a toll on our Guard soldiers, their families, employers or their education, even if all survive the fiasco. We call upon Governor Evers to keep our troops at home unless the Wisconsin Legislature recognizes a national emergency which requires the use of Wisconsin’s soldiers.

The truth is that since prevailing wage was repealed in Wisconsin, apprenticeship numbers are at a ten-year high, construction wages continue to increase faster than inflation, and virtually every construction union contract was renegotiated with a wage increase. All occurred without prevailing wage.

Republicans agreed to so much of what Evers asked for that they faced a revolt by conservatives who said they were giving in to the governor.

The biggest problem affecting the state budget process is the gerrymandering of the Legislature, which is now so severe that legislators are less interested in respecting the will of the people than at any time in Wisconsin history.

Robert M. La Follette died in 1925, having transformed Wisconsin and made it a North Star for the nation. William T. Evjue lived on to 1970. Their legacies have been battered by politicians without conscience, the Scott Walkers and Paul Ryans who used Wisconsin as a springboard for their national ambitions, but they have not been erased.

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher wants to be seen as a reasonable Republican who is not as bigoted as the president, but he refuses to actually stand up to the president.

Some economists predict that health costs will start to soar well about the 4% inflation rate starting in 2020. If they are right, the $60 trillion projection for the cost of Medicare for All over 10 years will be way low.

Wisconsin Republicans repealed Equal Pay Enforcement Act in 2012.

Note: If this post has anything to do with Evers, the Evers administration or lame-duck legislation and related lawsuits, please tag it as Evers...

Lack of minority high school and college grads and wide prosperity gaps will only exacerbate the region’s growing employee shortage, business leaders fear.

As many state pension plans struggle with severe underfunding, the Wisconsin Retirement System stands out with a funded ratio above 100 percent.

The USMCA is good economic policy, and it would fuel our industry forward for decades to come.

Following years of turmoil and gridlock in many states, newly elected governors are getting a lot done.

A new report shows traditional tech hubs like California and New York are no longer the only place benefitting from the tech industry. The growth of consumer technology is having a positive economic impact all over the country, including right here in Wisconsin.

Fully legal cannabis has far more economic, social and health benefits.

If you teach children to disrespect teachers, they will do so.

The transition back to civilian life is filled with obstacles large and small. And just as we took care of each other in combat, I believe veterans have a duty to make sure their fellow service members don’t get left behind as they reintegrate into society.

Wisconsin’s governor’s veto authority makes him or her too powerful. It was true for Governor Walker. It is true for Governor Evers. It will be true for the next governor. It will be true for the one after that unless we change it.

Cap Times Idea Fest is slated for Sept. 13-14 .

When credible Democratic candidates like Elizabeth Warren play to the party’s extreme fringe, they risk alienating crucial centrist voters.

Liberal and very liberal Democrats would do well not to stereotype moderate Democrats who fear an election debacle as timid and too willing to accept the status quo just because they prefer a non-radical agenda most focused on jobs.

Wisconsin can and should continue to lead the way on education reform.

Wisconsin needs to face the reality of declining fuel-tax revenue and transition to per-mile charges.

The ongoing trade war is threatening to derail all of the great things President Trump has accomplished for our economy, especially here in Wisconsin.

We need to allow full practice authority for advanced practice registered nurses so that the people of Wisconsin can access the healthcare they need and deserve.

Former Gov. Scott Walker in his “You Can't Recall Courage” talkes about the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on partisan gerrymandering, the first Democratic presidential debates and more.

Former Gov. Scott Walker discusses Democrats’ comments on anti-abortion legislation in Virginia, Iran and more in his “You Can't Recall Courage” podcast.

Here are seven reasons why Democratic Gov. Tony Evers won’t veto the entire 2019-21 budget passed by Republican legislators but instead will rework it with line-item vetoes.

When the state’s economy is printing money, unemployment is at a record low, and income taxes paid by corporations are running 57% ahead of last year because of federal tax reforms, governors and legislators can all smile and agree on a new state budget.

U.S. Sen, Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, share strategies to help Democratic presidential candidates compete in the Midwest.

The costly “Cardinal-Hickory Creek” transmission line is not needed for reliability, is not economically justified, and should be rejected by Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission.

Global warming has created a new ocean in the Arctic, and that poses challenges for the Pentagon in the geopolitical battle with Russia and other nations.

Wisconsin is a state with a growing tech-based economy, something people outside its borders enthusiastically grasp once they see and touch it.

In a market economy, what goes up can easily go down, especially when domestic and world events threaten stability. Investors, companies and consumers alike get jumpy when confronted with trade wars, Middle East standoffs, uncertainty in the European Union and more.

President Trump’s July 12 speech in Milwaukee reminded us that no matter what flashy issue dominates political headlines at any given moment, we need to continue to keep focus on how to make our economy stronger.

Using rigorous research methods, a new study found that students in Milwaukee’s school choice program are more likely to enroll in, and graduate from, four year colleges.

DOT Secretary Craig Thompson recently announced the administration will create a committee that includes agency staff and representatives of local government to evaluate applications...

Two GOP lawmakers are circulating a proposed constitutional amendment that would further reign in the guv's line-item veto authority after Gov. Tony Evers used...

Gov. Tony Evers has signed the two-year budget, but only after using his partial veto authority to pump nearly $100 million more into K-12...

The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, predict which budget issues will figure in the 2020 legislative elections. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and Michael Best Strategies.

The WisOpinion Insiders, Jensen & Chvala, debate clean water, big dairy and lead contamination in Milwaukee. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and Michael Best Strategies.

This time, the WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala & Jensen, are in agreement: legislative Republicans won the battle of the budget. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and Michael Best Strategies.

This week on WisOpinion.com’s ‘The Insiders’: Chvala and Jensen take long- and short-term views of Wisconsin's transportation budget. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and...