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Northwoods Democrat Says Last Session Wasn't So Rosy

Wisconsin.gov

  Governor Walker has been stumping the Northwoods recently talking about his Blueprint for Prosperity. A Northwoods Democrat thinks there's a whole other side to the story that hasn't been heard.
 
Representative Janet Bewley of Ashland...whose district includes parts of Vilas and Iron counties...says while some portions of the business community did very well in the Republican-dominated legislative session, at street level, things didn't go so well...
 
 

"....they need to see that somebody is looking out for them. That their schools are going to be funded well, that their local units of government aren't going to be so close to the line. What I'm also hearing is, 'when is government going to stop taking away the power of local government?"....

 
Democrats said many pieces of legislation signed into law cut out towns and counties from having a say. Bewley says the property tax relief touted by Walker from a budget surplus isn't going to show up for many people. She says many people in northern Wisconsin don't own much property...
 
 

"....so to celebrate $100 going back to those people, to me, is very shallow. If you're a renter or your home is worth less than $150,000 what are you going to get? Either nothing, or you're going to get a pittance...."

 
She says the touted income tax break won't be much for lower-income wage earners. She says much of the last legislative session didn't help people on the street....
 
 

"....maybe they're going to be able to buy an extra cup of coffee in a week, but it's not going to get their confidence back and see their schools funded, know they're going to have access to health care. We need to do the kinds of things that are going to directly affect people's lives, and we didn't do that...."

 
Bewley says as the session ended recently, Republicans spent the time trying to curtail the voting rights of the public rather than focusing  on jobs. 

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