
Broadcasting across the state of Wisconsin on the Civic Media Radio Network and around the world on the Civic Media app, this is the Dom Salvia show.
And now here's your host, Dom Salvia.
And welcome to the Dom Salvia show.
Thank you so much for tuning in you could be a big part Contribute to the spine production at eight five five seven five two four eight four two eight five five Seven five a civic at the phone line.
It's a text line You know how that works got just PS working hard on the board on the sound on the tunes for you today and jazzed as hell It's Wednesday.
So my co-host of the day Matt Rothschild formerly of the progressive over the Wisconsin democracy campaign
and a frequent civic media contributor.
Matt, welcome back to the show, man.
Hey, Dom.
Hey, Jess.
So, it's fun to be with you, too.
Yes, it is always a blast, Matt.
Thank you so much.
Lots of local news, lots of national news to get to.
There's a... What's that?
authoritarianism in the air, man.
We got days of this, man.
Trump's going on, but let's, let's, let's start local Matt.
Let's start with the election.
We had an election already, man.
We had a primary yesterday here in the state of Wisconsin.
I actually, I, I stuck out.
I did on the way after the show, I went home and I was 181 in my ward.
I went to the wrong one first.
He had two in the same building.
I didn't know which one mine was.
And I even looked at the map and I still got it wrong.
So
But I did a cast my vote.
I was 181 Specifically for the Wisconsin superintendant of public instruction Jill underly the incumbent she
moved forward along with Brittany Kinzer.
Now she is the Republican backed Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate.
Jeff Wright came up short 128,000 votes.
Jeff got Brittany got 161,000 and underly the incumbent jail got 177.
2000 so Underly and Kinzer now go on to the final round I guess this will be what April 1st another election never stops folks.
This is the self-governance thing medic continues.
Um, I guess
I'm not first April 1st be a big election Not only for this but especially for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but yeah, this race this race for state superintendent of schools, you know
I wasn't surprised that Jill underly won.
I think she's done a good job as state superintendent of education.
I was kind of surprised at the challenge from Jeff Wright, who I like a lot, who I think is a very attractive candidate both times that he's run before.
I've been impressed with him, but it was just curious to me as to why he was running.
I always thought underly was going to win anyway, so why attack her?
And then the other thing is...
There was this split between, you know, WEAC, the Wisconsin Education folks, and the American Federation of Teachers.
Usually they're on the same page when it comes to candidates.
So I was just kind of totally confused by the challenge from Jeff Wright.
Not surprised by the outcome, however.
And I do think Brittany Kinzer is just a stalking horse, not even that.
There's nothing stalking about her.
She's right there in the open.
to prove out your candidate, to destroy the public schools candidate.
And so this is a big race.
Do you want to support our public schools or do you want to see the continual draining of our public funds going to private schools?
I don't.
Yeah, what to a second unfunded mandate for the thousands of kids that are in in the this other operation these other schools now Ken's are my understanding was also a consultant like she's in the voucher school business It's amazing how much they want to get their greedy little hands on that socialist public school money now man I mean I went to a public grade school kindergarten through eighth grade me
fine, fine town of Hortonville, Wisconsin.
I grew up in Stevensville up north there.
Hey, not, not too far out of Appleton, Wisconsin.
Uh, and then when I got into high school, my parents decided, well, they don't want me going to that high school and when you go to Appleton, Xavier private.
Catholic education, you know college prep and all that and I was I was very depressed about all that, you know My older brother and sister they both went so I knew the writing was on the wall and and I knew I'd be pulled out of my my favorite school all my friends and you know dumped into this religious education and One thing I noticed about that was my parents had to go to pocket for me and there was there was
there was money they had to pay for man there was tuition in high school my parents had to pay for me to go to this high school there were no tax credits right there was no break on your taxes there was no voucher no access to get some of that money back then or at least that my parents took advantage of if there were uh but i figured you know at the end of the day man that's up to the parents you want to send your kids to a different school and not a public school then go to pocket for you know we have
In this world, in the environment in which we've decided to live, in the governance that we've come up with, we have some basics here.
A public education to give everybody a shot.
We have police officers, for example, to try to keep people safe.
You have fire departments, try to keep the fires on, so on and so forth.
Well, if you are not happy with your...
I don't know, policing, your safety.
You can go and hire a security guard, right?
You can go do that on your own.
No one's given you a credit, you know, on your taxes to buy the security guard.
You can get, you know what I'm saying?
You can go down the lot list of public services of people that are available to everyone, but some people think are not good enough for them.
Okay, but then why should they be able to, you know, tap into the well of that public money to
pursue their own private interests, Matt.
It is, it is, it is a, it is really bothersome to me and throw up above and beyond that.
It's not just to the education.
I got a great education at Appleton Xavier.
I really did.
It stuck with me.
I had some great teachers, great friends.
I mean, I think there's good teachers everywhere, right?
So religious stuff didn't it?
See what I'm saying?
That was the other thing.
Like halfway through my freshman year because I didn't come up in those starter, you know, religious schools.
All my friends are like little feeder schools that did all the religious stuff and they all went to Xavier, St.
Mary's this and whatever that, you know, all these little schools.
And then they fed and went to the main to Xavier.
So I wasn't down with the whole tradition, let's call it.
And so when I started asking questions in school,
excuse doesn't have to go anymore you know at the at the religious school I no longer had to go to religion class which was fine but this now and that was in my parents time but this now this is religious indoctrination man you got people you got these these organizations these churches teaching what kids that the earth is six thousand years old well how does that how does that mesh with you know the math and science that they were just in man
Right and I don't want my taxpayer dollars to go to that kind of indoctrination and the problem with our voucher program our so-called school choice program in this state is that You know more and more of our tax dollars are going to fund these parochial schools in this kind of indoctrination And so I'm against the school voucher program I did a podcast in our Wisconsin forward civic media podcast series Precisely on this school choice question, but yeah
I mean, Kinzer, Brittany Kinzer, she's one of those folks who, you know, they think there should be no income ceiling at all on the people who are getting vouchers.
You know, you could be the richest family.
You could be Diane Hendricks.
You know, we could pay Diane Hendricks' grandchildren to go to a parochial school.
I mean, that's ridiculous.
That's my co-host of the day, Matt Rothschild.
You can join us as well at 855-752-48.
So underly, we'll move along into the next round with the voucher person.
Some of the reporting here from the journal Sutton knows what kind of ties into this.
Man, I want to get your thoughts on this as well.
From Molly Beck, from today, assembly lawmakers vote to reverse state report card changes.
Thinking, wait, what?
What does this mean?
The lawmakers passed a bill 54 to 44 that requires the state DPI to overhaul its state report cards to match how they measured academic achievement on the state test before the changes were made last year.
Okay.
Well, why is that?
Well, some Republicans argued those changes championed by under Lee.
Again, the incumbent who won will be on the ballot in April will help them walk your public schools evade accountability for low.
per student performance.
Um, Robert Witt kid said this, a Republican from Racine with voting.
No, you're neglecting your responsibility to help kids learn.
Now, all they did, Matt, according to the reporting here, which blows my mind, they changed the categories of achievement.
It was initially like four categories below basic, basic, proficient and advanced.
Now it's developing approaching meeting.
and advanced so three of the four have changed oh my how is that how is that problematic whatsoever
yeah i mean and also you know there's advance in advance those are identical you know meeting and proficient those are pretty close too i mean
They're just playing word games here.
And they're also using the terminology changes is a cheap way to take another swipe at the Milwaukee public schools, which they've been doing constantly as an excuse to, you know, promote their voucher school program.
That that's what this is all about.
Bill, the author, one of the author, I guess, Bill, Senator John Jagler from Watertown.
I've heard mentioned in an interview it hurts kids feelings to be and parents feelings to be told that they're quote unquote below basic.
That's the old term.
It affects their mental health.
You know what really affects their mental health?
Not being able to read when other kids can, he said at the hearing.
Well, what is that?
It's got zero to do with whether or not the kids can read.
I mean, being below basic as opposed to developing, I'd rather be developing versus below basic.
And some of these Republicans are saying, oh, it's going to be, how are we going to possibly, you know, hell, even Tony Evers, and Evers had a speech lesson.
I'm going to get to some of that as well.
Even Evers was like, wow, you know, we should have done a little more.
Now, underly pushed back on that.
So maybe Evers didn't have enough of the information, but to imply somehow some way that people can't look at what the old terminology was and determine that three of the
four have changed, but they're still kind of the same just because what it hurts people's feelings.
As Jadler said, too bad.
It just, it seems, it seems like not, not serious to me, especially when we talk about, you know, kids having very, very real problems in life.
And a big part of that, especially here in the Milwaukee school district is, is, is poverty and those kinds of issues.
Man.
I mean, you know, the rich kids, they usually do better at school, man.
Yeah, and they had the public schools are supposed to take care of all our social ills You know my wife was a school nurse for many years and she had to bring in string cheese to feed the kids because they had no breakfast and They were hungry and they couldn't study because they were so hungry and you know you had the schools taking care of all you know
trying to solve the problem of poverty and hunger in America.
I mean, why don't we give the schools more money?
And that's one of the things he was talking about last night, which was good.
And he also talked about giving free meals to kids.
You know, God forbid we do that.
But as Robin Voss said, we're not going to be Tim Walz's Minnesota.
possibly do that with your woke attitude folks eight five five seven five two four eight four two We're gonna come back get to some of your calls as well And what's your as we go to break your man?
I want you to ponder something what could be done on on the executive level on the governor's level To go to do away with these vouchers man.
I mean could he just line out and veto that?
You know what I'm saying?
Certainly that would cause lots of issues.
I mean, you gotta have kids that got to get enrolled into schools.
But I don't see how this is righteous or proper whatsoever.
I certainly don't want our school or our budget going to fund, you know, wealthier people whose kids are already in these private institutions.
I don't want to be subsidizing the lack of money coming in from
religious organization in tithing, so they open up a school and try to tap into that money.
And I certainly don't want religious indoctrination in the school room.
Come back with us.
855-752-4842.
Governor Evers spoke last night.
We'll get there as
And welcome back to the Dom salvia show eight by five, seven, five, two, four, eight, four, two, eight, five, five, seven, five civic just be us working hard on the board, special co-host of the day, Matt Ross child joining me as well.
And folks we'll get to you in just a moment, eight, five, five, seven, five civic talking about the vouchers.
Matt, before I get your, your feedback, Wisconsin examiner had a write up on governor Evers speech yesterday and they, they talk about the Wisconsin voucher program and they say that.
a budget, the Evers budget proposal calls for making changes to the voucher program, including with Milwaukee's Racines and the Wisconsin parental choice program.
He wants to freeze the number of slots available to students.
A proposal that comes as a cap on enrollments are slated to come off in 2026.
No cap on enrollments.
What?
He also wants to require participating schools to license educators by July of 2028.
What licensed educators?
We don't, what?
That's a regulation.
We don't want that.
How dare they?
They don't have to be licensed?
What?
And to require schools to allow students participating in these special needs scholarship programs to opt out of religious activities at written requests.
Ooh.
He also proposes putting the cost of Wisconsin's voucher programs on people's property tax bills.
Ooh, also interesting.
Matt, your thought on the status of the voucher program and what Evers proposal here is, and could it be even more drastic if it were me?
I just canceled the whole thing out.
This budget is better than the last one.
This last budget, he actually expanded funds to the voucher program, which I thought was a terrible thing to do.
So this is an improvement.
Your question going in was, you know, what can be done?
Yeah, he could try to line item veto it.
I don't know if he'd ever get a budget agreement that way.
With Republicans in the legislature, they got to come to some budget agreement.
So I don't think that would work.
The best way, I think, is for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to revisit this issue and reverse the decision they made more than a decade ago that said that this was kosher.
I mean, I cannot believe that the Wisconsin Supreme Court approved this taxpayer money going to parochial schools.
Seems to me a blatant violation of separation in church and state.
So I know there have been some...
rumblings of court challenges that are going to go up possibly to the Wisconsin Supreme Court at some point.
I hope that's one of them.
We need to really take a look at how much of our public dollars are funding these private parochial schools.
It's just way, way too much and it's draining our public schools.
So to me, a ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court that
People's property tax bills would be at least a sideways the way around it.
855-752-4842.
What are the Republicans will go for that?
Let's get to some of the callers.
Happy, happy Wednesday.
Brian from Milwaukee, you will be first today.
Thank you, Brian.
What do you got for us?
Hey guys, Rachel, as always.
Yeah, I was raised in a very devout Catholic household.
Went to church every Sunday, was pulled out of school for CCD.
First communion and confirmation, yada, yada.
If you want to, you know, raise your child in a Christian household and with Christian values, send them to a Catholic school or a Christian school or do like what my parents didn't have, you take CCD or something extra curricular.
But once you start teaching Christianity in public schools,
I pray to God that they are willing to start teaching Taoism and Hinduism and Buddhism and everything else.
because those exist as well
and I look at my sister for example She's great Catholic.
She practices Catholicism and her husband is Hindu We invited the whole family over from India for the wedding at my parents place It was the most most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
know what I mean.
And then I'm gay.
My brother is gay.
Family's accepting, you know, so there needs to be a separation of church and state.
There has to be.
It's
for sharing man.
And you're right.
And that's, I think that's gets to the point, a part of it anyway.
Of course the funding is problematic and the quote unquote indoctrination, but if you're going to start like, like mandating, you know, an hour for Catholicism, an hour for Hinduism and an hour for atheism, an hour for, you know, the Norse gods and hour for the Roman gods.
And you know, don't forget about all the gods that have come and gone.
I mean, we'll never get to reading, writing and arithmetic, Matt.
What's the money going to that?
And it is troublesome.
And I think what... I'm kind of going off a memory here, Matt, so forgive me.
But I think the way they get around it is, well, they give the money to the parents, and the parents decide what to do with the money.
You know what I mean?
It's that kind
That's a shell game though, and I can't believe the Wisconsin Supreme Court, you know, fell for that or blessed that.
And, you know, it's another reason the Supreme Court race coming up April 1st is a really important race.
You know, are we going to have a liberal majority in that Wisconsin Supreme Court or not?
That's one of the issues that is likely to come before it.
And I hope they'll take a real good look at this ruling that they made a while ago that
That's a great point.
We'd have to have someone with standing to, you know, go and challenge these things and get it in front of, hopefully, a liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court and at least put the money back on, put the funding for this back on the folks who want it.
If you want to do that, pay for it yourself like my parents did.
If
That's a very valid option.
We actually just got a caller who called in Helen from Wanaki.
Didn't want to come directly onto the air, but asked that we bring her message.
She's a Christian.
She's a practicing Christian woman.
She goes to church.
She loves her religion.
But absolutely that should not be in the public schools, right?
This is not something that she wants her money going to because she understands it drains away from the public schools 8
5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 8 5 5 7 5 so there are ways we could do this Maybe because the front of the Supreme Court, you know, maybe maybe Eva's line is get rid of it
Nope.
Um, or maybe, you know, these organizations, the churches and these schools that are religious base can give out the scholarships.
And for those who have trouble paying for it, uh, or another, another option and call me crazy here, but maybe they could all start paying property taxes.
Hey,
Not only are we giving up revenue to them, they don't kick in.
Come back with us.
855-752-4842.
Governor Evers spoke last night.
We're going to break down that speech as well.
Stick around.
And welcome back to the Dom Salvia Show, 855-752-484-285-757 Bob Bould, man, he's coming to Tom to go see him at the Papst.
Ooh, he sounds like he
He was a summer fresco a few years ago.
All right, all right.
It was rocking.
I mean, love it.
Yeah, good stuff.
I got Jess Pierce working hard on the board.
I got a Matt Ross trial joining me today.
You can do so as well.
We're going to dive into the speechifying from last night, Governor Tony Evers in the great state of Wisconsin, putting out his budget proposals.
But I think what assembly speaker Robin Boss already said, dead on arrival.
Matt from Madison called in and said that his big problem, there's no accountability with the voucher schools.
And that's absolutely correct.
They're not held to the same level of scrutiny.
or accountability as public schools.
Public schools constantly have a microscope on every single thing that they do.
The voucher schools just don't.
Then we heard from Jim from Appleton who said the easiest way to get rid of all these voucher schools, hold them to the same standards as public schools specifically around enrollment.
And then I'm sorry.
Can't do it.
Don't have the resources.
Right.
Yeah.
Good.
Yeah.
It's it's it's not equitable by any means and problematic in many, many ways.
So thank you to our fine audience for sharing your thoughts.
Matt, last night, Governor Evers putting out his proposals, a lot of ideas.
What was some of your favorite takeaways before we get to some of the sound?
I was generally happy with what the governor was proposing.
It was a progressive speech in a whole mess of ways, one of which we talked about already, giving free meals to kids in school like you do in Minnesota, God forbid.
Our kids don't go hungry.
He also was going to raise the top marginal rate on income so that people who are making million dollars or more are paying now would be paying 9.8 percent instead of 7.65 percent.
We have a pretty flat income tax here in Wisconsin from 3.5 to
7.65.
Not a lot of difference between the people who are making the least and the people who are making the most.
And so I think that's an important thing.
You know, I was surprised because in a way, Governor Evers was responding to two events.
The first event was the shellacking Democrats got at the hands of Donald Trump, especially with working clack.
class folks on cost of living issues.
So we spent a lot of time, more than usual, talking about how to improve people's cost of living, you know, saying there'd be no tax on home heating, there'd be a better mortgage and rent amount that you could deduct, you know, no tax on tips, like Trump had said, no tax on diapers, things that would really help people on the day to day.
The other thing that surprised me was he
You know, Luigi must have made an impression on Grievers.
I hate to say it because he really went after the health insurance companies in this speech in a way I hadn't heard him go after them before.
Just, you know, on delaying, on, you know, requiring more paperwork, on their pricing, on their slow admission to let people get the care that they need.
So paragraph after paragraph after paragraph going after the insurance companies.
It was really something to see.
You're not going to pay for lead abatement that's poisoning our kids.
I mean, it's going to be hard for Republicans to oppose some of that stuff.
I know they will.
I know they've done in the past.
Well, they'll dig deep and
Well, it'll just be a big fat no.
And, you know, that's really botting up.
There are.
Come on.
There's a lot of kids that go hungry.
And regardless of what their parents' political affiliation may be, regardless of where they live in the rural areas, their suburban areas, or in the urban areas, you know, the kids, if the kids hungry, they don't give a damn what the political affiliation of anybody is, man.
They want to eat.
How do you focus, man?
You can't.
You can't.
You can't.
I mean, as a, as a grown adult, if I get hungry, I get hungry.
You know what I mean?
And I'm, and I'm good, man.
You know, if you're, if you're, you know, you're growing up and you're going through all the changes and all the pressures of the school and who knows what the home life is like and all those things, a little stability, you know, you talk about the other Republicans are all down with the, you know, a stable marketplace.
You gotta have stability.
You gotta have consistency.
Yeah.
So do kids.
So do kids and spending a few bucks to put some food in their belly Isn't gonna bust the budget.
Let's let's be real about this and at the end of the day as Matt mentioned, you know raising the taxes on some of the wealthiest folks Yeah, good.
So maybe we can use that money to feed the kids unless that's too woke for you
I mean, we do have some of the sound that will get to some of the calls, eight, five, five, seven, five, two, four, eight, four, two, the PFAS.
I just got a proposal for that.
Here's Governor Evers, his rousing speech from last night.
I was just kidding, Tony, love your man.
Let's hear cut number one, please.
As part of my comprehensive plan to improve water quality statewide, we're working to strengthen Wisconsin's groundwater standards for PFAS.
And I'm asking the legislature to support an investment of over $145 million to fight PFAS contamination statewide and provide emergency resources like bottled water to families and communities affected by water contamination.
I mean, if you're in Coana County and your, your wells are contaminated by PFAS, aren't you going to want that cleaned up?
Aren't you going to want, you know, bottled water, free bottled water so you can, you know, make coffee in the morning and drink in the afternoon?
I mean, it seems logical and practical and literally, you know, for the benefit and the welfare of the American citizen.
I mean, this is why we have governance and I get, you know, it's ebbs and flows and some people want, you know, greater expanded.
Some people want it contracted and, you know, small enough you could drown it in a bathtub.
But there, there is a happy medium.
And I think, you know, the basics of, I don't know, call it clean drinking water and, you know,
feeding the hungry kids in school.
I don't think that's those are radical ideas.
Governor Evers last night swears he will not raise property taxes, but what about, you know, at least putting the voucher schools on it?
Let's see what he says about the property taxes.
Cut to please,
Wisconsinites wouldn't have to raise their own property taxes to keep school lights on and doors open if this legislature invested in K through 12 education from the get go.
And the budget I'm announcing tonight.
proves we can both make the investments in our kids that we need to hold the line and prevent property taxes from going up.
Our pro-kid budget will do its best for our kids by providing more than $3.15 billion.
All of it is spendable revenue for schools across Wisconsin.
And we're going to make those investments while holding the line on property taxes to ensure the average homeowner will not see a property tax increase.
My budget would create a new incentive for local governments to freeze their local property taxes.
If local governments agree not to raise local property taxes, they'll get a direct payment from the state.
This will ensure local partners can still afford to pay for basic and unique local needs alike without property taxes going up.
You know, I think it's it's it is shameful that they're the legislature has abandoned their obligation to make the tough calls on raising taxes.
I mean
That's what you're supposed to do, and then you get the inequities between these different communities.
Civic Media's own Jimmy Koska has this one out there, several school districts' referendums.
Maustin, Tomahawk, Northland Pines, Waterford Union, they all had their referendums pass.
Kenosha had a $115 million referendum that failed.
Maustin, the district said their additional referendum will not be able to operate past the 26-27 school year.
This is operational money, Matt.
It passed.
They got $7 million over four years for operating expenses.
Operating expenses.
I mean, this isn't like capital expenditures.
They need to build a new building.
This is just, you know, the daily overhead to keep the lights on.
This is basic stuff that the Wisconsin legislature is leaving these communities on their own.
I mean, the Republican legislature has been strangling our public schools here since Walker came in.
And as a result, people are left in school district for school district to go to referendum to increase their taxes to get enough money to keep the lights on in the schools.
It should be the state's responsibility and not the local communities to make sure that our schools are able to function.
And it's just been a total abdication by Republicans and a siphoning off again of public money into the private school vouchers that have helped to starve the public schools and require these local communities to go to
All these things ultimately end up subsidizing the religious indoctrination of students with public money.
That's what it boils down to.
I mean, I know I keep harping on it, but I'm telling you, if this were for Muslim schools and teaching Sharia law, these Republicans would freak the F out.
But since it's their religion, no problem.
Let's move along.
Governor Evers, last night, no tax on electric and gas.
Cut number three, please.
let's also make sure Wisconsinites and keep more money in their pockets I'm proposing to nearly double Wisconsin's personal income tax exemption that means Wisconsinites will pay no income taxes on the first $1,200 they earn period
And I want us to work together to pass my proposal to support students and workers in our service industries by letting them keep the tips they earn tax-free.
Let's eliminate taxes on cash tips.
The fact that Donald Trump brought it up in the first place shouldn't, you know, say we can't do it.
It was a good idea.
That's why Kamala Harris came behind it as well, and Evers is behind it too.
The no tax on your first $1,200, that's not going to be a huge saving for folks.
I mean, everything helps, but, you know, that's, you know.
$45 or something.
You're the accountant, not me, Don.
But, you know, I don't think that's going to be a huge, huge help to folks.
Folks, you are listening to the Dom Salvy Show.
Got Matt Ross child joining me today.
You folks are lining up on the board and on the lines 855-752-4842.
I know we have some more sound to get to, but I want to give us plenty of time to get the last couple of bites here from the governor.
Before we do that, Matt, as we go to this break, expanding
Badger care now I don't know you know as as we see what's going on right now with with the federal government and the efforts with Doge and trying to pull back and trying to get into some of these these payment processes and perhaps putting Medicare Medicaid on the the chopping block and of course here in the state of Wisconsin we did not expand Governor Walker hit within his in his infinite wisdom came up with a Wisconsin way that what made it really really difficult for people that are in you know 130% of the power of your level to actually
uh, get healthcare here, uh, because they didn't want to do that.
And they're all very concerned about, well, we can't trust the federal government.
Hmm.
Well, it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When you put in a guy like Donald Trump, we threatened to cut off your funding.
Yeah.
When your own guy's saying, maybe we're not going to pay it.
Maybe they were right, but just the wrong way.
Folks, come back with us.
We're going to finish up the Evers sound from last night, eight, five, five, seven, five, two, four, eight, four, two.
to the Dom Salvia show eight five five seven five two four eight four two eight five five seven five.
So we got just BS working hard on the board co-host today, Matt Ross child from formerly of the progressive, the Wisconsin democracy campaign and author and a contributor here at the civic media radio network and a good friend of ours.
Thank you, Matt for joining us.
Wrapping up the speech defying last night, Governor Evers presenting his budget to the world.
55.5 billion dollars.
Just a couple more here as mentioned before the break, the expansion of badger care just with play number five please.
only to the healthy and wealthy.
It's why I am again proposing to expand Badger Care which would save Wisconsin taxpayers nearly two billion dollars over the next two years as billion of the bee folks and expand quality affordable health care coverage for about 100,000 Wisconsinites.
And I'm also
I'm also providing new hospital investments to improve access to healthcare across Wisconsin, including our rural communities.
Because, you know, we'd have done this years ago.
We'd have had an extra I mean two two billion a year.
I mean 10 20 years ago 15 years ago 15 billion do the math I can do I can do one times one year You know and it just to leave that out there for no other apparent reason other than well We don't we don't want that money.
We'll take all the other money We'll take the road money the federal government spends all sorts of monies to the states We are one of the states of all the states that are out there one of what was the number?
I think maybe out of 20
Uh, who, who received more from the federal government than we kick in the state of Wisconsin is Minnesota, not so much Illinois, not so much.
Um, Governor Evers, the postpartum coverage, uh, his final statement from less, let's play cut number six, please.
Let's extend, let's extend postpartum coverage for pregnant women on badger care up to one year after giving birth, Wisconsin.
And Arkansas are the only two states in America that haven't done this.
I mean, nothing against Arkansas.
But come on, folks.
I propose this in every budget.
I've been introduced as governor.
There's also a bipartisan bill to get it done that almost 90 legislators support.
One legislator should not be able to single-handedly obstruct a bill that's supported by a superma...
So there was, you know, he threw two elbows there, one against Robin Voss and one against the state of Arkansas.
But I kind of like both of them.
And also let's be clear here, this is a proposal to expand badger care so that low income new moms can get health care beyond 60 days.
All they offer right now here in the state of Wisconsin is 60 days.
Evers wants to expand that to a year.
I mean, my wife is a pediatric nurse.
She told me all about postpartum psychosis that
some moms
It's just brutal.
It's terrible.
That is, I mean, that is just absolutely unacceptable, and there's zero reason why the Republicans, I am assuming, based on that speech of fine, Robin Voss calling you out if I'm wrong, please correct me, 855-752-4842.
All these other states are doing it.
Why can't we do it?
And it's not just about following what other states do.
This is literally about helping new moms out beyond, what, a couple months.
Are you kidding me?
I mean, my daughter
We can do better, folks.
We can.
Governor Evers at least laying out his priorities because that's what the budgets are, folks.
They are priorities.
We will see.
What the other side comes back with a boss has already said dead on arrival.
So there you go eight five five seven five two four eight four two Let's get back to the lines Matt from Middleton.
You are next.
Welcome at what he got for us
Hey guys, thanks again for what you do.
I wanted to talk about the social contracts for a second because it feels like That's just completely being rewritten and flipped on its head by these like crazy capitalist, you know, narco
fascist libertarian on steroid types.
Like, uh, that guy that may lay in Argentina, like he's still cutting his government apart and it's getting real bad there.
And that's what they want to do here.
Just keep cutting stuff.
And they literally don't think that they think it's okay.
If one person gets all the wealth, suddenly has all the drinking water in the world and they would think that that person is just really great for doing all that.
so much.
I'm going to cut you short there.
We got a heartbreak coming up here.
Appreciate your contribution.
The social contract.
What social contract, man?
You better get it in writing.
You better get it in triplicate.
You better get it notarized and you better put it in a safe because these cats, they got nothing to do with the social contract.
Hell no.
It's their way or the highway.
Come back with us.
You got a lot more to get to on the national stage as well.
God, that authoritarianism is really burning my nose.
Let's get back to it.
855-752-4842.