“Wisconsin Doesn’t Need Fundamental Change”

"Wisconsin doesn't need fundamental change." –Scott Walker

Well that is one heck of a campaign message! And that is exactly what Scott Walker said when the top three candidates for governor met with the Wisconsin Biodiesel Association yesterday. Walker was talking specifically about health care reform and said that there was no need for change because "only" 8 to 9 percent of the population lack health insurance. Well, apparently in Walker's Wisconsin we can just discard those 500,000 plus people.

Walker's comment also fails to acknowledge that although people are "insured" often times they are actually underinsured. In addition, all-too-many "insured" people are practically driven to bankruptcy when they actually need their "insurance" the most. This doesn't even include the fact that people are forced to pay ever-increasing premiums every year. Remember that Wisconsin has some of the highest health care costs in the nation. Health care costs have been out of control for so long, that the impact is unbearable on individuals, business and local governments alike. Walker should know this...but his rhetoric sure does make you wonder at times.

While I'm talking about the event at the Wisconsin Biodiesel Association, I'm just wondering why Walker and Neumann didn't take the opportunity to explain why the stimulus money that was recently awarded for a major biofuel project in Park Falls, was a bad thing. The private company receiving the help said in an announcement that the stimulus money would help "…create permanent, high-skilled operating jobs in the region, long-term logging jobs, and short-term engineering and construction jobs…" It seems like it would have been a perfect time for Walker to explain why those long term jobs were not actually helping "real people."