From Our Readers Editor:
As co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance, we would like to thank everyone who came out to make their voice heard at the public hearing on Friday, April 21 at Marinette High School. We truly appreciate the time many of you took to come and testify.
We'd also like to thank Marinette High School for hosting the hearing. There's a lot that goes into public hearings and the folks in Marinette did a fantastic job. We are very grateful for all they did.
As the representative of the 89th Assembly District and a Marinette High School Alum, Rep. Nygren enjoyed the opportunity to hear testimony from his constituents and residents from the surrounding area of northeast Wisconsin.
The statewide public hearings are an important part of the budget process. It gives us a chance to hear directly from the people of Wisconsin how the budget will affect them. It's crucial in our decision making and we are very pleased with the number of people who turned out.
For those of you who couldn't make it on Friday, we'd still love to hear from you. Please forward your comments to BudgetComments@legis.wi.gov.
Thanks again for your hospitality and most of all for your comments. We look forward to hearing from you again soon.
Sen. Alberta Darling
Rep. John Nygran
To the Editor:
I testified at the Joint Finance Committee Hearing in Marinette on Friday, April 21. Here is a synopsis of my remarks:
They say you never miss the water till the well runs dry. Well, I believe over-pumping of our groundwater threatens everyone, especially those who rely on well water for our daily needs. Lawmakers in Madison apparently think our groundwater is limitless. Recent relaxation of rules regarding High Capacity Wells was bad enough. Now the State Senate votes to allow ONE BILLION MORE gallons pumped from our aquifer, whose total capacity is unknown? How can our underground cistern withstand an ever increasing number of straws in the drink?
What about our surface water? We've seen an alarming decline in financial support for groups that preserve and protect our waterways. It's as if those in power think our lakes, rivers and streams have somehow become immune to invasive species and chemical run-off. The truth is our surface water is more endangered than ever.
Why the State should help protect and preserve our lakes? Because healthy waterways are the economic lifeblood of Northwoods communities, and shoreline property taxes play an out-sized role in funding local government, roads, schools, emergency services, even the new county jail in Oconto. Simply put, shoreline property owners keep the lights on up north.
When the DNR withdrew longstanding financial support for our local lake association, we faced a crisis. Stand by as Eurasian Milfoil turned the Townsend Flowage into a weed-infested swamp? No way. Our only choice was to form a lake district and tax ourselves to preserve the lake. My "yes" vote cost me $180 extra in property taxes annually, but I am not paying just so MY family can enjoy the Flowage. I am paying so YOURS can too.
Have Republicans forgotten that water is a public resource? It doesn't belong to Big Ag, Big Mining, Big Bottlers, or Big Government. It belongs to US. Please remember, you work for us, and you have a sacred duty to preserve and protect our precious natural resources. Keep that in mind as you finalize the State Budget.
Jon Marsh
Townsend
Letter to Editor:
We need the House GOP tax plan as soon as possible. It means more jobs for all Americans.
Manufacturing and farmers specifically are some of the largest private sector job creators in our state. But under our current federal tax code, American producers are punished for manufacturing and growing in America.
Here is why. American producers are hit with a federal income tax and then taxed when their exported products crosses a foreign border to be sold aboard. Yet, foreign products exported from the vast majority of countries pay no taxes when it leaves their home countries and then aren't taxed when they come into the U.S.
Thus, American products being sold overseas are taxed twice, foreign products being sold here are not taxed at all. And you wonder why American jobs go overseas?
Luckily, the House GOP tax plan would put an end to this unfair tax treatment. It would also clean up the tax code to end ridiculous corporate loopholes and use that savings to reduce the business tax rate, making American made products internationally competitive again.
The House GOP plan would do this all without raising the national debt. It's time we move this common-sense plan forward so that we can create American jobs and instill fairness back into international trade.
Gerry Wrench,
Marinette
To the Editor:
"Raindrops"
The raindrops fell on my rooftop
And woke me from my sleep,
Quiet little drops of silver
That April showers weep.
But not one will feel the pain of insensitivity
Or the inhumanity of man's way,
For as quickly as they hit my rooftop
They soon will fade away.
In the darkness I hear their gentle patter
But when the sunlight comes they are gone,
Unaware of all the world's problems
Disappearing into the dawn.
You may think that they are unfeeling
But it's not that way at all,
For while we hate and kill and hurt each other
Raindrops only fall.
Roger Lanich
Wausaukee
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