The Governor didn’t report on the actual state of our state this week, but the people of Wisconsin are busy working hard, making our communities a better place to live.

MADISON - I listened carefully to the Governor’s State of the State Address this week for anything positive that I could tell the people I’d be returning to about the issues they are most concerned about: jobs, roads and schools. An effective leader inspires people. Regrettably, no one I talked to after the speech felt inspired. Instead of a vision for our future, we were treated to an incomplete, and in many ways unconvincing, defense of the status quo.

What the Governor didn’t report was the actual state of our state:

• Wisconsin has trailed the nation in private job creation for 20 quarters – that’s five straight years
• The number of roads in poor repair is projected to double, to nearly half of all state roads, in less than ten years
• And our schools continue to see support siphoned off to the unaccountable voucher school industry – with property taxpayers having to make up the difference

“Rewarding work” was a phrase that was thrown around a lot in the speech. Unfortunately, “rewarding the well-connected” at the expense of workers has been the recurring theme of his policies over the past six years.

As a result of Gov. Walker’s policies, $209 million will be taken from taxpayers who work for a living - this year alone – and handed over to a well-connected few. Despite the loss of over 2,700 manufacturing jobs, 11 people alone will be handed $21 million of your hard-earned dollars.

This handout doesn’t reward work. It picks workers’ pockets. It’s time to stop cutting workers’ pay while rewarding millionaires who cut jobs. It’s time to put Wisconsinites who work for a living first.

You shouldn’t have to settle for less and less for your family and your future. The Governor and his colleagues in the legislature have had 6 years in power. They’ve taken good care of special interests and the rich. What have they delivered for the working people of Wisconsin?

The current systems provides plenty of channels for new ideas and feedback from local communities. We don't need one more.

MADISON - As State Superintendent, Tony Evers convenes and participates in dozens of advisory councils across our state. Consisting of over 600 Wisconsinites, they regularly provide new ideas and feedback from local communities and the schools they represent.

These councils, combined with Tony's school visits, help shape the policies implemented at DPI. Ensuring kids are front and center of our public education system is Tony's priority.

We do not need more bureaucracy or more centralized control. The state legislature passes education laws, while the State Superintendent is directly accountable to the citizens. Our Founders debated this at length when writing our Constitution, and they wisely created an independent State Superintendent for a reason.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/uwgb-students-s5.jpgGov. Walker dodged the student loan debt crisis Tuesday by offering up only a meaningless "tuition cut" for current students. Wisconsin would be better served if the Governor would work with Democrats to pass the Higher Ed/Lower Debt bill.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/wisc-leaving-s5.jpgEconomy, jobs, schools and wages have lagged while State debt grows and rural residents suffer with poorer schools and crumbling roads.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/walker-state-denial-s5.jpgWhen Gov. Scott Walker delivers his State of the State address tonight, will he again gloss over the State's multiple problems like transportation funding, the shortage of corrections officers in our prisons, the veterans’ home at King, poor economic growth, and bad fiscal management?

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/icefishing-river-s5.jpgWisconsin leans heavily on hunters and anglers to fund DNR wildlife management programs, but the fee revenue has not kept pace with demand. A new report outlines options the legislature can consider during upcoming budget deliberations to help address the funding shortfall.