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Remember this DAY, you are going to see more weeks like THIS. If any of you chuckleheads try to argue a that this is good legislation, just remember the bad goddamn decisions that are made for profit of water. IT.ALWAYS.ENDS.IN.DISASTER.
Wisconsin is now close to being privatized, this is what is worse than BIG GOVERNMENT, these kinds of slick moves by stealth corporate powers. In short, don't be a chucklehead. Not free wheeling "Govt cant tell me what to do" Texas but the bastion for progressive ideas is now close to LOSING their water rights. They changed up the gameplan on how to put more hurdles for the people in the communities.
Action Diary: No More Flints! Water Privatization in Wisconsin
Wisconsin is now close to being privatized, this is what is worse than BIG GOVERNMENT, these kinds of slick moves by stealth corporate powers. In short, don't be a chucklehead. Not free wheeling "Govt cant tell me what to do" Texas but the bastion for progressive ideas is now close to LOSING their water rights. They changed up the gameplan on how to put more hurdles for the people in the communities.
Action Diary: No More Flints! Water Privatization in Wisconsin
While all eyes are on the human rights disaster in Flint, MI, the Wisconsin legislature is busily moving through a bill that would make it nearly impossible for the citizens of the state to stop water privatization in their municipality.
Assembly Bill 554 (AB544) has already passed the State Assembly (gerrymandered for a long-term Republican majority; 63 R, 36 D) and has made its way to the Senate Workforce Development, Public Works, and Military Affairs Committee (known as the Workforce Development Committee). That committee is made up of 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats, and is poised to pass THEIR version of this legislation, Senate Bill 432 (SB432) very soon.
In fact, sooner than they thought they would.
After a conversation with State Senator Chris Larson (D Milwaukee) over the weekend, the members of the Overpass Light Brigade realized that the public was not really aware of the plot to essentially rob citizens of local control over their water. So we packed up, headed to Madison, did a balmy photoshoot (heck, it was in the high 20s!), let people know about the proposed legislation and asked them to contact the members of the Workforce Development Committee to inform them of citizen opposition to the bill.
Like all legislation, the bill is complex. Some backstory: in 2009, the City of Milwaukee was exploring the possibility of privatizing its municipal water. Here is a contemporaryMilwaukee Journal-Sentinal article about it, and a later story from Food and Water Watch after the idea was scuttled. Basically, local residents rose up against the proposal and fought it; the Milwaukee Common Council stopped its study of the proposal.
The current legislation would make it nearly impossible to do what the citizens of Milwaukee did in 2009. Rather than being able to stop privatization while it is still an “idea,” citizens would need to collect signatures and put a referendum on the ballot to stop the process in-progress: time-consuming, expensive, and subject to the special interest money bound up in all elections these days.
If you live in Wisconsin, or have friends who live in Wisconsin, please have them contact the members of the Workforce Development Committee and express their opposition to SB432.
Senator Roger Roth (Chair) (608) 266-0718 Sen.Roth@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Richard Gudex (Vice Chair) (608) 266-5300 Sen.Gudex@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Duey Stroebel (608) 266-7513 Sen.Stroebel@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Chris Larson (608) 266-7505 Sen.Larson@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Julie Lassa (608) 266-3123 Sen.Lassa@legis.wisconsin.gov
Click to expand...
Assembly Bill 554 (AB544) has already passed the State Assembly (gerrymandered for a long-term Republican majority; 63 R, 36 D) and has made its way to the Senate Workforce Development, Public Works, and Military Affairs Committee (known as the Workforce Development Committee). That committee is made up of 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats, and is poised to pass THEIR version of this legislation, Senate Bill 432 (SB432) very soon.
In fact, sooner than they thought they would.
After a conversation with State Senator Chris Larson (D Milwaukee) over the weekend, the members of the Overpass Light Brigade realized that the public was not really aware of the plot to essentially rob citizens of local control over their water. So we packed up, headed to Madison, did a balmy photoshoot (heck, it was in the high 20s!), let people know about the proposed legislation and asked them to contact the members of the Workforce Development Committee to inform them of citizen opposition to the bill.
Like all legislation, the bill is complex. Some backstory: in 2009, the City of Milwaukee was exploring the possibility of privatizing its municipal water. Here is a contemporaryMilwaukee Journal-Sentinal article about it, and a later story from Food and Water Watch after the idea was scuttled. Basically, local residents rose up against the proposal and fought it; the Milwaukee Common Council stopped its study of the proposal.
The current legislation would make it nearly impossible to do what the citizens of Milwaukee did in 2009. Rather than being able to stop privatization while it is still an “idea,” citizens would need to collect signatures and put a referendum on the ballot to stop the process in-progress: time-consuming, expensive, and subject to the special interest money bound up in all elections these days.
If you live in Wisconsin, or have friends who live in Wisconsin, please have them contact the members of the Workforce Development Committee and express their opposition to SB432.
Senator Roger Roth (Chair) (608) 266-0718 Sen.Roth@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Richard Gudex (Vice Chair) (608) 266-5300 Sen.Gudex@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Duey Stroebel (608) 266-7513 Sen.Stroebel@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Chris Larson (608) 266-7505 Sen.Larson@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senator Julie Lassa (608) 266-3123 Sen.Lassa@legis.wisconsin.gov
Click to expand...
or ask California...
