In a recent article posted at Onthebottomline.com a.k.a. ontheborderline.net, Blue in New Richmond addresses the issue of local poverty. I find it ironic, that rather than looking for cause of local working class poverty in the lack of living wage jobs in the area, Blue readily and gleefully points the finger at the public schools and the recently passed referendum.
Of course everybody knows how better schools directly contribute to low wages, NOT!
I've heard borderliners extol the virtues of tax cuts to create new jobs, yet for these working poor families, the invisible hand of the market seems to have passed them by without the magically anticipated effect of raising their standard of living.
Let's get real Blue, the Republican tax cutting efforts have done nothing for those at the lower end of the economic scale, but instead have concentrated more and more wealth in the hands of the affluent few. At the same time workers see stagnant wages, they also see rising fuel and health care costs which can be directly related to the failed policies of the current administration. These far exceed any increase in property taxes working poor residents in the New Richmond Area may encounter as a result of a recently passed referendum. How many min. wage workers, or working poor even own a home to pay taxes on? None that I know of.
You might make the argument that higher rents could result from land lords passing on their additional expense to their tenants. But any increase like this would be offset by Wisconsin's Homestead tax credit, and would pale in comparison to other rising costs in low income family
budgets. If Blue is truly concerned about the working poor he should vote for politicians whose policies make life for those at the lower end of the economic scale less difficult and not more. These policies would obviously come from a political party that has compassion rather than criticism and disdain for the poor.
Nice try at twisting the issue blue, but nobody's biting!
