Economic Inequality Action
LWV/ABC CONSENSUS STATEMENT ON ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
Recommended for approval at The 2017 Annual Meeting, May 1, 2017
Study Topic: What are the specific ways in which the Chequamegon Bay region is impacted by economic inequality, and what can we do about it?”
As the gulf between richest 1% and the rest of the 99% has deepened over the past three decades, the residents of Ashland and Bayfield Counties have experienced a notable rise in poverty and economic insecurity. A comfortable middle class standard of living seems ever farther out of reach. Both workers and small business in our area have been hurt. This presents an unacceptable scenario for our economic future.
Our study revealed that the roots of this problem are not just in globalization, but more significantly in the paradigm shift from an outmoded industrial economy to a more automated one. Furthermore, economic policy for the past three decades at both the state and federal level has neglected the needs of workers and small business in favor of the wealthy and large corporations. Their outsized wealth has shifted policies on taxes, healthcare, worker and small business programs, public education, and supports for our most vulnerable citizens away from serving the majority of Americans to promoting their vested interests. The voices of American workers, small business owners, retirees and the poor have become marginalized. This has particularly hurt our rural communities. It now threatens our American democracy. These policies have to be revisited and in many cases reversed.
The League of Women Voters of Ashland and Bayfield Counties takes comfort in the fact that the citizens of Ashland and Bayfield Counties recognize this inequity and embrace defending our democratic form of government and restoring faith in the American Dream. From agriculture, to small business, from small scale manufacturing to renewable energy, we are busy redefining ourselves, not as a poor and backward rural area, but as a vibrant economy full of talented people and innovative ideas. We take heart that our proud heritage of resiliency and creative pioneering spirit will serve us well in the fight to build a strong, sustainable, equitable and democratic place for ourselves, our children and grandchildren, and on down for seven generations.
Sample Letter for Organizations/Agencies/Governmental Agencies/Businesses
Signing on to Statewide Campaign to End Childhood Poverty
END CHILDHOOD POVERTY IN WISCONSIN
We as (a) citizen(s) of Wisconsin and as an (organization, agency, governmental body, business) operating in Wisconsin are sending this letter of endorsement and in doing so join Wisconsin Council of Churches, WISDOM, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (now Kids Forward) and other Wisconsin based groups endorsing the campaign to End Childhood Poverty in Wisconsin.
We petition elected officials in Wisconsin to commit to work with Wisconsin citizens to:
Set child poverty reduction goals, equity goals, and timelines.
Develop accountability mechanisms: A robust and independent tracking and evaluation capacity, trusted by all sides, which will make clear assessments of what is working, and what needs to change. (e.g. the creation of a Legislative Child Poverty Bureau)
Implement multi-sector, evidence based strategies at the scale capable of achieving the poverty reduction goal, including:
Employment and Income: help people get well-paying jobs;
High quality education: Increase public investment in underfunded stages of education, particularly in the early years;
Strengthening families: deepening relationships and building social capital.
Measure progress and adjust strategies as necessary
Sincerely,
Your name
Your position, if applicable
date
2014-2017 Local Study
What are the specific ways in which the Chequamegon Bay region is impacted by economic inequality?
And what can we do about it?
Click here for the full Study Report: "STUDY OF IMPACT OF ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN ASHLAND AND BAYFIELD COUNTIES"
Questions or comments can be emailed to Linda (jorgensonla@gmail.com) or Jan (janmmpenn@yahoo.com)
The LWV/ABC Board has completed a local study over the last three years:
To examine how economic inequality in the US and the State of Wisconsin impacts our local regional economy, and
To identify a local policy agenda to advocate for reversing that situation.
Since its founding in 1920, the League has always courageously taken stands for fair, accountable, representative, and responsive government.
It is in that spirit that the LWV/ABC moves to analyze ways in which public economic policies, especially in the last three decades, may have resulted in economic disadvantage for residents of the Chequamegon Bay region.
It is hoped that this study may also provide context for local decision making regarding the promise of livelihoods and economic abundance with the Penokee Mine.
There are excellent materials available for review, including Wisconsin economic statistics compiled by the UW-Center for Strategies for WI (COWS).
Linda Jorgenson and Jan Penn have volunteered to lead up the study and form a study committee comprised of both League and non-League members.
The study is complete!
The following are supporting documents and information we used for contribution to the study:
Study Documents and Information:
Presentation 1/11/16: The Changing Landscape of Public Education in Wisconsin by Dr. Julie Mead
Presentation 4/29/16: What’s Going on for Working Wisconsin and What Can We Do? by Laura Dresser
Presentation 6/22/16: Building Community Wealth Forum featuring Sarah McKinley
View the PowerPoint presentation