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Dear Editor:
Considering the devastating impact that the current health crisis has had on the state's economy, it's important to consider who will be the most effective leaders going forward when it comes to bringing back jobs.
I believe the people of SW Wisconsin will be well served by Kriss Marion who has just come out with a 10-point Rural Recovery Plan for the Post-Pandemic Years. It is a sensible, multifaceted policy prescription for stabilizing Wisconsin's struggling farms, bolstering the rural economy and preserving SW Wisconsin's rich natural heritage for the future.
Her opponent, Todd Novak, is claiming he'll bring back jobs but the trouble is his words don't square with his job-creation record since he's been in the State Assembly. Supposedly to save taxpayer dollars, Novak and his Republican legislative colleagues voted several years ago to repeal the state's prevailing wage law. The Legislature claimed the purpose was to establish minimum wages for skilled construction workers employed on public construction projects.
The result, however, was that that state construction contracts began flowing to neighboring states, predominately to Iowa. The repeal failed to provide any cost savings on road construction projects. Moreover, the effect was disastrous for our blue-collar construction workers with job opportunities decreasing, wages falling significantly and with a decline in health insurance coverage. (Midwest Economic Policy Institute). Sixty percent of our new Department of Transportation projects have been awarded to out-of-state (mainly Iowa) contractors. The only group in Wisconsin benefiting from the repeal was construction industry CEOs whose average annual salary increased by 54%.
We need to be prioritizing our taxpayer money for projects that stay right here in Wisconsin. Our elected officials need to be working to improve the life and prosperity of Wisconsinites. Kriss Marion will be one of them.
Jubie Simonson, Mineral Point, WI
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