Sheila Plotkin, an 80-year-old retired teacher and McFarland resident, is among the growing segment of Americans questioning the strength of democracy in this country.
In 2015, she took the lead in forming a citizens’ group, “We, the Irrelevant,” which uses public records requests to gauge the power of citizens to influence state government, The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism looked into this question in considerable detail and the results of its investigation are reported here. [WARNING: reading this article may be hazardous to your confidence in Wisconsin’s state government.]
Commentary (Part III): Pending changes in public sector healthcare coverage could also impact private sector
By Jack Pladziewicz For the Chippewa Valley Post The first two parts of this series analyzed public and private employee retirement plans and their costs, and suggested that both sectors would benefit by allowing private employers and their employees to opt voluntarily into the state’s retirement system. This concluding segment focuses on public and private employee […]
Commentary (Part I): Could Wisconsin lower pension and health insurance costs for both public and private sector employees?
By Jack Pladziewicz For the Chippewa Valley Post Employment compensation – both public and private – consists of three elements: wages, benefits (primarily health insurance and pension) and job security. Historically, public employment has offered higher job security, better benefits and lower wages than comparable private sector employment. While Wisconsin’s Act 10 fundamentally changed this […]