Last night the Republicans in the State Assembly and Senate passed the Budget for the next two years and sent it on to the Governor. For the last few months all kinds of things have been added to the budget by special interest groups. Most of the controversial items like cutting education funding, getting rid of the prevailing wage (city and county governments cannot set a prevailing wage), cuts in health care and other services, taking power from County Board for approving land sales,and lowering taxes for the rich were known but there was nothing the voters of the State of Wisconsin or their representatives, if they were Democratic, could do about it.

There were some things put in at the last moment, like eliminating the open records laws in Wisconsin, but because of public outrage were eliminated. There were some things like expansion of the payday loan industry that no one took credit for adding and weren’t even noticed until after the budget was passed.

To demonstrate how undemocratic the budget process is, the Governor in Wisconsin has a line item veto which means he can change words and numbers to completely change what is in the budget. Since it takes a two-thirds majority it would take some Democrats, who have no power in the Assembly or Senate to agree on. Thus it will not happen.

We are becoming in Wisconsin a central control government controlled by a Republican Governor and Assembly and Senate members.

The State is controlling just about everything spending tons of money on Highways but not allowing any form of mass transit. If the Democrats controlled all three branches they would probably be doing the same thing, making decisions in which the people of Wisconsin have no say.

To top it off, our Republican Governor, overseeing what we can do or not do, the quality of education and health, the lack of gun control, is announcing, after signing the budget, on Monday, that he is running for President. He is already a frontrunner among the 15 or so Republican candidates. He is hoping to bring to Washington central control government like he has in Wisconsin.

However, as I see it the “powers that be” already have selected the next president for us, Ms. Clinton, and all these Republican candidates running against each other and one Socialist Senator running against her just makes it easier for them to select her. At least that is the way it looks right now, 15 months before the election. My friends and family will have to make a choice again of lesser of two evils. Whoever gets the most money, 95% of the time wins the election.

When my friends get on my case since I no longer vote I just say I will vote again when real democracy returns. The way things are going with the financial/education/military/industrial complex it does not look like anytime soon. Maybe we will forget what real democracy looks like. I hope not.

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