Author: Tamarine Cornelius

Wisconsin Assembly Republicans recently released a proposal that is theoretically a plan to fight COVID-19, but in reality is a thinly-veiled attempt to strip power from schools, local officials, and the Governor, and transfer that power to legislative leaders. The Wisconsin legislature last passed a bill in April, almost eight months ago, and they have not even met since the spring. In fact, Wisconsin’s legislature has been the least-active full-time legislature in the country since the pandemic began, according to a national study. Typically the Wisconsin legislature doesn’t meet this time of year, but this year has been anything...

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting recession are wreaking havoc on Wisconsin. The state is likely facing a massive revenue shortfall, which will significantly affect its budget and ability to provide crucial services. If the President and Congress do not provide substantial additional aid, Wisconsin state and local governments will be forced to lay off teachers and other workers, cut important services like health care and education, and take other actions that would make the recession longer and more painful. These budget cuts would fall most heavily on families with low incomes and people of color, who have already been...

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in Wisconsin has skyrocketed, with initial weekly claims spiking to a level about twenty times the pre-pandemic volume. A new expansion of federally-funded unemployment benefits means that many workers filing for unemployment benefits will have access to additional weeks of benefits and larger weekly checks than was available before the pandemic. These expanded benefits can help jobless workers put food on the table for their families while the economy is shut down to slow the spread of the virus. Unemployment benefits are an especially important lifeline for workers of color. Due...