“Venezuela, ICE shooting and taxing the rich to fund schools and public goods” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast

We lead off with Trump’s gun boat diplomacy in Venezuela and the shocking bloodshed perpetrated by ICE in Minneapolis. What does it mean and how is the resistance to authoritarianism responding so far?

We welcome State Representative Ryan Clancy to discuss three game changing progressive tax bills that would transform how Wisconsin funds K-12 schools, local governments, and other public services. If enacted, Wisconsin would become the first state to fund K-12 schools primarily through a progressive income tax, leading to a 44% reduction in the median Wisconsin property tax bill. The two other bills restore Wisconsin’s estate tax for those valued higher than $15M, and create a new local option income tax on the ultra wealthy.

We review new analysis by Wisconsin Watch that 46% of State’s private school students get public-financed vouchers and 96% are in religious schools.

We close with the U.S. House revolt against Trump and Speaker Johnson on the expiring ACA affordability subsidies. Nine Republicans defied Trump and Johnson, forcing the vote, all from swing districts, but not Derrick Van Ordin. Does it have a chance in the U.S. Senate? At the state level, some legislative Republicans are advancing a bill requiring transparent hospital pricing for “shoppable services” that has split the big corporate business interests from the hospitals. Is there an opening among Republicans and corporate interests to rein in Wisconsin’s astronomical hospital prices, which are the highest in the Midwest and the 5th highest in the country? Robert also asks why Senator Chris Larson is the only Democrat co-sponsoring the legislation?

Listen to the show.