'Jobs Creation Act' does the opposite By Curt Andersen News-Chronicle I have begun to wonder if our Republican legislature has gotten into some "funny water," or maybe some even funnier mushrooms. Assembly Bill (AB) 655, the ironically named "Jobs Creation Act," is a bill that will assassinate any decent future for the wild areas in Wisconsin that bring $14 billion in tourism income annually. Under the guise of "eliminating roadblocks" in permitting for polluters, this one will instead trash what Wisconsin has in spades - clean water and green areas. AB655 was introduced by Assembly Speaker, John Gard, R-Sun Prairie, with companion bill SB313 introduced by his counterpart in the Senate, Majority Leader, Mary Panzer, R-West Bend. The bill is sponsored by local MisRepresentatives Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, Terri McCormick, R-Appleton, Judy Krawczyk, R-Green Bay, and Al Ott, R-Brillion. AB655 is co-sponsored by local Senator Joe Leibham, R-Sheboygan. Also involved in this bill are Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, Chair of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee (How did an avowed ANTI-environmentalist get this post, unless he was sent there to trash the environment?), and Senator Robert Welch, R-Red Granite, who thinks his foofy white mane qualifies him to run against popular US Senator, Russ Feingold. The "roadblocks" spoken of are there for a reason. It is because of a long and sordid history of polluters abusing Wisconsin's clean water and air, and lately, our democracy. We have had these rules in place for many years, and now, all of a sudden, these industries can't deal with them? There are more smells in this bill than just pollution. While destructive enough to our economy and the environment (the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the water we live next to), certain points in the companion Senate Bill 313, when added to AB655, will virtually eliminate any public input on construction at the headwaters of nearly every stream and river in Wisconsin. The "Jobs Creation Act of 2003," will only create jobs for land developers, who just happen to be big donors to those above-named members of the Republican Party. How convenient! Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported that special interests behind the bill have contributed nearly $7 million to members of the Legislature since 1993. This means that unless you have enough money to pay the legislature to play, you and your company are out on your hiney. As an additional slap upside the head, each taxpayer pays about $1300 annually to subsidize these parasites. AB655 would allow the removal of up to 1,000 cubic yards of dredge material from a stream or lake, the equivalent of 200 dump truck loads, without a permit and with no means to determine if that material contains PCBs or other known carcinogens or toxins. The bill would allow the alteration, or straightening of the headwaters of more than 80 percent of the streams in the state without a full environmental or Public Trust review, jeopardizing fishing streams. Let's try to remember how much money our clean waters and tourism bring into Wisconsin. Let's try to remember why we have cottages in the north woods rather than downtown Milwaukee. The bill would allow relocation of up to 500 feet of the Chippewa, Black, and Upper Wisconsin rivers without a full environmental and Public Trust review. That means citizens have no say over this, even if it destroys the value of someone's riverside property. One has to wonder if people's memories are so short that they have forgotten that many of our rivers are so full of pollutants that the fish are too toxic to eat safely; that beaches in Door County and along the Lake Michigan shore have been closed several times in the last few years because of pollution, not to mention that Bay Beach in Green Bay, is STILL closed since the mid-1930's because of pollution, and in fact has the sad distinction of being the first public beach permanently closed because of pollution. Bay Beach used to be a thriving center for picnicking, swimming, and boating. AB655 will just enhance that already sad statistic. The notion that straightening a river is a "good" idea came from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), a state organization supporting undeserved corporate welfare. Famous Wisconsin environmentalist/conservationist Aldo Leopold warned about this sort of nonsense. Straightening a river allows the waters to move too quickly, and can cause erosion and destroy the fish habitat, and then fish populations. WMC rammed this 114-page bill through the legislature with only two days for review. One has to wonder, if they are so proud of this bill, why are they hurrying? Fast-talking is what we expect from vacuum cleaner, used car, and magazine salesmen, and credit card companies. Fast-talking is the sales equivalent of the Blitzkrieg. It does little for the neighborhood. Gard claims that we need to help industry keep costs down. Any extra profits made by industry go either to CEO perks or to build factories in foreign countries, our future competition. Over the last few years we've heard the term "local control" a few too many times, bellowed by self-righteous Republicans outraged by regulations. If Republicans want to eliminate public input on decisions as important as re-channeling a river, then they must be conflicted or lying about their desire for local control. In reality, they want WMC control. That, because it is so one-sided, is a dangerous move for our economy, but par for the course from this legislature. Over many years, national studies have shown that states with the best economies have strong environmental standards AND enforcement. Since the Times of Darkness under former Governor, Tommy Thompson, there has been a dramatic lurch towards favoring industry to a point which harms the public's ability to use our natural resources in benign ways, as in fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, and canoeing, and in protecting citizens from the poisons that certain industries are anxious to share with us all so they can increase profits. (The Bible warns us about "false profits.") The reason why we had good economies was because of better policies by bi-partisan efforts including Liberals. Liberals are the ones who protect our jobs, and they are the ones who have the good sense to work for a sustained economy, not the slash and burn variety espoused by those who have problems with basic math. That balanced approach to economics is gone now, brushed away by opportunist legislators and their handlers in the corporate world. The balance between the Right and Left is gone, replaced by the drunken stagger of corporate control, and soon our economy will be gone too. We have already seen the warning flags as mills of all types have moved to foreign lands. We made these companies rich and then they dumped us. Thanks for nothing. Wisconsin's citizens deserve better than what is being handed to them by people ill-suited for public service - the entire Republican Party. We could use some new people who can grasp simple economics. Let's see if the public will awaken right away, or if they'll wait until they've lost their jobs too.