On the heels of his destructive budget proposal, Eau Claire area residents gathered to discuss how President Trump’s economic agenda has impacted working Wisconsinites
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Today, Opportunity Wisconsin held a community roundtable at SHIFT Cyclery & Coffee Bar in Eau Claire to uplift the stories of working-and middle-class Wisconsinites who are struggling under President Trump’s economic agenda. This event comes days after President Trump unveiled his 2021 budget, which significantly slashes programs and services aimed at supporting Wisconsin’s workers, while giving a leg up to the wealthy and well-connected.
View and download photos from today’s event.
“Everything is deteriorating,” said Altoona resident Maria Guzman. “You’d have to have no commonsense not to see what's going on right outside our doors. You see businesses closing down, it’s all going downhill. We are all taxpayers, and that should mean something.”
President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts drastically reduced the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, which provided a massive break to Wall Street giants, like private equity firm Sun Capital Equity, and kept tax loopholes in place that they and other hedge funds exploit to buy out jobs and bankrupt small businesses.
Shopko, a Wisconsin-based company, was taken over by Sun Capital Equity. Instead of keeping the company afloat, Sun Capital Equity ultimately led Shopko to declare bankruptcy last year — all Shopko stores are now closed, including a location that had called Eau Claire home for decades. This resulted in 2,725 jobs stolen from Wisconsinites, 52 closed stores, and a closed support center.
“Everything has gone up in price, but the last few years we've had the same federal minimum wage,” said Eau Claire resident Judy Gatlin. “It's simple math, and it’s not working.“
Wages have been stagnant in Wisconsin for decades — adjusted for inflation, the median wage in Wisconsin has only risen 73 cents since 1979. Instead of giving hard-working Wisconsinites a boost, President Trump blocked a federal minimum wage increase, a move that denied more than 800,000 Badger State residents a pay increase and resulted in $3 billion in lost wages.
“We don't talk about the fact that people are holding three jobs because [they] are so low-paid,” said Eau Claire resident Breana Stanley. “Low wages exist and poverty exists.”
Many of these same workers are now facing sky-high debts and are being forced to decide between daily necessities like food and medicine just to survive. In 2017, 22 percent of Wisconsin residents stopped taking the prescription drugs they need because the costs were too high.
About Opportunity Wisconsin
Opportunity Wisconsin is a coalition of Wisconsin residents fighting for an economy that works for working people. Through our stories, we’re elevating the real consequences of the destructive economic policies championed by President Trump and his allies these past three years, and showing how they have made Wisconsin’s economy worse off. Join us in demanding our elected officials focus more on growing the economy for middle class folks and expanding opportunity for all Wisconsinites, not just the wealthy few. To learn more about Opportunity Wisconsin, visit OpportunityWisconsin.org or stay connected on Twitter at @OpportunityWI and on Facebook at Facebook.com/OpportunityWI.
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