The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCVII

You know it's getting bad when there's not only a spike in the homeless population but there's not enough food to feed them:

After experiencing a decline in donations as the holidays fade into the New Year, the Guest House of Milwaukee has exhausted almost all its food resources and is in need of emergency donations.

According to Erik Koepnick, manager of volunteer services and communications for the Guest House, the nonprofit organization does not have any food to feed its residents over the next three nights.

The Guest House currently houses 86 men full time. The shelter will begin overflow tomorrow as 15 additional men move in.

“That’s a lot of mouths to feed,” Koepnick said.

Throughout the year, the Guest House relies on the generosity of families, neighborhood groups, faith communities, restaurants, organizations like the Salvation Army and other volunteers to provide meals to its residents each evening.

St. Ben’s Community Meal Program, held at St. Benedict the Moor in Milwaukee, also often feeds residents of the Guest House.

But during frigid weather, the shelter prefers to host meals in-house, according to Koepnick.

During the holidays, the Guest House typically receives an influx of food and monetary donations, followed by a significant drop-off largely due to donor fatigue, Koepnick said.

“I think part of it is that the community has given a lot throughout the holidays, and so there’s kind of that giving fatigue,” Koepnick said. “People have given what they have.”

Though it’s unusual for the Guest House to experience three nights in a row of food shortage, he said.

The nonprofit is now turning to the community for immediate help.

The worst part is things are only going to get worse. With Scott Walker and Chris Abele forcing their austerity agendas on us, we are going to see more and more homeless and more and more hungry people.

Things have to change, sooner than later.  

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCVI

Hurrah for Scott Walker's agenda and austerity! They're doing just what one would expect them to do:

Unemployment rates increased in most Wisconsin counties and in 14 of the largest cities in November, including Brown County and Green Bay.

The state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday that rates increased in 53 of 72 counties between October and November. Unemployment also went up in 14 of the 32 largest cities.

Oh, and it gets better. Good old Milwaukee County Emperor Chris Abele, who has doubled down on Walker's austerity, is making sure that Milwaukee stays on top of the dung heap:

Racine had the highest unemployment rate among cities at 11.2 percent, followed by Milwaukee and Beloit both at 9.4 percent.

The thing that I find really ironic is how the "progressives" who scream about Walker's failures embrace Abele for his same failures. We need to lose these people along with the Teapublicans. Both are as equally harmful to our economic health.

And to add to the grief, they are also cutting out unemployment compensation for about 24,000 Wisconsinites today.

We are going deeper in a crisis mode and our leaders of both parties are sitting on their thumbs.  This is no longer acceptable at all.

The Abele Agenda Is Already Working! Part I

Just as Scott Walker has been embracing an agenda of austerity, so has his protege, Milwaukee County Executive Emperor Chris Abele.

And just as Walker has been driving the state's economy into the ground, Abele has been doing the same for the regional economy:

The production rate of Milwaukee-area manufacturers contracted for the second consecutive month in May, according to the latest report by the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee.

The Marquette-ISM Report on Manufacturing showed the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a measure of manufacturing growth, dipped to 40.67 in May, slipping from 48.43 in April. Any rate below 50 indicates a contraction in production.

The May index showed accelerated declines in new orders, production, employment and inventories.

Blue collar employment at local manufacturers fell to 46.2 in May, from 49.3 in April. White collar employment also fell to 46.2, down from 49.3.

Like one acolyte of austerity wasn't enough. I wonder if there will be anything left of Milwaukee when these two corporate tools are done with it.