Burke Vs. Walker: A Charitable Comparison

As most people already know, I am less than enthused about the gubernatorial election this year.  I don't find Mary Burke, the Democrat's hand-picked candidate to be satisfactory and all too much like Scott Walker for my taste.  As examples on why I am not so excited is that the two biggest points of discussion thus far has been which candidate has out-outsourced the other and to which businesses would be better to give the taxpayers' money.

That said, there are distinctive differences between the two.  Burke stands for more freedoms for the people,
including supporting marriage equality, women's rights, voters' rights and collective bargaining.  As we all know, Walker is opposed to equality of any sort, denying rights to gays, women, minorities and workers in both the private and public sector.

Another area of great difference is simply their personalities, as displayed through their attitudes and actions towards others, especially those in need.

It is well known that Burke is a multimillionaire.  But unlike Chris "Boss" Abele, who uses his vast fortune to consolidate power in his hands and attempt to build an empire, Burke actually took her money and time to do good for the community:

After working in that position for nine years, she got very involved in her volunteer work and decided to leave Trek and devote all of her time to her philanthropic efforts, which have a special focus on education.

She’s on the board of directors of the Burke Family Foundation, which has awarded grants to the Urban Ecology Center, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, First Stage and other organizations that focus on underserved kids’ education and closing the achievement gap.

While working at Trek, she also became a volunteer tutor at the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County, then served as chair of its board of directors and led a $6.2 million fundraising effort for a new facility. She developed AVID/TOPS, a college-prep program for students who wouldn’t have been helped otherwise. The program is close to her heart. Its first class of 85 just graduated and 90% are enrolled in post-secondary education.

Burke said she often thinks of one student, Daniel, who wanted to stay in the program so badly after his family moved that he took multiple buses across town to get to school and his job and stay involved in sports and the AVID/TOPS program.

“It was his dream to go to college and he knew how much this program was helping him,” Burke said. “He entered Edgewood College this fall, realizing his dream. There are a lot of kids out there like Daniel who have a dream and we need to make sure that we are supporting them in that dream so that they do learn how to set that vision for themselves and take responsibility for making that happen.”

When it comes to Scott Walker, it's a completely different story.

The only charity that I could find that Walker was involved in - not counting his crony capitalism and just plain cronyism - was Operation Freedom.

As the gentle reader surely remembers, Operation Freedom was the supposed charity fund for veterans and gave his blessing to his long time friend and campaign worker, Tim Russell, to raid the fund for Walker's campaign website and Russell's own peccadilloes.
their families that Walker had set up as a thinly-veiled campaign stunt.  Not only was Walker using Operation Freedom as a campaign stunt, but he apparently also

I would be remiss if I also did not mention one other prime example of Walker's idea of giving.  That would be the infamous Black Friday email he sent out telling people not to bother giving their children Christmas presents.  Instead, he thought people should take the money they would have spent on the gifts and just go ahead and give it to him.

The acts of charity which has been done or not done by Burke and Walker aren't enough in itself to decide to vote for.  What they do show is which one is more of a decent human being and less likely to govern through malfeasance.

Clearly, Burke wins this comparison hands down.

By Jeff Simpson

I just wanted to take a chance to combine some of my favorite things:  My Sigma Chi Brothers, small business and Ethical companies that work for a cause!

1.  Taaluma Totes:

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Taaluma Totes was started in a college apartment by two students who set out to connect cultures around the world.  We designed the totes with three things in mind 1) We love traveling  2) We want to make a difference, and 3) We like being on the move--ALWAYS with a backpack thrown on our back.  We rolled them all together, and out came the Taaluma Tote.

With closets full of fabric and totes on our mind, this quickly replaced our full-time jobs after graduation.  We hope you enjoy carrying these totes as much as we've enjoyed creating them.  Happy Totin'!

Backpacks paired with different countries.  Each backpack is made of fabric from that country, and funds a microloan for a person in that country.

2.  Flex Watches:

Here at Flex Watches we are dedicated to raising both public and financial support for our partner charities. From local events to nationwide campaigns, and from campus reps to local retailers, Flex Watches joins with these organizations not just to cheer them on and help spread the word, but also donate towards their cause.

 For every watch sold Flex provides 5 meals to children in need. By sporting your Flex Watch, you raise awareness for the cause and can change the life of a child. If you'd like to get more involved, Flex can help you adopt a child, plan a misions trip or build a home.

Proving, it is NOT impossible to be an ethical corporation.