There is a very real threat to the continuation of the tradition of family farming in Wisconsin if Governor Walker is reelected. The threat is that he is trying to give the hard earned use value assessment tax status to his wealthy out of state investors. In Walker’s first budget he inserted the policy change to allow non residents to own more than 640 acres of farmland. Fortunately, it was removed from the final budget. Outside investors will drive up farmland prices beyond the market prices. The prices of crops grown on the land will not be a factor in determining the price of the land. Farmers will not be able to afford to compete with these investors.
Walker has claimed that he wants to be in compliance with World Trade Organization treaties. This underscores that Walker is serving his masters in the finance community and sacrificing the people of Wisconsin. The tax break of use value assessment is a huge attraction to these investors. This coupled with the capital gains exemption will continue to drive the price of farmland up and out of reach of most farmers. It will be impossible for beginning farmers to invest in land nor afford the rent of these escalating prices. One entity that will benefit in Wisconsin is the Wisconsin Realtors Association. They will benefit from the commission increases of these sales. They have supported Walker’s campaign extensively.
This is just one example of the litany of power grabs by the Walker Administration. His administration does not trust local people making the choices that he wants. That is why the Redistricting done in 2011 was done in the secrecy of the Republican National Committee. We need to involve local town, county, and all municipalities on these boundary choices. This is why the Walker administration plagiarized the GTAC mining rules and then drafted them into state law. This law gave the mining companies a free pass to take the iron from our state, dump the wastes anywhere they want, and they don’t have to pay us unless they make a profit. That is like me selling my farm and telling the buyer, that you don’t have to pay me unless you make a profit. Walker does not want local elected officials to have any decision making power about the sand mining impacts.
I will not stand with Scott Walker because he stands with serious grievous threats to our way of life. He stands with an economy that is addicted to perpetual monetary growth. He stands for less power to our local officials and gifting that power to those that want more political power. I will not stand for that. I will stand with those that resist these power grabs. I will stand with those who struggle to raise the value of our work.
I implore you to vote for Mary Burke for Governor of Wisconsin on November 4. I want you to consider that Mary Burke is aware of the need for a diverse agriculture to create a better Wisconsin. Mary is aware of the need to reform the way we finance our rural schools. I have been a critic of the way schools are financed in this state for a long time. The union issue is just a distraction; it is not the cause of the school finance problem. The union issue was exploited by Walker to divide and conquer the state electorate.
Mary Burke is grievously concerned about the ability of our rural schools to hire and retain the best quality teachers. She wants to expand broadband internet service to rural areas. Walker has handed this decision to the carriers that will make more money in densely populated urban and suburban areas. Mary Burke knows that the use value assessment is important to Wisconsin agriculture.
The choice on November 4th is clear. Governor Walker wants to continue his practice of dividing and conquering this state. He sees a future where wealth creation is the most important sign of progress. He does not care about the quality of the jobs being created in the state. Mary Burke is aware of the need to increase the quality of our lives in Wisconsin. She knows that creating jobs is one way to do that, but she also knows that the World Trade Organization is not the one that decides important issues in this state. She knows that We the People of Wisconsin want to make decisions that affect our lives. She will work to liberate us from the dictates of outside special interests that want to buy our decisions.
— Rick Adamski