The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee met today at UWM to take public testimony from on the Governor’s budget plans and I was able to sit in on a bit of the meetings.
The first thing that struck me, literally, was the line of people waiting to sign up to speak to the committee. At least 250+ people each got three minutes to speak their mind on the budget in front of those who will be voting on it this legislative session. The other thing that strikes me is the Senators and Representatives who are and aren’t paying attention. While it is a long day for all involved, it just looks bad when you’re sitting up on the stage continually paying more attention to your Blackberry than to the people and groups coming up to give their heartfelt testimony on important issues.
Not that I’m going to name names or anything, but it was clear which legislators were involved and engaged and which ones could care less.
That said, some of the best and most heart-wrenching testimony came from a group of women who were pleading to the committee for the continued funding of abuse shelters they had all benefited from. Needless to say it was intense and painful for the women to share their very personal stories about how the funding for the abuse shelters not only turned their lives around but probably saved them too.
I live in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI with my wife Jen, our daughter Emerson, and sons Carter and Colton.
