What has Happened to all the Progressives in Wisconsin?

I moved to Wisconsin going on 18 years ago. I previously lived for 10 years in the most Republican state in the union, Utah. Moving here I didn't know much about Wisconsin, but I looked forward to finally living in a state with a strong progressive history and a top rated public education system. We choose our home based on the public school rankings and its location close to a city with a strong cultural center. Wisconsin turned out to be everything I had hoped for except for one exception; Wisconsin no longer was a leading progressive state. In fact, it proved to be, in some ways, far less progressive than the state I had moved from.

The situation, concerning political affairs, peaked my curiosity and I became determined to figure out what had happened to Wisconsin's progressive tradition. Talking to old time progressives didn't yield much, most of them couldn't shed any light on the situation. The majority of their responses had to do with the conservative opposition's ability to effectively block any progressive legislation using unethical tactics and voter manipulation. This didn't ring true since there is conservative opposition everywhere and it's not unique to Wisconsin. I concluded it was something deeper, perhaps on a fundamental foundation level.

My own research led me back four decades to the 1970s. After going through an extesive process, I came to the conclusion that it was both structural and economic. The decline of progressive influence began as far back as the late 1970s and began a steep decline during the 'Reagan Recession'. Like many of the 'old rust belt' states, Wisconsin had become dependent on heavy industry and traditional manufacturing. Unlike many other 'rust belt' states, Wisconsin did not emerge from the Industrial Economic model it had been in for nearly 100 yearrs as did many of the other 'rust belt' states. Wisconsin is still reeling from the 'Reagan Recession' and a lack of economic adaptation.

For the last three decades, Wisconsin has not found businesses that could replace and offset the industrial businesses lost. You go anywhere in S.E. or South Central Wisconsin and the story has been a continuous decline of the foundation businesses. Now, the question is how does economic prosperity affect progressivism?

The Progressive Movement, both here and elsewhere, has always been dependent on economic prosperity. Progressivism is only feasible when there is sufficient eonomic resources to fund the variety of programs that are necessary to accomplish the progressive agenda. Since the 1980s, available resources have been in decline creating conditions that have made social and educational programs difficult to sustain. Milwaukee has been hard hit along with other industrial cities where the need for programs are the greatest. The old axiom, that when times get tough it is those that are at most risk who suffer the most. Many residents of the large urban centers haven't recovered since the 1980s when they initially lost their employment. They represent the chronically unemployed or underemployed and have been scapegoated for their dependency on government assistence. The economic conditions have made it possible for the political right to gain traction with many in the middle and upper classes creating an opportunity to redirect government activity and involvemennt with those in the greatest of needs.

Who is to blame for the loss of economic prosperity? No one and everyone. What Wisconsin has lacked for three decades is a clear vision of the future. Our myopy has resulted in getting left behind. New technology and industries are the wave of the future and not to follow the path of Mississippi. We must invest in Wisconsin including a firm commitment to education. The current austerity program has actually hurt Wisconsin from realizing a full recovery. We only have to look to our neighbor Minnesota to see how to do it right.

It is time for the state's progressives to forget about the previous setbacks and start working to bring changes to the economy. I'm not saying that we should support the wrong headed actions of the current administration, but to push for the business of the future. We should stop complaining about how bad the setbacks are but revive the economy and the people will come back to support progressivism.