Friday, December 30, 2016

Battered by political agendas, ‘The Wisconsin Idea’ lives on in public broadcasting - Jack Mitchell, Current

In 2015, Governor Scott Walker proposed removing “The Wisconsin Idea” from the University of Wisconsin’s mission statement. His small-government, low-tax, pro-business agenda was antithetical to the high-service, high-tax, anti-corporate priorities outlined in the 1912 book The Wisconsin Idea. Public reaction convinced the governor to leave the language alone, but his proposed budget battered the Wisconsin Idea in practical ways. Budget cuts to the university and other public services offset tax incentives for business. Those cuts included eliminating state funding for the transmitters and delivery system that carry public radio and television programming throughout the state. http://current.org/2016/12/the-wisconsin-idea-lives-on-in-public-broadcasting/