As Republicans Tank The Economy With Tariff Taxes, Government Shutdown Grows Uncertainty On Wisconsinites

“I think insurance is security. Two years ago, I had an emergency surgery and a lot of other things that would have put me bankrupt had I not had that. So going without insurance is really not a good choice.”

“The longer we go, the longer it’s going to hurt.”

MADISON, Wis. — In a time when Wisconsinites are already dealing with climbing costs and economic uncertainty due to the GOP’s tariff taxes, the Republican-led government shutdown is adding another layer of stress — and Wisconsinites across the state are speaking out about the pain the GOP is causing them.

The tariffs, which GOP gubernatorial candidate and 7th Congressional Rep. Tom Tiffany, WI-03 Rep. Derrick Van Orden, WI-01 Rep. Bryan Steil and every other member of the Republican delegation continue to support, are being called out as destructive by everyone from soybean farmers to cabinet makers to halloween merchandise sellers. As if that weren’t enough, the Republican-led government shutdown has now jeopardized essential services Wisconsin families rely on, including: Health Care, Social Security services, WIC, and Medicaid.

See below for what Wisconsinites are saying:

ON THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Jessica LaPointe, Madison based Social Security field officer: “We are unable to do benefit verification letters. (Social Security recipients) would need that letter to keep their housing. If they’re in low-income housing and they don’t have access to the internet, they would have to come into the field office and request a letter. We can’t provide those. We can’t address overpayments at this time.”

Anita Mihtukwsun, WIC clerk and breastfeeding peer counselor: “Families contact me all the time, and they tell me how they’re so thankful… or they get so happy when they qualify […] And then, I also get the calls, ‘I can’t afford formula. I’m trying to make it to the first of the month,’ or whenever their date is. And especially those specialty formulas, they are expensive, and those are provided because that infant needs that specialty formula to grow, because they need those extra nutrients. So it’s really scary to think of what’s going to happen to those infants and those families if WIC doesn’t become available.”

Nicole Meyer, Neenah Resident: “When the ACA came about, it really was a life-saving thing for our family…“I think insurance is security. Two years ago, I had an emergency surgery and a lot of other things that would have put me bankrupt had I not had that. So going without insurance is really not a good choice,” says Meyer.

Gigi Gastevich, Madison Resident and Cancer Survivor: “Within the next three to five years, I intend to scale up my own line of textile goods and be an employer for my community too, but I won’t be able to do that if my health and well-being are tied to.”

Kate Bausch, Western Wisconsin Resident: “The uncertainty. I can’t tell you, excuse me, I can’t tell you how unbearable it’s been to not know if we’re going to have health care next year or what it’s going to cost,” Bausch said.

Julie Bennker, child care provider: “Most of the children I serve are on BadgerCare. Their parents rely on ACA subsidies to keep health insurance affordable.”

Terry Schmeckpeper, Onalaska resident: “We have been hearing frequently about the willingness of the Republican president and the Republicans in both houses of Congress to take away health insurance from millions of people, leaving them without the financial means to get medical care when they need it. I don’t know how any group of Americans can be this willing to destroy the health and lives of so many of their fellow Americans. It’s heartless.”

Nathan Houdek, Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner: “One of the benefits of the ACA Marketplace is that it’s provided good, strong health care coverage that allows people to get the care they need for themselves and their families. And if they lose that coverage and have to go on lesser coverage with higher deductibles and higher out-of-pocket costs and less benefits, that’s very concerning for access to care for people across the state,”

ON TARIFFS

Jim Purvis, Owner of Halloween by Scary Jim: ““The tariffs have definitely added to my expense. It was very shocking how much I had to pay.”

Allison Harlow, interior designer at Curio Design Studio: “I think the volatility around pricing is damaging to the remodeling industry. Most people will hear the headline of ‘Kitchen cabinets will go up 50%’ and might just opt out of even reaching out to our company.”

Laura Glasel, Recyclist Co-Owner: “It’s maybe not necessarily the increased prices that are affecting us. It certainly is, but it’s a little bit more the uncertainty of what’s going to happen […] It makes it really hard for us to plan—to make sure we have what customers need and can afford.”

Sachin Schivaram, Owner of the Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry: But they will cause real economic pain. Our input costs are up. The Midwest Premium — a fee that largely determines the cost of buying aluminum in North America — has tripled in the past six months. Our nonaluminum inputs rose 7 percent last month alone. We’ve had little choice but to pass those increases on to our customers, who are no doubt seeing even greater increases from other manufacturers.

Grant Holley, Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Executive Director: “Like many others, growers are feeling economic pressures from a variety of directions right now. […] Tariffs are one factor in that mix and are contributing to the smaller prices growers are anticipating for their crop this year.”

Brenda Gudex, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board: “They’re [tariffs] affecting us as corn growers on the inputted cost that we have. Our fertilizers are being imported, so we have a huge uncertainty there.”

Doug Rebout, President of the Wisconsin Soybean Association: “It’s [tariffs] a major disruption for us, because historically, two-thirds of the soybeans that we grow in Wisconsin get exported. So when you have a market the size of China that all of a sudden stops buying from us — and we’ve exported more soybeans to China than the rest of the world combined — the U.S. is sitting here going, ‘OK, we have all these soybeans now.’ We’re working on opening up new markets to different countries, but to make up such a large volume, that’s basically impossible.”

Darin Von Ruden, Wisconsin Farmers Union President: “Normally we would have 1200 metric tons that has went to China by now at this point. Or maybe that number is bigger too, but, you know, it’s a pretty substantial amount of our soybeans. We’re going into the Chinese market that they have not bought any of that this year. They, you know, we have the new crop coming off now it’s fall, it’s harvest time, and they have not bought any new crop, soybeans, neither at all.”

Phil Verges, Price County farmer: “It’s money I don’t have, I just finished my soybean harvest and as I do the math I’m currently losing $85 an acre. […] That leaves a lot of worry and stress, it’s hard to pay the bills with negative income and now I have to worry about if I can afford health insurance.”

Hans Breitenmoser, Lincoln County farmer: “Once those foreign markets, for whatever reason, decide that they don’t need us anymore or can’t trust us, then yeah, that’s going to have a negative impact.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.