Who deserves a daily lunch provided by state taxpayers: schoolkids or state legislators? 🍽️ At the moment, it’s only the politicians, who get reimbursed for meals as well as lodging and mileage for a job that already pays them a full-time salary. These payments are called per-diems, a fancy Latin phrase (“by the day”) that allows lawmakers to claim $171 per day any time they stay overnight in Madison or $85.50 per day if they drive back and forth. That’s on top of a $61,000 salary and travel reimbursement of 51 cents per mile. Legislative candidate Ben Gruber sees a double standard at work, noting that some of Wisconsin’s students go hungry and more will do so as federal cuts to SNAP food assistance kick in. His opponent, Republican Rep. Todd Novak of Dodgeville, ranks in the top third of Assembly per-diem payments. ✏️: Salina Heller
