For example, I can’t believe we have to keep offering this little reminder: You can’t cut your way to prosperity. 

In other words, whatever the size of your budget deficit, you can’t fix what’s wrong through cuts alone. You need to make smart investments that grow your income. To quote countless personal finance gurus: Don’t just spend less. Make more. You do have to spend a nickel to earn a dollar — unless you’re one of the fake fiscal hawks who max out the nation’s credit card while claiming to be against reckless spending. (Not that Sen. Ron Johnson is actually reading this note… but just in case.)

Despite conservative bellering, not all deficit spending is bad. How do you buy a house? You take out a mortgage and responsibly pay it back over time. Republicans in elected office used to understand this. Then along came George H.W. Bush saying “read my lips, no new taxes,” and it painted all conservatives into a corner for generations. Today’s GOP lawmakers are afraid to even keep up with inflation in their budgets because spending $1 more than last year would invite scorn from the “cut, cut, cut” crowd.

Here in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, I tried to find proactive economic ideas from US Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Twitter) that address a pretty basic question: We know what you’re against and what you want to cut, but what are you willing to invest in to make life more affordable for the families, farmers, and businesses in your district? Keep this in mind as you read our story below on the differences between  Van Orden and Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke. 

Have a good weekend and stay on top of our social media feeds on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and more.

Gruber says the Pecatonica Area School District in his area reported a school lunch debt last year of — wait for it — about $14,000.

The question is simple: Who deserves taxpayer-funded meals? Wisconsin kids or politicians? Watch Salina Heller’s conversation with Gruber on the issue.

So, where do you come down on the idea to make all school meals free to all students? Pick the option that comes closest to your opinion.

✅ – Healthy School Meals For All has my full support. How is lunch debt even a thing when we’re paying for tax cuts, wars, and legislators’ per-diems?

↔️ – I like the concept, but I’m not ready to say I fully support it. Maybe we need a higher cutoff so that wealthy families’ kids have to pay something.

⏸ –  Keep the system as-is or with mild tweaks to make school meals more affordable.

❌ – Scrap any school meal assistance. Families should feed their own kids. Either pay for what schools prepare or pack something yourself. (Now get off my lawn!)

Click the box above to be taken to our website where you can select your response. Feel free to say more in the comment box—and leave your first name and hometown so we can share your answer in our next newsletter.

We asked for your view on Flock surveillance cameras and we provided four options: keep them as-is, get rid of them, and two options in the middle that allow their use with some level of restrictions. 

5% said A – Keep ‘em. Their benefits outweigh the risks, and abuses can already be prosecuted.

24% said B – Officers cannot search databases without a specific case or active incident, and all database searches must have an audit trail.

19% said C – No databases. Unless something on a camera scan matches something on a crime database, the scans must be deleted after a period, like 30 days.

52% said D – Elimination or discontinuation until a more thorough legal framework is written.

👉🏼 There was only one anonymous comment from those who chose A, going with the full Big Brother approach of how there should be “no expectation of privacy in areas open to the public.”

👉🏼 Paul from Madison: “Justified, with an exception. Altoona moved away from Flock because the local data is potentially available across the nation. Like any effective tool, ALPRs are a game changer if used responsibly.”

👉🏼 Kim from Green Bay: “I wonder how many people have ever bothered to read ‘1984.’ Surveillance without an actual reason and having that information available to anybody for any reason is a dangerous step in the wrong direction. Big Brother does not need to know everything everybody is doing at every moment of every day.”

Thank you for your participation!

What do Cooke and Van Orden say they’ll do to address affordability issues?

US Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s campaign playbook isn’t secret and it isn’t new. Launch multiple attacks on Democrats, berate reporters, and show unwavering devotion to President Donald Trump. 

But this year, the playbook is missing a critical chapter: economic policy.

While his Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke has laid out specific initiatives she would pursue to help reduce costs for families and businesses, Van Orden is relying on a string of incomplete claims about last year’s massive “Big Beautiful Bill” of spending cuts and tax breaks.

The bill has become so unpopular, however, that the GOP has given it a name change.

His brief website section on the economy says only that “he champions legislation like the Working Family Tax Cuts which ensures more of your hard earned money remains where it should be: in your pocket.” 

The full story on our website explains what Van Orden is saying about last year’s bill and how its benefits are going largely to large corporations and very wealthy individuals rather than the small businesses and local taxpayers of his district.

Cooke, meanwhile, leads with a promise to “take on corporations that are price gouging consumers.” She also has several ideas aimed at home affordability, as well as proposals addressing childcare and wages.

Cooke also adds one more element to her social media sites: Derrick Van Orden claiming there isn’t an affordability issue in America.

Saturday, Sept. 19

DPW Environmental Caucus – Green Bay Meetup (1-3 p.m.) Guests include: Reps. Amaad Rivera-Wagner, Ryan Spaude, Brandy Tollefson, Assembly candidate Alexia Unertl, Congressional candidate Rick Crosson, and independent state Senate candidate Mark Becker. Pizza provided/cash bar.

Chequamegon Democrats – Ashland Farmers Market High Traffic Canvassing (8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) Join volunteers from Ashland and Bayfield counties at the Ashland Farmers Market for conversations with voters. We will have a table with our literature and candidate information.

Columbia Co. Democratic Party – CoCo Dems Annual Picnic (Poynette, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.) CoCoDems will provide dogs, buns, sandwiches, plates, napkins. Bring a dish to pass. Not required, but appreciated! All are welcome.

Monday, Sept. 28

Marquette Co. Democratic Party – Candidate Town Hall (Westfield, 6-8 p.m.) Confirmed: Sasha Ripley, candidate for State Senate District 13 and Mike Skivington, candidate for State Assembly District 39. Additional candidates have been invited and may also attend.

Send your events and announcements to Abigail Deatrick, UpNorthNews’ regional community development organizer, at least one week before the event to see them here.

📱 Remember, you can stay up to date all day with all of our team’s work through our social media feeds, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

🏁 Thanks for reading our update.

Have a great weekend!