Poverty rising in Walker's WI

WI GOP Gov. Scott Walker has reportedly said 'I love the poor so much,' and that's a good thing because now there are more of them to embrace, a new report indicates: 

Despite a robust job market, Wisconsin's poverty rate increased to 10.8% in 2016, compared to 9.7% in 2015, according to a report released Friday by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Walker has displayed his love for the poor by tying food and health care assistance to mandatory drug testing, keeping the state's minimum wage frozen at what he calls a livable, $7.25 hourly rate, and raising taxes on the poor while also taking away from them an across-the-board $20 a month - - or ten gallons of milk at $1.99 each most days at my local Metro Market.

Details, in this summary post, here: 

This isn't the first time Walker has used and abused the poor for political purposes - - remember that he is the one standing in the way of an increase in the minimum wage being raised elsewhere... 

And in his first budget, Walker kicked at the poor financially when they were already far, far down in the Great Recession - despite Walker foot-stamping spin to the contrary - - as noted several times on this blog, including this summary from two years ago:

Despite the denials, the same Scott Walker budget that... contained tax increases totaling $49 million on lower-income Wisconsinites - - plus a 'just-cuz-you're poor-$20-monthly dunning - - and also cut taxes on some capital gains and business income. 

The Walker machine spun on, claiming in statements and ads that the budget was balanced without raising taxes, even though the information about the tax increases came from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, as reported by PolitiFact.

Which all makes sense if you remember the classic song lyric, "you always hurt the one you love."