The problem with Wisconsin’s unemployment system rests in the late 20th Century technology that the state is saddled with because the legislature hasn’t the will to spend the money on an upgrade.
So giving the states alternative methods? Still requires vast amounts of time and effort to build into the system…you know…like months but more likely years.
And $2 billion for upgrades? If that’s the national spending, that’s again a pittance…for what will be years of computer work.
And states, including Wisconsin, are just as notorious as the federal government for cost overruns and delays in IT projects.
If only the GOP has seen fit to maintain state computer resources at state of the art levels we wouldn’t find ourselves in this bind.
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Just ask any State Agency how Walkers “Star System” worked out.
Clearly John Nygren is completely uninformed about psychological projection, illustrated boldly in his petty rant which states, “…enough complaining and excuses…”
While I don’t disagree with your opening assessment Ed, GOP efforts to dismantle and ignore state agency or government functioning for the people on any level, the other and deciding UI “problem,” is that unemployment claim numbers are unprecedented, which you are aware of.
Our current failure of capitalism to handle a pandemic like we are experiencing was foreseen and ignored by the corporatists who’ve been in charge of the federal government for decades.
Now, with the Fed and the US Treasury working hand in hand to increasingly buy up (socialize) the bad debt of private corporations, and not just supporting debt for “normal,” government spending, we see the unmitigated myth of privatization of government services as somehow being a cure for what ails capitalism.
Essentially, with the US Government backing a larger and larger portion of private debt (even junk bonds), issuing currency to float the the private corporations, expanding debt to do this is again insuring to the next inevitable economic bubble to burst. With government floating the private sector to the tune of now $7T, and the rest of us looking to pay our rent or mortgages or find a meal if we are lucky enough to sleep the whole family in the mini-van now.
Back to local scene a feckless John Nygren scape-goating DWD Caleb Frostman about UI distribution failures doesn’t even begin to describe the circumstances we are in the midst of. John Nygren should be calling on Ron Johnson, Steve Mnuchin, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and the “Progressive Causcus,” and the “Squad,” all joint enablers of exascerbating this entire crisis in terms of public health and the economy.
Apologize for getting a little bent off topic, but a Unconditional Guaranteed Income (automatic, no forms to submit or hoops to jump through) and Unconditional Health Care totally negate situations like those faced by an agency such as WI DWD and Frostman. It and he are decidedly NOT the problem.
Thanks for the soapbox.