GOP bias toward employers vs workers, consumers means we all will keep losing under COVID

As COVID-19 rises again in Wisconsin, we get to see the priorities of Republican politicians and their puppetmasters in the business community. Instead of working to make sure the spread of COVID is limited and to notify customers and the wider community in case some workers at a business come down with the affliction, they're more concerned about how that news would affect their profits.

As coronavirus cases in Wisconsin have spiked in recent days, some businesses worry the state’s health department could release the names of establishments that have had employees test positive for the virus.

Manufacturing, restaurant and grocers associations sounded the alarm this week, emailing members and composing response letters. Though a spokeswoman for the state's top health officials says there are no immediate plans to publicize such a list on its website, the information could still come out through pending records requests.

The associations argue that, rather than boosting transparency, releasing such information publicly would confuse and scare people while stigmatizing businesses that have already suffered because of the pandemic. The novel virus has left 794 individuals dead across Wisconsin as of Thursday.

A similar complaint was made by GOP State Senator Chris Kapenga.

Never in our state’s history have we seen a governor so committed to destroying small business. I expect nothing less from someone whose first act as governor was to replace ‘open for business’ signs with his own name.https://t.co/8LmrLbL8Xk

— Sen. Chris Kapenga (@SenatorKapenga) July 2, 2020

Riight, the people we should worry about aren't the ones who might go to a business and end up exposed to COVID-19, noooooo. And we also shouldn't notify people that their workplace might have someone that's infected. Instead, the Dumbass from Delafield thinks the needs of the business OWNER should be what state government bases its policy on.

Seriously, has proposed ONE thing that would lower the exposure of workers and/or customers from COVID-19? This goes well beyond the GOP-supported Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in May that outlawed the Safer at Home order from Governor Evers, which left a patchwork of rules based on what a local community wanted (or did not want).

By contrast, Dems in the Legislature called this week for support to health care workers that face extra risks from COVID-19.

Today, Wisconsin State Representative Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa), Rep. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), Rep. Daniel Riemer (D-Milwaukee), and State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-West Point) introduced the “Healthcare Heroes Act” legislation in support of frontline healthcare workers in Wisconsin during the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill provides benefits for healthcare workers, including hazard pay, paid medical leave, state-funded COVID-19 testing and treatment for those uninsured, and insurance coverage for COVID-19 testing and treatment.The bill also accepts the Medicaid expansion. Rep. Vining released the following statement regarding the bill introduction:

“In the United States, over 80,000 healthcare workers have contracted COVID-19 and almost 500 have died from the virus. In Wisconsin, 10% of COVID-19 cases are healthcare workers, which is over 2,300 people. From hospitals and nursing homes to homecare agencies and first responder roles, frontline healthcare workers risk their own health and lives and that of their families. They have been performing vital jobs for patients and public health during the COVID-19 pandemic"

If WisGOP's shreiking about "all work is essential" was legitimate, they'd have already voted this type of bill into law within days of COVID-19's first breakout in March. And let's also not forget that the WisGOP Legislature and Scott Walker passed a bill in their first year in power that prevented local Wisconsin communities from requiring paid sick leave with work, which pushes high-risk workers back onto the job because of that lack of security.

Funny how that, and Wisconsin's preemption of a higher minimum wage (which has been on the books for 15 years!) is something that's not left up to the needs of local communities. But the WisGOPs are fine with letting locals decide just how safe (or unsafe) they want their work environments to be, no matter how much that decision affects public health in other parts of the state.

What's short-sighted about the WisGOP/business lobby's mentality is that as long as COVID-19 is growing in the state, people will want to avoid large crowds and stay at home instead. Which means those restaurants and bars and other customer-based businesses are going to struggle, particularly because the average Wisconsin doesn't have confidence that they won't be put at risk in these places, and many will go under. So if they want to survive, maybe the GOP hacks that front business organizations like the Tavern League and the Restaurant Association should lead the way in trying to crush the virus.

That seems to be a better idea than trying to hide that information from the public, and increasing the chances that this economically destructive disease will continue to wreak havoc on many small businesses in Wisconsin. But then again, these business orgs are more about rent-seeking and power-grabbing than smart and sustainable business practices, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.