Republicans vote to privatize pofits and socialize the costs

My Letter to the Editor, published 11/04/12 in the Appleton Post-Crescent newspaper.

--

I believe that most Americans would agree with the "polluter pays principle" which requires that the costs of pollution be borne by those who cause it. It is only fair that the party responsible for the damage pay for it. Who wouldn't agree with that?

 

Voters may be excused for being confused about the positions of the candidates. Taxes, jobs, healthcare, morality, rights, and the other debated issues are confusing and difficult. It may seem difficult to select the best candidates based on the normal campaign information.

 

One clearly distinguishing area is the environment. Sierra Club, an organization dedicated to enjoying and protecting the planet, publishes a legislative scorecard for Wisconsin. This is based on actual votes for environmentally sensitive legislation. Usually Democratic legislators score better than Republicans, but the past two years have been especially stark. Without exception all of the Republicans failed, mostly with absolute zero scores. Democratic legislators scored much better, mostly with 100% scores.

 

The environment is extremely important, and voting statistics make it clear that Democratic legislators understand this.

 

Republican legislators demonstrate by their votes that they do not agree with the "polluter pays principal". They vote to privatize profits and socialize the costs.

 

How do you feel about paying the costs so that someone else can profit at your expense?

 

Here is my source:

 

http://wisconsin.sierraclub.org/tracker/documents/SCJMC_2012_LegScorecard.pdf