Accountability | Wisconsin
As Opioid Epidemic Ravages Kenosha County, Federal Budget Cuts Could Compound Crisis, Deaths
Over an 18 year period, Kenosha County, Wisconsin ranked first in the state for heroin-related deaths and fourth for deaths stemmed from opioid addiction. In 2017 the crisis took a turn for the worse: opioid overdose became the leading cause of accidental death in Kenosha County, with more than 50 people dying per year.
The escalating crisis, particularly in pockets of the Midwest, is leaving some to question whether or not the Trump Administration is taking the situation seriously and providing necessary resources to combat the epidemic. At the root of the criticism is a $1.5 trillion budget cut that could negatively impact programs that lower-income Americans rely on in order to treat addiction.
Economy | Wisconsin
Kimberly-Clark Corp. Shutters Wisconsin Plant Despite Reporting $3.3B in Profits
During his campaign for President in 2016, President Trump repeatedly promised a revival of manufacturing jobs across the Midwest. But after Kimberly-Clark Corp. closed down its plant in Neenah, Wisconsin, at the end of May 2019 -- even as the company enjoyed a multi-million payday from the President’s corporate tax bill -- some 100 people were out of work.
Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Kleenex, Kotex and other personal-care brands, announced in January 2018 that it would be laying off between 5,000 and 5,500 employees across the country, including the 100 jobs in Wisconsin. On the same day, the company reported $3.3 billion in profits in the 2017 fiscal year.
Accountability | Kentucky
While Republican Leaders Remain Silent, Miners’ Livelihoods are Being Gutted by Coal Giant Blackjewel
Despite Republican promises to revive and protect the coal industry in the United States and Kentucky, Blackjewel, the nation’s 6th largest coal producer, has stopped paying thousands of its mining employees in a move that is wreaking havoc on the livelihoods of mining communities. The consequences are a direct result of the company’s recent bankruptcy filing.
On July 1, Blackjewel LLC, based in West Virginia, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, stilling its mines across the country, including 10 in Virginia alone. In total, about 1,700 Blackjewel employees in mining operations across Virginia, Wyoming, West Virginia and Kentucky are still out of work.
Health Care | Michigan
Trump Admin Turns Back on Lake County Residents, Local Public Health Crisis
Lake County residents are facing very real public health challenges, raising concerns about proposed federal budget cuts and their potential impact on residents in one of Michigan’s vulnerable counties.
According to the 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment issued by Michigan’s District Health Department #10, Lake County ranked 79th out of 83 counties on “health outcomes” -- a measure of how long people live and how healthy they feel while alive. In the same report, residents of Lake County ranked last of 83 counties across Michigan in how healthy they reported feeling.
Health Care | Pennsylvania
Despite Campaign Promises, President Trump Aims to Gut Funding From Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid for Pennsylvania Families
During his campaign for president in 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump repeatedly stated that, if elected, he would not make cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security, essential healthcare and retirement programs utilized by tens of millions of low-income and senior Americans every year.
“I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid,” Trump said in 2015.
But for all his promises, that’s exactly what President Donald Trump is trying to do.
Economy | Pennsylvania
Hundreds of Pennsylvania Workers Laid Off by Companies While CEOs Reap Rewards of Trump Tax Bill
Three companies with operations in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, laid off hundreds of workers since the start of 2018, sending jobs out of the country and closing plants while paying their CEOs multimillion-dollar salaries.
An analysis by the American Ledger shows that the tax cuts passed by the then-Republican Congress and signed by Trump in 2017 gave executives a boost but squeezed middle-class workers in this county, centered around Wilkes-Barre in the Pocono Mountains.
Trade | Pennsylvania
Trump’s Trade War is Wreaking Havoc On the Economic Security of Erie County Dairy Farmers
In March 2018, dairy farmers in Erie County, Pennsylvania, received an unanticipated notice in the mail. Dean Foods, a local dairy processor in the area, which bought products from over 40 dairy farmers across Pennsylvania, gave farmers a 90-day notice that they would no longer be purchasing their products.
Two months later, Dean Foods closed its Meadowbrook Dairy, and laid off over 100 employees in favor of shipping their business to a Wal-Mart-owned dairy operation in Indiana.